Healthcare, explained by someone who knows nothing about it

Lack of competition and systemic inefficiencies in healthcare have led to higher costs. Of all the proposals on the table, a single-payer system (“Medicare for all”) would most completely address these issues, but it may politically be unviable and there will inevitably be a rocky transition period.

Why is healthcare so expensive in America, and what can be done to fix it?

Fights market consolidation. The government can negotiate a much lower rate on what to pay providers and pharmaceuticals, compared to what is paid today.

Drives down administrative costs (which remember, are 34% of all costs) . Since there is only one main payer, hospitals and other affiliated parties don’t have to spend so much money trying to figure out which service is expensed under what plan.

Prevent providers from ordering a lot of services because the government determines which services will be covered and at what rates.

“Medicare for all” is a version of a single-payer healthcare system. Instead of having a private insurer pay for your healthcare, the government would be the only (single) entity paying for healthcare (hence the name single-payer). This doesn’t necessarily mean that there wouldn’t be private insurance — people can choose to get private insurance fo... See more

There is almost complete consensus that this sort of healthcare system would reduce overall costs in the long term while still providing high quality insurance. This happens because a single-payer system:

Surprise billing is an evil and unethical consequence of systemic inefficiency. It is one of the most odious and unethical aspects of our healthcare system.