Do you agree that Socialism in health care in the US would be a huge improvement?

[msc545]

[RavVid]

I would think so given our system in Australia.

Free enterprise/capitalism is efficient in competitive markets. But individuals are price takers and have no ability to negotiate. So for the common good it is useful if gov't does that bargaining. In our case a lot of medicines are put to tender by gov't to supply through PBS. If you are happy with a generic version it is quite cheap. If you want to you can pay a lot more for the brand name version.

For GP visits there is incentive to supply that service at particular rates.

For specialists that doesn't work so you can pay heavily. Public hospitals provide those services but you will have a long wait.

At any time you can take out private health insurance so it is up to you as to what you want and will pay for.

The bottom line is that in a market, where the consumer has zero negotiating power, it is good to have collective bargaining. At the same time you can have superior service through private health insurance. The best of both worlds.

[molonski2]

Here is part of the problem , even calling it Socialism , its not..

Government dont have money , they collect taxes , all sorts of taxes , for this the absolute No 1 , must be the overall health of the Nation , now virtually ALL developed countries have been able to have universal health care.

The USA system is a joke , its partly massive over servicing , and then partly nothing at all , its not Socialistic to have a universal health care system , but this ridiculous system the USA has needs to be dismantled , and that's going to affect Big Pharma , over prescription of drugs , hospitals and much much more.

The entire system has to change , and if the death of a random health CEO , completely unjustified is the trigger for reform , then that's a positive , but the insurance system is just pooled , legal , deceit. Utterly , horrendous.

[msc545]

Well explained and said, thank you.

[molonski2]

Thanks for the question , its a HUGE question that I wish had an easy fix.

[msc545]

Me too!

[Anonymous]

Some people argue that "It will take longer for us to get a doctor," but that's what you do right now. You have to wait like 3 months to see a doctor. You go to the ER room; you might be waiting hours to be seen by the doctor. You already have to wait. It's just people hear socialism, and they think it means communism, but when you look at the Nordic countries, they have a higher standard of living than the US with better education because people work and pay into those systems it's communism where the money comes from nowhere it's socialism people work and pay into it.

[monorprise]

I can go to the doctor right now and see one in minitues at an urgent care clinic.

My Primary can usually see me within a few weeks depending on my symptoms (and I think he is slow), I can get an appointment with most specialist in a similar less amount of time.

[msc545]

@monorprise You will pay out of pocket for all this.

[monorprise]

@msc545
Your paying for everything anyway it just a question of whether or not its now or in the insurance bill. If we had a real insurance system rather than this socialized medical approach driving prices up as fast as they can. My insurance rate would go up and down based upon usage. As it stands the only mitigating measure they take is the meager copay which is what I pay.

[msc545]

@monorprise You anticipate the insurance bill and budget accordingly. The urgent care payment is unexpected and unbudgeted.

[Anonymous]

We already have privatized socialism in the healthcare industry via tax subsidized and highly regulated insurance. This is the reason he costs go up as fast as they can.

If the Government were to take over and instead fix prices not only would you have a highly dysfunctional system that would cause shortages, unavailability, and enable political corruption to discriminate against unfavorable groups.

The 'savings' would come from that research we are bankrolling not that the benefit would be worth it.
It would be a huge step back for the entire world with a loss of much if not most of the Medical Research and Development that America is currently funding and bankrolling.

[beefcakebradybatson]

H**L to the YES !!! Look at, for instance, Mississippi, America's Haiti, where the REPIGLIKSCAM "Goober-Nor" simply refuses to involve himself in (albeit highly flawed) Obamacare (though he CERTAINLY is all about curtailing women's reproductive rights !!!) and its infant mortality and life expectancy read like a developing nation's. Were Socialism in place in Mississippi (and the rest of America), maternal deaths, infant mortality and life expectancy would reach a normal rich nation's instead of far lagging as currently.

[phraseology]

That's what health insurance is. The socialist party (corporation) controls who gets resources distributed to them. All the people that want to be part of the socialist movement pay into the system so that collectively they take care of each other. All the people can purchase stock in the company to own the means of production. Yet you seem to want to kill the socialist party officials.

[Astarlessnightsky]

Yes and no.

The question is how this would work.

But yeah, less capitalism, as in killing people for profit and burdening millions of people with medical debt would be really good for america.

[jshm2]

Depends on your idea of "socialism" as it's probably wrong.

The healthcare businesses in the US need sorting for sure, but it's mostly politicians that own them, so it's not going to be easy.

[Sevenpointfive]

yes. anything for profit sucks. especially when it comes to quality of life.

[Syntosi]

Considering the state of medical debt in USA, the uniquely declining life expectancy compared to other countries and the fact that USA is alone with its retarded private model.. Yes.. Yes it would.

[exitseven]

No, spreading a finite amount of healthcare across a larger group would adversely affect the quality and availability of healthcare.

[Anonymous]

not currently when many health problems today are self-inflicted whether it be drugs, smoking, alcohol, promiscuity, junk food, limiting diets etc.

sure we can have some socialism for baseline emergency healthcare but for fixing up people's unhealthy lifestyles? like fat body positivity feminists suffering from self-made cholesterol problems? nah fuck that. get your own health care for that

[msc545]

This is really not true to the extent you portray it.

[Opinion Owner]

oh it definitely is. actually it's worse because this shit is being pushed onto kids

[msc545]

Evidence? Or just your opinion?

[Opinion Owner]

evidence of what? fat positivity plus size models being told their beautiful while dying young?

[msc545]

Are you sure that obesity is not genetically mediated such that people who are obese are that way due to adverse inheritance?

[Opinion Owner]

for some people yes but for the vast majority? no absolutely not

[msc545]

Prove that.

[Opinion Owner]

what proof do you want? before and after photos of fit people becoming fat and fat people becoming fit? you can find them online anywhere

[msc545]

You said"for some people yes but for the vast majority? no absolutely not".

Prove that. You know - the "absolutely not" part of it.

[KrakenAttackin]

I would like to see an analysis of where the costs and inflation in healthcare originate. Until we understand what drives costs we can't create an approach to combat costs.

[Pterodon]

No I don’t agree. If you want free then join the military like I did

[noohair]

Ask people in the UK that wait for months to see a doctor.

[QuietRunner]

Medicare works

[QuietRunner]

put everyone on Medicare

[msc545]

You can't put everyone on Medicare even though it would work and make life better for all of us. It is too important to devote money to the war industry just in case there's a war that we want to get involved in or if there's a war that we want to start. All that hardware is necessary for that. We also use it to scare people so the propaganda value is important too.

[NewWaves]

Nope

[Twalli]

Probably