[–] canbot 2 points 7 points 9 points (+9|-2) ago
Save half a trillion here, cost 5 trillion there. This is just propoganda. Our medical industry is out of control. Prices are threw the roof. We need something, and Republicans literally shut down the government to stop it. Obamacare is already gutted.
[–] [deleted] 3 points 11 points 14 points (+14|-3) ago
Having witnessed what you want first hand (Indian Health Service, US Native Americians have Gov provided/free healthcare), its not that easy. This is an easy example that happened frequently:
Person has a minor annoyance, an ingrown toenail, and wants it take care of. This isn't an emergency so triage makes an appointment (nearly always the same day), but the person doesn't want to wait in the office so they leave. Doctors office hours end and person returns and is shuffled into the ER because no one can be refused. Mind you, this is now costing Hundreds of times more money and taking up one of two (in this specific case) ER beds. Hope there are no incidents that need more than one bed because it's not available... again, that ingrown toenail can not be refused.
They all knew exactly how to game the system. More drugs? no problem, they lost/had stolen whatever they were on (normally dosed for 30 days at a time, in the case of suspected abuse the pharmacists would limit that to a week at a time but would normally just hand out enough for the remainder of the month). Whoops, got addicted? No problem, we will just give you more drugs to let you down easily (remember, no one can be refused).
The problem is that some people will always try to game the system. That means the whole system is made worse for everyone, and thus more try to game it and the admins try to stem the abuse while making it worse. It's just a downward spiral.
I don't have a solution... but mandated care isn't it. Just like insurance isn't the real problem (only in the US, the rest of the world still uses insurance, has medical care/coverage and doesn't charge even a tenth of what you find in the US... but it's not the Insurance.)
[–] CommonSense 1 point 17 points 18 points (+18|-1) ago
That's government for you. Create a program that siphons money from the citizens, then repeal it and take slightly less money, and act like you did something fiscally responsible to earn favor with the citizenry.
[–] thatguyiam ago
..so what you're saying is universal health care is a bad thing. Gotcha.
[–] CommonSense ago
Everybody who understood rudimentary economics and history knew that it would be a bad thing. Everybody who understands their own bank account knows it is now. If you don't know it, you're probably dead because nobody alive can be that stupid.
[–] bishopolis 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
... completely ignoring that runaway medical expenses borne ad-hoc by end-users is responsible for 2/3 of bankruptcies. What's that cost, long-term? (hint: the other G7 are pretty sure it costs more to be cruel to one's own citizenry)