As Medicare For All becomes more achievable, the fiscal and financial arguments against it will intensify. Ana Kasparian of The Young Turks and Ryan Grim of The Intercept break down the messaging strategy of universal health care's leading proponent, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. Kasparian and Grim spoke moments after the Medicare For All Town Hall completed in the US Capitol Visitors Center January 23, 2018 

Watch the video. What are your thoughts?  Please write your comments below.

As head of Montana’s Employee Benefit Plan, Marilyn Bartlett negotiated uniform hospital and pharmaceutical rates, saving system from bankruptcy. What Bartlett achieved in Montana over a two-year period can be accomplished with relative ease nationally under a Medicare-for-All national health insurance model.   By Marsha Allen, NPR October 2, 2018.  Photo by Mike Albans for NPR.

Adam Gaffney from PNHP examines the history of universal healthcare and his hope that the Democrats do not repeat mistakes from the past. He recognizes the need for a single-payer healthcare system and identifies the answer to be a “fully public national health insurance providing comprehensive, universal coverage to the entire nation.”

The Pagosa Daily Post published a letter to the editor written by HCACF Board Member, Michele Swenson.  Ms. Swenson explains how single payer healthcare is a financing model and not a government takeover,  and clearly cites the difference between healthcare delivery and health insurance.

HCAC Foundation believes it is time to present a financial business plan which provides health care services for all. This paper written by Tom Gottlieb summarizes three existing documents on our website that directly address health care financing and how to eliminate private corporate insurance control.

Eldon Van Der Wege, MBA and
Thomas Billroth Gottlieb, MD

This paper describes the structure of Medicare funding as defined today. The future expansion and improvement of Medicare is further defined with a funding source already defined by existing federal law.

Political action committees of the 5 biggest for-profit health insurers - Aetna, Anthem, Humana, Cigna and United Health – are making large campaign donations to almost as many congressional Democrats as Republicans, in order to counter growing popular support for single payer insurance. As much as they oppose single payer, commercial insurers promote Medicare Advantage plans, which have become increasingly profitable to private insurers. The Coalition for Medicare Choices, created by AHIP, claims to be for the people, but is lobbying Congress to protect insurers’ Medicare Advantage profits.

Insurers’ donations to House Democrats by company as % of total contributions to date

Eldon Van Der Wege, MBA and
Thomas Billroth Gottlieb, MD

The last clause of the fifth amendment of the US Constitution is known as the “Takings Clause”. Constitutional takings refer to the government depriving owners of their interest in private property. The takings require payment of compensation based on the value of the property.

A presentation by two Health Care for All Colorado Foundation board members maps out advantages to individuals, providers, businesses, and to the U.S. economy of improving and expanding Medicare-for-All. The sustainable single large risk pool health insurance model is capable of leveraging economies of scale to negotiate global budgets and bulk rates. Dr. Thomas Gottlieb and Robert Messman, M.B.A., describe the means to finance the Single Public Payer model by consolidation of health insurances using the business strategy of Mergers and Acquisitions.

Read Board Member Michele Swenson's article in the Huffington Post:  Republicans’ “free-market” mantra implies that greater numbers of commercial health insurances will increase healthcare access while decreasing cost - nothing could be further from the truth. Breaking up health coverage into numerous small risk pools is the most unsustainable model of health financing.