If you give everyone a Cadillac plan - or even a plan as good as a standard large group health plan - the system can't work without very large tax increases.

Moving money from one pocket to another pocket: those with employer paid/partially paid insurance, would not be paying premiums for private baseline insurance, nor would their employer. If the French model was adopted the money paid by the employer would be paid to the national health plan, instead of to the private insurance company. Unionized Proles with better than average coverage, could pay for private insurance to make up the difference between their high tier coverage, and the government baseline coverage.

Keep in mind, estimates have put the cost/year of a US single payer system at $2.4-3T. Presently, USians are paying nearly $5T/year for health care. If all the money spent on health care now, was returned to the government, we could have a universal single payer system *and* the annual Federal deficit would vanish, due to the money saved.

This is not difficult. It is only made difficult by the special interests that want to keep the status quo.

Steve