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Reply to "Which is better capitalism or socialism?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think we should have better socialized medicine. It’s not capitalism all the way or we turn into Cuba. There is lots of middle ground. Western Europe does well with capitalism but has a much better ( not perfect) health care system and provides better for the elderly etc. [/quote]

I would make the argument that socialized medicine would catalyze capitalism. Because it would capitalize entrepreneurship -- it's a lot easier to take risks in creating new businesses, etc. if you have the health care safety net. In an employer-based health insurance system, people are afraid to leave their jobs.

And before anyone starts harping on the taxes for socialized medicine, I'd argue that the premiums and deductibles we have to pay are the equivalent of taxes.

And before anyone starts harping that they don't want the government making decisions about when and where you can get treatment, I'd argue that as much as it would suck, it's probably preferable to allowing a profit-motivated insurance company that's trying to meet quarterly earnings targets to make such decisions.[/quote]

One solution is to provide basic health care for all but also allow private insurance for those who are willing to pay out of pocket for more care.  The UK does this; Canada generally does not. Switzerland requires that everyone buy insurance for basic health care (assume if you're truly impovershed the state kicks in the fee) but enhanced insurance can be bought (or provided by an employer).[/quote]

The issue is with our current healthcare system nothing is uniform.  Got my first mammogram 10 years ago.  They billed my BCBS insurance $900.  The negotiated rate for my insurance was $250.  The next year I had smaller health care company insurance---billed $900 but my plans negotiated rate was $400.  If you don't have insurance or have really crappy insurance, you could be anywhere between $250 and 900.  If they will accept $250 from one place (large insurance) why won't they accept it from everyone?  Why not let someone uninsured show up and get the $250 rate, as long as they pay in cash/check that same day (so no billing, chasing down the payment is required)?

Economies of scale is what universal healthcare would get us.  Uniform pricing, and then yes if you choose you can purchase private insurance/concierge insurance/more "elite coverage" plans.  But let everyone pay the same damn thing as a negotiated rate for your region, because yes NYC/LA should be able to charge more for services than Small town Montana.  But you get the idea, there has to be a standardized rate for your region for everyone. 
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