On Wednesday, September 13, 2017, Senator Bernie Sanders (Effing Commie-VT) introduced his new single payer plan with the name “Medicare for All”. Surrounding Bernie as he announced his plan, was the far-left kook fringe of the Democrat Party (yes, I know, redundant). Senator Kamala Harris (Mouthbreather-CA), Senator Elizabeth Warren (Lies All Day, MA), Senator Cory Booker (Self-promoter, NJ) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (Tightest Sphincter ever-CT) all looked as though they would rather be at a Trump rally, but they were there. Except for the nodding doll on the right side of the video that is. Watch and then we will discuss.

“Quality healthcare for all in a cost effective way”, Bernie? Bernie, Bernie, Bernie. Most children have given up magical thinking by the age of six. Bernie Sanders is 76 years old and thinks the government is a cross between Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy and Oprah Winfrey. Talk about magical thinking!

Oh, Bernie. Oprah paid for the cars. Well, paid part of it because the car company probably gave her a deep discount based on the advertising and promotion from being associated with the Oprah Winfrey brand. And, the car recipients owed federal taxes, up to $6,000.00. See, somebody pays. There is that old saying, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”. Also known as “TINSTAAFL”. Someone pays, someone always pays.

Senator Sanders, an economic genius doncha know, has a plan. Medicare for all. Who will pay? Insurance companies and drug companies and those EEEEEvil healthcare industry CEO’s make hundreds of billions of dollars. The fiends. No mas! Not if Bernie Sanders gets his way.

Personally, I do not begrudge CEO’s and drug and insurance companies their profits. First of all, to paraphrase B.B.King “They are paying the cost to be the boss.” While I know, personally, some top executives who failed their way to the top, most of the “BSD’s work 24/7/365 and sweat every minute. Healthcare and Insurance companies, while the brunt of our frustrations when we don’t get what we want, innovate and research and lead the world in scientific discovery. You want government to take over? Really?

Yeah, that worked out really well in the Soviet Union and is failing its way to the bottom in Great Britain. Can you say “bread lines”? Sure you can.

Also, “Controlling Costs” and “Cost Shifting”. This is deep economic stuff. Like 300 level course stuff.

For instance, if George gets open brain surgery and the hospital only gets paid $10.00 of the $100.00 costs, they either have to write it off or spread the costs to other people or entities. And, Medicare doesn’t reimburse hospitals or doctors nearly enough especially when the hospitals and doctors have to figure in the cost of compliance with all of the government and insurance company regulations.

This is from the Charleston Post & Courier:

Yes, it’s our old friend, adverse selection, which pops up whenever you build an insurance market without underwriting. Medicare is a government program, so it can’t death spiral out of existence. However, there will be considerable political pressure to set the premiums well below the expected actuarial expenditure on care for beneficiaries. So instead of a death spiral, you get a fiscal crisis in Medicare.

Yet here’s a measure of how badly thought out this idea of expanded Medicare is: Adverse selection isn’t even its biggest problem. A far bigger problem is what this might do to hospital budgets. Why? Because Medicare doesn’t necessarily pay enough to keep those hospitals running.

Are you asleep yet? Yes, this stuff is hard. No, I don’t want to pull the plug on grandma. I want everybody to get all of the healthcare they need and want. Not possible.

Instead of everything for everyone, we need to have as many people as possible understand basic economic principles. We need for sentient citizens to understand the impact that government regulation and compliance has on healthcare costs. We need to explain to people with an IQ of that of the average hamburger how the malpractice, ambulance chasers figure into the healthcare stew.

Some things are just not possible. Magical thinking doesn’t work. We can’t give everyone a new car. Medicare for all is a scam.