Let's talk about Health Care, again, issues that will have to be settled before we can move the nation towards adopting a single payer legislative framework.  What does it take to move America in this direction. 

We are behind, there is no doubt about it, 70+ years behind all the other developed nations systems.  Should we have done something before this? Yes, but we didn't and we have to deal with that in a very realistic manner. We must recognize there are steps that must be taken in order to secure that is the future of our healthcare system. 

First and foremost we must never throw around the term "free health care". Healthcare isn't free. Never throw that around, because that is where Conservatives/Republicans/Idiots can make the claim your lying, because you are. Healthcare costs money. Excellent insurance coverage in the US costs around 26000.00 / yr. Our Canadian counterparts pay around 7000 per year.  Americans are really scared that any single payer system will cost more than what they already have, and work must be done to assuage that fear.

One must be more than upfront and honest with citizens in order to continue our move towards this  societal change. We must have the costs of our current system under control or we will never be able to move to a single payer system. 

There are a several obstacles we must overcome legislatively in the next couple of Democratic Administrations in order to hasten the move towards single payer, but there are two immediate issues, I will list them by priority:

1. Regulating Hospital Costs
2. Regulating Pharmaceutical Costs

Before we can get anywhere near a single payer system Hospital costs must be regulated. Private hospitals are sapping the system of dollars that should be being spent on 

Hospital cost in the US are out of control. 

This about this for a minute according to this article in the WashingtonPost, these 50 hospitals are charging the uninsured 50x more than those who are insured. These of course are for-profit entities. Here is how this works,  uninsured people are charged more, they can't pay, hospitals renegotiate their contracts with insurance companies to raise the costs overall to cover those who cannot pay. So not only do these hospitals bankrupt the already bankrupt, they also put off their over-inflated costs on us. 

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project: Cost for Hospital Stays in the US

The Pricing of US Hospital Services: Chaos behind a veil of secrecy

The Great American Hospital Pricing Scam

Private Insurance Cost Shifting

One Thousand Percent (the actual study)

Prescription drug regulation, we pay tons of money for prescription drugs in the US, in fact we pay the highest prices in the world. 

Why Are Drug Costs So High in the United States 

The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Case 

Why do Americans spend so much on drugs?

As far back as 1991 we were paying more than anyone in the world for our prescription medication.

There are other issues that we will need to have answers for prior to moving to a single payer government run system. One will be public education of our healthcare workers. To be a doctor is a very expensive endeavor for an individual in the United States, undoubtedly we will have to have an answer for this complex issue. I do believe these are all things that will happen, but our move towards this system must be deliberate and it will have to be coupled with changing the attitude of the electorate by being honest  about this change and it's ultimate individual cost.