Free lunch

Health care is now shaping up to be a battle between the latest Republican approach and Bernie Sanders push for single payer. The Republican plan is something new and unproven and risky since it pushes most of the responsibility onto the states. The single payer plan was recently proposed for California and turned down by the legislature which is overwhelmingly democratic. The reason was cost. A legislative analysis found that California’s single-payer plan would cost $400 billion to implement, $200 billion of which would be new spending. Critics were quick to point out that this “hefty” price tag is twice the state budget. Furthermore, the bill did not include a funding plan (although the bill’s language ensured that Healthy California would not launch unless it was funded). It is becoming obvious to those who watch such things that the words, “affordable health care” seem to be an oxymoron. The debate now going on is one plan too late. If this same scrutiny had been applied to Obamacare it would never have passed. The creeping truth that is beginning to appear is that affordable plans include high deductibles where usage is limited. Obamacare was a push in that direction but the cost was shifted because many people have no premium and no deductible. We seem to have forgotten the old adage, “there ain’t no free lunch”.