Fun fact: The most expensive health system worldwide is the American health system (17.6% of the GDP). It is though ranked least effective due to poor performance in access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health outcomes and so on ... Well, no, it's not funny. Forget that part.
US health insurance is a parasitic gatekeeping middleman that adds no value, with a business model designed to pocket the difference from continuously stretching the gap between increasing premiums & reducing/denying benefits, along with reducing/denying reimbursements to practitioners, all while muddying up the claims process with bureaucratic hoops & delays to make patients & practitioners give up, go broke, suffer, & die.
Lies! It totally adds value. Have you seen the stock price of the health insurance companies? They keep reporting record profits, even in this down economy. They add value to stock holders just not to you and not int he way you pay them for.
And providing actual medical services would take away from that value so...
Insurance is free money for them, so they charge top dollar... not insured, then charge what it costs + a little extra.Then it becomes a race to see who can extract more money from you between insurance co-pays and hospital bills. It should be a service, not a business
I have severe arthritis and need both shoulders and a hip replaced. Torn labrums and basically rotting bones...it is agonizing. My insurance changed and they decided that my painkiller required a 6 month "prior auth" process. Withdrawal is different when you are actually damaged, but it is never fun. I find it criminal that this kind of intentional harm is sanctioned by any monster anywhere.
Reagan is awful, no question, but before Reagan, in 1946 Truman tried to pass universal healthcare and Republicans (no surprise) and the AMA killed it as part of 'socialism'. And before that in 1943 they tried to pass the Wagner-Murray- Dingell Bill, before that, FDR tried to pass something like it but the AMA killed it, and before that in 1914-17 and before that Roosevelt in 1901-09... https://pnhp.org/a-brief-history-universal-health-care-efforts-in-the-us/
And this shit is why he is still, by uncountable miles, even in the face of trump and all he has done, the worst president in the history of the country, with a toll of pain, suffering, and death that makes trump's look like a drop in the ocean.
I need an EpiPen..... They are $600 without insurance and $250 with insurance..... I have never had an EpiPen. I just almost die every now and then from preventable allergic reactions.
my allergist said i had to have 2 epipens to start allergy shots and he sent the prescription off. the pharmacist said it would be $600 after insurance. i went back to my allergist and said $600 is too much and he sent it to a compounding pharmacy instead. they were $15 each
Why not buy from another country? You can buy in Spain for 45 euro. No doctor needed. Sending to USA might be another 25 bucks. Dunno if these need to be kept cold or something but if not then ... just buy online?
There is no online Espenol pharmacy or something like that? I never thought about it so I dont know how difficult it is to get something from a different country :(
Generally here in the US, we cross one of the 2 land borders and buy it there, butt i am not very close to a border (about 5hrs away). They also expire so i would need a way to get some every so often.
This is the government attempting to do its job, but corporate america trying to rort the system. yet you guys keep not trusting the government and want all your rich 'best friends' in positions of power.
What? I don't have any rich friends. I don't know anyone who does. Who wants them in power? And how are you going to say we should trust the government when rich people literally buy elections? What do you even mean by any of that?
Honestly, if your single and have no kids canceling your insurance will save you so much money in the long run. When i had insurance with my employer i was paying close to $70 a week plus $40 co pays, i only went to the doctor once evey 3 months and without insurance its only $150.
So with insurance i was paying an average of $850 per visit vs $150 without.
The husband of someone i work with also save over $30k on a surgery because no insurance.
I submitted a claim for water damage to my home. They denied it and raised my rate 2K the next year. This year, I pay $240 more than last year. I can't speak to anyone who isn't AI, and the contact us button on their website doesn't work.
If you use very little medical care (e.g. annual checkup, perhaps a minor virus, immunizations), it is less expensive with insurance. (An argument can be made whether insurance is worthwhile after including the cost of premiums. But *insurance* is supposed to be payment into a pool *just in case*, so there is some value to that as well.)
If you need a lot of medical care - such as a catastrophic injury, cancer treatment - it is less expensive with insurance.
Right so you’re one annual check up only cost you like $3200 or more based on your monthly premium. Meanwhile, I can walk in and pay cash less than $100.
I hit my out if pocket max almost every year. I have a few chronic conditions that require regular specialist visits (usually just confirming things haven't changed) and several daily meds. If *anything* else medical happens during the year, I'll hit the oop max.
Insurance companies are a blockage between customer and treatment. They take your money but refuse to give it back when you need it. They also run massive hedge funds with that money, buying real estate and driving up your rent or home price. The insurance industry is a scourge of civilization.
I had a molar tooth explode on me and went to a dental surgeon to have it removed, waiting for insurance to approve would take like 2 weeks and would have cost me twice what they offered me if I just paid out of pocket with a HSA.
I went ahead and paid out of pocket.
There's something truly wrong with a system that charges you more for being responsible.
I got my vasectomy done back in 2009. No insurance, paid $900 cash. My urologist walked me through all the discounts I was eligible for back then, and because I was uninsured I saved about $1200.
I went to Zoomcare, and they did exactly what you see in the video here. Flat $100 for the visit and they accept insurance, but once you give your insurance info, they charge a huge processing fee and it ended up being $160 out of pocket
Imagine the mental, emotional, and physical stress-relief we'd have as a nation with universal healthcare. Why is it I feel like our politicians are constantly allowing corporations to punch us in the face repeatedly, through law and policy, and yet we're not able to punch back without destroying our livelihood and/or our very lives?
Yes! That goes for all social systems btw. It's not just that they save lives, they also lower the tension within a society. When it's no longer true that one bad thing happening can destroy your life, you tend to be less fearful. Less hateful. More peaceful.
--because they have no intention of ever giving us anything they can profit off of. Sure a lot of people will die, but the CEO's private jet needed the natural leather seats and that shit isn't cheap...
Because our government is designed from its fundamental roots to empower the owning class, i.e. corporations, at the direct expense to the working class whose interests are inherently diametrically oppositional to those of the owning class.
It's all by design. Read theory and this becomes readily apparent.
Graeber, Kropotkin, Malatesta, Lucy Parson, Bakunin, Proudhon, Ursula K Le Guin, etc... get to reading and educate yourself about political systems.
We feel like that because they are. Corporations have more and better rights than human beings, and our elected politicians who take money and marching orders from those corporations see us as burdens to bear, not constituents to serve.
My kids have no idea of the life-sapping stress I've been under for decades to make sure they're insured. As they approach 26 (age in U.S. when they're no longer covered as a family member), I've preached to them about getting their checkups before insurance lapses. None of the five have taken my advice, and now most are uninsured.
Actually we CAN punch back, we just ALL have to punch back, not just a few hundred, but hundreds of thousands, have to punch back, as well as some have to punch back like "Green Mario" did. To Healthcare Insurers AND Politicians at the same time.-
I’m no pacifist, but I am a pragmatist. Charging alone into a storm helps no one; it wouldn’t even notice. I’d be gone, and whether the other falls or survives, it only justifies tighter control and risks making my family a target. Real change requires masses of people, either through overwhelming protest or overwhelming force. I stand with protest; the other demands national leadership.
The commenter, whom I responded to (and who has since deleted their post), was saying something very like that. And as stated by my response, I agree with you. Collectively is the way forward.
There’s a Netflix documentary that Robert Reich made called saving capitalism. From 2012. It described the answer to your question in vivid detail. Basically a large PAC called Alex has been dismantling the government in favor of corporations for decades and we’re currently only considering the interests of large corporations with 90% of policies. Whenever you hear trump and politicians talk about good and bad for America they’re not speaking about in regards to people they mean for corporations
I agree with everything that you, and others, have said here. However, I believe that the PAC/organization is ALEC: https://alec.org/about/. They've been around for a long time (right out in the open) making life tough for everyone.
Robert Reich if you don’t know him, was the presidential official for the Department of Labor since the Kennedy’s were in the seat. He dropped out shortly after Clinton for a 40 year career and is the absolute most informed person on everything involving work, labor and governmental influence. He left his career voluntarily specially because he used to fight for workers rights and left because they basically don’t exist anymore and everything the government does is solely for corporations
He’s kind of involved. I mean I get it I wish he was in a political position. But he’s still fighting for us as a public speaker and activist. He is a great content creator but he travels the country to meet with people and educates them on how to navigate this complex country. He’s got a few documentaries and definitely exposed a lot of the dark underbelly of our government
WebDragonG3
mycatsings
JT1984
polepolekaz
Trumpedo has concepts of a plan... the US health care system us predatory.
BeverlyHillsBillie
I guess they didn't learn their Luigi lesson.
flounder35
Luigi that is all
L00kinSpiffy
IcePhoenix101
https://imgur.com/n39scjj.png
vladrichdemaclant
Fun fact: The most expensive health system worldwide is the American health system (17.6% of the GDP). It is though ranked least effective due to poor performance in access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health outcomes and so on ... Well, no, it's not funny. Forget that part.
getmeoutofthecity
Wow. What a fucking disgusting joke of a healthcare system.
LokiShade
We need more Mangioni.
OperatorWay
US health insurance is a parasitic gatekeeping middleman that adds no value, with a business model designed to pocket the difference from continuously stretching the gap between increasing premiums & reducing/denying benefits, along with reducing/denying reimbursements to practitioners, all while muddying up the claims process with bureaucratic hoops & delays to make patients & practitioners give up, go broke, suffer, & die.
ilikepot8os
Lies! It totally adds value. Have you seen the stock price of the health insurance companies? They keep reporting record profits, even in this down economy. They add value to stock holders just not to you and not int he way you pay them for.
And providing actual medical services would take away from that value so...
OperatorWay
Which makes sense to those who value money far more than (other people's) lives - hence this wealthcare system.
Broonstar
Insurance is free money for them, so they charge top dollar... not insured, then charge what it costs + a little extra.Then it becomes a race to see who can extract more money from you between insurance co-pays and hospital bills. It should be a service, not a business
Da3n
I have severe arthritis and need both shoulders and a hip replaced. Torn labrums and basically rotting bones...it is agonizing. My insurance changed and they decided that my painkiller required a 6 month "prior auth" process. Withdrawal is different when you are actually damaged, but it is never fun.
I find it criminal that this kind of intentional harm is sanctioned by any monster anywhere.
Kyzyl
Ronald Reagan torpedoed sane government-provided medical services in 1961 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Speaks_Out_Against_Socialized_Medicine
vaxilist11
Blows my mind how the start of so many bad things can be traced back to that ghoul
PlausibleLies
Reagan is awful, no question, but before Reagan, in 1946 Truman tried to pass universal healthcare and Republicans (no surprise) and the AMA killed it as part of 'socialism'. And before that in 1943 they tried to pass the Wagner-Murray- Dingell Bill, before that, FDR tried to pass something like it but the AMA killed it, and before that in 1914-17 and before that Roosevelt in 1901-09... https://pnhp.org/a-brief-history-universal-health-care-efforts-in-the-us/
AnonKneeMoose
FDR had a failed fascist coup because he tried to introduce a second bill of rights.
Zyrixion
And this shit is why he is still, by uncountable miles, even in the face of trump and all he has done, the worst president in the history of the country, with a toll of pain, suffering, and death that makes trump's look like a drop in the ocean.
BarryTheCyborg
So far, Reagan's policies took a while for full effect
MissIWasntItching
Just wait. History is still being written.
rossimus
Will no one rid us of these healthcare CEOs?
Stuffitwithbeans
I need an EpiPen..... They are $600 without insurance and $250 with insurance..... I have never had an EpiPen. I just almost die every now and then from preventable allergic reactions.
PotatoPirateTheThird
my allergist said i had to have 2 epipens to start allergy shots and he sent the prescription off. the pharmacist said it would be $600 after insurance. i went back to my allergist and said $600 is too much and he sent it to a compounding pharmacy instead. they were $15 each
GrandmasterSpank
Why not buy from another country? You can buy in Spain for 45 euro. No doctor needed. Sending to USA might be another 25 bucks. Dunno if these need to be kept cold or something but if not then ... just buy online?
Stuffitwithbeans
I really wish it worked like that..... I would need to have someone in country buy it then ship it to me. You offering?
GrandmasterSpank
There is no online Espenol pharmacy or something like that? I never thought about it so I dont know how difficult it is to get something from a different country :(
Stuffitwithbeans
Generally here in the US, we cross one of the 2 land borders and buy it there, butt i am not very close to a border (about 5hrs away). They also expire so i would need a way to get some every so often.
wilagames
Counterpoint: I regularly drive 5 hours to get to the kinda crappy beach in my state. I'd probably drive that far for lifesaving medicine.
MadHatter69
Did he say 2024 AD?
CaptCrobar
Luigi was always my favorite Mario brother. Second favorite is Yoshi.
KawaiiInari
Punished if you have no insurance
Punished if you do
The USA Healthcare system is a joke but the only ones laughing are the rich.
livingonagiantfireball
Not enaugh rich get murdered, so why change anything when there is no consequenc for fucking over society.
johneventually1
Won't someone PLEASE think of the insurance executive spring bonuses?!?
KaylRawr
This is the government attempting to do its job, but corporate america trying to rort the system. yet you guys keep not trusting the government and want all your rich 'best friends' in positions of power.
KawaiiInari
What? I don't have any rich friends. I don't know anyone who does. Who wants them in power? And how are you going to say we should trust the government when rich people literally buy elections? What do you even mean by any of that?
AllSeeingAvalin
Honestly, if your single and have no kids canceling your insurance will save you so much money in the long run. When i had insurance with my employer i was paying close to $70 a week plus $40 co pays, i only went to the doctor once evey 3 months and without insurance its only $150.
So with insurance i was paying an average of $850 per visit vs $150 without.
The husband of someone i work with also save over $30k on a surgery because no insurance.
Arbitrarynamehere
Just hope you don't end up with a significant injury, whether it's your fault or not
AllSeeingAvalin
You would still save money.
My co worker has a major surgery, she was in hospital for 2 days and payed over $30k after insurance.
Her husband has a major surgery and stayed in hospital for over a week woth no insurance and owed less than $30k
KawaiiInari
Or cancer. Been there, done that.
oowt
I submitted a claim for water damage to my home. They denied it and raised my rate 2K the next year. This year, I pay $240 more than last year. I can't speak to anyone who isn't AI, and the contact us button on their website doesn't work.
wejustdontknow
I'm self employed. It's much cheaper for me to not have insurance and pay for things out of pocket or on financial assistance from the hospital.
TurnsOut42WasASlightMiscalculation
If you use very little medical care (e.g. annual checkup, perhaps a minor virus, immunizations), it is less expensive with insurance. (An argument can be made whether insurance is worthwhile after including the cost of premiums. But *insurance* is supposed to be payment into a pool *just in case*, so there is some value to that as well.)
If you need a lot of medical care - such as a catastrophic injury, cancer treatment - it is less expensive with insurance.
In between - likely more expensive
illegalacorn
Right so you’re one annual check up only cost you like $3200 or more based on your monthly premium. Meanwhile, I can walk in and pay cash less than $100.
AllTheKitties
I hit my out if pocket max almost every year. I have a few chronic conditions that require regular specialist visits (usually just confirming things haven't changed) and several daily meds. If *anything* else medical happens during the year, I'll hit the oop max.
Bundalicious
No wonder Americans voted for an illiterate pedophile, whole system is fucked, might as well see how much worse they can make it.
shalafi71
I had health insurance, no cost, for less than a year. Then the GOP make Obamacare unaffordable to my wife and I.
kurvarVillain
Insurance companies are a blockage between customer and treatment.
They take your money but refuse to give it back when you need it.
They also run massive hedge funds with that money, buying real estate and driving up your rent or home price.
The insurance industry is a scourge of civilization.
Rascael
Hospitals... We are getting our pound of flesh regardless... America is fucked up
TheAnswerWasAlwaysMoreLube
Hospitals and doctors are squeezed as well. This is for the shareholders and CEOs.
VoidForScreaming
fformulaa
They're gettings pounds from everyone!
MadamPuddifoot
It's not the hospitals!!! Ffs it's the insurance companies!
astrangehop
The hospitals are for the most part private, for profit organisations.
blaghart
Man why could this be allowed to happen? https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/10/biden-says-he-wouldd-veto-medicare-for-all-as-coronavirus-focuses-attention-on-health.html with two parties that both want us to die horribly from lack of medical access?!
leviking
Yeah, that's not the same. Biden raises conserns on a thought example during a crisis,
where as trump just robs you and kills "obama"care
FerbErrger
Gotta pay for those cruise and patriot missles with money from the plebs.
OnFridaysWeWearBeskar
I had a molar tooth explode on me and went to a dental surgeon to have it removed, waiting for insurance to approve would take like 2 weeks and would have cost me twice what they offered me if I just paid out of pocket with a HSA.
I went ahead and paid out of pocket.
There's something truly wrong with a system that charges you more for being responsible.
illegalacorn
The logical conclusion is that paying insurance is irresponsible
DianNaoChong
But the money does go towards a deductible. If he has more costs, he's better off
nemo3590
This. It's still fucked up but insurance really comes in clutch if you have hospital bills in the 10s or hundreds of thousands.
nemo3590
Obviously there are better ways, but a single vehicular accident can send your medical bills into the stratosphere. Better to be covered.
SignedEpsteinsMother
I got my vasectomy done back in 2009. No insurance, paid $900 cash. My urologist walked me through all the discounts I was eligible for back then, and because I was uninsured I saved about $1200.
Absolutely insane.
CmotDribbler
Canadian who got a vasectomy in 2015. paid about 10$ in parking.
wadatahmydamie
I went to Zoomcare, and they did exactly what you see in the video here. Flat $100 for the visit and they accept insurance, but once you give your insurance info, they charge a huge processing fee and it ended up being $160 out of pocket
ThePostPenultStraw
Imagine the mental, emotional, and physical stress-relief we'd have as a nation with universal healthcare.
Why is it I feel like our politicians are constantly allowing corporations to punch us in the face repeatedly, through law and policy, and yet we're not able to punch back without destroying our livelihood and/or our very lives?
IhopeUgetwhatUvoted4
If you do it in large numbers you will destroy them and improve your lives. Apes together strong.
Agouti
As someone who lives in a country with universal healthcare, it's pretty great.
DarthVaderDidNothingWrong
Yes! That goes for all social systems btw. It's not just that they save lives, they also lower the tension within a society. When it's no longer true that one bad thing happening can destroy your life, you tend to be less fearful. Less hateful. More peaceful.
BrickaBrackaFireCracker
Money.
DragonThunderUndertaking
--because they have no intention of ever giving us anything they can profit off of. Sure a lot of people will die, but the CEO's private jet needed the natural leather seats and that shit isn't cheap...
eathotdog
We don't value mental health so why would we desire such stress relief
possiblyafakeaccount
Control
TheDoctorCrankenstein
Because our government is designed from its fundamental roots to empower the owning class, i.e. corporations, at the direct expense to the working class whose interests are inherently diametrically oppositional to those of the owning class.
It's all by design. Read theory and this becomes readily apparent.
Graeber, Kropotkin, Malatesta, Lucy Parson, Bakunin, Proudhon, Ursula K Le Guin, etc... get to reading and educate yourself about political systems.
BrickSprickly
There's no power without control.
urusername2
But, we would have to still be a First World country to have a chance at that. Hopefully, it's not too late!
CallMeCourierSix
The stress is the point. The rich want us desperate, freaked out, and exhausted.
Lexymon
Chronic stress also makes you a better customer - you're more likely to develop loads of health problems needing healthcare services
CyberHexx
We feel like that because they are. Corporations have more and better rights than human beings, and our elected politicians who take money and marching orders from those corporations see us as burdens to bear, not constituents to serve.
akambe
My kids have no idea of the life-sapping stress I've been under for decades to make sure they're insured. As they approach 26 (age in U.S. when they're no longer covered as a family member), I've preached to them about getting their checkups before insurance lapses. None of the five have taken my advice, and now most are uninsured.
SpamYarBlockers
Well then they get the discount!
battousai124
Actually we CAN punch back, we just ALL have to punch back, not just a few hundred, but hundreds of thousands, have to punch back, as well as some have to punch back like "Green Mario" did. To Healthcare Insurers AND Politicians at the same time.-
FerbErrger
Build a few guillotine to keep in Manhattan and around Beverly Hills.
"Green Mario 2028"
[deleted]
[deleted]
ThePostPenultStraw
I’m no pacifist, but I am a pragmatist. Charging alone into a storm helps no one; it wouldn’t even notice. I’d be gone, and whether the other falls or survives, it only justifies tighter control and risks making my family a target. Real change requires masses of people, either through overwhelming protest or overwhelming force. I stand with protest; the other demands national leadership.
TheDoctorCrankenstein
Literally no one is saying to go charging in alone.
The point has always been to organize in order to use our collective power to overthrow our oppressors and their systems.
ThePostPenultStraw
The commenter, whom I responded to (and who has since deleted their post), was saying something very like that. And as stated by my response, I agree with you. Collectively is the way forward.
TheDoctorCrankenstein
The comment you replied to mentioned nothing about doing things alone.
ForPriestSake
There’s a Netflix documentary that Robert Reich made called saving capitalism. From 2012. It described the answer to your question in vivid detail. Basically a large PAC called Alex has been dismantling the government in favor of corporations for decades and we’re currently only considering the interests of large corporations with 90% of policies. Whenever you hear trump and politicians talk about good and bad for America they’re not speaking about in regards to people they mean for corporations
tkisu1977
I agree with everything that you, and others, have said here. However, I believe that the PAC/organization is ALEC: https://alec.org/about/. They've been around for a long time (right out in the open) making life tough for everyone.
ForPriestSake
Robert Reich if you don’t know him, was the presidential official for the Department of Labor since the Kennedy’s were in the seat. He dropped out shortly after Clinton for a 40 year career and is the absolute most informed person on everything involving work, labor and governmental influence. He left his career voluntarily specially because he used to fight for workers rights and left because they basically don’t exist anymore and everything the government does is solely for corporations
eathotdog
I started seeing his comments on YouTube and they're always the most rational statements ever it makes me wish he was still more involved in politics
ForPriestSake
He’s kind of involved. I mean I get it I wish he was in a political position. But he’s still fighting for us as a public speaker and activist. He is a great content creator but he travels the country to meet with people and educates them on how to navigate this complex country. He’s got a few documentaries and definitely exposed a lot of the dark underbelly of our government