Simple answer. Economy of scale, say the government, which can negotiate and force lower rates for say pharmaceuticals and other procedures (something most countries already do) and do so without being profit driven while simultaneously implementing some tort reform would net us considerable savings, a much better health system and expand equal and fair coverage to everyone.
Health Care Thread
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Asshat wormie
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My horrible plan was 600 dollars a month with no deductible prior to Obamacare. After Obamacare, I obtained one from a better insurer for 355 with 2200 deductible. So nice to be in a state that actually negotiated with insurance companies instead of letting them rape their citizens just so they can blame Obama for it. Also the price of my plan has gone up by 60 dollars since Obamacare started. The price of my plan went up by 200 in similar time period (I think it took a year longer).
Eomer
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You're a fucking moron. Canada spends half as much of it's GDP on health care, and has better health metrics pretty much across the board. There's definitely some problems with rationing/wait times for some specialist services, but overall you will not find a single Canadian who would trade their health care system for the American one unless they're filthy fucking rich, in which case who gives a shit about cost right? I got mine!
The American system is so fucked up that you guys spend as much money on Medicare/Medicaid just to cover a fraction of your population, as we spend on our entire health care system. That's fucked. Totally fucked.
Eomer
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For the rich, it unquestionably is. The same can be said for some other European systems, like the Swiss. I don't deny that. Our system isn't perfect and there probably should be more private delivery of some health care services within the single payer system. But for the other 98% of the population, the US system is just so terrible it boggles the mind.
Big Phoenix
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How exactly is our healthcare industry even remotely free market?
40% of the country has their healthcare entirely in the hands of the government. The .gov workers, seniors, poor people on Medicaid. Everything about their healthcare it's decided by the government.
The rest? Up to your employer. Have you ever worked at a place that crafted it's healthcare plan to your whims?
Cad
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I worked at a company when I was a software dev that self-insured. We had a company meeting where they had to discuss the economic performance of the health plan.
The CPA that ran it was up there talking about how they planned to reduce costs and expenditures in FY2004 or whatever and hoped to pass some of that savings on to us. I was sitting there thinking. I wonder whose claims they plan to deny so that they can cut costs? Which one of you in this auditorium, right now, is going to get sick and have the company deny you so that they can save 2% on the health plan? Because thats EXACTLY what he was saying. And the soft-headed sheep among me didn't get it. I was appalled.
Eomer
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As a medium sized business owner, I can quite emphatically say that it's wonderful not having to give a single fuck about health insurance for my employees. We have a supplemental insurance plan for dental/optical/pharmaceutical coverage amongst other things, but that's it. I can't imagine having to fuck around with health care plans.
Does Canada health insurance provide free crack cocaine to its citizens? It must because you're the first person I've ever heard say Canadian healthcare meteics across the board are better than US healthcare.
You make the mistake of combining quality with costs. In pure quality of services provided to patients, the U.S. healthcare system was ranked #1 in the world and Canada #7. Of course in the US we pay out the ass for having the highest quality of healthcare which is why almost every American taxpayer wanted healthcare reform to actually reduce costs. We did not get that in any form with Obamacare.
Cad
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United States National Health Care Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So you'd want this, then, right?
I agree. Boggles my mind that people still support Obamacare even when presented with factual information about it. Why do you think so many doctors are opposed to it and claim it will make healthcare in the US significantly worse?
Quaid
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Still, 83% of doctors in the Medicus survey now say health reform is working, giving the ACA a passing grade of A, B, C or D. That is in contrast to 2014 when 77% of doctors gave the law a passing grade and in 2013 when 70% said the law was working.
This "penalty when you can't really afford it" is bullshit. If premiums cost over 10% AGI you're exempt from a penalty and there's several other ways to get out of the penalty. If you're actually fucking poor, you're on medicaid and everything is free, if you're somewhat poor and you go through the exchange you get subsidized.
I guess if you're an idiot and make plenty of money but waste it all then yeah, you got screwed.
I guess if you're an idiot and make plenty of money but waste it all then yeah, you got screwed.
None of those graphics have anything to do with the quality of healthcare services available in either country. Take life expectancy. More Americans use illegal drugs and commit violent crimes than Canadians. Those combine to lower life expectancy in the US. Same for obesity. Poor lifestyle choices have nothing to do with quality of healthcare.
I have a basic BCBS plan. If I get cancer, I have a better chance of surviving here in the US than I do in Canada. Agree or disagree?