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Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

mattstoller.substack.com

11–20 of 46 posts

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#11

The elephant in the room (re: the pandemic response) is the privatized health care system. With costs so high, people will avoid treatment, and with few security nets, people will go to work sick. How exactly do you prevent a rapid spread in that situation?

The costs aren't high because it's private - they're high because the heavily regulated government system has broken the market.

In fact the only completely private parts have reasonable prices.

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#12

The elephant in the room (re: the pandemic response) is the privatized health care system. With costs so high, people will avoid treatment, and with few security nets, people will go to work sick. How exactly do you prevent a rapid spread in that situation?

The costs aren't high because it's private - they're high because the heavily regulated government system has broken the market. In fact the only completely private parts have reasonable prices.

What country has a working completely private healthcare system?

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#13
post #8

The elephant in the room (re: the pandemic response) is the privatized health care system. With costs so high, people will avoid treatment, and with few security nets, people will go to work sick. How exactly do you prevent a rapid spread in that situation?

People seem to hold the Dutch healthcare system in high regard, and it's private.

They seem to only partly be private (like the US).

> Long term care for the elderly, the dying, the long term mentally ill etc. is covered by social insurance funded from earmarked taxation under the provisions of the Algemene Wet Bijzondere Ziektekosten, which came into effect in 1968.

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#14
post #8

The elephant in the room (re: the pandemic response) is the privatized health care system. With costs so high, people will avoid treatment, and with few security nets, people will go to work sick. How exactly do you prevent a rapid spread in that situation?

People seem to hold the Dutch healthcare system in high regard, and it's private.

According to the German Wikipedia article every Dutch person is required by law to have a "legally defined" healthcare contract. Sounds quite different to the US system.

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#15

The elephant in the room (re: the pandemic response) is the privatized health care system. With costs so high, people will avoid treatment, and with few security nets, people will go to work sick. How exactly do you prevent a rapid spread in that situation?

The costs aren't high because it's private - they're high because the heavily regulated government system has broken the market. In fact the only completely private parts have reasonable prices.

Ah imagination, what a wonderful world you weave.

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#16
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People seem to hold the Dutch healthcare system in high regard, and it's private.

According to the German Wikipedia article every Dutch person is required by law to have a "legally defined" healthcare contract. Sounds quite different to the US system.

At face value, this is almost exactly what Obama did. It killed most of the cheap options for people who just want emergency coverage and was essentially a tax in disguise which many Americans objected to.

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#17
post #5

Handling it better than a lot of countries…

... no? the US absolutely is not.

The "low" numbers are only low because the reported numbers are explicitly for confirmed cases, but the CDC and government has made it clear that testing is to be restricted as much as possible. Even if the US was capable of testing at the rates of other countries, which it isn't because the CDC has refused to use the WHO tests instead favouring US developed private tests.

Even in places like Washington that have ballooning case numbers they're not permitted to just do widespread free testing.

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#18
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People seem to hold the Dutch healthcare system in high regard, and it's private.

According to the German Wikipedia article every Dutch person is required by law to have a "legally defined" healthcare contract. Sounds quite different to the US system.

It sounds quite similar to the Obamacare individual mandate. Of course that's gone now...

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#19
post #8

The elephant in the room (re: the pandemic response) is the privatized health care system. With costs so high, people will avoid treatment, and with few security nets, people will go to work sick. How exactly do you prevent a rapid spread in that situation?

People seem to hold the Dutch healthcare system in high regard, and it's private.

The British NHS is private at the primary care level. Every GP is a private business contracted by the government to provide local health services.

It’s the elimination of the uninsured risk (aka will I get paid for treating this individual) that is the difference. Not whether the healthcare provider is employed directly by the state.

Re: Why Can't America Handle the Coronavirus Crisis?

#20

The elephant in the room (re: the pandemic response) is the privatized health care system. With costs so high, people will avoid treatment, and with few security nets, people will go to work sick. How exactly do you prevent a rapid spread in that situation?

Also the 50-51 weeks/year of work culture that doesn't give days off during the year.
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