Unfortunately I think the debate over universal healthcare in the US has probably been setback years _if not decades_ due to all the renewed mistrust in the media and government over its handling (or mishandling) of the pandemic response.
We are at the point now where ~50%-ish of the US population has almost zero trust in government or media at all, and they are not going to look favorably on handing full control of healthcare and health decisions to the government.
My feeling is that universal healthcare in the US is going to be impossible to pass right now, and difficult to even talk about seriously for the forseeable future until trust is rebuilt.
It doesn't help that the govt openly uses funding as legal justification to set regulations for which they otherwise wouldn't have jurisdiction.
Medicare/ medicaid funding already has a stranglehold over providers, to where "voluntary" compliance in order to access roughly half the market prevents any real discourse or competition between what services are offered and how they may be provided.
And of course the other half of that is reimbursement rates, which technically are still based on "market" rates, but are increasingly a take it or leave it proposition. Universal single payer puts providers 100% dependent on the good graces of govt to pay a fair rate, with the only recourse being to go cash-only.
Comments
Unfortunately I think the debate over universal healthcare in the US has probably been setback years _if not decades_ due to all the renewed mistrust in the media and government over its handling (or mishandling) of the pandemic response.
We are at the point now where ~50%-ish of the US population has almost zero trust in government or media at all, and they are not going to look favorably on handing full control of healthcare and health decisions to the government.
My feeling is that universal healthcare in the US is going to be impossible to pass right now, and difficult to even talk about seriously for the forseeable future until trust is rebuilt.
It doesn't help that the govt openly uses funding as legal justification to set regulations for which they otherwise wouldn't have jurisdiction.
Medicare/ medicaid funding already has a stranglehold over providers, to where "voluntary" compliance in order to access roughly half the market prevents any real discourse or competition between what services are offered and how they may be provided.
And of course the other half of that is reimbursement rates, which technically are still based on "market" rates, but are increasingly a take it or leave it proposition. Universal single payer puts providers 100% dependent on the good graces of govt to pay a fair rate, with the only recourse being to go cash-only.