The demagogue-socialist-authoritarian Bernie Sanders wants Medicare for All. It would eliminate all private healthcare insurance (which pays more than one-third of all healthcare costs). He says he would raise taxes to implement it. He typically evades saying how much or in what form, and the fawning media doesn't press him for an answer. He hasn't said so, but he might target employers with a "healthcare tax" based on the $1 trillion or so employers now pay for health insurance for their employees.
Total healthcare spending was about $3.5 trillion in 2017. Sanders says total healthcare costs would be much less with Medicare for All. He believes other countries like Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom have as good or better healthcare than the United States while spending much less. The average per capita spending in these three counties for 2016 was $4832, but $9892 for the United States (link). It logically follows from BS's premises that with Medicare for All: (1) U.S. healthcare costs would be only $1.7 trillion, and (2) spending by healthcare providers will also be reduced to only $1.7 trillion.
Q1: Assume in aggregate healthcare provider outgo is about 75% to pay workers, 12% for supplies and equipment, and 13% for miscellaneous (malpractice premiums, property, interest, taxes, and surplus -- the last mainly saved to pay for future expansion, new technology, and capital equipment replacement). So the question for Bernie is how many jobs will be eliminated and how much will pay to workers and other expenses be cut in order to cut total spending by health care providers more than 50%? More specifically, how many jobs of nurses, orderlies, receptionists, technicians, workers doing billing and collections and claim processing, accountants, doctors, and so forth will be eliminated and/or how much will their pay be reduced?
Q2: Many employers that are nonprofits, state and local governments, and public school systems provide health insurance for their employees. Would Bernie advocate the same healthcare tax on them that he does on private employers and eliminate the health insurance such employers provide for their employees? Why should these employees have anything better than private sector employees?
Q3: Would the current healthcare plan for federal employees and retirees (Federal Employees Health Benefits Program) be eliminated? I much doubt it. Special and superior privileges for government employees is the usual for Sanders. But if not, why not? Why should federal employees have anything better than private sector employees?
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