I accidentally stabbed myself in the finger while cutting open a package using a knife. Stupid, I know. The would was small, maybe 1 centimeter, but deep enough that it wouldn't stop bleeding on its own. My girlfriend insisted we go to the ER (urgent cares around here are closed on Sundays), so we did. I was the only one there that day. I was ushered in to see a doctor. The doctor looked at the wound, and said, "this…
You weren't paying for the glue and the five minutes. You were paying for the overhead of maintaining all the other stuff that was there that you might have needed under different circumstances but happened not to need that day.
No none of that overhead was needed. He was giving them free money. That's what this system is more akin too.
I accidentally stabbed myself in the finger while cutting open a package using a knife. Stupid, I know. The would was small, maybe 1 centimeter, but deep enough that it wouldn't stop bleeding on its own. My girlfriend insisted we go to the ER (urgent cares around here are closed on Sundays), so we did. I was the only one there that day. I was ushered in to see a doctor. The doctor looked at the wound, and said, "this…
Well for a minor cut you went to a facility that has staff and equipment available 24x7 to deal with multiple concurrent heart attacks, strokes, major injury and trauma.
Next time wash it out, bandage it up and wait for cheaper treatment if you still need it.
I accidentally stabbed myself in the finger while cutting open a package using a knife. Stupid, I know. The would was small, maybe 1 centimeter, but deep enough that it wouldn't stop bleeding on its own. My girlfriend insisted we go to the ER (urgent cares around here are closed on Sundays), so we did. I was the only one there that day. I was ushered in to see a doctor. The doctor looked at the wound, and said, "this…
I sliced a banana peel of skin off my finger on glass by accident. 3 hours of various stages of waiting rooms after triage and I had been x-rayed and sewn up and sent home. Cost me $8 in parking a $2 in Tim Hortons coffee. I felt an immense level of pride in the taxes I pay (43% income tax before deductions) when it clicked that anyone who walked in would have gotten this same service.
3 hour of wait time is bearable but i'm really sorry that you had to spend $2 on that shitty Timmies coffee.
You need single payer because you can overcharge anyone who can't negotiate lower rates (i.e. individuals who's personal business with the healthcare system doesn't have much if any effect on it). Compare that to a state bargaining on behalf of 10+ million customers.
You just need more competition and regulations to make prices public and stated before the procedure. I live in a country with single payer healthcare. It sucks tremendously. Instead of paying there is waiting, sometimes for long months for absolutely crucial procedures. Fortunately I also live in a country with reasonable regulations and sizeable private healthcare facilities. I pay reasonable prices (which means of…
Those prices are likely low because their "competition" is single payer.
And it is entirely because the powers that be have rigged the market so that they can charge whatever they want. How have they accomplished this? First, they set strict quotas on who can be a doctor. Then, they set strict quotas on who can offer what medical goods and products. Then, they strap everyone up with student and business debt. I'm not saying it is the correct way or not, but there's a reason that in other…
A doctor can charge you $300 for your yearly visit. If you’re healthy he comes in the room for about 5 minutes, asks you a question or two and looks in your ears and says “see you next year”.
They still charge you if you don’t show up and will even asses a fee if you don’t cancel with enough notice.
Don't fall for the 'yes, but countries that have cheap healthcare pay for it with taxes'. The US pays more than most from taxes[0]. In Sweden we pay less per capita than americans do (from taxes) and my total _maximum_ healthcare costs for _all_ treatments, medications, surgury etc, that in the US would be paid by your employer or yourself are: $125/year max for all visits and procedures [1] + $250/year max for all p…
Absolutely, public spending on healthcare in USA is enormous. Higher than military budget. USA is unfortunately country where enormous amounts of people are sick. Mostly side effects of obesityand lack of physical activity.
All of this is a side-effect of the uniquely American philosophy that says that if someone is making money they must be making a net positive contribution to society, because otherwise why would anyone buy their product? This approach overlooks externalities and rent-seeking. The net result is that we have a lot of people making money selling things to people that they want but makes them sick (soda, cigarettes, corn chips) and a lot of other people making money professing to make them less sick, and yet another group of people making money by professing to control the costs of the second group, and lot of other people making money lobbying politicians to keep the laws in place that maintains the status quo. So everyone's making money (except for the slackers who dare to get sick), so everything must be hunky dory. The American health care system is the broken-window theory writ large.
> Not sure it's that simple... There aren't that many countries that pay as much as the us from public funds (two, see my previous link) or out of pocket (none). The problem is localized to the US.
Consider: - The US is much fatter, on average - Medicare's standards for reimbursement are often not based on cost effectivenes - The US government will pay around $150K/QALY vs. e.g. the UK's c. $40K/QALY. More expensive healthcare per capita is what I'd expect given those attributes and "single payer is the only solution" does not seem to be logically linked to the problem and facts.
You are paying much more than anyone else[0]. I really doubt that's because of you being the 17th fattest country by BMI[1].
Don't fall for the 'yes, but countries that have cheap healthcare pay for it with taxes'. The US pays more than most from taxes[0]. In Sweden we pay less per capita than americans do (from taxes) and my total _maximum_ healthcare costs for _all_ treatments, medications, surgury etc, that in the US would be paid by your employer or yourself are: $125/year max for all visits and procedures [1] + $250/year max for all p…
With healthcare you either have a true free market, as in no licenses, no patents, etc or you need the State to regulate it and provide it for everybody.
The US has the worst possible combination.
I sliced a banana peel of skin off my finger on glass by accident. 3 hours of various stages of waiting rooms after triage and I had been x-rayed and sewn up and sent home. Cost me $8 in parking a $2 in Tim Hortons coffee. I felt an immense level of pride in the taxes I pay (43% income tax before deductions) when it clicked that anyone who walked in would have gotten this same service.
3 hour of wait time is bearable but i'm really sorry that you had to spend $2 on that shitty Timmies coffee.
Indeed, served unbearably hot so you don't notice the taste. Give me dunks any day over that.
Don't fall for the 'yes, but countries that have cheap healthcare pay for it with taxes'. The US pays more than most from taxes[0]. In Sweden we pay less per capita than americans do (from taxes) and my total _maximum_ healthcare costs for _all_ treatments, medications, surgury etc, that in the US would be paid by your employer or yourself are: $125/year max for all visits and procedures [1] + $250/year max for all p…
>>Don't fall for the 'yes, but countries that have cheap healthcare pay for it with taxes'. The US pays more than most from taxes[0]. Americans don't actually have an objection to paying more for healthcare. What they do have an objection to is paying for other people's healthcare. America is a deeply individualistic society, and the idea of one's tax dollars being spent to benefit others lies at the root of most peo…
I don't think that "individualistic" is a strong enough word. European society, for instance, is also very individualistic, yet doesn't have anywhere near the levels of indoctrination against "socialism".
It seems Americans (generalizing here) have been let to believe that someones gain can only happen at someone else's loss, thinking there can't be a win-win situation.