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Ed Asner explains health care premiums

Posted by Colette Washing... on March 10, 2010 - 4:20pm

Ed Asner explains what your health care premiums pay for–and a lot of it’s not health care. About 30% goes to paperwork, advertising, lobbyists, obscene executive salaries, and profiteering. That’s why we need single payer, California OneCare.



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Bad analysis

Submitted by Squibcakes on March 10, 2010 - 7:30pm.

I can't say that I'm surprised to hear such a loose argument made by an actor. This implies that the costs for a single payer system would go exclusively to medical care. That couldn't be further from the truth. Did anyone see the news about new gobs of federal money planned to combat fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid? Expect more of the same with further government intervention. Oh yeah - and the Medicare Trust Fund is nearly insolvent.

The only way to meaningfully control cost growth (which should be the only real question) is to limit the expansion of new technology and reduce the amount of medical care being delivered (hopefully in a smart way that doesn't reduce quality outcomes).

Nationalizing the system only buys a bit of savings (at the expense of free enterprise and no its not 30%) and kicks the bankruptcy can down the road for a few years. That's the plain truth, even if we would 'feel better' or increase 'justice' by redistributing wealth so that more folks can receive at least basic health services.

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Asner has not played

Submitted by melanyor on April 10, 2010 - 4:44am.

Asner has not played Washington, D.C., yet and there have been talks about a New York run, though nothing is firm. Would he like to present FDR there? Why we need federal debt reduction program?

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