Seriously, how long do we have to wait for universal healthcare? Too many people are making too much money on our humanity.
this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2024
380 points (98.5% liked)
Health - Resources and discussion for everything health-related
2399 readers
230 users here now
Health: physical and mental, individual and public.
Discussions, issues, resources, news, everything.
See the pinned post for a long list of other communities dedicated to health or specific diagnoses. The list is continuously updated.
Nothing here shall be taken as medical or any other kind of professional advice.
Commercial advertising is considered spam and not allowed. If you're not sure, contact mods to ask beforehand.
Linked videos without original description context by OP to initiate healthy, constructive discussions will be removed.
Regular rules of lemmy.world apply. Be civil.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I guess I've always known, but it really became crystal-clear when a practicing doctor gave a speech on YouTube about how insurance companies (currently) work in the US. Behind all the inspiring commercials and the "your health matters at CarePlace", their goal is to pay as little for care as possible, and extract as much money from you as they can until you die. This doctor had seen it their entire career!
WHY THE FUCK DO WE NEED A MIDDLEMAN BETWEEN OUR CARE AND THE PAYMENT PROFITING OFF OUR HEALTH ISSUES!?
Other countries have better care that costs less!!!
I don't know if you were there or could recall when the dems were getting the Affordable Care act in place but the Republican propaganda was non-stop. Talking about the worst thing is happening and that this was just trying to get us to Universal Health Care and we had to stop it. Then the Death Panels propaganda ... Fox was doing segments how ACA or ObamaCare complicates healthcare as opposed to being "straightforward" with insurance companies. Quite frankly, the average American didn't have the will to overcome the propaganda network on this. Also, proponents of universal healthcare fracture sometimes on details of policy or implementation while the opposition are steadfast and united against it.
It never makes sense though, most Americans believe in it in some form. I also think some would never let a Dem give it to them even if it saved their life.
Remember that it was like John McCain's final act to stop the repeal of ObamaCare: https://youtu.be/DWeayFHsH90 and that shocked so many...
I think it’s extremely telling that the ACA, as flawed as it is, was impossible for the Republicans to repeal. They know that once it happens, there is no going back.
The health insurance lobby in the US is just too strong. If the Democrats ever get a sweeping majority, maybe you’ll see something. But outside of that remote possibility, they’ll fight it harder than anything else.
Because they don't want us to have access to Healthcare. Period. Because then we could more easily detect bad products and we could class action sue companies and maybe even govt orgs for our diseases (thats why many countries in Europe have higher standards for products/chemicals). As it is, you can't sue Johnson&Johnson for cancer if you never get diagnosed with cancer in the first place. Can't sue the military for lung disease relating to burn pits if you never make it through the VA system. And there's millions of products doing harm here. Don't even get me started on Round Up or cancer rates in people my age compared to previous generations.
Other countries have better care that costs less!!!
But you better believe that preserving healthcare access for the non-rich is a constant topic. It should be more a singular voting issue than it is, but that's due to the same force driving opinions in its ultimate goal of forcing change back to a mercenary system.
And every "public-private", "same procedures as public but you pay to skip the queue", "public but newer processes are kept for private" system is just on their own journey down the colon to the same American end. There can be no consolidated public healthcare system that has a future in an environment where private performs anything that can ever be considered essential. Let medical tourism be the cash cow of the last country to give up mercenary healthcare, as their own doctors are stuck mopping the floors.
I will continue to wish bad things on private insurance CEOs then. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's kinda cathartic.
And as much as I value empathy and compassion, I have none for them. They literally let people die for money. I wish nothing but the worst on those fucking parasites.
In the US? It's never ever going to happen. Even if we had a 100% Democrat Congress it'd never make it through. It would do three things that would individually each be political suicide:
- Topple a 1.6 trillion dollar health insurance industry, including rich lobbyists
- Put over 500,000 people out of work (even if some could be hired into a government-led program)
- Remove the main threat employers use against their employees.
Sure, it would massively reduce costs both individually and overall, and it'd improve the overall health of the US, and it would likely be better for the economy, but I have given up any hope it'll ever happen. It's too entrenched. It would be like erasing the oil lobby or the military industrial complex.
What if all the insurance companies were just bought by the government? Everyone keeps their jobs, all the profit goes to the taxpayer instead of shareholders, and fuck employers who use health insurance as leverage.
Remove the main threat employers use against their employees.
If I was sick enough for this to matter, I would 100% give my employer ANFO Christmas presents.
What is ANFO?
Looking it up, this seems to be "ammonium nitrate/fuel oil," which is allegedly mainly used in mining. Not being familiar with the substance at all, this sounds like a veiled threat.
Wait? Why do you think you get to wait? What are you doing?
(Not really a statement targeted at you, more, at the general attitude that goodness should just arrive someday)
Why don't you start with taxes which are a million times easier then build from there?
Like come on. Not having the government do taxes is so inept I wouldn't want them to look after my health at that point.
I live in France. If I wanted to move to any other Western country, the United States would be at the bottom of the list because of the health system.
It'd be fascinating to get some numbers on this in general actually I wonder if a large tourist events or just the tourist season in general sees a large uptake in healthcare being done in France for foreigners? Particularly for Americans.
Look up border trips from Texas, new Mexico, arizona and more whom.have regular bus trips for seniors to.get care because its cheaper
Tourists have to pay usually, though it might still be cheaper than in the states. Olympic athletes get free healthcare.
Olympic’s healthcare is not the same as France’s. Article misleading. As an American tourist in France it would not be free for me.
It isn't free, but it is so much cheaper. My mother got covid in Paris and had some kind of weird allergic reaction in her eye. An emergency visit with an actual doctor and a prescription filled while we waited was...I actually don't remember how much. It was so little it may as well have been free (in the context of a family on an international vacation, not everyday life).
Well it actually is. Special case for the Olympics.
Edit: so yes you wouldn't get it for free as a tourist. Maybe cheaper anyways though.
That's a difference with no distinction in this case
gonna be a relief when I don't have to wake up to this shit anymore lol what a disgusting world we live in
Not the whole world, my friend. That's kind of what the article is about. You have my sympathies though.
I just got rejected by a primary care doctor because they "are not accepting new patients with PPO insurance". I spend extra on a PPO because when I had an HMO they let me see a doctor but the doctor wouldn't treat me because "insurance won't cover it". What an asinine system.
"Is this a well visit or a sick visit? If you complain about something being wrong during your we'll visit, I have to charge you twice."