Starved Systems Do This Stuff

Can any good come out of the Nataline Sarkisyan tragedy? Hello Iowa

Don’t delude yourself this sort of thing could not happen in a “single payor,” Medicare system.

The deductibles and coinsurance for Medicare are now so high that nearly everybody with Medicare signs up for an HMO.

Not to mention that old and sick people can easily run out of Medicare days, and hence totally out of coverage, for a long admission or a series of admissions too close together for the day-count to refresh.

And not to mention that Part B (the part that pays for most testing, outpatient services, and physicians’ charges) costs a monthly premium that is quite stiff, especially for the many aged living pretty much on nothing but Social Security.

Signing up for an HMO means old folks pay smaller totals for deductibles and coinsurance. In some cases the limits on hospital days are higher and/or the number of days out of hospital between admissions needed to refresh the supply of covered hospital days is smaller. But they have to stay in the HMO network and accept the realities of pre-screened care.

So how come Medicare charges such deductibles and coinsurance? Why do old folks and others on Medicare have to pay a premium for Part B? Why is the number of hospital days so small and the number of days required between admissions so large?

Well, none of that is the idea of the progressives, the liberals, or the Democrats from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.

If Republicans cannot kill off a piece of “big government” or “socialism” they hate they will always do their best to starve it.

If and when the US has some sort of national health system it will be a constant battle to fund it adequately.

And people will die.

Even if we close the escape hatch of the rich by outlawing self-pay admissions and treatment, requiring everybody to make do with what the mandated system provides.

That would help, but the escape hatch of flying overseas to “medical tourist” destinations would be difficult to block without really, really violent howls from the right.

Their fury would be quite a spectacle.