Allen Clifton wrote an article entitled: “The Two Words Republicans Will Never Admit are the Cause of Our Health Care Issues.” The two-words are “for profit.” Here is my take on the thought.

I do agree that for-profit insurance companies cannot provide adequate healthcare coverage. At the very minimum, there is the perpetual battle to get insurance companies to pay for services. Obviously, they will pay for basic services, such as a visit to the primary care physician, however everything else is fair game to bicker. The insurance companies win, because fighting them takes time and money, which most people do not have.

Arguing whether or not Democrats could have or should have done a whole game changer back in 2008 is an academic discussion. Democrats chose an incremental approach and hoped to get conservatives on board, especially considering that the ACA is a conservative legislation and proposed by the Republican Party back in 1994. I already wrote on this topic. As I understood things, the idea was to add a public option to the ACA at a later date. What most people do not remember is that Democrats had to fight Blue Dog Democrats and DINOs during this period. Getting everyone to agree took over a year.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a great piece of legislation, which has helped many people. It is a great start at the topic of healthcare, but now we need to take the next step.

As I have said, the solution is that the government provide (what Hillary originally proposed back in ’94) universal health insurance comparable to the bronze level. The ACA would then provide the framework for the upper levels (silver, gold, and platinum).

Clarifying: Sick, poor, and lower income people more than likely do not purchase anything above the bronze level now, as it is expensive. As such, after the U.S. government provides every citizen with bronze level support, the crying about a mandate would disappear from the elevated plans, as there would be no mandate for the elevated plans, just like there is none now.

Also, the Republican idea of tax credits is ridiculous, as poor people do not pay taxes, nor do Republicans believe in tax cuts to the middle class, just the rich. What will one deduct? Will one deduct $76,000 from taxes and get that back? John McCain’s surgery was $76,000 on Medicare, had he used Medicare. The ACA platinum plan would have been better as that has a maximum out of pocket limit.

Also, with everyone having the bronze level (universal healthcare), the government can get rid of Medicaid and Medicare. Every citizen would be treated equal with respect to health care. The cost should drop per person, as there are not 2 programs, just one.

A person commented to me that “Every citizen would be treated equal with respect to health care. That is the goal, and doing it through the market place obviously doesn’t work in the rest of the world. or here. It is a social moral issue, and those in power now only think of social as local, or familiar to them, and not the rest of us who are ignored by their selfishness.”

Healthcare is a right. Every person living in this country has a right to real healthcare inclusive of all the benefits that come with the ACA.

The ACA is a wonderful achievement. I applaud that. As someone else wrote recently, the mistake was that Democrats bickered and in those 2-years did not go far enough. They could have added free university, Medicare for all or disband Medicare/Medicaid and give a public option that if you are older than a certain age or poorer than so much you get the public option free. There are other topics too.

As to the core topic, healthcare is not a social more issue, although it is. Healthcare is a right regardless of race, religion, income, sickness, age, or any other classification.

Let us not talk “people in power”. We are talking of Republicans. Democrats and Bernie passed the ACA and want a public option or Medicare for all. Bernie is non-stop talking on that. A public option and single payer was Hilary’s trademark back in 1992. Republicans want the confederate ideology. They got bought by the Mercer, Koch, and other rich white old families, not to mention big corporations. Just look at who Trump put in his cabinet.

Every citizen IS TREATED equally with the ACA and of course a public option. The bill in California, SB-562, would guarantee every Californian healthcare as a public option. The ACA guarantees everyone must be covered, nobody is rejected for preexisting conditions, and sets the price for age at no more than 3-times. I love the ACA, but the law, as Democrats keep reminding, needs to go further. Many states, Republican ones, fought the ACA, so as to not give “Democrats” a victory, but then they are not Americans.

Medicare is working. Medicaid is working. A public option would work too. That is something to discuss with smart cool common heads.

Personally, I would ditch Medicare and Medicaid and rebrand them as a single entity called “The Public Option” or whatever. That would give every citizen basic care (think Silver plan just with lower deductibles). Insurance companies would offer elevated plans, which would be in addition to, not a replacement of. The ACA would still be in effect, as the public option (what you can think of as Medicare) must comply with the ACA.

I think that I just wrote another article for my site.)

I would ditch the term Medicare and Medicaid, as there should be a single entity for all and not based on being older than 65 (Medicare) or homeless with a good lawyer and young children (Medicaid). Of course, if you have an attorney, then you do not need Medicaid. Maybe poor Russian American immigrants get it, but I digress.

Hilary defined the topic pretty well. Bernie is also on the right track, as are the Senate Democrats.

We are basically talking the same thing. There would be a base public option, which EVERYONE would get, and insurance that would provide Gold and Platinum levels for an additional amount. All plans, even what is known as Medicaid and Medicare today, which as I said would go away, must meet the ACA plan level of Silver or Gold.

The solution lies in combining conservative healthcare approach, the ACA (read my site on the origins of the ACA), and a public option. By the way, the UK is super ultra-mega conservative and they have universal healthcare provided by NHS. The whole concept of the poor and middle class dying and being on their own is a Republican thing, not a conservative thing. The most conservative principle states that a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. A productive and healthy workforce equals a healthy government.

It is fine to talk doing things with a clean slate, but things have to take a step-by-step approach. The U.S. and its citizens were not ready back in 2008 for a wholesale change, as is evident by Democrats being thrown out of power. The ACA was a great first step. Yes, for profit introduces problems, but within the confines of what we have, the ACA did a great job. I love the plan. We now have to go the next step and replace everything, where everyone gets basic care (single payer) and insurance companies can sell updated plans. Throwing Anthem and the others out of business is not realistic.