Libertarians, the new hope of the GOP?

[BigBlueBrock]

FWIW I need to get back to real work (this is a bad discussion for me b/c I enjoy its intricacies and will take up my time with it) but I will get back to Hamilton and the Bank of the US versus something like Obamacare.

I don't personally care for most of the Affordable Care Act, but probably not for the reasons you dislike it. Obamacare didn't do enough to address the systemic problem of health care in America, which is why it's so expensive in the first place. There needed to be more health care reform, less mandate for me to really jump on board. I personally agree with requiring insurance companies to cover previous conditions and I like that someone can now stay on their parents health insurance through the entirety of their time in college, but again, all that did was increase private health insurance companies' bottom lines.

But the fact of the matter is that Obamacare is a precipitant for an eventual push for universal healthcare. Get Americans used to the idea of everyone having health insurance first (and why that's a good thing for everyone), then move to reform/nationalize health care coverage with a series of legislative action down the road. By 2030, I'd put money on the US having health care similar to Canada's. The simple fact is that, whatever your or my viewpoint on this issue is, the electorate has trended in favor of single-payer over the course of the last decade, and that support will continue to grow. As Baby Boomers become fewer in number, support for single-payer will become easier to garner. Which is actually ironic.

[KeithKSR]

I don't personally care for most of the Affordable Care Act, but probably not for the reasons you dislike it. Obamacare didn't do enough to address the systemic problem of health care in America, which is why it's so expensive in the first place. There needed to be more health care reform, less mandate for me to really jump on board. I personally agree with requiring insurance companies to cover previous conditions and I like that someone can now stay on their parents health insurance through the entirety of their time in college, but again, all that did was increase private health insurance companies' bottom lines.

But the fact of the matter is that Obamacare is a precipitant for an eventual push for universal healthcare. Get Americans used to the idea of everyone having health insurance first (and why that's a good thing for everyone), then move to reform/nationalize health care coverage with a series of legislative action down the road. By 2030, I'd put money on the US having health care similar to Canada's. The simple fact is that, whatever your or my viewpoint on this issue is, the electorate has trended in favor of single-payer over the course of the last decade, and that support will continue to grow. As Baby Boomers become fewer in number, support for single-payer will become easier to garner. Which is actually ironic.

The problem with any government run healthcare system is that it exponentially increases costs for all consumers over a period of time. Used to be people had major medical coverage in the event their family member was hospitalized. At that time a doctor's visit was $25, not $300-$400 like it is today. Medicaid was a huge driving force in raising the prices for everyone else.

In regards to Libertarian philosophy, there are a lot of people who vote GOP that are much more Libertarian than in views than they are in line with the more liberal members of the GOP; but vote GOP because the views are closer to their own than the DNC and because Libertarian party candidates have little chance to win.

[BigBlueBrock]

The problem with any government run healthcare system is that it exponentially increases costs for all consumers over a period of time.

The United States spends more on health care per capita and as a percentage of GDP than any other nation in the world. We spend nearly twice what Canada does with its single-payer system and more than twice what England does with its universal healthcare. So I'm not sure the evidence supports this claim.