[Martian]

First is everyone willing to admit there is a very serious problem that is coming and the sooner we address it the less painful that will be. Namely healthcare is going to bankrupt our country in the not to distant future if we don't do something to change course.

The question is , what is the solution. More of the same is NOT a solution. More of what is not working is not going to magically start working.

The comment "free" really is a dog whistle that will gets lots of cheering and accomplishes nothing - on either side. Nothing is FREE. And anyone over 12 should realize it. Democrats that run on the use of the term "free" are doing themselves and the country a disservice. Some have defined how they plan to pay for the "medicare for all", some haven't. Those that have not provided a mechanism to pay for their plan, should be ignored - by both liberals and conservatives.

In my opinion the first step to solve a problem is to define the problem. I would like to hear your definition of the problem.

My definition of the problem is what I call predatory capitalism. That is the concept of profit at any expense. That a corporation has only one goal and that is to maximize profit, regardless of what it costs society or citizens. There is nothing wrong with predatory capitalism in the case of things that are not necessary. Cars, TV, Airplanes, etc, etc. However, when a company can hold a parent hostage by charging exorbitant fees for a $10 shot that would save their Childs life, that is predatory capitalism that is immoral and should not be permitted - IMHO.

I am all in favor of capitalism when the market can control it, which is only true when you life is not held hostage by the corporation.

So, here is my idea of how to solve the problem and there is numerous successful examples of this around the world.

The idea is that we recognize that basic healthcare is a human right every citizen should have. As such the government taxes everyone, and uses those to provide basic healthcare to everyone. Citizens do not pay the doctor, citizens to not pay the pharmacy, citizens do not pay the hospital. The government pays for it all, and collects taxes to fund that payment - nothing is free.

Notice I said BASIC healthcare. I do think that private health insurance should be available to anyone that wants and can afford it - to cover say, heart transplants, etc. The details of what is BASIC and what was not can be debated, and should be.

To make this work, free market capitalism can not be allowed in the basic healthcare market. The government must regulate costs, otherwise you end up with the fiasco that is going on with universities, where tuition has sky rocketed to the point that students now have trillions of dollars of debt, just to get an education This happened at least in part because the government provided "free" loans to students, so they could afford to pay the tuition, the universities saw the students could affords more, so they charged more. Round and round it went with skyrocketing tuition costs.

That is what happens with the government "pays" for something supplied by the free market. Market responds by adjusting the price to what people can afford, and with the government, there is no limit to what it appears to be able to afford.

So, to "fix" healthcare, we have to decide as a country that healthcare is a right, everyone must have access to basic healthcare. That has real benefits for society, with increased productivity, reduced illness (reducing costs) and people getting treatment for most basic issues early when it is less expensive than waiting until it is serious and expensive. To achieve that and not have the healthcare industry costs run crazy, the government must regulate (control/socialism) the healthcare industry. We would set a "reasonable" profit level that companies can make - 15% to 25%. Not 1000% profit. With a fixed profit margin, the government can then calculate the necessary tax rates to pay the costs.

As I saids this system (or variations of it can be seen around the world if you want to look, instead of pointing out failed socialistic states, look at the successes.

For a closers to home example look to the VA healthcare system. The VA struggles because they can not regulate costs, but they can negotiate costs (unlike Medicare) and that helps. So, the VA has a cost incentive to keep you healthy. They have a limited budget, and if you get sick, it costs them to cure you. If they can keep you healthy it helps meet their budget. And that attitude showed in everything they do. Unlike Medicare where the doctors have NO motivation to keep you healthy, their profit is in TREATING YOU not preventing to curing illness. It works.

That is my proposal, socialized medicine, similar to the VA healthcare.

What is your solution? I expect most posts (if anyone bothers to post) about my solution will simply be to tell me how stupid I am. Maybe I am stupid, but I have a plan, do you? How do you propose solving the coming unsustainable healthcare costs? Dos you solution work for you alone, or for everyone? Should the solution work only for the rich, or for everyone?

I am interested in honest disagreement supported with reasonable arguments, name calling and dog whistles with no supporting evidence will one ignore.