Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is the only place I know of where someone with good insurance coverage could expect to pay that much for a basic visit.
An emergency room is not a "basic visit".
[deleted]
US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
81–90 of 534 posts
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find it ironic that you stated the answer to your own question and didn't notice. That is, how notoriously terrible the government is at organization is a major reason for why people are against universal healthcare. Whether their concerns are overblown or not I leave to opinion. But that is a major fear for many.
> how notoriously terrible the government is at organization is a major reason A major propaganda point, not a reason based on data. It’s really hard to find a first-world country which has a medical system which doesn’t compare favorably with American insurance companies on either cost or quality — the baked-in conflicts of interest are too powerful.
Insurance companies are also not exactly....paragons of good customer service themselves. I was camping with a friend when he managed to slice off the tip of his finger. The insurance company fought him tooth and..err...nail to avoid paying out for not having the ER visit “pre-approved”
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#83Individual US tax payers pay for most of the world's security. This is one tax of being the global super power, so it's not particularly surprising that when you include all things the US tax payer pays for privately that is taxed in other countries, you arrive at a number higher than other similar countries. In reality, there is no country with which we can fairly compare US tax rates.
This can't be right. The bulk of US defense expenses in the last 2 decades for instance have been in needless middle east wars that destroyed those countries, killed millions and enriched US corporations and their employees. It created power vacuums and destabilized entire regions that allowed the rise of ISIS and other extremist groups. There is now slave trade in Libya which was one of the most advanced countries in Africa before the US intervention. Massive immigration caused by these actions is taking a toll in Europe. How does this help global security?
A country's defense expenses are for its own benefit providing easy global market access for its companies, leverage, favorable terms and markets for arms for its own defense industry. All these benefit the US and its citizens.
There is a well documented history of military intervention under pretexts driven by business interests going back centuries with the latest being Venezuela. A country is being openly destabilized, millions will suffer, there will be increased immigration leading to more right wing extremism against immigrants, and more business opportunities for US companies with access to the largest deposits of oil in the world. How does this help global security, this seems to transparently benefit US interests at the cost of everyone else. [1]
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#84Individual US tax payers pay for most of the world's security. This is one tax of being the global super power, so it's not particularly surprising that when you include all things the US tax payer pays for privately that is taxed in other countries, you arrive at a number higher than other similar countries. In reality, there is no country with which we can fairly compare US tax rates.
Individual US tax payers pay for the largest military budget in the world - I think stating that the US's military budget equates world security isn't a fair jump.
Also, bear in mind that a good chunk of that money just gets cycled into politicians via the DOD -> defense contractors -> lobbying.
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#85I never understood why people are against some form of universal healthcare. The idea of "socialism" or "communism" scare many conservatives, but it just doesn't make sense here. How universal healthcare sorta works - we all put money in a pot, and use it to pay for healthcare. How health insurance works - we put money into a company, who uses it to pay for healthcare, while taking a significant cut as it's a private…
Someone else beat me to it, but being Canadian who moved to the US, I can kind of see where some people are coming from. If you're young healthy, have a good job and are a bit short sighted, you're way better off in the US (with little to no insurance or a crappy high deductible plan) in term of take home pay. Even if you're not healthy, if you have a lot of money, you're also way better off since wait times in afflu…
To provide a contrasting experience, in Canada I had a family doctor who would see me with a couple day's notice, and 99% of people in the community had a family doctor. However, it was a relatively affluent suburb, which means a lot of doctors lived there.
Dental coverage is a valid point, I was surprised at how many things weren't covered under my company plan.
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#86This analysis ignores VAT taxes entirely, which can add significantly to an employee’s tax burden.
VAT taxes (or sales tax in the US) will tend to more heavily effect lower income workers, which will not be the majority of people on HN. VAT taxes are heavily regressive and, outside of the luxury class of such would be nice to see phased out.
Most sales taxes in the US aren’t applied to staple good like food, blunting the impact on lower income workers.
I would disagree it doesn’t impact higher income works because you’re still paying sales tax on luxury items and because of the high prices, the tax is very high.
In Canada it’s not uncommon for the HST to be 15%.
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#87Like to bring this up when we talk taxes: I think it's totally crazy that we give the feds 25% or more and our states soo soo sooooo much less. I think it should be the other way around:
5% for the feds, and maybe 20% to the states. The reason is that our cities are filled with bums, and have absolutely no money to either give them jobs or make new programs. The feds don't give a shit and are busy making missiles or creating massive social programs that enrich the wrong people. I think the current strategy is broken. The other nice thing about this, is that we'd pay less in taxes AND the states/cities would be able to handle every damn thing it needs. It would be like 2x to 3x the money they are getting right now.
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
$300 is a steal.
My family in Germany throws a fit when they have to pay 50 Euro for something. In the US you can happy if your cost for seeing a doctor is less than 4 digits.
> My family in Germany throws a fit when they have to pay 50 Euro for something.
Socialized insurance rates in Germany are 15% of income. Unless your family doesn't earn any money, they have been paying far more than 50 Euros.
> In the US you can happy if your cost for seeing a doctor is less than 4 digits.
That isn't generally true. Every insurance plan is different. Cheap plans have a high deductible. It's similar to private insurance in Germany.
It's basically like this: If you're gonna be poor, go to Germany. Everyone else will pay for you. If you're going to earn well, leave Germany, otherwise you're going to be paying for everyone else.
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is the only place I know of where someone with good insurance coverage could expect to pay that much for a basic visit.
An emergency room is not a "basic visit".
The greatest trick healthcare companies have pulled is convincing Americans that after hours visits for things like high fevers and broken bones isn't basic care.
I'm 40, and my Mom was telling me about how my brother cut his head as a child, and the local small town doctor came in after hours to stitch it up. Different era.
Re: US Workers Are Highly Taxed If You Count Premiums
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US is the only place I know of where someone with good insurance coverage could expect to pay that much for a basic visit.
An emergency room is not a "basic visit".
An emergency room is a fairly regular visit if you are a parent. I have three young kids and all of them have been to emergency at least a few times — you'll call the government hotline, they'll tell you how urgent it sounds, then you go
They don't want anyone to risk staying home with their child if there's a chance that they are in danger
This is in Australia and there is no cost for this