Once Again Republicans Reveal They Have No Healthcare Plan

Oddly enough both David and I agree on the root cause of the problem. 

Insurance company profits are not the problem.  See their profit mrgins below.  In Europe 20%+ of the people have private insurance.  In the US seniors have to pay a premium, have a deductible and then must purchase a private plan such as Advantage or a Supplement plan in order to pay for all the things Medicare doesn't pay

The health insurance industry reported a profit margin of 0.8% in 2024, a notable decrease from 2.2% in 2023. This decline reflects increased medical costs and higher utilization rates, leading to a challenging financial environment for insurers. 

 Quarterly Trends: In Q4 2024, the unweighted average profit margin for major insurers was approximately 1.5%, significantly lower than the 5.1% recorded in Q4 2023. Individual companies like Cigna reported a drastic drop in their profit margin to 1.4%, the lowest since Q4 2020

https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2025/mar/health-insurer-financial-insights-q4-2024.html

Republicans. David does seem to agree that they're the problem.

Yes. Place healthcare in the hands of private companies, and it will be more costly and less efficient than single-payer health care.

Here's something I'll bet you didn't know. Twenty percent of the cost of privately insured health care is billing, accounting, collections, etc.--all the overhead that is normally incurred by private companies. So change that to single payer and we save that twenty percent then and there; we remove the need to figure out whom to bill and how it will be paid. That alone would save billions every year.

It seems like you're making a great argument for ditching the for-profit system. They're not making that much money anyway. Given that they have a captive audience customer base, that suggests waste and incompetence on their part. If you can't make money selling something people HAVE to buy, then you're fucking up big time.

Once again, remove the for-profit part and you save 20% right off the bat. That's not a political decision. It's an efficiency decision, at the macro level.

Twenty percent of the cost of privately insured health care is billing, accounting, collections, etc

First of all prove that number.

cpa kevin thinks that with a govt program all the above will go away.  How will all the medical providers get paid?  Who will collect all the money this program will cost?  Who will do the accounting?

Liberals think these things happen by magic

Medicare and Medicaid programs are being brazenly targeted by sophisticated criminals. Estimated annual fraud tops $100 billion, but investigators say it’s likely much higher

By adding more than 3x more people that number will go up substantially

And as Europe found out more than 20% will still want private insurance; so universal coverage can't be all that great

And where the $4T in costs fo this program come from?

Stupid Tom will engage in whatever twisted thinking is necessary to indulge his idiot ideology. Only an idiot fails to understand that for-profit healthcare is more expensive.

Let me lower the discussion to Tom-level:

(Cost of healthcare + profits for corporations) > cost of healthcare.

Paying for healthcare AND giving corporations trillions in profits is more expensive than paying for healthcare.

DUHHHHH!

I mean, Jesus, stupid Tom...

giving corporations trillions in profits

Another kevin lie

The aggregate profits of US healthcare insurance providers over the last 25 years exceed $4 trillion.

Link or proof?

If a non-asshole asks me, sure.