Don't we have enough money for national healthcare?
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I don't see how anything can be worse than what we currently have. We should start with putting everyone on a better diet, getting rid of Big Pharma, and the AMA, ADA, and Food and Drug Administration.
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Originally Posted by Tall Traveler
I don't see how anything can be worse than what we currently have. We should start with putting everyone on a better diet, getting rid of Big Pharma, and the AMA, ADA, and Food and Drug Administration.
Yep. Diet is key. We collectively eat way too much low quality, processed food in this country by choice.
I see the 400 lb woman at walmart in the mobility cart full of mountain dew, chips/snacks, and I immediately think "I sure would like to pay more taxes for her healthcare!" Or not.
One of the few lefty leaning documentaries I have ever seen I actually agreed with most of was "Food, Inc".
Obviously we have enough money and it has nothing to do with Ukraine or any other expense. We are paying it now. But our health care dollars are not going to health care but into the pockets of private insurers, CEOs, and other blood suckers who run what is more akin to an extortion scheme for their profit. Get rid of all of them and we can have reasonably affordable, universal health care like the rest of the first world has.
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Originally Posted by Roderic
If Romneycare was used as example for Obamacare, then instead of creating Obamacare, each state replicate and modify Romneycare as they see fit.
There are 27 members in the EU, but is there a unified healthcare plan for all citizens in the EU? No, there is not. Each EU member takes care of its own citizens. EU citizens travels their countries the same way Americans travels their states. If a Frenchman in Germany needs medical care, Germany will provide the necessary treatment then bill France. Similarly, if a Virginian needs medical care in Kentucky, Kentucky provide the treatment then bill Virginia. We do not need a national healthcare program and a new federal agency to administer. We just need cooperation among the states just like how the states are already working with each other on many issues. Citizens varies among the states so they will have different budgets for healthcare and insurance programs.
The comparison of countries to states isnt actually that good.
Multiple individual U.S. states have seriously assessed doing such single payer at the state level, and have all come back with the primary assessment of difficulty. "It will cost far more than we have at current tax rates in this state."
And it is apparent that most of those assessments, like in the small state Vermont, used the model which included adjusting for private insurance premiums that would not need to be paid (culling the middle men), dealing with patients from outside states (it would be pay for play), and the other things that would impact how single payer would actually work or not work.
Individual states will have to raise taxes by enormous amounts to do it, and they know it just wont fly with their populace. Those with high incomes (that can afford good insurance) wont want to get fleeced to pay for those that dont have high incomes, so they would just move to another state. We see it with regulations and taxes now. Moving to another country is a more complicated thing, even in Europe.
We can't find the money for a national healthcare system to help US citizens as an essential service much like we fund the fire fighters or police officers, but we have enough money to:
-Fund Taiwan's defense against China
-Fund Israel's war in Gaza
-Fund Ukraine's war
-Fund Ukrainian pensions and other civil services
-Spent $1.9 Trillion in Iraq, with future expenses estimated to push it to $2.4 Trillion
-Spend as much money on the military as the next 6 countries combined
-Spent $2,260 Billion in Afghanistan
-Spent $83 Billion training the Afghan military that disintegrated
-Left behind $7 Billion in weapons in Afghanistan
-We're building more military bases in Syria
-$245 Billion in TARP to bail out big businesses
-$22 Billion to bail out 2 failed banks in 2023, including bailouts above the FDIC limit so it was helping the rich who didn't follow the rule
-$1.7 Billion a year in maintenance on empty government buildings
-$3 million to study if hamsters on steroids are more aggressive
The comparison of countries to states isnt actually that good.
Multiple individual U.S. states have seriously assessed doing such single payer at the state level, and have all come back with the primary assessment of difficulty. "It will cost far more than we have at current tax rates in this state."
And it is apparent that most of those assessments, like in the small state Vermont, used the model which included adjusting for private insurance premiums that would not need to be paid (culling the middle men), dealing with patients from outside states (it would be pay for play), and the other things that would impact how single payer would actually work or not work.
Individual states will have to raise taxes by enormous amounts to do it, and they know it just wont fly with their populace. Those with high incomes (that can afford good insurance) wont want to get fleeced to pay for those that dont have high incomes, so they would just move to another state. We see it with regulations and taxes now. Moving to another country is a more complicated thing, even in Europe.
Then it falls back down to the individual level, as in Americans at large do not want government run health insurance and care.
Yes, if you, and I say 'you' generically and not personally, want to be on your own, then your taxes will be low. But if you want the government to be the payee for your healthcare, then pay more taxes. There is no way around this. EU citizens pay taxes for their nationalized healthcare. If Americans do not want government healthcare at the state level, then how is this going to work at the federal level? The ACA is less than claimed. We need political leaders, state and federal, who are willing to risk their political standing and speak that truth.
So the question is: "Don't we have enough money for national healthcare?"
Yep. Diet is key. We collectively eat way too much low quality, processed food in this country by choice.
I see the 400 lb woman at walmart in the mobility cart full of mountain dew, chips/snacks, and I immediately think "I sure would like to pay more taxes for her healthcare!" Or not.
One of the few lefty leaning documentaries I have ever seen I actually agreed with most of was "Food, Inc".
Yep, I opted out of the Food Pyramid, advice of the ADA, AMA, FDA, etc. Result is a loss of 65 lbs, 20.8 BMI, 8% bodyfat, ripped muscles, reverse diabetes, cure autoimmune, BP 105/60.
Doing National Healthcare without fixing the root of most of our diseases first is ridiculous.
Our food system is a HUGE problem. And no one really cares because people make too much damn money off of it and the pharma we are prescribed to treat the diseases that come from it.
If the people themselves can't afford their own healthcare, then the government can't afford their health care.
...
It's not like if the government pays for it, medical procedures magically cost less than if individual consumers pay for it.
Truer words were ne'er spoke.
Per highlighted, that might be the single best summarized debunking of the myth that government is somehow economically magic/divine I have ever read...anywhere.
Per highlighted, that might be the single best summarized debunking of the myth that government is somehow economically magic/divine I have ever read...anywhere.
Then how do you explain the success of Medicare?
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