Single-Payer

[@camoveteran2219]

Any time a politician says "we're going to put them out of business" should be greatly alarming

[@thy7411]

Unless it's a blue moon and they say "we will put the government programs out of business"

[@Anonymous-nr6qb]

I guess Bernie isn't concerned about the jobs of those who work for insurance companies.

[@charlesriley6618]

@@Anonymous-nr6qb Why would he be? That's just more dependents to vote for him.

[@szahmad2416]

Unless it’s human traffickers, drug dealers or private insurance companies.

[@LordFalconsword]

In his defense, Bernie isn't a politician. He wants to be a commissar.

[@737tech]

People are set up to fail. 12 years in public schools and not a word about life skills, including insurance.

[@robedmund9948]

DO NOT rely on the public indoctrination system to educate your children! BE A PARENT!

[@hannesproductions4302]

Public schools are daycare centers so the parants can go to work.

[@ajkalwaysneedsmoreinfo.576]

@D.S. critique Well stated

[@NEILANIL1]

Financial skills aren't taught either.

[@agsilverradio2225]

Life skills should be part of the point of school, allong with history, math, science, and literacy. ... But, just because it should, dosn't mean it does.

[@BenNuProductions]

I'm a Canadian and the joke here always goes "Whenever people make fun of Canada I just go to the hospital and get my feelings checked for free" except they never say 1. Yeah sure after you have to wait for like 10 hours just to see a doctor and 2. It's not free because people that bother to work pay for it with their taxes...

[@thebattlefieldnick1]

Last time i was at the hospital here in Denmark, i had xrays taken and was out before an hour had passed.

[@BenNuProductions]

@@thebattlefieldnick1 Interesting. Are you happy with the system though? I calculated how much income tax I would pay if I made the same per year in Denmark as I do in Canada and your taxes seem CRAZY high. I would lose a third (33%) of my income to taxes and not to mention the CRAZY high VAT of 25%...

[@thebattlefieldnick1]

@@BenNuProductions Im happy with it, pretty sure most danes are happy with it, i hear however that in America, some people wear bracelets saying not to put them in am ambulance if they are hurt because they can't afford it, i also hear stories of people going bankrupt because of hospital bills after receiving a diagnosis in that great country. I dont have to worry about any of that. I just checked up on something, apparently 1/3 of gofundme's are for hospital bills, you people are insane.

[@BenNuProductions]

@@thebattlefieldnick1 Again - I'm Canadian...

[@thebattlefieldnick1]

@@BenNuProductions And yet here you are shitting on free healthcare, like you've actually spent 10 hours waiting to see a doctor lmao.

[@hmw_kamikaze3885]

We pay for prescriptions in Canada, and don’t get dental care. And we pay $6.00 just to park at the hospital. In Ontario, $56 billion a year to pay for healthcare. We pay for it via cripplingly-high taxes.

[@hagbard72]

Park in a side street, that's what I usually do.

[@katestaley8181]

$6 is low! in Toronto we were paying $21 a day

[@madmanmark08]

Dental care is not the same as healthcare. Yes I am splitting hairs.

[@hmw_kamikaze3885]

Scrooge McGruel Yes, I forgot about vision care. Good call. Also not covered in Canada. Our systems sound pretty similar. Nice to meet someone with a similar opinion on the matter... Cheers 🍻

[@hmw_kamikaze3885]

Robert Drake Our hospital is about a half mile (minimum) from any other form of parking. Easier said than done. We also have this thing called “winter” in Canada that makes it extra fun. :)

[@RizztrainingOrder]

Where’s the “who pays for it?” Question in bailouts? Gov funded research? Wars? Stadium subsidies? Government should stay out of most sectors.

[@jsebby2284]

The same place they are when talking about health insurance. Although health insurance is drastically more expensive so thats why it's talked about more - for good reason

[@DavidScovil]

Everybody has a right to be healthy but you see very few people living healthy lifestyles!

[@deadeyedsam850]

Junk food shouldn't be cheaper than healthy food, every where you go to a retail store it surrounds the checkout,. you cant go buy gas for your car without it being in your face, the vending machines are every where in schools, its no wonder kids(and many adults) treat it like another food group (the main one in many cases). This is where Government could step in and help with a hard pushed public service campaign to educate people about healthy foods, and doing something to get junk foods out of schools and away from checkout aisles. I can not see it ever happening as long as corporate lobbying(bribery) is allowed to continue, go read up on how the sugar industry spent billions to get exempted from sugar being shown on food labels daily allowances tables as a percentage of recommended daily intake because they felt it would negatively affect sales if people knew that one 20OZ bottle of pop(soda) was north of 300% of what a adult needs per day in sugar (for a 12 year old kid it almost doubles again).

[@CharlesLumia]

Fatties, smokers, and other people who voluntarily make themselves unhealthy should pay more.

[@sandymoonstone855]

， 🤣🤺

[@banksschott3659]

@@CharlesLumia they do, at least in the private sector, employer sponsored health insurance.

[@Stacy_Smith]

@@CharlesLumia Smokers DO pay more in excise taxes.

[@photog1529]

"Government is not the solution to the problem...government IS the problem" - Ronald Reagan

[@charlesriley6618]

@Tyler Gould During the Reagan years, the rapid inflation of the 1970's was quickly put under control. Also, the federal government received record-high tax revenues almost every single year after his tax cuts. During the 1987 recession, he rejected political pressures to make the government "do something" to "help people" and let the market work things out. As a result, that recession ended quickly (as opposed to the 1930's, 1970's, and 2008) and Americans experienced one of the longest periods of economoc growth and rising standards of living in their entire history (1987-2007). As a person who was brought up tp believe the same myth that Reagan's policies were some great evil conceived by a moron, I get why many people believe it. But unfortunately it's simply not true.

[@photog1529]

@Tyler Gould That's what the uninformed usually think.

[@kimobrien.]

Says the guy at the very head of the government.

[@danielstadden1149]

And then he went on to tax Social Security

[@szahmad2416]

The guy was a moron.

[@user-ei7ed6zy9k]

As a Brit, I can confirm that our healthcare system is always in crisis and never not in the news despite having more and more funding by the government

[@obamascock2169]

@fire lord But that just proves the issue that Medicare has

[@portelm3137]

The tories keep underfunding it, that’s why. And their “record spending” doesn’t take into account population growth, inflation and gdp growth

[@ptkiller26]

@@portelm3137 you can’t polish a turd

[@defaultlogos2976]

Isn't that due to Borris Johnson though?

[@boulevard14]

Yeah to be honest Gregory is right, our healthcare isn't always in crisis, but it is always in the news.

[@enarush1]

When it comes to bailing out Wall Street, giving tax breaks to millionaires, and giving billions to military contractors, nobody ever asks how are we going to pay for it?

[@yummyherbicide7296]

The only true rights are the things you can do alone in a forest.

[@Monaleenian]

Exactly. You cannot have a right to a product or service. People don't have rights to products like helicopters and yachts, or services like haircuts and foot massages themselves. Equally, they don't have a right to healthcare services or education services themselves. They do, however, have a right to come to an agreement with another person who will provide them with the product or service they desire.

[@hannesproductions4302]

Youn don't want to know what I do alone in the forrest

[@senorpepper3405]

@@hannesproductions4302 🤣yes! that's where my mind went too.

[@johnsacromoni6775]

@@Monaleenian So people getting potentially life saving medicine is not a right? Then what is it?

[@Tzizenorec]

@@johnsacromoni6775 It's a marvelous benefit of our modern society.

[@MultiTurdz]

dont let people film you in the hospital.. ffs. just bc reporters have no dignity doesnt mean the rest of us dont.

[@5818fa1]

Insurances is what caused the high prices in health care. Health care would be more affordable if everyone paid directly and shopped around, like people do for Lasik eye surgery or other procedure that are not always paid for. The cost and efficacy of those surgeries are not increasing like insured procedures.

[@PheonixKnght]

I agree and health care Insurance should be for catastrophic events not. I have a runny nose

[@ROGER2095]

Absolutely true. I'm old now and on Medicare, and needed an MRI on my brain. The hospital's "list" price was $1800 and that's the price you'd pay if you walked in without insurance. But the price they negotiated with Medicare was just $600. That is, they calculated that for $600, they could pay all the costs associated with performing the MRI and make an acceptable profit. So if they charged $600 cash for everyone, they'd be satisfied, and people could pay their own way with little trouble. But because of people demanding that someone else pay their way, the hospital has to charge $1800 in order to settle for the $600. A $20 X-Ray becomes $300, a $200 broken arm becomes $2000, a $10 lab test becomes $50 - all because people demand someone else pay. It'd be a LOT cheaper if people saved insurance for catastrophic medical needs, and paid for everything else themselves as needed.

[@DietrichGarbo]

Government grants and student loans is what’s causing the soaring costs in education. Universities look at the max of student aid and raise their costs to match.

[@ROGER2095]

@CalvinSomething You're on the right track. My dentist used to have one office clerk when it was a cash business. Now they take insurance and there are four clerks to handle the same patient load - and they all get paid. Ultimately, the money comes from the patient and nobody else. And lawsuits? Boy, is that a problem! I'm retired now, but I worked in a hospital for a long time. (Pathology) - I could tell you stories! OB/GYN's especially pay astronomical premiums for insurance. Typically a half million a year and in some states - like Florida - over a million a year just for insurance. And who pays? Ultimately, the patient. But my point is, Medicare and most insurance companies negotiate every year with the providers and determine exactly what they'll pay for each procedure. It goes like this: If the provider wants X for a procedure, the insurers say, No. We'll only pay you 1/2X. So the providers say, then we want 2X and the insurers say, No. We'll only pay you X. So to get the final price the providers want, they inflate the asking price. As I said, if there were no insurers involved, the final prices would be much lower. Add competition and technology to the mix, and drastically limit the involvement of government, and medical care would easily be within reach of nearly everyone.

[@C_R_O_M________]

It’s a multifaceted problem. It’s insurances, mixed with cronyism from the hospital’s side, and probably a myriad other distorting parameters. Sure thing is though that the system in the States isn’t a free market. That’s a certainty. You can’t “shop around” because you won’t get a quote beforehand even for standard procedures.

[@DaddyLongLegs44]

Get rid of the 3rd party payer. That means insurance is only for catastrophic medical events and everything else is paid with "cash". You do that and all services and material will be competitively priced.

[@apatientspider]

More likely it means people would have to take out a loan for treatment. Until the government sanctioned monopoly granted to medical professionals at the behest of the AMA is withdrawn, there will be no in-expensive healthcare in this country.

[@Laurtew]

You know, when I was a kid in the early 70's, that's how insurance was. My dad owned his own business and we didn't use insurance. My parents paid cask when I went to the doctor or dentist. My dad did have insurance for emergencies, but we rarely ever used it. (When I broke my ankle on a jogging trampoline and had to go to the ER, we used it then. I think it had a $250 deductible? (that was 1979.)) I remember my mum paying less than $50 for a doctor visit for me. Last year, I was looking for a doctor that would let me pay cash and I literally could not find one. Every doctor in my city works for an insurance company. Maybe this is why everything is so expensive?

[@brandonprice6799]

Exactly. And stop all the frivolous lawsuits as well, which drives up malpractice insurance, and we end up paying for it. Insurance should not be used for a common cold, or a broken arm for that matter. But what has happened is that medical entities have to hire so many people to handle paperwork, file insurance, work with Medicare, and we end up paying for that as well. They are scared of lawsuits, so that broken arm now requires a MRI, X-RAY (oh wait, gotta hire a X-RAY tech), etc. If you think that the majority of general practice Dr's are cleaning up, and living the good life in the US, go sit and talk to one. ALL, yes ALL that I have spoken with work several jobs. And everyone will say if we stopped all the insurance and lawsuits, a DR's visit could cost $35-$50.

[@captainvoluntaryistthestat3207]

Abolish the FDA. FDA is the number one public enemy. Abolish it and you'll solve most of the healthcare problems. More life saving drugs will pop up, drug prices will fall faster than Bill Clinton's pants, and greedy fucking big pharma will die off.

[@jacobs3671]

Brandon Price I

[@1maxruss]

To say there is a "right to health care" is to say there is a "right to enslave one group of people - taxpayers, health care workers - to meet the desires of another group of people." Sick. My life, my money, my choices, my responsibilities. None of those things belongs to other people. I am not someone else's involuntary servant. Want to fix health insurance/the health care system? Completely separate government and its coercion from health care. The collectivists and statists who support this dangerous nonsense are smug, condescending, self-righteous, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou, arrogant, disdainful, hypocritical, self-satisfied, phony, and disingenuous. Not to mention destructive, anti-freedom, anti-rights, anti-self-autonomy, anti-morality. See: "Medical Wrongs…and Rights: Ayn Rand and Medical Freedom" on Amazon for a more complete discussion of this issue.

[@medicfriends8163]

Despite being picky on words, the truth is healthcare for serious conditions is an obvious necessity that is unfortunately extremely difficult to pay for, unlike rent for example (which is already tough for some). Education is a great example, as it can be extremely expensive if we were to pay for k-12, and many people would not be able to go to school in that case. I think Bernie Sanders is naive when he says the private sector in healthcare should be removed, as if there is no need for checks and balances (competition) for the public sector in health insurance. He's sort of known to be a nut job anyways lol. The interviewee in this video did a great job bringing awareness to the fact that it's extremely hard to open a hospital and there is a bureaucracy in the hospital business where competition is low. I think there should be some level of regulation, especially in healthcare, and would love to see a system where hospitals can be opened with federal dollars but run like a private nonprofit entity. Increases competition, while having regulations in place which will help avoid serious consequences that comes with absolutely little to no regulation in the private sector.

[@medicfriends8163]

@Did Niggards Do That? then again i just noticed your name haha, bet you're a bit on the young side...

[@medicfriends8163]

@Did Niggards Do That? wow my other comment got deleted or something (wasn't off topic like my second one). Anyways, whats up with your name jesus. Did your kid make your account? btw I agree with your stats, I went about how the other side of the argument has a valid concern about accountability and such, a shame since i made a good point.

[@boompakpak3667]

Russell Madden Exactly

[@1maxruss]

@@medicfriends8163 No one said health care isn't "an obvious necessity." But just because X is "necessary" does not make it a so-called "right" to be paid for/supplied by other people against their will, i.e., to treat others as involuntary servants, i.e., as slaves (even if it is "polite slavery"). If you study the history of health insurance/health care in this country, especially after WW II, you will discover that almost _all_ of the problems we now face are due to government interference/mandates/etc. The only "regulation" of health care - or any business - is to deal with fraud and/or theft. Otherwise people like you are interfering with the right of individuals to freedom of association and freedom of contract. You are imposing _your_ view of how people should interact rather than letting them exercise their _own_ moral autonomy to decide whether (or not) they want to deal with Y under conditions Z. That is the essence of being a bully. I assume your intentions are good, but the actual, real-life effects of people with similar intentions have led to the mess we face now. We need _actual_ freedom, not “freedom” wrapped in the number of chains that _you_ deem “necessary."

[@bh7538]

Australia public health care is free, but it's slow and long waiting.

[@lenblack1462]

Yes, we can reduce wait times when we take 10's of millions out of the line. SMH!

[@mikram2613]

In 2017 I was paying $600 a month for a family of three, today it's 850, and I've had one physical in 5 years, I must be paying someone to use it for free.

[@fasa3422]

Hi I'm from Italy is this sum a big chunk of your wage? Because here we have a middle income of 1200€( or $)

[@Mutmutism]

Sorry to say that what the Economist at 1min says about France is complete BS. I am a French citizen and we don't pay for healthcare, or at least not anywhere close to what it costs to a US citizen. I have private insurance for my family and I ("mutuelle") for 80€/month (family of 4). It covers absolutely every expenses. People who are on welfare pay literally 0€, they have a state- funded insurance ("CMA"). Americans, you might be the richest nation in the world but your health system is a shame.

[@fasa3422]

But hospital are private company or mixed or public? Also how you achieve on paying such a really low insurance? Are there any subsidies?

[@Mutmutism]

@@fasa3422 We have a mixed system, with public hospitals and "cliniques" (private hospitals). Both offer great quality of service, even rich ppl go to public hospitals in France. My insurance is subsidized by my company, but its overall cost is 200€/month, I pay ~50%. Do not ask me for more details, I know that I don't need to call the banker when my son brakes his leg skateboarding lol

[@maryrichardson1318]

Sorry, but in France you do pay for healthcare with a 40% income tax on someone making the equivalent of 75-80,000.00 a year plus a 20% sales tax on everything you buy, not matter what your income. In Germany, the average income tax is 26% and the VAT (sales tax) is 19%. An yes, the U.S. does spend more on our military than other countries, but whose military is always asked to come help out when there is trouble in the world. It is definitely not France.

[@ajc8815]

@@maryrichardson1318 It's not our obligation to be the world's policeman. I think we should pull out of NATO and our troops that's stationed in European countries, whose militaries and defense fully depend on the US, and get out of wars that we're in entangled in that's not even within our interests, so we can save taxpayer's money and reinvest it in something useful for our citizens (like universal healthcare that these Europeans enjoy)

[@sebastienholmes548]

@@ajc8815 you do realize the only reason European countries can pay for social programs is because they outsourced their militaries to the US.

[@matteotroni6540]

I live in Milan, Italy. My region, Lombardy, provides some of the best healthcare in the world. And its single payer. We have a voucher system so patients can choose between public and private hospitals with the government paying either way. And I know what I am talking aout because I have cancer, diagnosed 7 years ago. I have received some of the most advanced treatment available in the world and I have not paid a single penny out of pocket. Not one penny. I am not banckrupt, have not sold my house, etc.

[@holybotulism313]

You don't pay taxes?

[@fasa3422]

@@holybotulism313 sure he pays and taxes are really high, also Lombardy has the most advanced system in Italy, usually you can go only in the State owned hospital for free.

[@vannavanity1195]

I had to go to one in France over an undiagnosed panic disorder. They figured out the whole thing pretty fast whereas I kept getting charged with poor diagnoses in North Carolina.

[@donaldcurry1020]

lol not really, then why is the wait time there so bad? of right you do not see it personal so it does not happen right? a friend from there says the avg wait time is there is more then 5 month that does not sound very good.

[@megabakfiets]

You're not banktrupt but your country is

[@jesperweltz7146]

This is Probably the worst coverage of singer-payer healthcare I have ever seen. He mostly looks to the UK one of the worst and most underfunded healthcare systems in Europe. The fact is you don’t want free competition in a market with a low price elasticity. Just like you don’t want it on police or the fire department. Ask any economists (including me) if people have to get your product pricing will be higher then needed. The sad truth is that if someone comes with a terminally illness they will pay everything they have. So the hospital can just name the price. This is call low price elasticity. Basic means that a change in price has little to no effect on demand. So it’s most likely a better business for a hospital to increase prices do fewer treatments, as they make more money. That is what is happening in the US. Any product or marked where you have a low price elasticity should centrally run by someone that is public accountable. However the central entity that runs the system can make different providers compete. As the central healthcare system can getter better prices. This is at the benefit of the end user. This is how most “socialist” healthcare system works and the results are typically cheaper and better healthcare. If you compare to a system like the system like in the US. But naturally if the system is underfunded and/or badly run you can end up with a system like what you see in the UK.

[@boulevard14]

You make a very good point actually. I would say despite all the UK healthcare flaws, it is much better than the system in the US.

[@karenchorney7404]

Im canadian...good luck getting medicine u need..i am a senior citizen and i cant afford my inhalers..i have to eat and pay rent And u cant get a specialist for almost a year.

[@fanoboss]

Great Channel John Stossel

[@Sourdoughgirl]

I am in Canada. Average ER wait time 4 hours? Get real. How about 7? People keep saying how nice it must be to have free healthcare but in reality it's not free, at least not for tax payers. Our family also has bluecross on the side or most of our needs will not be covered by the government. Despite the fact that we have both government healthcare and private health insurance some of us still have to go to the US for tests simply because those tests are considered non essential in Canada.

[@ericbrufatto5371]

Sourdough Girl??? It sounds like a name of someone who lives in the Yukon or N.W.T., or some other wilderness? I've lived all over Canada, worked in construction, and I've never waited more than an hour. I've gotten immediate treatment for a heart attack in Calgary, and again in Cape Breton, N.S., and recently for gall stones. However, I usually have to wait an hour or so, to see my family doctor, when I go to re-new my prescriptions. I'm 76 years old, and I don't know anyone who has gone to the U.S. for health care. I've never heard of a 4-7 hour wait in emergency.

[@Sourdoughgirl]

Waiting to see a family doctor for an hour is standard in your wilderness we call Calgary; I imagine the average wait time probably is the same across the country. The test I couldn't get a requisition for was a vitamin D test. I had severe signs and symptoms of D deficiency and the results back from the US confirmed that. I also have sleep apnea for many years but my doctor refused to send me to a sleep specialist because I didn't have a fat neck and that I snored, therefore, I was breathing. Ask any sleep doctors they will tell you many people suffer from sleep apnea snore! But according to my doctor snoring was what disqualified me for a sleep study. Once again, I had to pay to go to a private clinic to get diagnosed. Sure, going to see a doctor is free here but that's not very helpful when they refuse to send you to specialists for further diagnosis or treatments. By the way, when I said 7 hours, I was talking about visits to ER for non life threatening injuries. Nobody will make you wait for 7 hours if you're having a heart attack or bleeding out from your aorta. You're 76 years old and I hope you will never have to experience what my inlaws had to endure. They were old and often fell resulting in frequent trips to the emergency room. I know the wait time because I was there every time they got picked up by an ambulance. We often had to wait until 3 or 4 in the morning just to get into an exam room. Lying on a gurney in a busy ER hallway for 7+ hours, waiting for a doctor to treat a dislocated joint is a bit much for someone in their 80s. The shortest ER wait time was 2.5 hours in the children's hospital when our son broken his arm. That was considered record breaking.

[@jamescalifornia2964]

@@Sourdoughgirl - Best wishes to you from USA 👌🌾

[@jholotanbest2688]

Sourdough Girl You have to remember that in USA healthcare is much more expensive.

[@Sourdoughgirl]

@@jholotanbest2688 i guess, it depends on your plans and what's covered and what not. My point is, no healthcare system is perfect and the Canadian healthcare is not all it's cracked up to be.

[@raymondblake5765]

So the interviewee talks up private health insurance, and when asked about poor people at 3:30, the defense is that 'we spend a lot of money on poor people's health care' So the way that a proponent of private health care defends private health care is to say that private health care actually does public health care.

[@Matt-il8zz]

In New Zealand we have "free" healthcare, but it is not really free. You may think the Government pays for it, but who pays the Government? That's right, you. So we pay for prescriptions, pay for dentistry, and pay for healthcare through 33% income tax.

[@Deborahtunes]

Is that 33% for all incomes? Because unlike what some on here want to tell you, Americans' payroll taxes are based on their incomes... The lower your income, the lower your payroll taxes are... Plus, I know the Europeans pay a lot more for gas prices, and other things, then American's do... But many people don't take that into account... Canadians pay 48% in income taxes alone, not to mention the other taxes they pay...

[@TheRealTaco]

yeah but your tax

[@sirtipsalot7320]

Things is New Zealanders pay overall less money on their healthcare and get better results for it on average. And like mentioned in the video, private insurance still exists in most if not all of these single payer countries. So everyone is covered, you actually have more competition, and if so, you can still pay money for the best if you so desire. So consumers are still empowered in these nations.

[@JayWandersOut]

If government managed our health care it would wind up as healthy as our social security benefits.

[@memnarch129]

Thats the best comeback to Single Payer Ive heard. Next time someone says the Government would handle medical care better than the insurance companies ask them how well social security is doing and watch their head explode.

[@jimmyr545]

Many people on social security would be absolutely screwed without it. Fair point that it hasn't been managed well, but many politicians are against SS, and our politicians will not work together.

[@pdxsk8nfool]

Sheer nonsense that is directly contradicted by facts. Today's Medicare is currently our only government run, single payer healthcare (health insurance) system. It operates with an administrative overhead of 1.4%, meaning nearly every penny paid into it goes directly to patient care. Even with its current limitations on age and scope of coverage, It has the highest consumer satisfaction of any healthcare in the U.S., even compared to those with "good" health insurance provided by their employers. The insurance industry operates on an administrative overhead of 18-30%, PLUS profit margins, lobbying costs, advertising budgets, etc. Up to 40% of every dollar collected from you and me in insurance premiums never makes it to patient care at all. And of the money that does make it to patient care, it is allocated based upon what profits them most, not on what is best for your medical needs. Which of those entities would you rather have writing the checks to pay for your doctor and hospital bills?

[@JayWandersOut]

@@pdxsk8nfool The US Government Accountability Office reported that Medicare's trustees determined in 2018 that in a little over a decade they will no longer be able to pay all their bills. That's actually worse than Social Security's 2034 date. Things are looking really good all right. They are even ranked as high risk www.gao.gov/key_issues/medicare_payment_management_integrity/issue_summary#t=2

[@markbrownner6565]

social security is working quite well thank you....ask millions of folks how they'd be living without it....and if it needs to be adjusted well then just remove the $135k cap and see solvency forever...

[@cdlg000]

Idk. I work for full time for a major airline. I have the best possible insurance that I can get. When my ex wife and I were having my son. We stayed in the hospital for three nights. No complications, she was induced and received an epidural. $6k Bill. That seems outrages to me. Maybe I’m crazy for thinking that’s crazy?

[@billybarnett2846]

We should have reasonably priced healthcare. Hospitals overcharge on everything and they even make you pay to use the phone or watch tv. People shouldn't be going into debt to pay for medical treatment.

[@dbadaddy7386]

There was a Canadian fellow who had a winter home in Florida and would occasionally do odd jobs for my dad. He saved his money and arranged for treatment for his cancer when he was in the US because he could actually get treatment when he needed it here. In Canada, there was a five year waiting list for some of his cancer treatments. "free" care you can't get is not better than expensive care you can.

[@markash4399]

American Medical Association limits the number of medical students to keep physician's costs high.

[@qeoo6578]

And i believe there isn't enough preventative healthcare today but before government got involved, that was a common form of practice.

[@barnabyjones6995]

When Mick Jagger needed surgery he did not get it done in the U.K., he came to America.

[@kitty7184]

Because American healthcare is for rich people

[@joeharte1914]

Probably because he is a resident of the US and was in the USA at the time

[@barnabyjones6995]

@@joeharte1914 Jagger is a resident of the United Kingdom. His main residence is the Downe House on Richmond Hill in the London borough of Richmond. He and or his handlers carefully picked cardiac surgeon Dr. Jennifer Hanna to do Jagger's procedure at the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

[@joeharte1914]

I read that he was on tour in America when they realised he needed surgery, but it sounds as though you know what you are on a out tbf. I guess it would only make sense that America naturally has better resources any how , considering they are much larger and richer than the UK. I've had similar heart surgery in the UK and never had an issue.

[@joeharte1914]

He is a resident of LA though. Mainly LA as his wife lives there.

[@bobs182]

Going into the hospital is like going into a Mercedes dealer where you get the car they chose and bill you whatever they want.

[@2g00dt0btru]

France has universal coverage. It doesn’t matter that there are private health insurance markets.

[@wampastompastomp]

It sounds great and all, but many people DO go bankrupt when they get sick. So how do we fix the gaps?

[@jeffwright2617]

Our current private system has had their day and doesnt work, Times up!

[@richcook2007]

We dont have a privately run health care system.

[@johnsacromoni6775]

@@richcook2007 Then what do we have? Enlighten me.

[@thebigbrownrat2669]

@@johnsacromoni6775 we have a mixed system. The poor has Medicare (which is going bankrupt) and those who work at a decent job have private. A public system doesn't fix all the problems as it ensures you get only what generics are available. We have one of the most expensive healthcare cost, but we also lead in quality of care. You want to bring down drug prices and health care cost? Get rid of insurance entirely, and let doctors work with patients directly rather then having a middleman. Alot of the cost is involved in having to hire accountants for both public and private insurance. That and reduce the length in which patents last and make it where drugs researched with public dollars is public domain. Going full public or full private is not the way to go. Let's merge the benefits of both with the drawbacks of niether.

[@johnsacromoni6775]

@@thebigbrownrat2669 I don't really disagree with most of what you said. However, my only disagreement is removing healthcare entirely. I agree the rapacious middle men between the patient and the doctor needs to go. However, doctors charge a fortune and most healthcare providers negotiate costs for drugs/treatment/etc. Most people can't afford to see the doctor without some sort of coverage. I don't want a fully public system either, however, Medicare for All/universal healthcare can give the economic relief a lot of Americans are in need of; especially nowadays. While at the same time offering supplemental private insurance for those who can afford it. Just like in the United Kingdom. According to the census, "8.5 percent of people (in the U.S.), or 27.5 million" in 2018 had zero health insurance. I think that's a very clear indication of a flawed system.

[@SolasChristusMinistry]

Something has to be done. I am a lower middle class trade worker. Who generally votes Republican. When I got a raise my wife who is disabled lost her Medicaid supplement to her Medicare and with that, most of her specialist coverage. Since I was raised to 41,000 per year my insurance went up to $430 per month for a plan with a $5000 deductible. I would rather pay let’s say 5% more in taxes and have single payer than go without. I have high blood pressure and 8 crushed disks in my back and ZERO health care

[@DrDaddy-yg2ki]

Everyone saying trump is hitler. Same people wanting him in charge of their healthcare system😂🤣

[@TheLeastOfficialOfBros]

I know right? I don’t want someone like that as president and I certainly don’t want him in charge of the healthcare system.

[@Johnny-xj5qu]

Hey it was Trump who said he’d have universal healthcare that would cost less than Obamacare, have better coverage, and cover more people. I’m still waiting for him to deliver on his promise. BTW, I hear Hitler comparisons all the time with Trump, and as a Jew, I cringe at that. Trump is a bast@rd, but he hasn’t rounded up millions of people to starve and gas to death

[@DrDaddy-yg2ki]

@@Johnny-xj5qu maybe if the democrats will stop trying to reverse our elections with their constant investigations we will see what he can accomplish. Anything would be cheaper than obama care too. It literally only covered 2.5% of the population but millions saw their insurance premiums rise between 25 and 50% all while coverage went down kist to pay for that 2.5%

[@brianwhitwell9302]

@@Johnny-xj5qu Trump comparison to Hitler not Hitler . Trump was taught to be racist from his father by not allowing blacks into their apartments or hotels ,well except to clean

[@Wolf_3125]

The most terrifying words you could ever hear: "I'm from the government, I'm here to help."

[@videakias3000]

so what are you gonna do if you want to sue someone and you don't want a government employee as the judge?

[@Wolf_3125]

@ So move to North Korea you commie

[@liamgaine]

@@Wolf_3125 are you serious

[@justiceforsadalfred527]

@ it's unfortunate you are so uneducated.

[@gabrielmoreira5580]

I think the most terrifying words are :"your condition is not covered by your health insurance" ..... or if "you have a pre-existing condition is not covered" ...

[@RhenusFilms]

The main difference between e.g. Germany and the US is this: Germany forces its insurance companies to insure everyone. If you have a job, your employer and you split the bill on your insurance (unless you choose a private helath insurance, which you can opt to do, in some cases have to, for example if you are a public servant or self employed), if you're unemployed, the government chips in, but you get to keep your insurance (which you can choose freely). Also: There are no "plans" in the same way the US has them. EVERY treatment necessary is included, all ambulance fees, doctors fees, specialists fees, hospital stays, surgeries, etc. Even your salary gets covered to a certain degree. The biggest issue Germany currently faces with its healthcare: It's profit oriented, and that often creates issues. Since it's last reform about 15 years ago that was supposed to make everything cheaper by giving the insurance companies more control, quality of care as drastically decreased. Family physicians for example have to operate on medication quotas now, meaning they can only prescribe a certain amount of any given medication per month, otherwise they won't be paid by the insurance companies for the patients that went "over the quota". That is ridiculous. Healthcare is a right and it should be one. I'm glad I don't live in the US, even though the German system isn't perfect and has it's troubles.

[@pigboykool]

Exactly! No other person is responsible for your own well being & happiness BUT yourself! If something relies on the labor of other's, IT IS NOT a RIGHT! A Right is the chance, the equal opportunity to pursue your happiness - like your freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom of press.... none of them is a demand of other people's labor provided to you FREE.

[@samib3589]

Infrastructure comes to mind

[@sircoloniser5454]

Chile has a really good healthcare system pinochet privatised most of their healthcare but kept some for those who could not afford it and the rest get private

[@jmw1982blue]

We may need another Pinochet...

[@48forks]

@@jmw1982blue except for the executions and torture of dissidents lol

[@kristenrowley5762]

They do not have good healthcare... my husband lived in Chile for 2 years and it’s the main reason why he is so against government healthcare. 68% are covered by the public fund and 18% are covered by private companies. So I guess 68% are the “those who can’t afford it.” Do you know what happens when someone on the public plan gets diagnosed with diabetes? They amputate a toe that first appointment to “stimulate blood flow” and send them on their way without insulin because it’s too expensive. Then three months later they come back and they amputate another toe and so on cutting toes, legs, fingers, etc until the patient dies from poorly managed diabetes. In the US, you get insulin and amputation is a last resort. So we may have a healthcare problem in the US but please don’t ever say “Chile has a really good healthcare system”

[@TimE-io8zy]

@@jmw1982blue ah yes, a new dictator who can ruin the economy again and destroy the country as we know it...

[@48forks]

@Ver Rusticum hahaha nope

[@avatar9520202]

People have the right for plumbing! Why should I pay the plumber, when he comes to my home to fix it? The government should pay for it, it's my right! This is how this all argument sounds to me. The liberals always give France as an example. Well, I live in France and I can tell you - the healthcare system in France is not as good as they want you to believe.

[@Kmanh-xf2jq]

Literally thought the thumbnail said "single player" , and with that coupled with the fact that he was holding tissue paper, it made me think something else was going on here 😂

[@松田もしくろす]

I remember the days when I would see the doctor and pay, usually in cash. Few people had insurance and normally it was cash first then the doctor’s office refunded you if and when that insurance paid. The system worked pretty well. Eventually the insurances got better, more reliable, then doctors offices competed for your business by offering to bill the insurance for you. The rest is history.

[@notsure7874]

People that hate big business so much because "monopolies" sure do love some government monopolies.

[@TheBlackJester]

IBS is hell now, Buscopam shortage in BC, great job Canada. Decentralized and they still mess things up.

[@lorenagarcia3189]

I usually agree with the videos, but in Spain free health care works quite well for the moment.

[@keylinmunguia]

No lo hace. Todo ese sistema de seguridad social está apunto de caerse pero el PSOE y Podemos no lo cambiarán para mantener su narrativa política.

[@kofola9145]

For the moment. A few years more of the economic stagnation and it will not work quite as well.

[@memma8651]

Same in Portugal

[@a-10wartaboo77]

@@kofola9145 Spain already had an economic collapse in 2009. It was part of the PIGS. Countries that had to cut spending because the EU said so. And their still happy and cover everybody

[@nadie8093]

España tiene un 120% de deuda

[@straytenwhitenormell7759]

Never understood why healthcare in America is an issue. Every man, woman and child is eligible for medical assistance. Americans don't have to pay before they're treated. Ever.

[@An00bis]

All insurance is a scam, prices should be low enough (without being subsidized) that everyone can afford it and people should be responsible enough to have savings for emergencies. Insurance is an unnecessary middle man who's job is to enable outrageous prices.

[@polite_as_fuck]

An00bis - That’s why the Affordable Care Act had the individual mandate, because insurance rates are based on risk, and the low-risk individuals in insurance pools help to offset the costs of the high-risk individuals. If only a small percentage of the low-risk individuals bought insurance, the high-risk rates would be far too expensive for a majority of the population to afford.

[@wiimooden]

​@@polite_as_fuck Couldn't insurance companies simply offer low risk individuals low coverage policies?

[@polite_as_fuck]

Alec Soltes - I think some of them do offer bare bones plans, but even then, the net risk of the entire pool probably still has some effect on lower-risk individuals, much like car insurance. Anytime you move from one city to another, your car insurance rates are liable to change, simply because the overall risk of filing a claim changes between where you moved to and where you moved from. Your individual risk doesn’t necessarily change, but the overall risk of the entire pool does.

[@chrisshewmaker2762]

. Alec Soltes they do. It was called catastrophic health insurance.

[@supersaiyaman11589]

thats the porblem just going to the hospital can be 1000 dollers or more

[@sk8punk318]

I like how no one mentions the terrible service and care of “free healthcare”

[@kathleengivant-taylor2277]

Yes I have heard this from people online from other countries with government healthcare. That being said us healthcare sucks too

[@donaldcurry1020]

@@kathleengivant-taylor2277 yet the US has the best quality and most medical advances come from here, but you want gov to run it that can not get anything right?

[@georgmanny8522]

do you really think the media would let you know about those things

[@cherrypieconsumer4982]

@@donaldcurry1020 dawg this is not true literally go read anything

[@rey6708]

well i live in germany and when ever i went to a hospital or needed any kind of treatment i got the best of the best so no idea what u talking about lol

[@kentfrederick8929]

Rush Limbaugh once said that a right is something people will die for. Now, the right to vote, to worship as you please, or to express an opinion are pretty clear cut. But, is anyone really willing to risk personal harm, so that everyone can have affordable health care? Plus, there are a lot of people who hate going to the doctor, and won't. What's the point of creating a right, if people won't use it?

[@TehRasia]

Thank you so much for this video!! I live in Finland and we have Single-Payer system (and small private sector also) that is failing catastrophically. Students, unemployed and elderly people are not using health services because they are completely tired of queue times and having to exaggerate their symptoms in order to be admitted to healthcare.

[@1232bluejays]

In Canada your treated on the severity of your condition usually. Someone going to emergency with heart attack symptoms gets bumped to front of line.those getting treated for a simple cold may as well stay at home they will wait in emergency for many hours

[@SaltyPug]

In any ER, that’s the way everyone is triaged. Acuity level is based on severity of symptoms like u said, a cold vs a heart attack. That’s how it’s always been in the US. -former ER nurse

[@torbygjordet2533]

@Preston Hanson Waiting in the ER with a cold is worse than being a commie. Go home an grow a pair.

[@Citizen_J]

It's called triage, and it is practiced in any legit hospital. All these dumb ass fools saying Er wait times are too long don't realize they are the ones clogging shit up by having minor issues but going to the gid damn ER

[@mrit4099]

THIS IS SOCIALIZED MEDICINE IN CANADA / AND YOU PAY TAXES IF YOU MAKE MORE THAN 10K PER YEAR + A 15% GOODS AND SERVICES TAX ++++ There is a great deal of variation in the total waiting time faced by patients across the provinces. Saskatchewan reports the shortest total wait (15.4 weeks), while New Brunswick reports the longest (45.1 weeks). There is also a great deal of variation among specialties. Patients wait longest between a GP referral and orthopedic surgery (39.0 weeks), while those waiting for medical oncology begin treatment in 3.8 weeks. Patients also experience significant waiting times for various diagnostic technologies across the provinces. This year, Canadians could expect to wait 4.3 weeks for a computed tomography (CT) scan, 10.6 weeks for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, and 3.9 weeks for an ultrasound. Research has repeatedly indicated that wait times for medically necessary treatment are not benign inconveniences. Wait times can, and do, have serious consequences such as increased pain, suffering, and mental anguish

[@alexndg5260]

MR IT409 you understand that you’re talking about extremely specialized tests right? This in no way represents ER wait times or the vast majority of issues that people go to the hospital for. Also, most of these tests are offered in private clinics where wait times are almost nonexistent. Good try with the fake propaganda though.

[@williagr]

Well it's a good thing he talked to this one guy.

[@SociallyTriggered]

I'm in Canada and the system sucks. I waited two years for a MRI, then 1 more year to see a specialist who finally gave me the results of the MRI. Turns out my neck is broken and I'm lucky to still be alive or able to walk and that I probably should have been treated much earlier.

[@jlkkauffman7942]

The sad thing is this video has less than 1 million views it needs to be much higher!

[@mazz4149]

As all the Stossel videos, they it is not balanced. Single-payer health care is not bad. it is then the government that is the "insurance companies". So the cost is the same for all and there is no insurance profit to be made. Also, it is not true that singer payer will not use expensive medicine. Actually a single payer is very strong when negotiating medicine prices, so it will cut cost.

[@jlkkauffman7942]

@@mazz4149 the problem is, its the government which screws up everything it touches, also the quality of healthcare will go down right now the USA has the best quality healthcare. And there was someone in government I can't remember the name but she was for rationing healthcare to keep the healthiest. So no I don't want government in my healthcare at all

[@mazz4149]

@@jlkkauffman7942 I guess you can get get the best if you can pay for it. But not for all. Overall it is not ranked at the top. But defiantly not among the worst.

[@mackcummy4976]

What? Drugs are expensive in the US. Insulin here in Canada it's like $12.

[@noahremnek3615]

US healthcare is a disaster. Administrative costs, lack of transparency, no regulations on drug pricing. We need something like the NHS. Markets don’t work in healthcare.

[@wojtek9675]

@@noahremnek3615 we are far from the free market healthcare system. It’s the government interference into the market that is driving up the price not the lack of regulation

[@noahremnek3615]

@@wojtek9675 Our healthcare system is more free market than most countries. Hospitals and drug companies are free to charge whatever price they want.

[@wojtek9675]

@@noahremnek3615 no, they are not free to charge what they like. If it was a true competing free market. If they did, they’d go out of business but with the government being a high consumer on the healthcare market and regulating it so much the price has sky rocketed. The price “mysteriously” sky rocketed with Medicare and Medicaid was implemented in the 1960s

[@H-RutherfordHill]

I’m in Colorado. We just voted in a governor who wants single-payer....UGH.

[@MountainMan.]

You're turning into California at a breathtaking pace. A Leftist hellhole with mountains. Good luck

[@H-RutherfordHill]

drakg002 - Yes, we are turning into California. Very sad.

[@elsagrace3893]

tantrum006 give it a try. It’s changeable if it doesn’t work.

[@H-RutherfordHill]

elsa Grace - Uh, no thanks

[@killianmiller6107]

Minnesota too, but what should I expect?

[@robertaylor9218]

Insurance in Germany is nonprofit. The UK’s NHS has been starved by decades of austerity, nothing functions at full capacity on a severely cut budget. If that doesn't sound right to you, then ask Toys R’ Us.

[@Monsuco]

In 2008 the UK's NHS spent about 109 billion British pounds. A decade later, in 2018 they spent about 133 billion pounds. How exactly is dramatically increasing their budget the equivalent to starving them? if they're actually implementing austerity shouldn't the NHS budget be declining rather than increasing?

[@samueljett7807]

@@Monsuco because inflation. Accounting for that, they should have spent 143 billion in 2018 to be providing the same amount of stuff to people as they did in 2008.

[@spqr1945]

Still Britain has a better outcome

[@danielstadden1149]

But they got that brand new aircraft carrier

[@sevenman9672]

@@samueljett7807 Britain's money dropped 30% in value in ten years? If true, then that's the problem that must be fixed as soon as possible, before any mere budgetary concerns are considered.

[@bobbyadkins6983]

You try living without it and see how well you do.

[@mesomelas1467]

Stossel needs to show that Switzerland and Singapore have mostly free market systems and they work. ALSO show that the reason it's so expensive is because government intervenes.

[@MBarberfan4life]

They are free market in the sense that the insurance companies, for example, are private; however, they are nonprofit. The problem is that even that is seen as extreme to many in the U.S.

[@chrissmith8830]

I had a dog bite that ripped open my skin. I had$2300 in savings at the time and the hospital charged me$1900. When I applied for state healthcare they turned me down and said I could afford it. I was unemployed not receiving benefits or compensation of any kind. When I told them I had bills and rent, they said they don't take that into consideration.

[@maxabramson4781]

Before government started meddling in healthcare, total spending was just 5% of GDP. We had universal coverage, free at the point of service when we had free markets.

[@BigRAC83]

Government should not pay but healthcare is way too expensive.

[@killianmiller6107]

It has to do in part with insurance. Kind of like how college tuition grew at 4x the rate of inflation due to government aid and grants, insurance being able to pay the big bucks means that hospitals can profit off of more and more aid. When insurance isn't involved, like in the case of Lasik, you find eye surgery costs going down as well as better quality.

[@russellmcafee9412]

don't forget hawkish litigation everywhere.

[@jseconomics5733]

Healthcare in Canada is nowhere near as good as people think it is. Wait times to see a doctor are insane. I've walked out a couple times after waiting for more than 4 hours. Once I had a splitting migraine that was lasting for weeks. Went to the hospital, waited all night for a doctor, he ended up prescribing me Tylenol 3 and scheduling me to see a neurologist... in 4 months. Unfortunately the nurse wrote the wrong date on my appointment slip. I sure hope it wasn't brain cancer.

[@worsethanjoerogan8061]

Same thing bro, I waited 15 months for an appointment with a surgeon, only to be told that my appointment was canceled because I moved and they tried to call my old number to "confirm" and didn't get ahold of me. Now I'm back to square one, I might get the shoulder surgery I need in another 3 years if I'm lucky

[@GM53946]

"Wait times to see a doctor are insane" And they are infinite if you cannot pay under a for-profit system.

[@lextacy2008]

15 moths your full of shit. @@worsethanjoerogan8061

[@dusteedawg2915]

Ah well ive got stomache pains n im going on 5 months to finally get a colonoscopy.......here in USA......told the drs i think its my intestines sssssoooo they checked everything else.

[@nymalous3428]

GM35964 I could not afford to pay for our current for-profit system, yet I was still treated... for brain surgery... 7 times. And I did not have to wait. The first surgery was scheduled the day I found out I needed it, which was the day I visited the hospital.

[@christophernuzzi2780]

I waited over 6 hrs in an ER once with a sprained wrist here in the US. If you are not on death's door there is always a loooong wait in the ER. If you bitch about it, they point at that dumb sign with the definition of "triage" on it and tell you to shut up and sit down or leave if you don't like it. I'd rather wait for free than wait and pay. And yes, I know I'd be paying through taxes, but if it doesn't come out of my net pay, it's free in my book.

[@joewasilewski7846]

I live in England and use the NHS, it provides me free doctors, prescriptions, eye care, dental etc. It does have waiting lists and it's own problems but at least it functions to serve everyone, Ironically the best parts of the NHS are the parts provided by the private sector but paid by the central government.

[@boulevard14]

Really? You get free eye care, prescriptions and dental care? Pretty sure that's only the case if you're a pensioner or a minor.

[@ae744]

In an emergency room in phoenix, I once waited a day to be seen. I had good insurance.

[@neilschroeder7854]

A E . Then you probably shouldn’t go to the emergency room to remove a sliver from your pinkie. Critical care will always jump the que.

[@YPEFFLE]

Just go to urgent care, clearly not an emergency if you could wait around for a day

[@neilschroeder7854]

D.S. critique spoken like someone who has never dealt with “single payer”.

[@neilschroeder7854]

Brandon Reyes . I live in canada dumbass. Ive never had to wait very long for care. But i guess im not stupid enough to go to emergency for non emergency issues. There are plenty of medical clinics to go to instead. The time i stepped on a rusty nail at the farm, i got the tetanus shot at a medical clinic within an hour of the injury. Is single payer perfect? No. But everyone can get the necessary care when needed and nobody goes bankrupt to receive the necessary care. When i had the flu and pneumonia last year, i got in to see a doctor within an hour of going to a clinic, the antibiotic was under $20.

[@neilschroeder7854]

Brandon Reyes . Mortality amenable to healthcare is a measure of the rates of death considered preventable by timely and effective care. USA 112 per 100,000 Canada 78 per 100,000. Canada superior. Again. I cant find any stats regarding terminal ilness death rates. Did you make that up? USA cost of healthcare per person $10,209, Canda 5,728. But the USA does lead the Canada in murder rate - USA 5.35/100,000 Canada 1.68/100,000. & % of people who reject evoution in favor of creationism - USA 40% Canada 23% (still an embarrassing rate for Canada, but the US? Yikes).

[@killadog84]

Isn't the average cost of getting a stitch in the US about $500? Some people just can't freaking afford that. Private and single payer health care are not mutually exclusive. The people who want to pay for their care can still do so.

[@ghostinthebox]

Hospitals wont refuse life stabilizing care, regardless of ability to pay. Single payer is a bad idea. Government sucks at everything. Ever been to a VA hospital or clinic? The people there are generally trying their best, and they're good people, but the incentive structure just isnt there. The resources just arent there, so the care is delayed.

[@mikebalderston2723]

What you're referring to is a two tiered system. The problem with this is that when you have a gov't system to the scale and extent to a single payer, the prices for private healthcare increases drastically and end up so only the very rich can afford the more efficient, more advanced privatized system. This is why it's better to keep the gov't system at a minimum and let privatized healthcare work the same way as any other industry and have actual competition, drive down prices, and most of all, price transparency. Let the consumers be in control.

[@dtrout]

I'm generally a big fan of John Stossel and I subscribe. I think this analysis is way too superficial and frankly not very well thought out. First of all, Medicare & particularly Medicaid reimburse hospitals well below the cost to provide care to patients. Medicaid payments frequently do not even cover the disposable supplies that are used to care for patients. I've worked 35 years in healthcare including billing, Finance and also in the care giving departments. The staff work long hours and for at least the last 20 years, pay raises have not kept up with the cost of living. I cannot recall receiving more than 2.5 percent in any year going back at least 20 years. Hospitals have been desperately cutting costs as far back as I can recall.....and when the low hanging fruit was gone, hospitals worked together to establish huge GPOs (group purchasing organizations) to fight back against corporate price increases on medical supplies & medical equipment. This helped to slow the cost growth, but there are so many facets of corporate America trying to "feed" on healthcare and the amount that hospitals are charged routinely exceeds all other types of construction / equipment / furnishings, etc. New technology has been a huge drain on hospitals financially. I recall seeing an article explaining how Ireland was creating a national healthcare information system .....with plans to deploy it soon. That was approx 7 years ago. The were setting up a central locus of control for the whole country & all hospitals would feed information into the database about the care each patient received. But in the USA we didn't make the logical choice to create a single information technology system. Instead, the government's so-called czar of information technology created a list of mandatory achievements...innovations that hospitals had to achieve to comply with Federal Regs & continue to be able to participate in the Medicare program. So hospitals all over the USA set out to try to comply with the mandate. Huge sums of money were spent everywhere on the electronic health record development and massive changes in workflow. And in the end, we have a system that struggles to communicate because there are so many different systems in use. Centralized coordination is needed, but the government has shown it's not capable of running them. Federal programs are universally regulated to the point of dysfunction. They apply rule after rule......and try to shift more and more "risk" to the hospitals. This is the BS that people like Pope come up with ....Pope is the little think-tank genius that Stossel is interviewing. He tosses out some platitudes and tries to act like he understands what is wrong. Clearly he does not. What is wrong is so widespread and so out of control. Americans eat unhealthy, do not exercise adequately and we spend a huge amount of money (vast percentage of total healthcare dollars) on the last 90-180 days of life. Cancer drugs may cost $140,000 PER INJECTION .....but may not work. The hospital does not make money on that .....it goes to a pharmaceutical company. If the doctor or a nurse makes a mistake, they can be liable for huge sums in malpractice lawsuits, even if the evidence of wrongdoing is not well founded. So they spend huge amounts on legal defense and on malpractice coverage. There is just so much that is WRONG today. People are shooting each other, we have an opioid epidemic, HIV, childhood autism that is abnormally high, pollution of our water that is causing cancer and all sort of other factors that didn't exist 50-75 years ago. If you think Mr Pope is right that we need to stay on the same path because buying commercial insurance allows the wealthier Americans to continue to get huge amounts of care while young poor people are left to wait in the ER.....consider this......give this a chance to really sink in, because you are already paying for a lot of healthcare that you didn't know you were paying for........ I'm sure you know that you are being taxed to provide Medicare to the elderly and the disabled and perhaps you know about Champus and Railroad Medicare. Do you also know that you are paying veterans who are working and making money but continue to get free care through the VA healthcare program ? And your taxes provide care for Firemen, Police, and local government workers. You also pick up the tab for premium healthcare "gold" level care for members of congress .....perhaps also for governors and State politicians and .....also government employees. Yes, you probably knew about all of that. But the American taxpayers also pays a huge hidden tax. The cost for you to buy your own health insurance is inflated well beyond what it should be. Why? Corporate profit, yes, that is one part of it. But the bigger reason is ......commercial plans have to cover the losses that hospitals everywhere experience because the government plans (Medicare and particularly Medicaid) do not cover the full cost of care. Medicaid covers perhaps 20% of the cost to treat the patient. The remainder is a huge loss to the hospital. But the government mandated that the hospital has to provide the care, so any amount of $$ the hospital can get is better than nothing. And as long as the percentage of Medicare and Medicaid patients remains small in comparison to all the patients coming through the doors for care, the hospitals can make up the losses by charging other patients more. That's where you come in ......paying a huge hidden tax for all government plans.......... But it gets worse. Medicare and Medicaid plans have already been sold to millions more people under the Obamacare .....and the Democrats want to take it even further with Medicare for all. But to do "Medicare for all" would mean that the commercial plans that make up for Medicare / Medicaid losses would be gone. So Medicare / Medicaid would either have to start paying the "full price" of patient care, or almost certainly bankrupt hospitals across the nation. This is already happening to many rural hospitals.....they cannot survive on limited volume and meet all of the new regulatory requirements. And even with bigger hospitals, look on the web and you will see merger after merger of hospitals that are trying to cut administrative costs & remain viable. Any politician that offers a simple solution.....Bernie, looking at you man......is not being honest with the public.

[@JayYeasmin]

thank you for this information, I love actually learning about what's happening rather than some biased bs pushed by either side. I used to be a big supporter for medicare for all and healthcare being a right but then I started thinking about why healthcare in this country is in the state that it's in but wasn't able to find a lot of insight or information that wasn't some thinly veiled propaganda.

[@dtrout]

@@JayYeasmin Thanks for taking the time to read my rant. I hope it will help a few people to understand and perhaps spread the word to the people they know. There is so much I didn't cover. If you want additional thoughts, please read on. First, there are so many people already getting health insurance through taxpayer funds that I didn't mention. For example, teachers in public schools have private insurance, but the dollars are coming from taxes to the general public and are part of the total educational costs. I suspect there are other "huge segments" of people also covered to taxes....air traffic controllers perhaps (?), road workers, healthcare workers to a large extent since Medicare $$ are a major source of cash......and in Michigan we also have no-fault insurance which is basically a superfund that we pay through our insurance broker, but it goes to the State of Michigan and it pays for healthcare costs that resulted from automotive accidents. The complexity of "who pays" adds huge administrative costs and also creates a tiered structure because insurance companies & the employers (who structure the policies) are setting more and more limits on what is covered, how often, where service can be rendered (O/P only for example) ..... what diagnosis is required for certain therapies, etc, etc. Insurance has been so twisted & tweaked that it's become dysfunctional in that it may require several billing iterations with staff working on questions each pass.....to clarify what was performed and why.....before there is a decision on whether insurance will pay or not. That can take months and then the patient gets a bill and no longer remembers details or why they are getting a bill. This is why a simplified insurance structure would reduce costs significantly without any loss in quality of care. In fact, quality of care would benefit because physicians and nurses could spend more time caring for patients and less time trying to satisfy questions from the insurance companies. This is what I mean by "what is wrong is so widespread".....every facet of the business of healthcare is much too complicated & becomes very costly to provide the administrative oversight to comply with demands. The more we can simplify the process, the more healthcare workers can focus on patients. This includes ending the need for think-tank geniuses like Pope to tell us what we should do next. It's time to rip the band-aids off & create a new paradigm, but it would take a consortium of suppliers, hospitals, major corporate interests, and public health advocates / representatives and also pharmacy and health researchers (NIH) and others to come to agreement on where dollars will go & how to allocate them.....and getting this diverse group with competing ideas to agree on a new structure is highly unlikely at best. So government is going to have to be the group to mandate "what happens" if in fact a new paradigm can be defined. My idea would be to go to adopt a set of "rules" that insurance must follow and must pay for......not necessarily a single payer but single payer would be sensible IMO. Costing experts would have to work with Hospital Associations & employers / insurance groups to agree on the full and reasoanble cost of care for high volume services / cases.....but exclude high cost and catastrophic cases like transplants and burn patients and also major cardiovascular (CABG) care. Also exclude cosmetic services that are not medically necessary .....unless pre-approved under an exemption as a hardship case .....to be fair to accident victims, crime victims, cosmetic birth defects, etc. For high cost and catastrophic care, have a panel of people that discuss the case and agree on a treatment plan "real time".....with the understanding that the hospital will be fully reimbursed for carrying out the treatment plan .....based to some extent on a fee schedule .....but also having the ability to flex up or down depending on the clinical needs / complexity and how long the patient takes to heal, and other factors. The key to making everything work is also limiting significant levels of care to the elderly who have a limited life span even if they are spared for a year or two. This is a tricky thing & patients should always have the option of paying out of pocket to get care they want, but public spending is limited and if we limit $$ spent on the last 90 days of life....those $$ can be used in child health, prevention, and other much more effective programs. So for public $$, somehow we need to find fair and reasonable process to fund the cost of care when several years of life are likely to result, but also accept the fact that everyone eventually dies and at some point, comfort measures are what will be covered. This is a very difficult issue but until we face it, costs will continue to be very high without significant improvement in the national health outcomes. Hospitals will need additional funds to cover plant & equipment maintenance and upgrades. There would need to be limits on total compensation to physicians / top brass who are the highest paid......and to nursing. Hospitals boards may get fixated on a specific executive and spend far too much on that person's compensation. Perhaps executive salaries / physician salaries should be limited (capped) based on the size of the hospital / system. Additional bonus pay / bonus $$ could be added to shift physicians, nursing and other trained personnel geographically.....incenting with $$ to shift caregivers to locations where they will be properly matched with patient needs / demand for care. Additionally, provide bonus $$ to hospitals with low infection rates & other desirable clinical outcomes......low readmissions, etc. These hospitals are in fact helping to reduce costs for follow-up care and their workflow & management techniques should be shared / copied / mimicked.

[@grahamdougherty226]

The idiots in this country will make the wrong decision you can bet on that. The USA died back in 2001. It's about the destruction of it and the rebuilding plans at this point.

[@dtrout]

@MrHoppers002 I laid out a few things that could be done in a separate post under this video. Bottom line we are going to have to stop spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on last ditch efforts that are unlikely to work & highly expensive. There will need to be rational medical decisions on age & the level of "heroic" care that should be applied depending on the patient's health. People should always have the option to pay out of pocket and buy additional heroic care, but I don't think that is a taxpayer responsibility. As we move forward, more and more gene therapy options will help to avoid full blown disease and be a much more cost effective method of care. This would be similar to having colon polyps removed and avoiding the cancer they bring over time.....and then needing major surgery and chemo. Some cures are happening already.....Hep C is now curable, eliminating the need for liver transplants in most patients. This is a huge group of patients that can now avoid a massive expense and years of post transplant services. So science is part of the answer .....and pharma. Science is closing in on cancer therapy using the body's immune system rather than chemo, by identifying cancer cells & getting the body to target them (the immune system does not naturally understand these cells are bad but it can be "alerted" by marking the cancer cells with therapies. This would be the other major cost containment. Lifestye -- Poor diet is a relatively easy change...get a BBQ and cook chicken and fish, avoid fatty meats, avoid starches & eat more vegetables and a little fruit. Don't smoke .....get a fair amount of exercise .....heart / vascular is responsible for many deaths every year and a huge level of expense. How do you mandate this.....? More difficult but perhaps there are ways to incentivize healthy choices. A single payer system would be potentially viable if we have cancer and heart disease under control....and can reallocate those care dollars to ER care, urgent care, disease prevention, gene screening and therapy, pediatrics, and family medicine. Single payer would help to reduce admin / billing expenses for hospitals, so more tax $ can go directly to care.

[@beng4151]

Hospitals are CUTTING costs????? You are out of your mind. I have never, ever seen a hospital close. And most cities I have been in have one hospital that serves everyone, with little or no competition. They are a cartel, just like he said.

[@kengurusafari]

1:32 I can confirm this happens in Norway too. I'd even say often.

[@hannesproductions4302]

Yeah also I here in Iceland.

[@ilebillybobjoe]

are you sure? I heard Norway's got it easy cause of their oil money.

[@alterego8496]

US has the highest medical error rate among developed nations

[@person3070]

@@alterego8496 false

[@Sondan1988]

As a doctor I would ask you to live by the same rules the Government run healthcare, ie Medicare, make me live by. BEFORE you go to work, your salary is going to be cut 51% and the 49% you do get to collect, you still have to pay taxes on that part. I have NEVER found someone that will live by those rules, but they seem fine to force that onto me. And when you do collect that 49% of the medicare payment, I can review any payments 3 years later and decide if the treatment was needed or not. Who is willing to live by those rules ??

[@martinr4549]

In my experience, insurance companies SEEM to gouge prices and offer plans with high deductibles. The solution is more competition not turning the industry over to the government. Bad Idea.

[@IrishOhionan]

Like everything else, eliminate the bureaucracy and massive regulation and the costs will come down.

[@xGaLoSx]

The cost of basic health services is ridiculous in America. The insurance companies have inflated the prices for everything

[@BingChilingEnjoyer]

@@xGaLoSx sure, the insurance companies also made education more expensive. Or was it actually the government involvement? Who would know...

[@bobi6191]

@@BingChilingEnjoyer They try to discredit the NHS in this video but the truth is that most of the UK population approves of it and wants to protect it. It has it's fair share of problems as does any system, public or private, but people here value the NHS because it means they can seek medical care without fear of going bankrupt. It's also objectively true that the NHS pays less much less for drugs. No matter what mental gymnastics you attempt, you simply can't spin the fact that collective bargaining on a national scale results in savings for the consumer.

[@BingChilingEnjoyer]

@@bobi6191 while buying 1 million products in one trade is probably cheaper than having 1000 trades of 1000 products, when the state is the customer, private producers tend to inflate the prices, since government officials care little about how much they spend. Also bribes over who gets to get the 1 million products trade usually make it so that the government doesn't choose the cheapest source, but the source that can "donate" to a few high placed officials. Or maybe in UK when government makes a project for a building/road, they don't spend at least 3 times more than a private investor, for example.

[@bobi6191]

@@BingChilingEnjoyer I’m not an expert on the topic but in the NHS’ case, I believe the actual bargaining it done by the health service instead of directly through the government. The NHS is given a budget to work with every year so I suppose that could mean they have an incentive to minimise things like drug costs in order to make ends meet. They have to have enough for their salaries after all. In the case of things like roads it’s similar to the US. It’s usually done by clueless officials who overpay for it and of course all of the bureaucracy takes a toll. When it comes to the NHS, I believe the dynamic is a bit different because people who actually know their stuff are the ones negotiating and doing so on behalf of an entire nation puts them in a strong position.

[@bobcostas5094]

Over 60,000 Americans die every year due to a lack of proper healthcare! While in Canada 🇨🇦 no one has. Give me an answer to that one. Also, how many Americans have to declare bankruptcy or work a second job in order to pay for hospital expenses? I’d rather wait an extra hour or so and get great free quality healthcare, than live in the USA 🇺🇸

[@jackcarraway4707]

How to fix the problem: 1. Allow people to buy insurance across state lines. 2. Make it easier to buy your own policy rather than depending on your employer. Imagine if you worked for Enron and you lost your health insurance simply because the company was ran by a bunch of corrupt dipshits. 3. Be able to tailor your policy to fit your needs like car insurance. I don't need insurance for routine checkups, dental cleanings, etc. I just want coverage for catastrophic things like cancer. 4. Get rid of the HDHP requirement to open a HSA and get rid of the year contribution limit.

[@LUR1FAX]

People need to understand the difference between what is a right and what is a commodity.

[@homewall744]

If money is involved, it's not a right.

[@frankphillips6001]

But let's for the sake of argument say healthcare is a right. That does not entitle a person to have it funded for them. To those who believe it does I ask, then you will be buying me a gun as my 2nd amendment right and providing my with material I can use to express my 1st amendment rights

[@madhusudan]

Negative Rights = True Rights ; Positive Rights = Communist Tyranny

[@lextacy2008]

Funny thing is that health care is NOT a commodity. Way to fall into that trap. For something to be a valid economic commodity it must be VOLUNTARY. Health care is not voluntary. That means EVERYONE pays. Just like police, fire, and roads.

[@lextacy2008]

Then get off our roads freeloader. @@homewall744

[@christinabutterfield1801]

Literally every other developed country has Single payer. This is propoganda

[@sebastienledoux7566]

As a Canadian, i fully agree with this video. Singapore is the only country that has a sane heathcare system.

[@kaijiesoo8588]

Sebastien Ledoux in Singapore the Government acts like it owns its citizens. When it comes to healthcare, that’s a blessing!

[@szahmad2416]

As a Canadian, I fully disagree.

[@saltymonke3682]

@@szahmad2416 Canadian had longer surgery backlog

[@BingChilingEnjoyer]

@@szahmad2416 maybe for muslim immigrants 😂😂. Canada prefers them over its own citizens generally

[@ronfazer2423]

@@szahmad2416 In 1970 my uncle (from Chicago) went to Canada for a hernia operation! I believe because they were performing the best at that.

[@alexchandler374]

Their correct, access healthcare is a right, just like the right to bear arms is, doesn’t mean I can demand someone else pays for my guns.

[@compman34]

No its not a right nor should it be. We do not have the right to physical comfort. Review the bill of rights and riddle me this: Does the exercise of those rights REQUIRE the intervention of another person and/or their labor? Your equivalence of "someone else paying for guns" is a stupid statement. The right to keep and bear arms does not implicitly mean people should be given guns free of charge to keep and bear. If the 2A was to state it was a requirement that all American citizens keep weapons at home, that would be a different story. Now, IF health care is a right, then anybody in health are can be FORCED to service them at anytime, WITHOUT renumeration. Sounds like slavery to me.

[@memnarch129]

Your pseudo right, but mostly wrong. Yes the constitution provides inalienable rights such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". So yes you do have a right to Life, but any medical situation that isnt life threatening, broke your arm but its not going to become infected or kill you, well thats on you to take care of. Got cancer and there is a treatment but cant afford it, now there is a situation where the government should be doing somthing.

[@leonardwei3914]

@@memnarch129 "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is a statement in the U.S Declaration of Independence, which we strive to uphold, but is not legally binding the U.S. must adhere to like the Constitution. There is only one explicit right that requires the labor or participation of other individuals and that is the Sixth Amendment, ie the right to Trial by Jury, speedy and public trials, and a lawyer.

[@zacht9805]

You actually don't have a right to "access" to healthcare either, just as you don't have a right to purchase a gun. You either do it yourself or find another consenting individual to purchase goods from

[@biffhenderson1144]

It would be great if they gave military surplus/old guns to the taxpayers for free!

[@Proud_Troll]

I don't think anyone in the United States thinks that we have very well priced healthcare. But that doesn't change the fact that it's still better than the UK and Canada.

[@utcnc7mm]

I'm not sure what the solution is but making hospitals & insurance companies compete against one another sounds like one way to bring cost down (it will never be free but at least it could be affordable).

[@YorickReturns]

The solution is always freedom. Government intervention in the economy is always destructive.

[@gregoryeverson741]

@@YorickReturns Government is supposed to be there so people play fair, but that isnt the case anymore

[@scott76252]

75% of your (America's) healthcare costs is due to the dietary guidelines instituted by the democrat senator George McGovern in 1977 (kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpOpgpZooN2gb8U). That 75% represent chronic metabolic disease brought on by the government instituted dietary change. Hacking of the American Mind by Dr Lustig MD, Phd of the University of California San Francisco medical school: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnm8pmuEobx3grc

[@ReaperBlack-no3ig]

"Insulin is cheap compared to a night in the hospital." this quote is strange, why compare it to a night in the hospital, it should be compared to other prices of Insulin in other countries. If you phrase it like that you can say a car is cheap compared to a private jet. Also why is he claiming that the government denies treatment when private hospitals and insurance firms have also been caught doing the same... pot calling the kettle black. The solution here is the middle ground by just banning insurance companies from denying people coverage. The US is too large for Federal healthcare to function, at best you guys need state healthcare. Small government in single states to decide.

[@InsufficientGravitas]

The reason the us spends more is because they don't have price controls. The issue with the NHS is govt mismanagement by the right wing neoliberal conservative party

[@Day-qs4qm]

Absolutely, I myself am a diabetic and insulin is the opposite of cheap without insurance or aid.

[@chrisawesome3091]

I was wondering the same thing myself. A bit misleading for Stossel

[@drewm3996]

They could shrink it more but removing patents just

[@InsufficientGravitas]

@@magnusrasmussen951 look into the NHS, they pay significantly lower prices for drugs through the power of collective bargaining.... In the US you pay significantly more for medical services, because you haven't the choice of not buying, and it's too expensive or impossible due to patents to set up a company that will undercut the current provider. It's basically a monopoly

[@WeAreWafc]

Nobody has the right to anything from anyone

[@jarjarbinks6018]

It should be noted that France, Germany, Switzerland, and many of the other countries that use primarily private health care also implement strong price controls as a collective bargaining measure. All of these countries also subsidize the healthcare for individuals who can’t afford the payments. I appreciate John stossels reporting but I believe that he leaves these details out when they are actually quite important caveats

[@jimmy_xi9342]

It's not bargaining, it's called forced imposition.

[@gregpalmer3831]

$600 epipen, $375,000 lymphoma treatment, $80,000 hep C treatment. Those issues are not solvable in our for profit system.

[@gabrielmoreira5580]

There is facts and opinions. This guy has lots of opinions. Americans pay more for their healthcares than any country in the world and get far less in return. I am happy with the european healthcares comparing to the broken healthcare system in America whereby you get charged to the eye balls by private clinics and in some cases you are not cover...

[@Deknis]

Speaking from experience, Medicaid is absolutely terrible. My dad has it and the way they treated him when he need care the most was terrible and makes me angry which is why I think the government should stay as far away as possible unless it’s a safety issue.

[@thomast3570]

Conservative politicians do not like to allot money to Medicaid. It attracts certain kinds of providers.

[@Slimecrazy234]

Single payer works very well in Canada and it’s the pride of the nation in England. These are ridiculous speculative arguments against it.

[@jackcarraway4707]

The NHS is bureaucratic rubbish.

[@brycewalat5321]

Notice that none of the British Royals had their kids in NHS hospitals.

[@craigdougan8484]

Heavy on the innovation critique, light on the solutions. Typical of those shilling for the status quo.

[@MrChancellor51]

Innovation? Please. There were solutions argued. Makes hospitals more competitive.

[@eriklakeland3857]

Kent what does make hospitals more competitive mean specifically? Like bid for supplies between each other. They should be focusing on healthcare ffs.

[@erenjager4698]

I think he meant they should be competing to provide the best service possible for the lowest possible price.

[@hinken3716]

Funny how they never mentioned how the Norwegian health-care works.

[@senorpepper3405]

i hear that in norway the rich pay the least in taxes. how does that work if i may ask?

[@hinken3716]

@@senorpepper3405 It's simple, they don't. Norway has a step tax. You get taxed in steps depending on your earnings. Step tax is owed on your personal income between different steps. The tax increases the higher step you are in.

[@AndyPhu]

@@hinken3716 just like how it works in the us

[@hinken3716]

@@AndyPhu and?

[@Flexinciple]

@@hinken3716 can you explain how the Norway healthcare system works?

[@YT0091]

People claim how Canada's health care is so great. Ask a Canadian about that, they are going to tell you something different. I know a Canadian couple that sought cancer treatment in the USA at their own expense because Canada was not going to treat them fast enough or effectively enough. Lets also not forget that government makes everything more expensive and more inefficient. Parts and tools purchased for military aircraft are multiple times more expensive than the commercial market. It's not because those are special tools, it's because of the bureaucratic system by which those things are acquired. Let's also not forget that Canadians keep LESS THAN HALF of the money they earn because they are taxed at incredibly high rates to pay for this and other inefficiently run social services.

[@sdushdiu]

Single payer caters to those who believe in the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny.

[@sdushdiu]

@Kurt Kinde "we would have threw you in with the Tea" Congratulation on your illiteracy. A shame healthcare - of any kind - can't solve your ignorance.

[@Warrenmitchum]

Can we just get rid of health insurance period. I bet hospitals won’t charge crazy high amounts if there’s no big company paying the bill.

[@KevinDavis338]

Tort reform is needed as well. .

[@Warrenmitchum]

Kevin Davis tort?

[@biffhenderson1144]

What would we do with all the space left by yanking all of the lawyer and drug television commercials? It's about 80% of the commercials.

[@Warrenmitchum]

Preston Hanson if gas was 400 a gallon no one would buy so not smart and get rid of insurance make doctors compete and you’ll see prices fall and quality increase. Prices don’t need regulation the market dictates it fine. Medical practices need regulation even if it’s not federal.

[@campkira]

Most logical solution is yiu have to get healthcare in other country.

[@gregmaxwell7636]

Whatever the stupidest direction to go is . . . that's where we will go.

[@sandman4224]

I'm 55 and haven't seen a medical doctor in 14 years . Where's my refund????? Apparently, it doesn't work that way.

[@biffhenderson1144]

Don't give them any ideas. Only the people who pay taxes will pay for single payer. Then they will give refunds to healthy people, even if they didn't pay in. Another back-door transfer of wealth.

[@Emily-df4mn]

People who don’t see doctors regularly are at higher risk of more expensive procedures. Insurance companies know this and encourage you to go the doctors because of that...why should it work that way when you are not monitoring your health

[@sandman4224]

@@Emily-df4mn I monitor my health through non-conventional means. I see an ND, chiropractor, massage therapist, etc - most of which isn't covered by insurance...hmmm. Plus, I research and feed myself food that nourishes. I sleep 8 to 9 hours a night consistently. I move. I keep my mind fresh. I meditate. My body fat index is under 10 percent. Where's my refund, I ask???

[@trolljones4386]

What Country are you from? if a place with Socialized Healthcare then the point with it is that tax dollars help others and they will help you as well and your exercise is not a foolproof plan especially are you becoming a Senior. Meaning you are more likely to develop Health issues which would require visiting a Doctor or Medical care as you age and other People's taxes would be footing your bill.

[@sandman4224]

@@trolljones4386 I live in the land of the Obamacare tax. There are safety nets for seniors in this country already. That I pay for. And how did anyone survive before health care "rights" emerged? It is nothing but a re-emergence of Marxism. Let health care agencies compete just like, auto, life and home do. Those that aren't a risk get discounts.

[@DarinPirkey]

I tore my achilles a few years back and took care of it out of pocket. I didn't have insurance. Surgery was to cost $5k and physical therapy and checkups another $3k to $5k. (3 times a week for 4 to 6 months). I paid $2200 for my surgery and negotiated PT for half the price and walked away from the injury for right around $4k. If I had insurance I would have had co-pays and my monthly premium was $700. I saved by NOT having insurance. Not to mention I wrote off the medical expenses.

[@laverdadbuscador]

I've been saying employers shouldn't even offer health insurance for years. All it does is reduce buyer options and shackles people to jobs.....when you'd transfer jobs is when most people would go "bankrupt". Employers should instead just offer a reimbursement check as a benefit. Imagine if car insurance was primarily offered only by employers. It would be a literal nightmare. I'd love to buy "catastrophic only" insurance but I make too much and am over 30. But I'm still healthy and so is my family. Each of us goes to the doctor max 1x a year. Each visit if was out of pocket is only about $150. Vs paying $1,500 a month!!!!! For something that doesn't even cover you until you hit a deductible of $10k. It's absolute bullshit.

[@alainvielle6983]

As a libertarian, I'm all for a minimalist government who's task is only to protect the individual against physical harm (police, military). Still, the healthcare issue is not as obvious as it seems, how can someone defends himself when he's seriously sick and cannot work normally or think straight? I've lived and work in many different countries, and while purely socialized medicine like in the UK or Canada sucks big time, France is not so bad. Regarding the US, the problem everyone seems to not realize is that the issue is not the insurance, but the ridiculous cost. In no other country in the world do MDs make 10 times more than engineers. The medical professions are almost the only ones regulated in the US, hence the incredible corporatism that put us in this mess. Not to mention that the GENERIC medication I have to take every day cost also 10 times more than the exact same ones made in Europe, meaning I could pay the same price WITHOUT being insured ordering them from abroad (if it was legal to do so) as paying my just my co-pay in the US. How is that possible?

[@mystique0417]

Short answer is the already high level of health services the govt already buys thru Medicare and VA. When the govt buys anything the costs explode. Can't speak to the RX costs but I'm not in favor of govt dictating prices on producers. As far as doctor salaries go, once you limit the earning potential of any service provider, watch their numbers go down. Then you'll see their numbers shrink, which will lead to fewer and even (eventually) higher paid doctors. Market principals: no better way to address scarcity and price.

[@alainvielle6983]

@@mystique0417 I'm not saying the government should regulate the MDs earnings, all it has to do is allow foreign doctors (from developed countries) to practice in the US and foreign made generic medications legal to import, and see the corporatism bites the bullet if the US medical industry continues to be unreasonable.

[@andykay8949]

In Australia there is a hybrid public/private healthcare. You can pay and get treatment in private clinic or you can wait for months and get the same cheaper at public clinic. You might like that system. I dont. I think government should get out of healthcare completely.

[@carsontodd9267]

I have no idea what the fuck your talking about. My sister has to take Chlonodine, an ADD med, and lived in Europe. She paid upwards of 20 times more than what it costs in the states, generic. Pain medications where worse. A bottle fill for Hydrocodine for her was 70 dollars US. When I had my teeth yanked, I paid 20. Where the fuck you got that bullshit I have no idea.

[@PictureMaker22]

Alain Vielle Foreign doctors will just come here and charge the same as American doctors. The problem of human greed is not exclusive to the United States.