American Reacts Why Americans Have So Much Medical Debt

[@Pluggit1953]

Many Americans have this strange fear of “socialised medicine” thinking it’s somehow communist.

[@Steve-gc5nt]

They've been well educated to think that way.

[@krpkrp3033]

@@Steve-gc5nt Yes they have been educated that socialism and communism are the same thing. But then again the US education system is to blame for a lot the failings in the US.

[@jjc5407]

It's very strange because the power of collective bargaining reduces costs for everyone. Also people already pay taxes for collective federal law and order, defense, education etc. so why is doing the same for health so abhorrent to so many Americans?

[@alanmusicman3385]

They way to unsell anything to Americans is to call it socialist or communistic. When you ask people from the US what those labels mean, you get some very odd answers. The right wingers over there have done a great job in creating a horribly binary mindset with few shades of grey and centrists in the US have let them get away with it - which is to their shame. I have never seen any real sign that there are people in the US who hold left wing views - not in the same way as is seen elsewhere anyway.

[@chrisellis3797]

Yet they seem oblivious to their socialised police and fire services😂

[@cireenasimcox1081]

Conor, hundreds - thousands - of books & articles have discussed the "why are Americans so ruthless" question, so don't feel it's a dumb question. One of the characteristics many Americans are proud to claim is their "Individualism". The meaning of 'individualism' in the UK is more related to artists and writers; or someone with a very original way of looking at the world. So it was only very recently I discovered that American "individualism" is what we call the "I'm all right, Jack, so bugger you." theory. Which, in a capitalist country, can lead to corruption, coercion, violence, and the collapse of society. And other people having no value. Which, of course, is the very opposite of democracy, which allows everyone to have the same value - we don't look down on people because of the work they do. And we don't look up to people because of what they do, either. This is part of the reason the USA has been classed as a "Failed democracy" in the world rankings for the past 6 years running. Not that I think that disturbs anyone: capitalism and democracy can't exist side by side, so they stick with the one which might earn them a personal fortune.😄

[@chrissmith8773]

The answer to your question is simple: Capitalism taken to the extreme.

[@DruncanUK]

The relentless pursuit of money is the American Capitalism system. It has resulted in a system that measures a persons value in how much money they have which results in people pursuing even more money. It will just keep getting worse unless USA can change their views and value people for themselves rather than how much they have.

[@beakybuzzard]

other countries have a moral compass that America has not, its dog eat dog/all about me in the US

[@richardhargrave6082]

It all about making money. The mechanic analogy doesn't seem too far off. In other developed countries the drugs and Pharma are price capped. In the US, there is no cap, so they charge as much as they want to, knowing the insurance companies will pay, then they put the premium up. Then there is the CO Pay, god knows how they get away with it. I know that here in the UK the NHS has many issues, but at least I won't go bankrupt

[@ajhorniman8285]

🤞

[@headshot6959]

It's more profitable to allow people to get sick and remain so as long as possible providing long-term care than keeping people healthy or letting them die.

[@danhodson7187]

Greed is the reason, plus a government that will allow it to happen.

[@apmoy70]

Connor, this does not explain why doesn't your government, either at the federal or the state level, negotiate face to face with the large pharmaceuticals the drug prices. I mean an insuline vial in the US costs more than 300$, the same insuline, by the same company is less than 10€ here (around 8.5-9€)

[@iriscollins7583]

With the NHS, classed as essential to life, insulin is prescribed with nothing to pay.

[@stewrmo]

I have been a Type 1 Diabetic for 30 years. I have never paid one single penny for Doctors, Clinics, Hospital visits and stays or insulin. I live in Scotland, thank God.

[@apmoy70]

@@iriscollins7583 Similarly here, but the price our NHS (we call it EΣY/ESY which is the acromym of the Greek translation of your NHS 😉) acquires insuline by the big pharmas is no more than 8-9-10€ per vial

[@apmoy70]

@@stewrmo Ditto, I live in a EU country, which treats its sick citizens humanly, thank God. My best friend has a son born with the congenital defect called Fallot tetralogy. The boy (he's a man now, 21 yo) has undergone 3-4 major surgeries of many hours and many thousands of €, that cost my friend, zero, zilch, nada, 0 €. I can't even imagine what could have happened if he lived in the States

[@jjc5407]

The NHS is massive. It's one of the top 5 employers of staff in the world and treats a million patients a day. Due to that it has enormous purchasing power and therefore is able to negotiate low prices for drugs. That actually has an impact on global prices too which in turn helps reduce costs in other countries.

[@martinarscott3524]

My wife and I would be screwed if we lived in the US, we both have a number of chronic health conditions. Having had 2 lots of neck surgery for badly prolapsed discs I tore a lower back muscle last weekend, I thought I'd ruptured another disc it was so painful, so I went to the hospital. Initially my pulse and blood pressure were so high they were worried I was going to have a stroke and did precautionary ECGs and blood tests. I was there most of the day and they did MRI scans and physio assessments, they wanted to keep me in overnight as the pain was so bad but once I knew it wasn't disc related I decided to go home. They gave me some heavy duty painkillers and I left with a bill of £0. I'm now off work sick as I can't sit for more than 10 mins without severe pain, and my boss has told me 'don't rush back too early, make sure it's properly healed, we can cover your work' :) The scary thing is our government seems to be edging towards a more private healthcare service.....

[@whitecompany18]

I'm from the uk, I have had numerous mental and health problems over the years, if I lived in America I would be homeless, dead or in prison by now. Thank God for the NHS! I'm still here because the British government and people put PEOPLE before profit. I have no problem with my taxes going towards helping people in need... I was that person! And when I say "taxes" I don't mean at the end of the year I'm hit with a huge tax demand or anything like that, our taxes are already included in the price when we buy something.. Anything! And as I've seen so many price comparison videos on American vs British food costs , our food is not only a lot cheaper than yours but healthier too.. So even though I'm paying tax on that food to give me free health care , it's still cheaper than your food ... Imagine if your food was cheaper, healthier and you got free health care. We brits aren't crazy socialist communists, we just voted for a government that caps prices on pharmaceutical needs for people. That doesn't stop me being free in any way shape or form to go and make my millions if that's what I wanted to do. I can't actually think of anything Americans can do that British people can't that makes you all so "free" anyway?🤔 I think the American government may be putting out a little propaganda there...because it works for THEM. Great channel bud, love the fact you want to learn more 👌🇬🇧

[@MikeSmith-ye9ho]

Totally agree, they saved my life a few times. I would’ve had to have sold my house and I couldn’t afford the medication that I’m on. Just one visit. Ambulance recess three days in hospital, followed by seven days of doctors appointments to check up on me and another two weeks follow-up. What would that have cost in America? Thank God for our NHS

[@andrewmurray299]

All hail the NHS in the UK

[@dwightk.schrute8696]

They have people sit in ambulances before allowing them to hospitals so as not to inflate the wait times. Not only you wait the same time anyway, but an ambulance is now blocked from providing immediate care to those in need. Pretty sure there are better examples than NHS.

[@iriscollins7583]

​​​@@dwightk.schrute8696 When I had a heart attack, from ringing for an Ambulance to being operated on( Angioplasty two stets inserted) was less than an hour. I was admitted to hospital for five days,. Physical therapy a few weeks later. Still here 11 years later. No more Heart attacks, due to prescribed medication. Which as a pensioner I receive for free, delivered to my home.The system is called Triage, which is a world wide practice.The sicker people are seen first. For lesser injuries there at busy times longer waits. No medical bills either, Paid for in taxes and National Insurance when my husband and I worked .

[@jjc5407]

The NHS is hardly perfect and people are often as vehemently opposed to any kind of reform as many Americans are about changes to their out-of-control private system. The problem is whenever discussions about the NHS crop up all anyone compares it to is the American system which nobody wants. There's never any discussion about all the other myriad healthcare systems in operation in countries across the world. Debate about what should and should not be available on the NHS is also constantly shut down despite the ever rising costs and demands being placed on it. People take it for granted and there are some who abuse the system because it's free at the point of need, but again you can't talk about that or you're seen as anti-NHS. For example, if you're going to get billed even if you don't turn up for an appointment then you make sure you get there. If it doesn't cost you anything there are those who just don't bother to turn up which wastes medical professionals' time (and therefore costs money) and increases waiting times for everyone else. Reform is desperately needed or costs will continue to spiral and services will continue to be eroded.

[@corbuzchristi365]

​​​@@dwightk.schrute8696 at least most of them get to enjoy rehabilitation without the added stress of debt they can't afford to pay after care has been given. The staff can't help being understaffed, that's a government issue. I'm terms of cost to patient/care given ratio, is second to none, globally (barring holland)

[@dwightk.schrute8696]

@@corbuzchristi365 Patients served is a vanity metric, at least for emergency services you want to focus on deaths prevented. Hard to do to that when most of your ambulances are straddled with people waiting to be admitted.

[@markwolstenholme3354]

The song, New York, New York----If you can make it there you can make it anywhere, it's upto you New York New York. It means USA really. Land of the free , personal liberty etc. Look after yourself because nobody else will. I don't mean this disrespectfully by any means but it's true whether it's health or anything else. It is now running wild and out of control because most people believe everything is a right and not to be messed with. Sorry if it sounds harsh but regretfully it is what it is.

[@stuartfitch7093]

My friend from Portland Oregon in the US would defend the US healthcare system to the hilt years ago but recently his attitude has completely switched. This is because he is a veteran, very patriotic and finds it hard to take any criticism about the US. But then last year, after many years of good health he had a stroke. He could no longer work because he became almost totally paralysed down one side. Because he couldn't work he lost his job and because he lost his job he lost his health insurance. This means he is now in crippling healthcare debt, with no money to pay the debt, he can't work to pay the medical debt because of his partial paralysis and so he has this absurd situation where he has to apply for disability welfare but it could be upto a year before he finds out if he qualifies whilst in the meantime his wife has to work every hour she can just to pay for the rent on the apartment and other day to day bills. At one time it became a subject we had to stop talking about because we just had to agree to disagree. But then around a month ago he brought the subject up after years of avoiding the subject of healthcare. He wanted to know the ins and outs on the UK. When I told him what I pay in national insurance a month his response was "We are getting ripped off in the US". He was paying something crazy like $400 for health insurance before he had his stroke and that's just a conservative monthly premium for healthcare in the US. Now he's had his stroke and has huge medical debt because his coverage was lost and can't afford the price of the prescription drugs he needs. He became downright angry about the US system when I truthfully told him about the cap on the price of prescription drugs here in the UK. He's a dear friend but I couldn't lie to him and say "oh we have to pay hundreds for drugs put of pocket too". The problem in the US is that not only is big pharma run at a profit where money is put before patient welfare but big pharma also gives big donations to the US political parties. This is how in the US you get a democrat biden administration doing so many left policies but wont touch healthcare. Yet here in the UK, you have many people who are more conservative on the political spectrum on many subjects, like myself, who completely agree with the NHS system of care. Do I think the NHS can be run more efficiently? I would say yes it probably can be. But I wouldn't mind paying a bit more tax either in order to give the NHS more funding so long as it's spent wisely and not just thrown at the system. It just really surprises me that the US, that is seen by many outsiders as one of the most patriotic countries in the world, can be so selfish when it comes to the health of a fellow citizen. What can be a more patriotic act than to do your own little part in ensuring that when a fellow citizen of your country is ill, they get the care they need even if they themselves can't afford it. To me, that's a very patriotic act and I hope my fellow Brits that do get ill and have to use the NHS feel the love and care of their fellow citizens by paying their national insurance.

[@williambranch4283]

The total debt not just medical debt, is added to you every day, even if you don't know about it. For each trillion in debt your share goes up $3,000 not counting interest. A $100 trillion debt means you own $300,000. My parents didn't have any health insurance until my mother was old enough for medicare.

[@bubee8123]

You need to stop focusing on haters and pause as much as you can because that is the reason people watch react content, otherwise they would watch the original video. Basically if they call you pause king you are doing great! :)

[@tonyhirons5445]

Some Americans just don't care enough about other people in the USA. They seem to object to any attempt to use their 'tax dollars ' to help anyone else. Although you seem quite happy to pay over the odds to subsidise underpaid servers in restaurants. My main problem though, is in your country's name. You couldn't be less United if you tried. Thank goodness for the NHS 🇬🇧

[@lizstratton9689]

Brilliant video - not seen it before but had lots of really good info in it. After WW2 we had a Labour Government (Bernie Saunders is what we would call a Labor Supporter) which put Health Care into the realm of 'the Public Good' ie as something Governments had to provide to their citizens in the same way we are entitled to free education, defense of our lands and legal systems. In the USA you hunted these people down and criminalized them to the point where you are today.

[@ac1455]

3:17 economics 101, free market agents need to know prices to make decisions. Yet people (lobbyists) will protest that it’s ‘free market’, but they don’t want an actual free market/competition.

[@anne-louisegoldie]

I'm in the UK. One thing I've noticed is the exorbitant price of billable medications in the US. It far exceeds cost price. E.g., in the UK the private (non NHS) cost of the patented drug, Ozempic, is £200 GBP per month, that includes a good amount of profit for the private care provider. I think it's over a thousand dollars a month in the US. That's a huge profit for someone. Once the patents expire, generic meds are much less expensive to produce, so is that saving passed on to the patient? (PS, NHS is deliberately being run down financially and there will be a different system soon.) 😊xx

[@samnemeth-smyth6109]

Preventative means stopping it becoming a bigger issue 😐 it does not mean you're less likely to go see a doctor

[@apmoy70]

It means to tackle the health problem when it's still cheaper to heal, than let it become even bigger and much more difficult and expensive to solve it. In simpler wording, the absence of free primary care is what makes the US medical system "unique". Every other 1st world country, has either very cheap and affordable or free primary care.

[@mlee6050]

I will now call US second world

[@geoffpriestley7310]

It's the opposite see your doctor before it becomes serious and expensive

[@cheryla7480]

The difference is, doctors in other countries go into medicine with a genuine desire to save lives and heal people. In America they go into medicine with the goal of becoming millionaires!

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 3:39 - Lack in transparency is mainly "Why the same drug from the same company costs to UK or Canada government 10 times less that i costs to US citizen?". You know what you're paying for and how much you're paying that, but you don't know why it's so much higher than elsewhere. Mainly because they don't tell you how much of those money go to "executive bonuses, shareholder value and lucrative contracts"... mainly you don't know the profit of insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and hospitals, you know only the final price you're going to pay and you usually know it AFTER you get treated... no hospital tell you "how much it WILL cost to have that procedure", you'll discover it with the bill that will get to you 1-2 month after the treatment

[@claregale9011]

Maybe it's looked at as more of a business than a service ? I don't know just a thought . 🤗

[@micko11154]

Obviously!

[@almostyummymummy]

I'd go with more of an industry than a business.

[@tompettersson3814]

To much capitalism and to little socialism.

[@danhodson7187]

"SocIaLiSM?? ThATs CoMmUNisM yOu FaSCisT!" - An American.

[@geekehUK]

Healthcare is just so expensive in the US. That's why the numbers the Republicans tout seem so insane when talking about universal healthcare, it _shouldn't_ cost anywhere near what they claim, assuming that once a universal system is brought into place that prices are actually brought down to a sane level, not charging thousands a night for a hospital bed on a general ward and $200 per pill for over the counter pain killers. I googled a couple of prices of something that would be serious enough you probably couldn't avoid it but pretty common, Cardiac Artery Bypass Surgery. In the US the average price (if you're uninsured) is apparently $117,000 that doesn't include doctor's fees, ongoing costs of drugs etc. (That's mean so obviously you can get it cheaper if you shop around). The price in the Czech Republic is about $15,000, in India it's around $5000 - $7000. I know from personal experience that healthcare in CZ is excellent, I don't know about India but an awful lot of very talented doctors come from there. Of course the average salary of a cardiothoracic surgeon in the US is about $420,000 (although results for that question varied rather a lot) in Czech it's about a tenth of that, now cost of living is significantly lower in CZ but it's not 10 times lower. Doctors in the US are probably overpaid. Honestly I'm not sure that any job should really pay $1M+ per year (maybe test pilot or astronaut, bomb disposal), like how much money do you need? And with preventative care, what's meant is things like making sure everyone can get insulin, beta blockers, statins etc. because that's a damn sight cheaper than treating heart attacks and cutting off people's legs, which are emergency surgeries that the hospital has to perform regardless of if the patient can pay for it or not. I really have no idea how health insurance works in the US, it seems to be deliberately confusing, and it appears that some hospitals deliberately inflate costs to be billed to insurance and also some hospitals have deals with certain insurance companies to give them huge discounts. I'm not quite sure how they manage both of those things simultaneously but the patient seems to be the one getting screwed in either instance. And I don't quite get how none of this is illegal. Like do consumer protection laws even exist in the US? I guess who needs them when you can just sue and pay a 30% contingency fee to a lawyer. You guys also seem to have something of an obsession with brand name drugs, You buy Tylenol not Acetaminophen, Advil not Ibuprofen, Valium not Diazepam, Ambien not Zolpidem, Zoloft not Sertraline all these drugs went out of patent decades ago, the generics are identical (active ingredients) and cost a fraction of the price, most countries the doctor doesn't proscribe a specific brand drug unless that drug is brand new and still under patent, we don't get worse drugs. It honestly seems like either as an alternative to health insurance or on top of the cheapest you can get, you'd be better of making a deal (a proper one with a contract) with like 20 - 30 other people (they'd probably have to be people you at least somewhat trust, or there'd have to be an awful lot of rules and/or some sort of arbitrating body) and each paying say $100 a month into a high yield savings account, then when someone needs medical treatment you can withdraw the funds to pay for it, with the option that you can shop around / go to another country for it. I realise that basically is what insurance is just on a smaller scale but this way you'd get total control, wouldn't get denied treatment and half the money wouldn't go to shareholders.

[@capablancauk]

Europeans chase happiness Americans chase money.😊

[@clivegilbertson6542]

G'day Mate! For context here in Australia we have a dual system of the government funded "Medicare" complimented by private health insurance...During Covid all "electives" were cancelled in both public and private hospitals thus I needed a hip replacement and when Covid ceased impacting the hospitals the waiting in the public system had grown in my case to nearly 2 years. However since I had kept my health insurance I got it done within 7 weeks...My health insurance is $322 per month ($214 US) my total out of pocket for the hip replacement was $1300 ($875 US) Cheers!

[@command_unit7792]

I havent seen a system as bad as the american one

[@ac1455]

I mean there are some, but there’re not developed countries

[@matthewjamison]

Chasing the bag is more of an American thing. People in Europe value quality of life more than always wanting more. We work to live, but Americans live to work.

[@spiritualanarchist8162]

In the ancient Roman republic, fire fighters were privately owned. The famous richest Roman ever, Crassus, ( who owned firefighting crews) was said to pop up If your house was on fire, (or if you owned the houses next to it) He then negotiated a price to save your property, or even buy it up for a low sum .This is more or less what's happened with the U.S Healthcare industry. The moment you privatize and deregulate basic human needs, companies will find a way to charge you as much as they can.

[@elizabethfarrell23]

So so true, Took a perfectly fine MX5 ND with no faults or history of faults to have two new wheels recently, alignment included, etc, next day, the dash is saying the wheels aren't aligned.. (garages and medics often practice sabotage or half arsed care so you come back, should've noticed the red flag when the noob mechanic gingerly said "i'd do anything for you to come back", after I said i'd be back for more wheels in the future as Greenwhich is so close. Not to be assumptive, he could've just been overwhelmed with how many cars there were that day and did say he was new, hence fecking the alignment somewhat, so yes, it's always best to do what you can yourself, even paying for a qualification just to service your own home or vehicle, so nobody with a lack of sleep/knowledge/common sense/respect comes near your belongings. Would love to professionally do my own MOT/etc, and I think many people would. Prevention and skill should be sought by everyone. Many Americans seem to think it's cool to risk their health though and often can't afford fruit/veg etc, which can eventually impair thinking/motivation to stay healthy at all, so the U.S isn't nearly a straightforward fix. Availability and motivation are more important in a way and that isn't even widely in place yet and the country is a megalithic size to boot, too.

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 15:43 - Negociations between patients and doctors/hospitals is NON-SENSE. The patient has no negociation power at all in this situation, so hospitals can charge how much as they think they can get. Only the government can prevent abuses being the negociator for all patient. For example like in Germany or Japan, where the government negociate all prices and insurance coverage laws and fix them as immutable until the next negociation (that in Japan is after 2 years)

[@williambranch4283]

If you don't have credit, you don't get the treatment, surgery or meds! Be happy that you can put it on credit ;-)

[@brucewilliams4152]

Uk has both preventative health care, and octopuses a doctor ,you are a gp( general practioner first), you see a consultant should the issue not be able to be dealt with GPS

[@JenniferRussell-qw2co]

When it's money based, greed comes into play. Your analogy about car repairs is a good one, bcos why wouldn't they add on things if it will earn them more money? It's disgraceful!

[@stewedfishproductions7959]

The questions asked by the rest of the world are simple: Why is America happy to spend SO MUCH money on the army, navy, air force and weapons, yet cannot or won't do the same for it's sick or ill people? Also, why is it easier to purchase a gun than get a place in a hospital bed without insurance? Finally, how come a 'school mass shooting' seems to be the 'norm' and accepted by American politicians, yet every other country is aghast when it happens? These questions are how the rest of the world perceives the US, and are mystified by them!

[@brucewilliams4152]

USA it isn't health care,it is money making business

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 17:35 - You ask: "why nothing is sacred when in pursuit of money?". Because health care isn't a citizen right in US. It's a benefit or a luxury Until you don't add an emendament to your constitution that say that "affordable and full health care is a basic citizen right" (like we all have in our constitutions in Europe), companies have all the freedom to do what they want and pursue profit at citizens expense And you can't blame them because they're doing what your laws and your constitution let them do. It's not that hard to understand that big companies, no matter what type, no matter what they sell, aren't friends of common people, NEVER

[@WatchingDude]

In Australia you pay 1.5% of your gross income to pay for healthcare. This means if you earn $50,000 a year you pay an additional $750 a year in tax.

[@steveallen3434]

The problem as I see it is government can't or will not regulate the cost of insurance and the coverage they provide and seeing healthcare providers are private companies and need to make a profit to operate. They seek the highest price and see insurance make a profit the less they pay out. But until the people get wise and demand their elected politicians make it fair for all, IT will not happen

[@andypandy9013]

Thank God for the NHS here in the UK. No, it is not perfect but it is a darned sight better than the US system. Any day.

[@iantrott9152]

Unless someone has experienced ongoing healthcare first hand it’s very difficult to fully comprehend the massive effect it has on all aspects of your life. I’m in the UK, I became disabled at 17; mainly through having bone cancer. I’ve been disabled for 40 years now. It’s highly probable that I wouldn’t have survived beyond 21 in the USA as i simply could not afford the healthcare! In the USA healthcare industry is massive and makes massive profits for a relatively small group of people. They have a very powerful lobbying machine that puts huge pressure on the government and the media to make people believe it is “the only way”. It is not. The USA has very good healthcare… for those that can afford it. So much of American society is set up in such a way as to maximise profits… but those profits don’t tend to trickle down as much as they should :(

[@judywelch1044]

That last question in my opinion is due directly to the greed of a pure capitalist system. Caring for money before people is a trait of capatilist thinking. Profit before all else!!!

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 4:23 - It's only an American problem because in the rest of the world government monitorize, bargain and negociates prices, keeping them under control to avoid those abuses In US your government and FDA cannot say a single word on prices. Hospitals, Pharmaceutical companies and insurance are 100% free to choose the prices and charge as much as they want

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 12:36 - Mainly because your government doesn't want to be part of it because this myth of "free market" The problem with health care is that free market simply DOESN'T WORK with it. Free market is supposed to work because competition keep price low, but competition exists when the customer have power to bargain and negociates, and he/she needs time to spare to look for the best price around and take it; when you're dying, when you're very sick and you need an ambulance, when they say your child is gona die if you don't take this or that treatment immediately, do you say "No, wait 1 or 2 weeks that I look for a better price"? No, you don't, you go for the treatment. 100% private health care simply DOESN'T WORK. All the industrialized countries worked it out except US (and 80% of third world countries worked it out too) American health care system is a system that relies on people getting sick and coming in for treatments. Don't you see how it sounds wierd? The more the people get sick, the more they make money... it's mental Amercans have to accept that the government MUST be in the market and keep prices under control. This means that in health care the market can't be 100% free; the government put in place laws, actions, public intervetion to force companies in some direction. But they call it "socialism" and that solve the problem: we won't do it and people can die for what they care

[@MrFalconhead]

I dont have insurance here in UK, i dont know anybody who has insurance come to think of it, we have the NHS for people who really need it. I pay whenever i need anything but if it comes a time when im too poor, then it is free.

[@jjc5407]

We may not get the best, latest, most expensive treatment for whatever ails us but we will get treated. That's a key difference between the UK and US systems. And there's nothing to stop people paying for private health insurance on top if they can afford to and choose to do so. Often private healthcare is looked down on by people in the UK, but there's no reason it should be. Those who have it still pay their taxes towards the NHS. By going private they take themselves out of the NHS system and actually help reduce the waiting time for those needing treatment through the NHS.

[@colincampbell4261]

​@@jjc5407 they claim tax deductions on health insurance.

[@jjc5407]

@@colincampbell4261 no they don't. Even private health insurance provided by an employer is classed as a taxable benefit and added to gross salary for income tax and NI purposes.

[@Lord_Heron]

After watching several of these types of video, I have concluded that many Americans don't realise how much the people in power and the big corporations are ripping them off. Citizens of a lot of other countries have it better regarding healthcare, paid holidays (vacations), etc. American people have a lot of great qualities but they seem far more willing to accept poor treatment from the ruling classes than would be accepted in for instance France. I think the size of the country is part of the reason, it is much more difficult to stir up opposition to mistreatment over such a large area.

[@ajkgordon]

I don't think the pursuit of profit or ruthlessness are the unique differentiators in the US. If Canada or the UK or any of the other countries that have some sort of "socialised healthcare" had the US system instead, we would see the same sorts of problems. It's the system itself, the lack of regulation, public ownership, price caps and so on. If the US had an NHS equivalent or a system such as the one in France where the government manages the public insurance funds, limits the premiums, caps the prices of drugs, treatments and practitioners' fees, and obligates employers to fund national health insurance, then it would spend a lot less than 20% of GDP on healthcare. But it would also put a huge number of people employed in the industry out of work.

[@colincampbell4261]

Yip, middle managers and insurance salesmen, no loss really. 30% of USA healthcare goes on administration costs. And USA big pharma can charge x10 as much as the UK for medicines. Utterly scandalous.

[@aidiess]

Ask anyone in the street in the UK today just what they think about the current state of the NHS service ??? I think you may be surprised at some of the answers you would surely get ! At one time, it was off the scale phenomenal ! Now ?????????? People are afraid to get sick because the level of care is nothing to write home about ! The NHS has been abused by medical immigrants for too many years ! It has been underfunded by the Government for too many years, and it has been badly mismanaged for a long long time ! Private medicine is alive and well in the UK but is being performed much of the time by Doctors/surgeons who are in the full time employment of the NHS.????????

[@matthewbrown6163]

Ex USA GF needed to see a doctor & with insurance needed $200 & this was 25+ years ago. I gave her the money & she saw the doctor. Bloody ridiculous when it's $$$$ before patients.

[@garyhansford]

Dear boy one word comes to mind and that is the word GREED!¡!!!!!!!

[@juliebyard9266]

£90,000 in uk as a wage, would put you in fairly rich category, scary iin USA 23% couldn't pay a $500 bill

[@cadifan]

In corporate America "profit" is their religion and the "$" is their god, and they hold that above all else, including human life. The American culture is very "individualistic". It's what's best for ME, not what's best for the community as a whole. "If we do this I'll benefit but 10,000 other people will miss out. I'm ok with that as I will benefit." That's the American psyche, instead of, "If we do this 10,000 people will benefit and I'll benefit a little as well, cool, let's do it." That doesn't enter the American mindset. (Of course I'm talking in general)

[@katetorode8411]

U have no regulation of costs either, u can charge 100s of percent of top of costs. With no limit

[@Phil_A_O_Fish]

Connor, this might seem very cruel of me to say this but my one and only answer to all of your questions is " Why ask me when I'm not an American? ". To simplify things somewhat especially for you no wholly privatised, for-profit healthcare system like yours in the U.S.A. has ever or will ever succeed and is doomed to failure whereas our not-for-profit, freely available to all, terrific National Health Service ( N.H.S. ) has been hugely successful since its creation almost 75 years ago. The best way to compare our two systems is to ask the average American what he or she thinks of your system and their responses seem to come with a lot of curse words and negativity towards it whereas if you ask the average Brit what we think of our N.H.S. we praise and support it no matter what. A case in point are the strikes that are going on at the moment throughout the N.H.S. and around the country in their fight with our Government and the vast majority of us are supportive of the doctors, nurses, ambulance crews and all of the other workers within the N.H.S. in their actions to obtain the increases in pay and conditions which they richly deserve. Another question that I'd like to ask you is why ask us your questions now when your failed healthcare system has been in place for an untold number of years and decades? The people that you should really be asking those same questions of are your own parents, grandparents etc as well as your politicians especially when most of those same elected officials have sat back and waited to receive their 'donations' / bribes from your country's voracious and ghoulish private medical insurance companies, private hospitals and doctors, U.S. big pharma corporations etc prior to those same politicians being elected and them continuing to do sweet F.A. to improve the health and welfare of your entire population, haven't they?

[@williambranch4283]

Switzerland has a mixed public/private system, probably best in the world. But they have savings, they don't spend like drunk sailors (landlocked country). I do care for my own family, I can't afford to support other Americans.

[@ronuss]

I live in the UK, i have asthma so i need inhailers every few months. one costs around 8 pounds. in the US without insurance an inhailer is around 250 dollers lol. what a joke. just awful.

[@Salzbuckel]

That sleepy guy, who said the third party principle is the reason ist totally 180 degrees wrong. That would ( and in Europe ) is the solution. But ist needs one thing, that the US will never give. the insurance system HAS to be non profit organisation as basis and mandatory. So, it's a quality of morality, that the politicians prefer. What is the aim to fulfill primarily profit or caring for the individual???? The US government has gotten so much far from their citizens interests, that they even think any government becomes their enemy instead of their servant, how it should be. When a president is inaugurated, what are the words spoken when they swear their duties???? And what is common sense in practice?? Profit always comes first and then the people serving principle gets humiliated socialism or even communism, barely knowing what even really is or was.

[@davidhoward5392]

Market Forces.....

[@davidross5331]

American insurance companies make too much money to risk anything better be allowed to operate.

[@sammni]

America has lots of issues like any other country... But this is the one that upsets me. It's criminal that US citizens'health is based on wealth. Absolutely criminal. Northern Irish citizen

[@dcoughla681]

Most Western countries’ health care systems have a dual system of public & private healthcare. I think that these systems work best in countries with small populations. It might be worth an individual US state adopting the hybrid model to test it to see if it works & can be rolled out on a state by state basis. The problems of healthcare Western countries have are 1 an increasingly ageing & high immigrant population and 2 a shortage of doctors & medical staff in general to service this higher population because there aren’t enough of them to service the increased demand by this increased population, older doctors retiring early & younger people not choosing it as a profession. It’s a global market so many medical staff are going to where money & conditions are best including tax free countries.

[@leighharding5449]

As has been said, the answer to the question, why do Americans chase money is simple, politics is paid for by big business, they don't get big without chasing the money above all else, so your laws and political system encourage making money at all costs, in the case of health care, the people are the cost, but if you are making money it's worth it, right?

[@ojonasar]

Profit is king. The US government is ultimately controlled by big businesses; I’m reminded of the film “Bullworth”.

[@stevenbalekic5683]

It's a very strange situation...the US is the most powerful government in the world...but it's the weakest in the world when it comes to governing itself. Every proper democracy needs government intervention to protect its people from powerful corporations. You cannot leave corporations to choose what's best for the country or its people because corporations only care for profits. Government needs to step in and regulate corporations from taking advantage of people and other businesses. If the US government actually stepped in and actually regulated medicine manufacturing costs and what the companies charge for the product then that alone would already remove a big portion of that medical debt...start here and slowly work towards the government building more public hospitals and overhauling the complication with the rest.

[@davidhoward5392]

Preventive Health...its simple

[@colincampbell4261]

Stop putting so much sugar in food.

[@bravo2zero796]

Only in America 🤦‍♂️ paramedics feel for your wallet before feeling for your pulse. FreeDUMB.

[@carlapocock3849]

Simple, greed.

[@brucewilliams4152]

Because money is more important than anything in usa

[@katetorode8411]

I think because usa is so young, other places have lived thru what happens when the crashes, tho capitalism is on the rise everywhere, those who are not effected or protected from the fall out don't care about it. The richest. After many issues Europe started realising the work force mattered like after ww2 people where higher valued as there were so fewer. We are all starting to forgot what slums do to society I think. As usa fills up ur starting to fight over property n water ect. Most other places had been thru that

[@riccardocoletta2398]

Minute 17:03 - Sorry, but it's simple. In our consitutions "full and affordable health care" is a right. It isn't in your country. Start adding an emendament to your constitution that say "full and affrodable health care" is a basic human right, like all of us did. Until that moment your citizens cannot blame or whine, because they simply don't have any right to be cured, it's not deserved, it's a benefit or a luxury... like vacation days or parental leave and many other rights we have and that are benefit or luxuries in US

[@Gsoda35]

it's probably a cultural thing and ignorance towards the consequences on the whole economy when you got no limits on pricing. there must be a balance in an economy or you get a so called high GDP but still a broken economy.

[@grahamsangster1042]

I might be wrong but i've always thought of America as still a young nation,i'm sure it's taken hundreds of years for these older nations to try and treat their population with somekind of respect

[@markwolstenholme3354]

Yes so USA has examples to learn from but hasn't and doesn't.

[@micko11154]

Australia is a lot younger and doesn't have this issue.

[@denisrobertmay875]

Universal Healthcare programmes around the world have mostly been introduced post WW2 (and the US has become less universal in the last 40years) so not really related to the history of the country except where Religious/Charitable healthcare traditions existed.

[@martinburke362]

CONNOR TRUMP!!!

[@judywelch1044]

Conor, you need to let go of your nationalism and recognize that USA is not great anymore. Step out of your USA bubble and explore the rest of the world. I love watching you but please see some of the capitalist flaws. You focus a lot on history but need to see the world outside USA> Geez you dont even know about your neighbor Canada.

[@Steve-gc5nt]

The guy is trying his best to learn. Give him a break.

[@martinburke362]

​@@Steve-gc5nt yeah but he has proved his dumbness ove lots of videos