b' THE TYPICAL MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILY MANY FAMILIES WOULD BE FORCED would save more than $4,000 per year under Medi- to give up health insurance plans and coveragecare for All system. Families near the poverty levelthat is working well for them.would save even more.Although many Medicare for All proposals BUSINESSES WOULD SAVE more than $9,000promise to preserve provider choice, the realityper employee per year and wouldnt be saddled withis that coverage and reimbursement rates wouldthe administrative burdens associated with providingbe determined and administered by the govern-employer-based health insurance. ment. Undue government intervention or intrusiveMEDICARE FOR ALL would reduce overallcare management is akin to rationing which is anathema to Americans.U.S. health care costs by about 19%. That figure is derived, in part, by a 9% reduction in administra-REDUCING OR ELIMINATING PATIENTtion costs, a reduction in pharmaceutical pricing thatCOST SHARING or skin in the game has the would generate an overall system savings of 6%,tendency to increase utilization and costs. The overall and a 3% reduction in hospital and provider costs.demand for health care services in the U.S. would The reduction or elimination of waste, fraud andbe expected to rise by 12% under Medicare for All abuse would be expected to produce about 1% of(mostly due to providing access to the currently unin-additional savings. sured). The significant increase in demand would beMEDICARE FOR ALL WOULD BE A MOREexpected to result in considerable appointment delays and increased wait times which would have a nega-FAIR and effective way to ensure access to healthtive effect on the access and care of other patients.care to all Americans, and it would be a more equi-table distribution of wealth and resources because it Virtually the entire health insurance industrywould be financed by additional taxes on employers,would be eliminated and more than 800,000 it would increase and make more progressive theworkers who depend on it to make their living taxes on the wealthy, and it would generate revenuewould be displaced.through the repatriation of offshore corporate profits. THE INCOMES OF PHYSICIANS and OTHER Middle-income families would see a reduction of their net health care costs, but high-income familiesHEALTH CARE PROVIDERS would be reduced would experience an increase. by about 9% under a uniform Medicare fee schedule. This could make the medical profession less attrac- With the exception of extremely high transitionaltive and result in a shortage of medical professionalscosts and the initial financial impact and admin- or maybe even substandard care. istrative challenges of moving from the current THE TRANSITION INTO MEDICAREmarket-based health care system to a government run system, Medicare for All would be moreFOR ALL WOULD BE A MONUMENTAL affordable than the current health care system be- CHALLENGE that would require shutting down cause it would generate significant and recurringa nearly $4 trillion segment of our economy and efficiencies and cost savings. moving it from a system that is currently a public and private mix to a public system that is run by the Arguments Against Medicare for All government. This would disrupt the health care andMEDICARE FOR ALL WOULD RAISE TAXESaccess of the 185 million Americans who currentlyfor many people and families, especially those whocarry private health insurance, and it would interfere already shoulder the overwhelming portion of thein the long-standing relationships these individuals tax burden. The wealthiest Americans would payhave with their medical providers.thousands (and in some cases, tens of thousands) ofSo, what does it all mean? At the end of the day, dollars more in taxes under a Medicare for All system. its up to the individual reader to decide whether toIt is estimated that taxes on all Americanssupport Medicare for All or a market-based system.If you have questions Neither system is perfect, nor are they both complete- about this article or would increase by more than $10 trillion overly flawed. Personally, I dont think it has to be an allwould like to discuss 10 years, even after current public funding isor nothing proposal. I believe theres a middle groundyour companys health shifted from existing public health care programswhere we can borrow from successful systems aroundinsurance progam, feel to Medicare for All. the world (including our own) and provide cover- free to contact me atDespite Medicare for All saving $5 trillion over(801) 263-8000 or age to all citizens without completely displacing the a 10-year period, health care costs would stillprivate health insurance market in the U.S. info@wmimutual.com. consume a hefty 15.8% of the countrys GDP. This is still about 1.5 times as much as comparablecontinued on page 27countries that currently provide universal health care to their citizens.WPMA News / Summer 201921'