The midterms are Democrats’ to lose. And boy, are they trying.

The problem with single-payer is that a lot of people like their employer healthcare. Also, if we just suddenly went to single-payer, millions of people would lose their jobs in the healthcare industry. (This was part of the reason that Obama didn't push heavily for single-payer, he was concerned about millions of more jobs that would be lost.) I think single-payer might be a bit like gun control, it polls well, but once you actually try to reform it, the real approval ratings could really be below 40%.

Bernie's single-payer plan would lead to a disaster because it does nothing to control healthcare demand (deductibles). If it costs a person nothing out-of-pocket to go see their doctor, a lot more people will go see a doctor for trivial issues. This increased demand for healthcare services will lead to higher costs and longer wait times (ends up reducing healthcare outcomes). Instead of pushing heavily for a single-payer option, we should be pushing for a public option since it would also be universal healthcare. If that public option turns out well, it will likely become single-payer. But the transition from the public option to single-payer would take years, so those millions of job losses should be manageable.

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