It doesn't make any difference if "they" could pay for socialized medicine through taxing. No one has any right to impose socialized medicine on us.

I just posted a correction on this statement. $1358 annually is subtracted from my SS to pay for MedB which reimburses my other Federal insurance. Weird! So, why do these folks think they can provide 'Medicare for All'???? Who will pay for that?

Well, thank you for understanding, and appreciating ability.

You already realized it: we can't afford "Medicare for all". We can't afford it either economically or morally. And the same goes for Medicare as it currently stands where it is eating 30% of the Federal Budget.

If we want to improve the healthcare industry, a few changes are in order:

1) Eliminate company-sponsored plans entirely. Move everything to individual plans and allow employers to deduct their contributions against taxable income. Why? Because this can eliminate the problem with prior conditions non-coverage. It gives more flexibility to individuals to find a health insurer which can provide them what they need and only what they need. Additionally, portability means that the person can take their plan with them wherever they go which is good for both the provider and the patient.

2) Eliminate all State prohibitions on entrants into the health insurance market. As it currently stands, healthcare is one of the few industries where you must pay the State for a license to practice in that State - and for which they routinely deny all applications. Government has created this pseudo-monopoly and it needs to go. This is also critical to 1) above.

3) Put statutory caps on punitive damages for medical malpractice. All these do is drive up the costs of doctor care through excessive and unneeded tests and predatory lawyers. Patients need to be told that there are no guarantees in medicine. Doctors shouldn't be held liable as long as they were following best practices.

4) Eliminate the laws requiring hospitals to take anyone who shows up in the emergency room. All this does is drive up the costs of care for everyone else. Allow such to be diverted to urgent care facilities.

You also ought to ask him how much he's in debt for the practice he just bought... Probably another $2-$3 million right there...

I loved the (inadvertent) typo there insur-acne companies. Acne is pretty much an incurable condition which many pay a small fortune to try to ameliorate with only passing success - much like the current insurance environment. Well done!

Liberty belle, this is rotten to say the least. I will be honest. I would rather hire a healthy, motivated 67 year old woman than a 27 year old. The reality is that women in their childbearing years are difficult employees, even when they are great.
That said, I’m sure I’m in the minority. My best employee worked until age 74. She died 2 weeks after leaving work. She was productive and valuable til her last day. I miss her still. I wish you luck in finding an employer who deserves you.

I am on Medicare. I didn't want to be. I didn't want to be on Social Security. I am actually trying to get a job. But I think that employers are afraid to hire me, because of the age factor, because they are afraid that if I were to break my leg, or something, I would blame it on them, and sue. They don't know me, so they don't know I wouldn't do that. The government should not make them live under such a fear.
For about 44 years, from 13 Sept 1970 until 30 Oct 2014, I was never out of a job for more than about a week and a half at a time (and that week and a half was the most extreme case, and occurred only once; once it was about 4 days; in 1976 I walked off a job and was put to work on another one about 4 hours and 15 minutes later).
I just want a free-enterprise, laissez-faire system.

It is one of the ridiculous claims originating from the adversaries of AR.

It is a classic lefty claim, intended on the sheeple. They don't think so they gobble it up.

If they did, the first thought would be" What did she pay Social Security Taxes" for all her life?

It is like all the "claims" on the left: brainless and thoughtless.

They force us to pay taxes but claim that choosing to get some of them back is "hypocrisy". Perhaps it's because as collectivists they have no concept of what it means to get something back that was ours to begin with, and have no understanding of why people do things who don't think like them.

"This issue comes up from time to time as an attack on Ayn Rand: "
I know, and I don't even understand their claim. They want us to pay taxes regardless of whether we agree but not use gov't programs we disagree with.

Well Medicare only pays a certain amount to the doctors also. That's why some docs don't accept Medicare.

Think about this. If the Government had invested what we paid in Social Security all our working lives, and bought us an Annuity, we would certainly be enjoying our monthly SS checks!

I have complete coverage. I don't have to go through a Primary Health Care doctor. We can self-refer to any specialist in our providing group. It costs me nothing, but my husband fought for it and died for it.

I know you were being sarcastic, but I'd say not quite. I heard a story about a guy just graduated from dental school who's making $250K but $1 million in student loan debt. He's not buying a Lexus any time soon.

Agreed. The problem is that our health care system is neither socialist nor free-market, it's something in-between. I agree medicare/medicaid would be unnecessary in a truly free-market system, not to mention more would be able to afford it out of pocket if we had more of a wealth-producing economy. Then the truly needy would be few enough to be helped by private charities. It's the medicine we need, though it will taste very bad at first.

Well, Doctors are all one-percenters, right? Who cares about paying them? (Sarcasm)

The right to be free from government health care mandates does not depend on prices charged by the industry.

Why do you think everyone supporting it confuses medicare with medicaid?

Medicaid also does not pay the entire cost; its shorts the doctors' payments.

I paid (by force) into the SS Ponzi and Medicare my whole working life. I view what I get back from them as simply Return On Investment (ROI). Ayn Rand did finally accept SS Ponzi benefits, but figure she viewed it as a ROI as well.

My private investments pay much better than the SS Ponzi is paying, but some ROI is better than no ROI.

"Hopefully"? You want to see that disaster?

The lefties wish to also abolish insuracne companies which provide the secondary insurance.

Although Medicare results in a higher cost, the doctors get less. Obviously that is what a socialistic program does, starve the producers.

The point of "medicare-for-all" is to enslave doctors.

Under the guise of altruism the government sells their power grab as: "for the overall good".

Once the intelligent (and "rich") can be told what they can and cannot do by the government then everything is in play and complete control of everything and everyone becomes possible to those who lust for power.

Hopefully we will see both "the rich" and doctors retiring in droves.

Absolute common sense! Do any of these liberals have the ability to think in those terms? Their, not only stupidity, but their lack of ability reason, just is unreal.