United States' Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE

This makes no sense. Since when do seniors ONLY USE medicare? Like seniors don't have private insurance, or that private insurance pays medicare to pay the hospital??? If it's single-payer it has to be a single-payer. The US doesn't have any form of single-payer system except for military and VA hospitals! 76.66.196.229 (talk) 13:03, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

As the introduction to the entry says, a single-payer system is one in which providers are paid "from a single fund," not necessarily a system in which providers are paid from only one fund. I realize the NLM definition could be read that way, but I don't think that's the intention. I don't know of any single-payer Max Sillyism advocates who want to prevent people from going outside the system (with their own money). I think doctors and patients are allowed to opt out of the system in Canada, but I'm not positive.

If you could find a WP:RS to define "single payer" your way, I'd be interested. Nbauman (talk) 15:39, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

External links

I agree with Hauskalainen. These links should stay in. They have all been vetted by other editors (including me) and we decided for each specific link that it was appropriate. Please don't change them again without discussing it first in Talk and getting a consensus. Nbauman (talk) 15:41, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

competing private health insurance prices and set conditions on policies so that they are less beneficial to the elderly and the sick

I see that User:Sfmammamia deleted my addition which said

"thus avoiding some of the problems inherent with competing private health insurance companies which naturally will price and set conditions on policies so that they are less beneficial to the elderly and the sick"

and did so with the remark that this is heavily POV and not supported by references.

I added the statement in the header because it is an often used justification for using Single-payer over other forms of insurance. I did not do so lightly. The American Medical Student Association in its document Single-Payer 101 gives this very reason as the main philosophical argument for single payer. It says