So, is this supposed to be better than socialized medicine?

Question

slatyb · Accepted Answer

It's better for the people in the health insurance industry, but far worse for the public.

I was in Paris in September, tripped and hit my head on the pavement. Two very kind people stopped to help. One insisted that I needed to go to the ER to have my head examined, so I went. I saw a physician's assistant (PA in the US) who did the basic concussion screening. Then some time later a doctor examined me and decided that I did not need a head scan, and then returned a couple of hours later to see if I was ok and then sent me home. In the US in a hospital ER that would have cost thousands of dollars. I asked about payment before I left, assuming that I would have to pay something as a foreigner, but there was no charge.

OneViewpoint · Accepted Answer

Welcome to Capitalism and "For Profit" health insurance. Because government is so much less efficient, right? How could government possibly be any less efficient than our current insanity? Employer, broker, insurance company, reinsurance company, PBM's, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance. 7 middle-men all taking a profit, standing between doctor and patient. Hundreds of plan designs on a hundred billing platforms. But a single payer system negotiating on behalf of 340 million people would be horrible, right?

RavVid · Answer

Australians are quite happy to not have health insurance as the public system works very well. Private heath insurance is an optional extra.

It is a blend of private and socialized. If you were buying a TV you could shop around and get the best deal. That doesn't work in the medical world - you can't negotiate a better deal. You and I are price takers with medical services.

Effectively our gov't bargains on our behalf. If a clinic is happy to charge the gov't negotiated rate they can bulk bill the gov't agency. In which case I pay $0. They might charge above that in which case I pay the difference.

Naturally the clinics at which clientele pay $0 have more custom than those where they might pay $100. So it makes a competitive environment for clinics to charge less.

Prescriptions are cheap because the gov't negotiates the price of the medicine by tender. Companies compete to supply generic medicines at the lowest price.

To support that we pay 2% of our salary but a substantial amount of taxes goes to public health also.

It is only if you want something to happen quickly that you need to pay. I was told I would need a specific operation in 5 years. The waiting list was 5 years so I had the operation exactly when I did need it. If I had needed it asap I would have had to private prices. But 5 years waiting was fine for me.

Levin · Answer

Yeah, I'll stick with my UK commie healthcare.

See the thing is, I never use it anyway.

The only time I use it, is if I need to be part of the system in some way and get a sick note for work.

And then, I don't pay anything, but have the assurance that it's there if I'm seriously sick.

And though I never use it for most things because most doc's can't cure anything. When I do need it it's fair to middlin, which is good enough to me.

Screenwriter · Answer

You'd have to balance what you'd have to pay extra in taxes to GET socialized medicine. And remember for basic medical services the waits are extremely long. You might need to wait six months to have a general checkup. There's no deductible, but you're still paying for it. LIkely far less than 12,000, but what you make up for in money, you lose in time.

I think partially socialized medicine might be a solution. $6k is an awfully high deductible. Usually it's somewhere between $500 and $1000. Have you shopped around? Sounds like your insurance only works for catastrophic illness and not for preventive illness, which is the way to cut costs. Backwards!

Anonymous · Answer

It really depends on your health, whether you have any chronic conditions. To some people that's (i wouldn't call it a gift for anyone). But to others that are in very good health that is a millstone around thier neck.

I read on the internet that your healthcare budget should make up about 9% of your total expenses. I don't know ANYONE who gets off that is. But healthcare should NEVER be equal to or more than all your other living expenses combined. But the healthcare industry has many over a barrel. They own the politicians and they have medications many people simply cannot live without.

molonski2 · Answer

USA just has the most ludicrous system worldwide , over servicing kills , under servicing kills , paying for what? Utterly ridiculous.

Tamera952 · Answer

Nope it isn’t. Socialized medicine is coming, and people are going to love it. Way past due. Healthcare for profit is DOA.

LazerBean · Answer

Yes it is. But an actually capitalist medical system would be much better than both.

So, is this supposed to be better than socialized medicine?

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