Would equitable access to healthcare lift people out of poverty?

[Notherndude84]

If all Americans had access to the same standard of healthcare wouldn’t that decrease poverty and grow the economy?

[Lionman95]

It would be good for the economy but it probably won´t lift people out of poverty. Since people live in habits most of the day changing their health care status would probably not be enough for them to change their habits. But I think it would be better for society since people that are poor and have psychological problems could get treatment easier and therefore there might be less acts of violence.
Because in a health care system where everyone has to pay for their own doctors appointment and drugs people that are poor would probably avoid certain appointments they consider not necessary like visiting a psychologist/psychiatrist even if they knew they have mental problems.

[exitseven]

How does that grow the economy? Working people will have to pay more taxes and they have less discretionary income so they spend less and rack up even more credit card debt. Only people that run medical facilities will get rich. The irony here is that the people paying for all this will be too busy working to see a doctor if they are sick

[Notherndude84]

How much do you pay for co-pays and other out of pocket expenses when accessing care?

Not to mention the cost of insurance premiums

[exitseven]

I pay 10 bucks for a co pay but an MRI is now 200 bucks after Obama missed up the Healthcare system

[exitseven]

I have good insurance through my employer. They pay 85 % of the premiums. I get most of my medical paid for. I had a total hip replacement and it was a ten dollar co pay.

[Notherndude84]

Shouldn’t all Americans be able to access healthcare without having to go in debt?

[Notherndude84]

I too have good insurance coverage through my employer but not everyone has access to that

[exitseven]

If everyone that could not afford good insurance that did not get it from their employer all of a sudden had the government give it to them for free it would either add trillions to the tax burden or else if the government printed more money it would add to the deficit and cause more inflation.

[Notherndude84]

I think heath coverage should be mandatory and affordable. I think if we had a healthier population that productivity would naturally follow.

[exitseven]

If you could figure out how to do that without making Healthcare shitty for everyone like it is in Canada ivwiould run you for president

[Notherndude84]

I’m actually afraid that you’re correct on this point, a system that is designed for people instead of profit is impossible.

Just to prove I’m not a Bernie Supporter I agree that a health care system should be affordable and profitable for those who administer it

[exitseven]

The system in America works for the vast majority working for a company that will offer you good benefits is why people go to college and invest time and money for a secure future. Hopefully you go to work someplace with great benefits. To just offer it to everyone will only overload the system and ruin it for everyone.

[Notherndude84]

Overload is something that could happen. I just think there has to be a way to get people healthy, off drugs and involved in the economy. Regardless of who and where you live. That’s probably coming off utopian, but I think it worth having the conversation.

If members of the house (on both sides) could get past this cultural war bullshit, maybe we could get something of value from them

[exitseven]

Tobacco use is way down from what it was years ago in the 60s there were over 40% of the population smoked. Now it is less than 10%. There has not been any legislation regarding smoking and all the phony baloney education had nothing to do with it either. Instead it has been the fact that cigarettes are more than ten dollars a pack. This has been a positive thing but it is going to be hard to do that with potato chips and bacon

[Notherndude84]

I might have to disagree with slightly on that, reducing smoking rates was a big win but I think education was a factor in the decline.

[exitseven]

Nah, the rates were steady and e en climbing when the states got all that lawsuit money. It was not until the cost skyrocketed that people quit in earnest.

[Notherndude84]

Smoking was slowly becoming unpopular, I guess it peaked with the golden age of Hollywood, smoking was sexy back then.

[exitseven]

I grew up in the 70s and 80s. It seemed like e eryone did it.

[Notherndude84]

I wasn’t born until the early eighties, but from what people said about the 70s it was wild.

[exitseven]

I was a kid but remember it. I can remember the fallout from Vietnam.

[Notherndude84]

Before my time.

[IslaTheWitch]

Believe me, in most European countries, we all have access to the same standard of healthcare, and there are still poor and homeless people... :D

It doesn't depend on healthcare. It depends on people and their choices. Over half of homeless people here could work and earn enough to rent a room or a small flat. But they gave up...

[Agape93]

Nope, because it isn't access we need. We need it to actually be affordable.

[Notherndude84]

But if people had reliable and affordable healthcare wouldn’t that help people out of poverty

[Agape93]

That's what I just said. We have access, it's just too expensive

[Notherndude84]

By access I mean affordability

[JacobJordan]

If the US handled covid the way countries like New Zealand did our economy would be just fine. But business owners, apartment owners etc are too greedy and the government doesn't care about the people which is why the US is in the condition it is in

[Notherndude84]

Well, the problem is they still had costs to cover.

[JacobJordan]

In New Zealand that froze all payments by this I do not mean they paused them they skipped them. They gave all citizens 7k a month. Every family was tasked with sending 1 person to a grocery store per week. Again zero payments. They gave them a weeks supply of food at a time. When new Zealand re-opened people had 7,000 × nm (number of months) × pp (per person) that they had been holding because they were not allowed to use. Now that things were re-opened they spent money with a will. All that money went back into the economy and as a result New Zealand's economy skyrocketed.

[JacobJordan]

Meanwhile the US gave people a laughable sum of money, prevented evictions while not skipping the payments, or skipping food costs etc. And the US came out of it barreling towards financial disaster. A disaster that the US is still sprinting towards like an Olympic event.

[Anonymous]

The moment you use words like “equitable” you signal to everyone that you’re a raging shitlib.

[Notherndude84]

Do you consider yourself a superior human?

[Anonymous]

Nope. I say that because most people don’t know how to manage money. So when there’s an increase in income like a job raise, to many people that just means bigger, more expensive things.

[NathanDavis]

that's not how it works

[Roudyrebel8]

No but it would help