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UBI is an interesting concept, assuming it’s proposed as a replacement for existing government services and not an addition.The theory is that today, government collects from taxpayers, administers expensive systems, and redistributes wealth to some in the form of government services. Problem with this is the “overhead” - studies reveal that to give a recipient a dollar of service, the government spends $1.66. This wealth redistribution is an expensive business…Streamlining by simply sending recipients a UBI check could be a win for both the taxpayer and for the government. If you get $1000/month in value of benefits today, you could split the cost with the taxpayer - you’d get more, and government would save overall.Of course, this isn’t the progressive view of UBI - progressive proponents see it as a payment over and above current systems, not as a replacement. In my opinion, this makes UBI completely untenable, but if the debate could be about the programs people would eliminate in order to have UBI, then it is definitely feasible. Adding $3.2 trillion to the current budget is a non-starter, but if UBI reduces government spend by more than it costs, it could be a welcome idea.The US already has a minimum wage, so I’ll pass on that part.As for universal healthcare, I suppose I’d argue that what the original poster really means is “universal health insurance” - most Americans already have “universal healthcare” in the sense that if they show up in the emergency room, they’ll get treated, even if they can’t afford it.That said, the biggest issue in the American system isn’t the shell game of who pays for what - the issue is that government intrusion into free markets has caused prices to skyrocket while destroying competition and innovation. Americans spend about $12,000/year per capita on healthcare, and the price is climbing at more than double the rate of inflation - no matter whether you have some sort of socialized medicine or not, this is simply not sustainable.The part most Americans miss is the role government has in driving healthcare costs through the roof. Administrative cost is a prime example - the US went from about 5% in the early 1990s, to about 30% today. You don’t get HIPAA, SOX, Obamacare and thousands of other regulations imposed on an industry without driving cost through the roof.I’ve noticed that some of the comments in here seem to think that “Administrative cost” is somehow mandated by the insurance companies, and I can’t resist attacking this wildly invalid idea.In the context of “Administrative cost”, most of the spending is a result of compliance with government regulations and the record-keeping, auditing, penalties and so forth of doing this…plus the cost of the government bureaucracy that validates and enforces all these policies.In fact, if we had simply kept the system at the 1992 levels of administrative cost and allowed it to rise at the rate of inflation, today’s per-capita spend on healthcare would be roughly $5–6,000, and the US would compare very favorably to Canada, Australia, Germany and other nations. I can’t emphasize this point enough - the biggest culprit in America’s out of control healthcare cost is our government and a few decades of anti-market progressive policies.The other incorrect assumption many people have is that these costs somehow go away under a socialized medical system, but again, that’s pure hogwash. Unless you go so far as nationalizing doctors and hospitals (which to my understanding nobody is asking for), then there still need to be ways for healthcare professionals to submit bills, get payments, validate coverages and so forth. In fact, what systems like Medicare for All do is replace highly efficient private sector companies with government workers…ask yourself how much savings occurs from swapping a worker at, say, Aetna or Humana with your local DMV’s average worker. In my opinion, on this front, Medicare for All would quite easily cost more than today’s system.

Question asked:What is a dirty little (or big) secret about an industry that you have worked in, that people outside the industry really ought to know?I worked for a US Healthcare process and learned that sharing credentials is against HIPAA compliance. An associate can't even share his credentials to log into an insurance company website like PPP, UHC, Aetna, Cigna and so on. So, this was one of the good things I liked about US Healthcare and the way accounts used to be processed.Lately, I worked for couple of companies for couple of days in the same domain. And, I was extremely shocked to see that though companies are registered under HIPPA Compliance, yet the associates of these organizations using one credential to log in the tools and websites to process the accounts. And, I was like WTF!So, except for a few companies, most of the companies are just violating the HIPAA Compliance and that's really pathetic to reveal. But, I am glad I am not the part of such organizations. If I were, then I would have stopped the violations.

They make money by defrauding doctors and their patients.Multiplan is NOT insurance. It is essentially a scam.My problems started as soon as my company switched to Aetna for our health insurance. My long-time therapist is not in-network with Aetna. She applied to become in-network, but was rejected because she is a private practitioner, not affiliated with a hospital. She is in-network with Humana, BCBS, United, and others.Once the conventional route failed, she signed an agreement with a company called Multiplan. According to the agreement, she would have to charge me less per session in exchange for being billed in-network on my insurance plan. Once a practitioner signs the Multiplan contract they are obligated to that lower rate as long as that patient remains in their care.Meanwhile, Aetna has never considered her in network and I've had to pay thousands out of pocket for out-of-network services. I did not call this to their attention sooner because I honestly didn’t completely understand what my doctor had signed or what Aetna was supposed to do. Since every transaction with this company is a mentally and emotionally exhausting fight, I try to avoid contacting them—and consequently, avoid seeking healthcare unless it is a true emergency.In spite of the fact that Aetna and Multiplan have not upheld their end of the agreement, my doctor is still required to bill at the agreed-upon rate. She attempted to ask Aetna about it, but they claim that even speaking to her would be a HIPAA violation—even though she is the practitioner who billed for the services in question. Multiplan tells her to talk to Aetna. Multiplan won’t talk to ME because I have no relationship with their company. When I called Aetna, the representative said that because she didn't sign a form (that they never actually sent her), they don’t consider the agreement fully executed (though they DO consider it executed when it comes to her billing rate). They will not even allow us to submit this supposed form late in order to ensure that subsequent billing is correct, yet my doctor is still forced to bill at the lower rate as long as I remain a patient.My company uses ADP Totalsource to manage benefits and payroll. I tried to contact ADP because supposedly, they are supposed to advocate for me in situations like this, but now, even THEY claim it’s a HIPAA violation to help me, so as far as I’m concerned, they are complicit in this fraud.I know Multiplan is associated with all of the major health insurance providers, so I am quite certain I am not the only patient, and my therapist, not the only practitioner, to be forced to comply with a contract that Aetna does not acknowledge exists, EXCEPT when it comes to the rate she is allowed to bill.The insurance company, Multiplan, and ADP are all using HIPAA as a way to shelter themselves from actually addressing the issue, not its intended purpose of protecting patient privacy.HIPAA is not supposed to be a vehicle for multibillion dollar corporations to utilize in order to give patients and providers the runaround, is it?