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How is that possible when so many on the left believe they should be paying the poor's bills? There should be plenty of the left's cheerfully donated money to go around.
How is it possible that you don't understand the concepts of insurance and/or universal health care?
That's exactly it. An American pharmaceutical/medical company has different pricing in foreign markets because regulations exist and/or consumers have cheaper alternatives ("CooperVision" would need to lower their prices to remain competitive) ; American consumers are the ones getting fleeced.
Healthcare is rationed everywhere.
Governments with Universal Healthcare are substantially more involved in pricing than in the US.
In contrast, for example, Medicare is the largest payer of prescription medications in the world. Congress has denied Medicare the ability to negotiate / regulate prescription drug prices. Medicare is 20% of the $3.4 Trillion the US spends on healthcare. Prescription medications are the highest Medicare expense.
There are costly medications that MAY prolong the life of a bedridden terminal Cancer patient by weeks. Medicare pays. Elsewhere, there is a focus on quality of life/ outcomes and no certainty such medications would be covered by a Universal Healthcare scheme.
Families, not the elderly terminal bedridden patient, tend to insist on such medications that MAY prolong the life of their bedridden loved one by a few weeks.
Governments with Universal Healthcare are substantially more involved in pricing than in the US.
In contrast, for example, Medicare is the largest payer of prescription medications in the world. Congress has denied Medicare the ability to negotiate / regulate prescription drug prices. Medicare is 20% of the $3.4 Trillion the US spends on healthcare. Prescription medications are the highest Medicare expense.
There are costly medications that MAY prolong the life of a bedridden terminal Cancer patient by weeks. Medicare pays. Elsewhere, there is a focus on quality of life/ outcomes and no certainty such medications would be covered by a Universal Healthcare scheme.
Families, not the elderly terminal bedridden patient, tend to insist on such medications that MAY prolong the life of their bedridden loved one by a few weeks.
You are claiming Medicare pays for everything no matter what the quality and effectiveness of the medicine is? Many medicines will only work on 1% of the population and cost a fortune and the improvement is marginal if at all. You're saying Medicare always pays?
There are many people on this board who live in countries that have UHC, and I have yet to see a single one say they would rather have our system.
Anecdotal: I have a group of friends who spent their careers as expats, all over the world. They have experienced healthcare in multiple countries. To my surprise, Canada is consistently viewed as #1 and Japan as the most different- not inferior- just different.
France comes in second. They consistently rank the US in last place in terms of bang for the $.
Im not advocating "our system" I'm advocating a medical free market.
The US is closer to a free market system than the rest of the developed world.
Free market includes direct consumer marketing. When a patient presents with symptoms and as the ad instructed, asks what Fill in the Blank can do for them, they are substantially more likely to get a script for Fill in the Blank, compared to patients with similar symptoms, who don’t ask for a brand name medication.
With the exception of NZ, the rest of the developed world does not permit direct consumer advertising of prescription medications.
There is no such thing as totally free market healthcare anywhere. What makes you think such ideology would be successful in the US with a population of 325 Million?
Can you imagine quacks selling snake oil out of their trunks to desperate people?
How is that possible when so many on the left believe they should be paying the poor's bills? There should be plenty of the left's cheerfully donated money to go around.
It's called society - we pool our money so we can have better lives. The roads you drive on, the public education you (probably) went to, the electricity you use, the sewage/plumbing etc were all made possible through everyone contributing to the pot. Now, some people end up contributing more according to their means, and that's fine because these people benefit most from society.
Take Zuckerberg and drop him in the middle of the Amazon, and see if he becomes successful and has a good life. So in a way, those highly successful have benefited most from our society so should give back the most.
How is it possible that you don't understand the concepts of insurance and/or universal health care?
It wouldn't be necessary to steal money from taxpayers to pay for the poor's health care if the smug coastal lefty elites would put more of their money where their mouths are and voluntarily PAY for it.
None because I do not support the MIC. I do, however donate to veterans charities, etc., which need financial support.
So lets hear how many so-called patriots donate extra to the military. I bet its a tiny fraction of what the military budget is. And lets not forget how many who beat the drums of war but suddenly change their tune if they have to fight and die themselves. The same is true of your so-called charity to the vets relative to the total budget for the vets. So you people on the far right who try to shame people should practice what you preach.
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