You GOTTA have insurance

[Ghost95]

The biggest issue I see in the US is skyrocketing costs of medical care. Dosen't matter where you look, in a hospital charging $10 for a baby aspirin and another $15 for someone to "administer medication" or our prescription drug prices which are astronomically high compared to the rest of the world. Capitalism and greed allows companies to prey on you when you're at your most vulnerable. Hey, your heart is clogged and you have a very good chance of dying. If you sign your home away we'll try and fix it for you. It'd disgusting. Normally I'm all for free market but the medical sector has decided to ignore the greater good.

I find it absurd that congress will waste time to go in and regulate what happens in the MLB or NFL but refuses to do anything about healthcare. Why not pass a law that says drug companies can't charge the US more than 10% above the average drug price of the rest of world pays? Eliminate long term patents on medicines so generics can be brought to market quicker. Not necessarily a 100% capitalist or socialist idea but it would be something. I'm sure there are laws that prevent this from happening, something about the govt. not being allowed to interfere with commerce somehow. Politicians who depend on drug companies to fund their campaigns don't seem to be in a hurry to do anything to control costs.

America's Bitter Pill is an interesting, albeit dry, book about the implementation of the ACA. It basically shows how nothing was truly done to regulate the cost of health care and that it was basically a political stunt to buy votes from a vulnerable group of scared people. It used people who were worried every day about their health and what would happen if they got sick to build support for the party trying to remain in power. Politics at it's worst. And the worst part, it didn't decrease healthcare costs at all.

The whole health care / insurance shell game makes me sick. Ironic isn't it?

 

[TuckerIdaho]

It has nothing to do with right wing. I know multiple people IRL who are libs who constantly spout that they want single payer because it's free.

Yeah yanno, I don't actually believe you. Sorry.

 

[boulderjohn]

It has nothing to do with right wing. I know multiple people IRL who are libs who constantly spout that they want single payer because it's free.

Perhaps you should explain why you prefer to pay twice as much as other developed countries for your healthcare. Where is the advantage in that?

BTW, don't try to go the route that we get better healthcare at twice the price. We don't. Statistics show that conclusively. We are near the bottom of nearly all developed countries in health care statistics.

 

[Storker]

Perhaps you should explain why you prefer to pay twice as much as other developed countries for your healthcare. Where is the advantage in that?

As far as I understand, it depends a lot on your employee contract. While some folks may get a rather sweet deal with good coverage, others are basically shafted and have to fend for themself. Which usually puts you in a poor bargaining position compared to those who work in government or in a large company, where they have the muscle to negotiate good deals.

Extrapolate that to a whole country, and you basically have the situation that a single-payer healthcare system is in. Everybody pay, everyone benefits. I pay more than the average person since I have a higher income than the average person. On the other hand, I'm in a position where I can much better afford that cost than those who (legitimately, don't bring tax cheaters into this) pay less than I can. Even if we pay exactly the same percentage of our income for exactly the same services.

 

[boulderjohn]

As far as I understand, it depends a lot on your employee contract.

I was going by national averages.

 

[Marie13]

As far as I understand, it depends a lot on your employee contract. While some folks may get a rather sweet deal with good coverage, others are basically shafted and have to fend for themself. Which usually puts you in a poor bargaining position compared to those who work in government or in a large company, where they have the muscle to negotiate good deals.

Extrapolate that to a whole country, and you basically have the situation that a single-payer healthcare system is in. Everybody pay, everyone benefits. I pay more than the average person since I have a higher income than the average person. On the other hand, I'm in a position where I can much better afford that cost than those who (legitimately, don't bring tax cheaters into this) pay less than I can. Even if we pay exactly the same percentage of our income for exactly the same services.

At my old company, I had to pay $300 a month for a decent, traditional plan without high deductibles. Laid off in March due to the plague. New company (only one other employee) is giving me an excellent plan that runs the owner $900 a month. I’m not paying anything towards the premium. I’m getting the same plan owner has. New boss treats me significantly better than the old company.

 

[Marie13]

I do know that for a regular winter in the US, people aren’t being told to NOT go to their doctor unless they are VERY sick. I’m a regular listener to BBC Radio. This has been happening with the NHS in England for a number of winters in a row in order to not overwhelm the system.

 

[boulderjohn]

At my old company, I had to pay $300 a month for a decent, traditional plan without high deductibles. Laid off in March due to the plague. New company (only one other employee) is giving me an excellent plan that runs the owner $900 a month. I’m not paying anything towards the premium. I’m getting the same plan owner has. New boss treats me significantly better than the old company.

So what you are saying is that you've got something that works, and you don't give a damn about anyone else. Do I have that right?

 

[lexvil]

At my old company, I had to pay $300 a month for a decent, traditional plan without high deductibles. Laid off in March due to the plague. New company (only one other employee) is giving me an excellent plan that runs the owner $900 a month. I’m not paying anything towards the premium. I’m getting the same plan owner has. New boss treats me significantly better than the old company.

Imagine if you had coverage that you only paid for when working but still had after the layoff.

 

[Marie13]

So what you are saying is that you got something that works, you don't give a damn about anyone else. So I have that right?

Nope. Far from it. I don’t know how we are going to implement single payer without it being a hot mess. I had elderly relatives in Ontario (now deceased) who in the 80s and early 90s had to wait multiple years for cataract and knee surgeries. Their quality of life would have been much improved if they had gotten the surgeries in a timely manner.