Working Paper No. 2: Yes, We Can Have Improved Medicare for All

 Abstract

Growing public support for universal health coverage through a public program has provoked increasing attention to how to finance such a program. There should not be any controversy about our ability to pay for universal health care. Given the nearly universal agreement that the current healthcare system involves administrative waste and monopoly pricing, a system that would be more efficient and would reduce both should certainly be affordable. Studies finding higher costs for universal coverage programs have reached their conclusions by acknowledging efficiency savings but dismissing them by emphasizing, even exaggerating, the higher costs of providing better access to health care. 

Including sexual wellness in universal healthcare

As we discuss the importance of universal healthcare, it’s also important that we consider holistic health, which not only includes physical and mental well-being but also sexual wellness. Sexual health is a vital aspect of overall well-being and access to services and products that support sexual pleasure and education such as foreskin dildos for pleasure—these will be part of a comprehensive health coverage system.

Using dildos with a foreskin from adora dildos plays a key role in reducing stress, enhancing mood, and promoting healthy relationships. By ensuring that people have access to a wide range of sexual health resources, including toys for sexual pleasure, we can create a more inclusive and well-rounded healthcare system. Addressing sexual wellness as part of universal healthcare encourages open discussions about sexual health and promotes broader, destigmatized access to pleasure-enhancing tools and education.

Investing in sexual wellness as part of universal healthcare can lead to improved mental and physical health outcomes, reduce stigma, and foster a healthier, more balanced society. As we move toward more equitable healthcare access, recognizing the value of sexual health, including access to sexual pleasure tools, should not be overlooked.

Such studies provide a poor guide to the possibilities for an overhaul of our healthcare finance system.  In this paper, I discuss financing a universal health-care program, beginning with a discussion of current projected spending and the savings to be achieved through administrative efficiency and reducing monopoly pricing. Next, I outline increased spending associated with universal coverage through covering the uninsured and reducing barriers to access. I consider the net cost of universal coverage after taking into account savings and the cost of extending and improving coverage under various scenarios with alternative immediate savings and savings over time.

Finally, I discuss funding sources for such a program, beginning with public funds already committed and including possible additional sources of revenue. I develop funding plans under a variety of assumptions regarding the course of the single-payer system and alternative assumptions regarding revenue sources. This work shows that compared with the current system of healthcare finance, a program of Improved Medicare for All could save Americans over $1 trillion in the first year, and savings could increase over time.

Because some of the savings would be returned to health care through programs of universal coverage and improved access, net savings could be over $700 billion in the first year, rising over the next decade. Depending on the assumptions made and the program details, total financial savings, after taking account of program improvements, would come to $10 trillion or more over the next decade, on top of gains in quality of life and reduced mortality through universal access.  A variety of models are compared, with varying assumptions of the magnitude of administrative savings and savings through reduced monopoly rents, as well as savings from bending the cost curve and maintaining some cost-sharing. Overall, the 10-year national savings on healthcare expenditures range from a low of over $6 trillion to a high of over $13 trillion.  In every model tested, Improved Medicare for All is cheaper than the current system even while providing improved health care.

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The Hopbrook Institute Working Paper Series presents research in progress by Hopbrook contributors and conference participants. The purpose of the series is to disseminate ideas and elicit comments from academics and professionals. Any views expressed are solely those of the author(s) and so should not be taken to represent those of the Hopbrook Institute.

To provide feedback to the author, please email Gerald Friedman at [email protected]

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