Recently, I wrote a post at the website DailyKos.com about Medicare for all. From the responses and comments the article received, I learned several things.

For one, I don’t think most of us actually want “Medicare” For All. They want something better!

Now Medicare is fine, for what it does. But not so good, for what it does not do.

For example, it still costs its recipients money to participate in Medicare. Perhaps, you thought Medicare was free for your grand parents or parents who are on it.

Not so. First of all, part of the cost of Medicare is paid for by taking some money each money each money from the recipient’s Social Security Benefits. And since Medicare does not cover all of your general medical needs, you also need to buy supplemental insurance. And, finally, there are out of pocket expenses, including co-pays, prescription costs and medical/hospital costs that are not covered by either Medicare or supplemental insurance.

One person I know on Medicare, pays from $375 to $500 a month depending upon variable medical needs. This sum does include the Medicare payment from Social Security and the supplemental insurance.

It is important to be responsible for one’s own health, including paying for visits to doctors, prescription drugs, therapy and so on, but if you thought the money you have been paying into Medicare from your paycheck each week covered everything… It doesn’t.

Another issue with Medicare and basic supplemental insurance, for those over 65, is what is not covered: Mental health, dental health, hearing and vision is too often inadequate and certainly does not cover the real needs of older patients.

So what do we really want? Basically, a combination of universal healthcare and a single payer system.

Universal healthcare means, if you have a medical problem with any part of your body including teeth, eyes, ears and mind, you can go to a doctor or medical facility and have your issue addressed without worrying about the specific cost of your visit.

Single payer means that only one entity is billed for your visit – most likely the federal government. No longer will the approximately 4 trillion dollars that we pay annually for healthcare be funneled through a thousand different systems – including a multitude of insurance plans, state government agencies, federal government agencies and your wallet.

This future system will not be free – trillions of dollars will still need to be available to take care of the health of the Nation. Instead of paying “Medicare” taxes from your paycheck, you may instead be paying “universal healthcare” taxes. These taxes might be a bit more or they might not be, but certainly, you will eliminate the cost of having to buy health insurance. And businesses won’t have to buy company health insurance and can increase your wages.

My point is, that the money is there – how we account for it and transfer it to pay for services will change a little bit. But all the evidence shows that by going to a universal healthcare/single payer system we actually, collectively, will pay a little less and get much better medical care!