OT: And you wonder why some people want to kill CEOs....

[Canthony]

If only reality were that simple.... i am guessing you havent had any major events with your insurance lately.

 Its fucking maddening with the games they play to get out of paying.  Did you know your insurance company can arbitrarily "re-review" your claims years later and recall payments from your health care provider who then turns around and comes back after you for payment... good luck finding your documentation of a pre approval months and even years after the fact to contest this.

I am not saying it's perfect, nothing is. I don't believe socialized medicine is the way to go, however. Have a good friend that is from Russia, and she tells me all the time, that socialized healthcare is a joke. The quality is horrific she says. I guess its super bad. On top of it, they own you because of it. It is up to them to treat you or not. She lost her grandma at the age of 71 because she had stage 4 cancer and they wouldn't treat her.

[JustInTime]

I am not saying it's perfect, nothing is. I don't believe socialized medicine is the way to go, however. Have a good friend that is from Russia, and she tells me all the time, that socialized healthcare is a joke. The quality is horrific she says. I guess its super bad. On top of it, they own you because of it. It is up to them to treat you or not. She lost her grandma at the age of 71 because she had stage 4 cancer and they wouldn't treat her.

What a compelling argument. If Bernie Sanders ever holds a town hall meeting near you, you should debate him on the merits of socialized medicine.

[JimmyinSD]

I am not saying it's perfect, nothing is. I don't believe socialized medicine is the way to go, however. Have a good friend that is from Russia, and she tells me all the time, that socialized healthcare is a joke. The quality is horrific she says. I guess its super bad. On top of it, they own you because of it. It is up to them to treat you or not. She lost her grandma at the age of 71 because she had stage 4 cancer and they wouldn't treat her.

I dont think govt run is the answer either,  but maybe some form of legit oversight would be beneficial.  The govt would screw it up worse than it already is,  but our system needs improvement and one way to start is controlling the profit takers a bit,  everyone needs to make money,  but somethings should be as profitable as others.

[BigAl99]

I dont think govt run is the answer either,  but maybe some form of legit oversight would be beneficial.  The govt would screw it up worse than it already is,  but our system needs improvement and one way to start is controlling the profit takers a bit,  everyone needs to make money,  but somethings should be as profitable as others.

Oversight and control is regulation and we all know what a unifying concept that is. To me it's a misnomer to say "socialized medicine" or Gov. controlled. We need to look at results the US has the most expensive healthcare and our results are like 42nd, just better than Trinidad and Tabogo. I get a pretty good view on similar procedures and costs of US and German systems. The access to quality and technology is the same, it's the cost, ease of access and knowledge of what you are going to get, that makes it different. Over there being financially wiped out because illness or being denied coverage after the fact are unheard of. Things like the cost of having a covered procedure explode because the hospital uses diagnosticians that are out of network to your insurance doesn't happen. The medicine isn't regulated but the insurance is. It's a simple problem that politicians and lobbyists have conflated with complicated laws and loopholes to get us where we are today.

[JustInTime]

32 of the 33 generally considered industrialized nations have universal healthcare.

1 of the 33 generally considered industrialized nations have citizens going bankrupt due to medical expenses.

1 of the 33 generally considered industrialized nations have citizens that diabetis can be a death sentence if you’re poor.

Is it a difficult issue? Yes. Is it impossible to fix? 32 other nations figured it out.

For those wondering which countries have universal healthcare.

As of 2023, 32 developed countries have universal healthcare:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

Russia does not have universal healthcare.

[Zanary]

Fixing medicine here is a huge problem, because the US is typically a dominant #1 in medical breakthroughs...despite all the issues in the system. That takes cubic dollars, aside from the ones being exploited left and right.

Having more direct governmental control is terrifying, because the same cretins that can't balance a budget or be accountable for essentially anything would be deciding what our health/lives are worth. It takes little imagination to picture one's existence in an Excel column...whether in a UHC office, or some partisan tool's. Neither is comforting.

Insurance lobbied its horrible way into mandatory products as it is, and they actively fight covering their customers; I think that should be seen as felony assault at the least. That said, I don't have the grand plan for switching the power around without either damaging our medical sciences or making our care become full-on 3rd world.

[Waterboy]

Turns out Elias Rodriguez is an admirer of Luigi Mangione. Incredible company here. The first key in keeping down medical costs might be to not provide free services to illegals. Second is to reduce demand on the system by encouraging healthier diets and incentives for health. Trumps drug plan could be another vital step. Universal care should cover basic requirements but with limits on the extent of free care. There isn’t one answer. It will need to be a collection of efforts that build upon each other.

[hogjowlsjohnny]

Everybody is fearful of a government run health care system, and rightfully so. The health care system we have is run by insurance and it's a mess. Perhaps the government should do away with 3rd party payers and let the market find itself. Insurance reform is long overdue.

[Canthony]

32 of the 33 generally considered industrialized nations have universal healthcare.

1 of the 33 generally considered industrialized nations have citizens going bankrupt due to medical expenses.

1 of the 33 generally considered industrialized nations have citizens that diabetis can be a death sentence if you’re poor.

Is it a difficult issue? Yes. Is it impossible to fix? 32 other nations figured it out.

For those wondering which countries have universal healthcare.

As of 2023, 32 developed countries have universal healthcare:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

Russia does not have universal healthcare.

Yes, Russia has a universal healthcare system. The system is based on the Obligatory Medical Insurance (OMI), which provides free access to public healthcare for all Russian citizens and residents. The OMI is funded by the state and is accessible to both permanent and temporary foreign residents in Russia.


Go fuck yourself.

[JustInTime]

Yes, Russia has a universal healthcare system. The system is based on the Obligatory Medical Insurance (OMI), which provides free access to public healthcare for all Russian citizens and residents. The OMI is funded by the state and is accessible to both permanent and temporary foreign residents in Russia.


Go fuck yourself.

Well, I guess a broke clock is occasionally right…lol