The article talks about the current private insurance companies moving to a role of supplemental insurance. As an important note on this, that's how it works in both Canada and the UK, but in very different ways:<p>In Canada, private insurance is not allowed to cover anything that is covered by the public insurance. So, no jumping the queue by paying out of pocket or through private insurance. Hopping over to the USA and paying out of pocket is an option for the well off though.<p>In the UK, there is no such limit, and there is no cap on doctor earnings from private practice, but there are minimums on how much work must be performed for NHS, the public health system. Again, the well off have a way to jump the queue and receive faster/higher quality care.<p>How these types of factors would play into a US private insurance and private doctor practice of course is unclear, and would be key sticking points in any Medicare for All plan. One thing for sure is that the insurance companies are unlikely to go willingly. Kicking and screaming is more like it, at least if they aren't just nationalized with massive golden parachutes for all of the top brass.
As someone who has lived in the UK with an amazing free healthcare system and now Australia who has a more complex model - but basically still universal free healthcare for the most part - I can safely say I took the NHS for granted in the UK.
Australia is pretty good - most stuff will get fixed free, and they are at least transparent about where your tax goes (We have a Medicare Levy that is paid as a specific % of income, and a Medicare Levy Surcharge if you earn above a certain amount and don't take out private medical care).<p>Private Healthcare is offered as a perk to employees, not as an expected part of the package.<p>However - the article header sums this up - "Could Eliminate the 600B Private Insurance Industry" - Money talks and if you think for a second the super rich people running these companies give a shit over your welfare vs their money you are sorely mistaken.<p>This would always fall at the first hurdle - and if by some magic measure something passed (Obamacare for example) - the next person would just repeal it.
And how many billion will that cost... Let's consider we have over 300 million people in the USA, and even $1K/person on average (it will be more) is $300 Billion (with a B)... added to the Federal Budget... it will be at least 2-3X that not even accounting for abuse.
Being a Trekie, I'm a fan of healthcare as a human right, free of costs to the patient. My main concern is that the current (recent) congresses have shown that they cannot create effective legislation. When was the last time the government made something better or more efficient?