Time for universal health care ? (employment, drugs, health care system, premium)

[PCALMike]

When do you think America will get a national health care system?

[censusdata]

I am a moderate but UH is one thing I'm with the Liberals on. Our system leaves many with no or poor coverage but we spend nearly as much on healthcare as any nation where everyone is covered. You could make 100k at a great job but if you switch jobs and get sick during the 3 month gap before the new employer covers you gofundme is your only option. Many service workers are deliberately worked 30-35 hours every week so they can't qualify for paid benefits. Our system could only work if there were no coverage gaps and all workers go health care through their work.

[jertheber]

It is a situation dominated by the insurance corps, they would be creating the boundaries of coverage, cost of premiums (payed by the gov), in general, they aren't going to give up their domain without a real bloody fight. Most people with any knowledge of the American health care industry knows it is very lucrative, especially on the part of those middle men (insurance) who have no real value added role in our healthcare.The assumed superiority of the much loved AND hated private sector is on display every day in the healthcare field, from the insurance companies themselves to the care providers, it's all about the money-- not our health.

In the case of my doc, he had made an appointment for me months in advance, the reason was to do a follow up on some meds he'd prescribed, upon my arrival the clinic asked me what was my problem, I stated that the doc wanted to do a follow up on my meds, then when he saw me, he asked again, what was the reason for my visit? At that point I wanted to say I'd come in to help with his kids education fund But I'm too civil for that so I told him that I was appearing before him as directed by him, baffled, he asked some stupid questions he could have asked in an email but, that wouldn't be as profitable as having some face time to charge for.

My point to the story is that we in America have become accustomed to a very different kind of care, the kind that revolves around money and the pursuit of it through mass testing, needless office visits, and prescription writing for meds we may, or may not need. I watched the docs clamoring over my dying wife in order that they could tab her final bill with their "contribution" at the point she was unconscious, on a ton of Morphine, with only a few hours left to live.

After she was gone they billed my insurance a ton of money for thirteen hours of hospital time, the total bill exceeded the cost of some houses in the area. If we were to have a better healthcare system we would need at the least a far different view of doctoring and the cost effectiveness of certain drug regimens. The cost of our over-doctoring has to go out with the old system, the cost of drugs would have to come under the control of government, the vast amount of testing that has characterized our high cost system would need to be curtailed and judged to be absolutely necessary before being prescribed, WE would be participating in all those cost control measures, something not all want to do. As much as I want to see a different system, I really don't expect our health care will be much different for the rest of my lifetime..

[f5fstop]

Why do we need to follow other countries in their social issues? In other words, I could care less what type of healthcare systems are in other countries.

[backtoindiana]

I'm American, but I've lived in the UK for over 10 years. I'm a dual UK/US citizen, and I've had medical care in both countries. I think the US system is rather inefficient from an economic perspective, and certainly can be inhumane in some circumstances, although I understand that people with good insurance can get good treatment, and that there are people who like the system as it is.

From what I've seen in the UK:
1. People rarely go bankrupt in the UK simply because they suffer a serious illness - if they do, it's because they're out of work for an extended period, not because of overwhelming medical bills.
2. Because your health insurance isn't connected to your job, you can change jobs when it makes sense from an employment perspective. I've known Americans who've stayed in jobs they disliked for years because of their health insurance. That doesn't have to happen in Britain, making the British labor market more flexible, at least from that perspective (there are other factors influencing it obviously).
3. It doesn't matter if you work full-time, part-time, no time, are a student, retired, a parent, whatever. You are covered.
4. If you suffer a major illness in the UK, you don't have to run a GoFundMe campaign to cover the expenses your insurance won't cover, or to get treatment at all. We do have debates about more costly forms of treatment (some are not funded, but that is not that common), and we do have treatment failures. In the US, we also have treatment failures - I have family experience of how poorly the US system can work as well. Both the UK and the US have human doctors, nurses, and administrators (amazing, I know!).
5. Low income people don't suffer stigma from having their medical issues covered by Medicaid; almost all medical care in the UK is free at the point of service (we pay taxes to cover it), so no one pays a bill when they walk out of a medical facility (it took me years to get used to this). There's no way to know someone's income or wealth when you sit next to them at the doctor's office or the hospital.
6. The UK does not have to devote resources to the health insurance industry. There is health insurance, but it's fairly limited - most people rely on the National Health Service for their front line treatment. It seems to make sense to me to put resources into care rather than insurance.

[pkbab5]

I have a long list of things I'd love to buy, if only I had the money.


The US is broke and in debt over paying what we currently have: Medicaid, Medicare, (and now adding ACA subsidies). We don't have the money for Universal Health Care.

[An Einnseanair]

Originally Posted by PCALMike

When do you think America will get a national health care system?

When the private health insurance companies stop donating millions to the politicians who would be responsible for creating such a system. Plus additional millions spend on advertising convincing the uneducated masses that universal healthcare is an overly expensive example of government overreach.

So.... probably never.

[ohhwanderlust]

Too many United Statesians think that health care is not a right, but a commodity or a luxury.

It's sad, because people could be a lot more productive if they're healthy.

Employees would also be able to switch jobs/careers more easily, and not live in mortal fear of losing their job, because they wouldn't be absolutely dependent on their employer for healthcare (assuming they even provide it, which is easy enough to loophole out of).

For the same reason, people would be much more inclined to actually start their own businesses, which are the real job creators.

And as mentioned, it would actually save money over the long run. It'd also likely reduce a lot of administrative hassle all around (making it easier to hire employees), because every citizen would be automatically covered regardless.

But unfortunately, too many people here would rather pretend that they and society in general wouldn't benefit from universal healthcare, and continue voting under the impression that they are just a 'temporarily embarrassed millionaire'.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by pkbab5

I have a long list of things I'd love to buy, if only I had the money.


The US is broke and in debt over paying what we currently have: Medicaid, Medicare, (and now adding ACA subsidies). We don't have the money for Universal Health Care.

Yet, we always manage to somehow come up with money to start another ******* war, don't we?

[sonofagunk]

As long as the middle class is willing to pay 50%+ in income taxes, I see no problem with it. The money has to come from somewhere, and there are not enough "rich people" to pay. Check out the tax rates of the above countries