The US goes European

Schitterende info-chart in De Standaard over systeem gezondheidszorg in de VS en Europa:

Met de plannen van Obama zouden 35 tot 45 miljoen Amerikanen binnen een systeem vallen, wat uiteraard toe te juichen is.

Wat de kostprijs van dit alles is, is nog onduidelijk, maar wordt geschat op een kleine 1000 miljard dollar over een periode van 10 jaar. Op termijn zou het echter bezuinigingen moeten opleveren. De inkomsten zouden moeten komen van de sector en van de rijken, en zelfseen zonnebanktaks:

(Zie Christian Science Monitor)

Higher Medicare taxes on rich people

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First of all, the Medicare Part A (that’s hospital insurance) tax rate would be increased by 0.9 percent, to 2.35 percent. Second, the bill creates an entirely new tax of 3.8 percent on unearned income (dividends, interest, stuff like that) for people in those same income brackets.

New tax on expensive health insurance

They used to call this the “Cadillac tax,” but it’s been pared back enough so it might better be called the “Chevy with leather and A/C” tax.

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Fees on health care industries

The Obama administration figures it is only fair to slap some fees on health care industries, since they’d be getting lots of new customers if health care reform passes. So after negotiations with some big sectors, the White House struck a number of deals.

Drug manufacturers would pay the US a total of $16 billion between 2011 and 2019.

Health insurers would pay $47 billion over the same period.

Medical device manufacturers would pay a 2.9 percent excise tax on the sale of any of their wares, beginning Jan. 1, 2013.

The tanning tax

a tax of 10 percent on indoor tanning services. (Outdoor tanning services remain untaxed, of course.) This would raise $2.7 billion between 2010 and 2019.

Medicare cuts

Government payments to Medicare Advantage – plans run by private insurers that are an alternative to traditional Medicare – would be reduced by $132 billion over 10 years under the health care reform bill. (Those plans now get around 14 percent more per person than traditional Medicare does.)

Medicare payments for home health care would also be reduced by $40 billion over 10 years. And cuts in certain payments to hospitals would raise another $22 billion by 2019.

Uiteindelijk wordt Amerika weer een beetje meer Europa.

Het zou natuurlijk niet slecht zijn als Europa ook een beetje meer Amerika zou worden: meer ondernemerschap, privaat initiatief edm.