To American Members

[Altfish]

The pharmaceuticals and for profit hospitals are accountable to their share holders. Its not for nothing that Trumpcare had to be passed before tax reform, where does one think the money to support tax breaks is coming from?

I didn't say they weren't look at the question I was answering.

 

[Altfish]

It's actually not capitalism where there is real price competition. I don't get an estimate for a car repair for $100,000 unless you have insurance then it's $100 and every thing is charged separately so replacing a tire is priced as "driving the car into the lift", "moving the bars into place, raising the car, removing the hub cap, unscrewing the tire, removing the tire etc. That's how health car now doesn't work.

It works fine in many other countries where they have universal coverage.
Apart from the far right politics, why is the US different?

 

[sun rise]

It works fine in many other countries where they have universal coverage.
Apart from the far right politics, why is the US different?

I read somewhere but don't remember where documentation about how and why the insurance system here degenerated over time. I know that I used to have cheap (in constant dollars) insurance with broader coverage and better coverage a few decades ago. I think part of it is the incentives that exist for loading up the bill and overcharging for everything.

One example of a fix is competitive bidding. Of course, ER emergencies are something else, but if I needed a knee replacement for example and my insurance company said "here's 3 places you can go to with outstanding results and we'll pay everything if you do" otherwise you pay a percentage, the business would change over night.

So to me it's not a matter of single payer vs insurance companies but the structure of health care.

 

[Nous]

Another note - I'm a fan of Joe Flower who writes extensively on the cost of health care. For example Healthcare Economics: Why this stuff doesn't work the way you think it does — and how to fix it - Joe Flower Healthcare Futurist

He says:

Solvable: This is a solvable problem. If we manage to stop paying for waste, over $1 trillion per year in unneeded overtreatment will disappear.​

Some statistics of this "unneeded overtreatment" are quoted here: Why Are Americans Such Voracious Pill-Poppers?

Notably, according to a 2013 study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, about 70% of Americans take at least one prescription drug daily, and at least 50% eat 2 prescription drugs every day. The most popular pills to pop are antidepressants, antibiotics and opioids. The antidepressants do not correct any known biological condition; antibiotics are prescribed and taken injudiciously, which only leads to the development of resistant bacteria, and no one knows why (or if) Americans are in such pain. Americans are the most obese population in the world (each of the most prescribed drugs contribute to weight gain), and have the highest rates of cancer.

Americans are disgustingly unhealthy due to their own unhealthy habits.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Apparently even Trump thinks we should have single-payer healthcare:

"We must have universal health care. Just imagine the improved quality of life for our society as a whole," he wrote, adding: "The Canadian-style, single-payer system in which all payments for medical care are made to a single agency (as opposed to the large number of HMOs and insurance companies with their diverse rules, claim forms and deductibles) … helps Canadians live longer and healthier than Americans."

Analysis | Trump’s forbidden love: Single-payer health care

 

[pearl]

I didn't say they weren't look at the question I was answering.

I wasn't disagreeing with you. The open market ought to imply competition. Too often the pharmaceuticals fix the prices and there is really no competition.

 

[CogentPhilosopher]

I'd like to send my best thoughts to American members here regarding the recent changes to health insurance in the U.S. I hope all Americans here can keep their insurance intact or find a suitable replacement or, if they don't already have good insurance, can get sufficient insurance.

This thread is not meant to show pity; I intend it as a show of well-wishes and solidarity, especially since insufficient and fundamentally flawed health insurance is par for the course in a country like mine.

Cheers.

I didn't have health insurance under the Obama administration either.

We need universal healthcare.