We all know it's bad. We pay hundreds a month to insurance companies because it's a law that we have to, and our employers pay even more. The health care industry is massively profitable. There's simply nothing we can do about it, or many of the issues plaguing this country. Before anyone says so, the illusion that we can change it by voting is not helpful. We can all elect a representative who will say they are goin…
The individual mandate was repealed. With the explicit goal of causing the individual marketplaces to implode. In the meantime it's increased the cost to taxpayers of subsidizing marketplace plans!
How can people read and hear about stories like this, and even possibly think it's OK or even normal? How do lawmakers in the USA convince people that this is acceptable? I have never directly paid a single cent for healthcare, and neither has anyone I know. When I had to get 6 stitches in my forehead at 2 AM on a Sunday morning, it cost me nothing. When my friend needed to get the tip of his finger reattached, it co…
It's because most people in the US are brainwashed (note: I live in the US) into thinking paying ~$450 / month per adult for basic health insurance with high deductibles is a bargain because it "saves" them from $100,000+ hospital bills in an emergency scenario. Meanwhile they are still losing ~40% of their income to taxes if they own a small business with no insurance applied. The messed up thing is, the US also off…
That may be the case in an "emergency" that threatens your life. But if you come to the ER with something that doesn't fall into that category? Something life changing like a detached tendon in your hand that will* render your hand permanently useless for life if not fixed within a few days? No insurance? Fork over 50% of the cost of the surgery, upfront, before they'll do anything about it. (this happened to somebody I know)
I will bring up one point. The wages medical practitioners make are generally higher in the US. So the cost of medical care is higher. I live in Belgium, mostly good and free healthcare (barring payment of a few euros here and there). I have 3 cousins who are (or are studying to become) doctors and while specialised doctors can make decent money (€75 -> 450k), they don't come anywhere close to what a US based doctor…
That's a good point, but not the only reason. The insurance industry extracts a big profit margin by just moving money from one risk pool to another, and that profit has to come from somewhere, so, costs go up. It's inevitable.
U.S. health insurers have an average profit rate of 3.1%. Does that sound massive to you?
What about Alfie Evens? UK said he must die. Parents were prevented from taking him to another country for care.
This isn't at all accurate. There was no treatment for his condition beyond palliative care. He was on life support for the rest of his life, no matter what anyone did. His doctors, whose duty is to the patient, determined that it was more harmful to artificially keep him "alive" (he was in a semi-vegetative state due to serious brain damage) than to disconnect his life support and allow him to die. The offer of "car…
> The court case was between his doctors and his parents. The UK government had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Is there a difference in terminology here? The courts are part of the government in my mind. And they have the ability to overrule unjust law.
How can people read and hear about stories like this, and even possibly think it's OK or even normal? How do lawmakers in the USA convince people that this is acceptable? I have never directly paid a single cent for healthcare, and neither has anyone I know. When I had to get 6 stitches in my forehead at 2 AM on a Sunday morning, it cost me nothing. When my friend needed to get the tip of his finger reattached, it co…
It's because most people in the US are brainwashed (note: I live in the US) into thinking paying ~$450 / month per adult for basic health insurance with high deductibles is a bargain because it "saves" them from $100,000+ hospital bills in an emergency scenario. Meanwhile they are still losing ~40% of their income to taxes if they own a small business with no insurance applied. The messed up thing is, the US also off…
> they only allow people under the age of 30
People under 30 who have nothing (known) wrong with them. I was rejected for a condition which barely affects my life, at a time when I was a poorly-paid contractor with no insurance through work.
>How do lawmakers in the USA convince people that this is acceptable? One side of government is intent on breaking government and then using that dysfunction as a justification to create more dysfunction. The American political environment relies entirely on fear and creating fear using misinformation.
I agree completely, although I highly suspect we would refer to different "sides" as the ones intent on "breaking government".
No...this isn't a 'both sides' thing.
It is a defined political strategy that one side is committed to[0]. There is a difference between a group of people doing things that you think will break government and a group of people doing things with the intent of breaking government.
This type of 'counter argument' is a symptom of exactly what I'm talking about.
There is an easy way to avoid this, don't go to the Emergency Room unless you have an Emergency.
And if you do have an emergency you're fucked because the health insurance you were already required by law to pay for has incentives that, like the healthcare provider, do not align with actual patient care?
How can people read and hear about stories like this, and even possibly think it's OK or even normal? How do lawmakers in the USA convince people that this is acceptable? I have never directly paid a single cent for healthcare, and neither has anyone I know. When I had to get 6 stitches in my forehead at 2 AM on a Sunday morning, it cost me nothing. When my friend needed to get the tip of his finger reattached, it co…
Nobody thinks this is good, but half of our voters think government is the problem, and these problems would disappear if the government would stop messing everything up and let businesses provide health care how they want.
Hospital corporations and insurance corporations are not your friend. You shouldn't have to do this in a first world country, but: * Go to the ER without ID * (optional) Ask how much it will cost * (optional) They do not give prices, as a matter of policy * They must treat you by law * Afterwards, offer a cash payment you deem reasonable * They will accept or decline it Transaction complete. For non-emergency care an…
Important note on ER care.
The job of the ER is to prevent you from dying, not fix you. If you are injured in a way that requires an expensive surgery and therapy to fix but won't actually kill you if left untreated, even if it cripples you, they are not obligated to fix you under the law.
No other industry entirely hides the end price you'll pay, or even an estimate, until after you have gone through the service. It's a sad state of affairs but not something we have to be stuck with; most of the time we could get these numbers ahead of time. ER visits are difficult in their own ways; you can be brought in unconscious and go through treatment you can't agree to, you can be close to death and the time i…
> I don't have an answer other than universal healthcare.
What about requiring published price lists? Maybe you need twelve procedures because you're in bad shape, but at least the bill won't be arbitrary.