(Forbes)
Healthcare remains the nation’s top voting issue ahead of the 2020 elections, just as it was during the 2018 midterms. Surveys show voters remain frustrated with high drug prices, growing out-of-pocket expenses and skimpy health-insurance benefits.
The leading candidates have publicly promised to fix these problems but all are omitting certain details about their healthcare plans. To help voters make informed decisions next November, this article looks at what politicians on all sides – left, middle and right – are not telling you about their healthcare promises.
Healthcare took center stage during both rounds of the 2020 Democrat debates so far. There, progressive candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren touted slightly different versions of Medicare for All, which remains a popular reform plan despite the fact that few voters understand the details.
Here are the two most important things these candidates are omitting from their healthcare promises:
1. The math doesn’t add up
It’s a well-known fact that Medicare is a government-funded program for seniors. It’s a little-known fact that the program underpays doctors and hospitals (currently only 90% of the fully allocated costs) to treat Medicare’s 60 million enrollees. Doctors and hospitals offset these underpayments by charging private insurers 120% to 130% of the actual cost to treat America’s 155 million covered employees and dependents. In other words, the Medicare math works now because private insurers (and, thereby, U.S. businesses) are footing much of the bill. So, what would happen if Medicare for All became law and private insurance went away? Read more