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The problem is that the medical industry has the government in its pocket. People did survive without insurance once upon a time, or just had insurance for major medical issues/hospitalizations, because doctors a few generstions ago did not expect to become multimillionaires. Doctors didn't buy and own medical and testing facilities that made them wealthier and then sent patients eith insurance for tests they might really not need. People could afford to pay for a physical or a sick visit without insurance and not have to forgo paying rent to do so.
But the AMA has a lot of power through money that determines who gets and stays elected in this country in return for making sure that they stay wealthy. Along with their pals in the pharnaceutical and insurance industries.
I don't know how we fix this.
On the bolded, I think they're one and the same at this point, which you pretty much alluded to. And on a different but related note, why is the educational route to a medical credential so extensive and costly? Does it really need to take 10-12 years of schooling to become an MD? This also factors into the high costs that patients end up paying for.
I'm acquainted with an 83 year old MD (retired). I'd like to ask him what the process and cost was that earned him his medical degree. Must have been early 1970s, before Big Pharma really infiltrated every segment of our existence.
I have pity for those who are forced into the modern medical machine due to chronic illness and hope it never happens to me. I would likely opt out and accept the consequences, seems like a lesser evil.
There is a general practitioner in my area (legitimate MD) with a clinic that does NOT accept insurance and offers either a monthly rate or per-visit charge, depending on one's needs. Always busy with cars in the parking lot. I wish there were options like this for everybody in all parts of the country.
With all due respect for your opinion, I do think that health care is a human right, for all of us in this country, not just for residents in socialist countries. And yes, I'm paying for a lot of it indirectly, through taxes and medicare premiums. I don't like the waste and corruption that accompanies the current system, and have plenty of objections to how our current president is handling the immigrant issue. But please, show some compassion and sympathy for working families who are struggling with health care costs for their families.
Medicare for all is a good idea, and it's long overdue.
But once again, healthcare is done by people who are giving up their time and have the right to be compensated for that time. Do you believe that you need to work for free or far below market rate because someone does not have the money to pay you? You could be nice and offer your time for free but by no means are you required to do it and it would be no one's right that they receive that service under those circumstances. If you think they are entitled to it, then you do need to move to a country that does offer that. The USA is not that country. You would probably feel that having a house to live in is also a right. But it is not. It is for the fortunate people who can afford it.
Totally get what you are saying and in principle I agree with most. But on the flip Side it’s easy to say this if you have healthcare, if you or a close loved one were say diagnosed with cancer and needed treatment I bet you’d take free care in a second if you didn’t have it
I don't think I would. In 1994, I was awarded full permanent disability from SSI that resulted from a couple of bad car accidents. My back was in bad shape. I just had back surgery and it did not help. I was not an invalid but I could not sit for long periods of time and could not stay at any one job. That said, I told myself that I would not live like this for the rest of my life. I was 33 years old and embarrassed as hell to tell doctor's staff that I had Medicare as insurance. Long story short, I was getting about $1400/mo and not long after, I made myself get a job and deal with the pain. I wrote to SSI and told them to stop paying me. They didn't listen. I wrote again and told them to stop sending me checks. Eventually, after a few years they did. And they sent a bill for $40,000 to be re-paid to them. I sent the check and was free of them. So, I do not like the thought of anyone paying my way. Everyone I know said I was crazy and it was free money. And I thought that it was not free money. My neighbors and people all over the country was payiing for it. I went years with no healthcare at all from jobs and I never expected or wanted a cent from anyone and would not take it. If I had cancer or something, maybe I would then because I would be near death anyway. But anything short of that, I would not accept the free healthcare. I know because i was on that side of the aisle and speak from experience. Too many people are looking for a handout. There should not be any.
The truth be told it really isn't the Dr.'s that are making the money. Check out the salaries of exec's of the insurance companies. Insurance pays little especially medicare - the negotiated rates are unbelievable.
I'm old enough for Medicare, with retirement health care benefits from NYS, so I don't need to worry much about health insurance costs, but the cost of family PPO insurance for the rest of us is shocking. My former employer just announced the cost for employee health insurance in 2024. Per month, family plan, 2,500+/m. That's $30G in premiums before deductibles and co-pays.
Crazy. I voted for Obama and supported the idea of "affordable" health care. WTF. Bernie was right. We need universal health care.
Please, don't tell me it's a political issue. We can fight about everything else, but everyone needs health care.
Tell me about it. I'm an employer and my company has always offered health insurance for my employees.
You don't want to make it political, but you're also the one who brought Obama and Bernie into the conversation. Health insurance has never been cheap, but it was somewhat reasonable before Obama.
Since "Obamacare" my health insurance premiums have seen double-digit increases every year. All while co-pays and deductibles rise and benefits decrease. It's more than coincidence to me that costs went bananas when Obamacare went into effect.
Insurance companies are certainly a big part of the problem. It is, however, the politicians that fail to address that, and other root causes. Instead, they create a boondoggle like Obamacare which does the opposite of what they claim.
Bernie is a moron. He panders to the uniformed with promises of free money. It's understandable in the world of politics where they somehow get absurdly rich on a government salary. Those of us who work in the real world, however, are the ones who pay taxes that fund these programs. How much more do you want to take from one half to give away to the other half?
when I was a child I was always sick and in and out of hospitals. My mom said we had catastrophic insurance in the 1970's.It barely covered anything. I wish we could pay doctors in chickens eggs like they did on little house and the prairie. LOL
The truth be told it really isn't the Dr.'s that are making the money. Check out the salaries of exec's of the insurance companies. Insurance pays little especially medicare - the negotiated rates are unbelievable.
This I believe. My Dr just told me he still lives in Queens because he can't afford Nassau County. So...he's looking to go South. Can't blame him.
when I was a child I was always sick and in and out of hospitals. My mom said we had catastrophic insurance in the 1970's.It barely covered anything. I wish we could pay doctors in chickens eggs like they did on little house and the prairie. LOL
In the 60s, I remember our doctor coming to our house with his little black bag. It could not have cost much at all and I don’t think we had insurance. I think she just paid him $10 or $20 cash when he left.
I'm old enough for Medicare, with retirement health care benefits from NYS, so I don't need to worry much about health insurance costs, but the cost of family PPO insurance for the rest of us is shocking. My former employer just announced the cost for employee health insurance in 2024. Per month, family plan, 2,500+/m. That's $30G in premiums before deductibles and co-pays.
Crazy. I voted for Obama and supported the idea of "affordable" health care. WTF. Bernie was right. We need universal health care.
Please, don't tell me it's a political issue. We can fight about everything else, but everyone needs health care.
A good starting point question is why are civil servants getting such great insurance at such a discount? Much is said about the gap in money between rich and poor, yet not a peep about the gap in insurance costs.
Universal health would be a way to theoretically even the playing field, but can you see civil servants giving up their very generous benefits and pay 10% of their income for premiums as is the expected cost for universal health and the current cost for subsidized Obamacare premiums?
Nope. The government and Big Healthcare blew whatever credibility they had during Covid. Will not trust them to run anything related to my health.
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