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I know everyone pictures the kid with a broken arm getting it set when they hear about socializing medicine, but all I picture is the US paying large corporatio

by kolbe 9y ago

I know everyone pictures the kid with a broken arm getting it set when they hear about socializing medicine, but all I picture is the US paying large corporations to make more people OD on opioids.

mulmen 9y ago
We don't have socialized (single-payer) medicine but we are still over-prescribing painkillers. Why do you think socializing medicine would change this? Do countries that have single-payer healthcare have more or less problems with heroin and prescription drug abuse?
- lurker456 9y ago
  less, for several reasons - in the US system, treating symptoms instead of the underlying cause is easier for the doctor and more profitable in the long run. - "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"; less patients that wait until pain is unbearable (due to its cost) which then need different treatment. - less conflict of interest that affect what doctors prescribe - there is only one buyer, with a strong negotiation position, potential profits are capped
  - tankenmate 9y ago
    Also with one buyer they are more keenly aware of when one particular drug or class of drugs spikes in usage.
  - ythn 9y ago
    Many of these points apply to socialized medicine as well. Take Germany for example: - "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"; less patients wait until pain is unbearable and as a result doctors are inundated a lot of mildly sick people (who probably didn't need a doctor). - Treating symptoms instead of the underlying cause is easier for the doctor who is inundated with people that have mild sniffles and aches. Hence, a lot of my German friends were prescribed "spa time" in the hopes that it would clear itself up before getting a "real" prescription if spa time didn't work.
- makomk 9y ago
  I believe countries with single-payer healthcare have less problems with this, but they also have very different cultures around the amount of healthcare and drugs they provide. I can't see it being politically viable to impose single-payer-style restrictions on access to healthcare in the US any time soon.
  - KGIII 9y ago
    Also, the US does more drugs, per capita, than the rest of the planet - unless those numbers have changed recently. It's probably a cultural thing, in some regards. We love our drugs.
- creaghpatr 9y ago
  Because there would be an endless supply of government money for rehab centers. Already the ACA has spawned an entire addiction market in Florida. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/megyn-kelly/florida-s-billion-dollar-drug-treatment-industry-plagued-overdoses-fraud-n773376 https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/megyn-kelly/florida-s-billio...
- toomanybeersies 9y ago
  1 in 3 Americans are prescribed opioids in any given year. 80% of the world opioid supply is consumed by the USA. I can't say whether opioid prescription rates have an inverse relationship with single-payer healthcare, but the USA has astonishing rates of opioid prescription compared to the rest of the world.
pjc50 9y ago
I'm sure the US could mess it up that badly, but it doesn't have to be that way.
- kolbe 9y ago
  Really? Take a look at everything else the federal government does and tell me it could possibly end up being anything better.
  - pjc50 9y ago
    Sure, but that's the choice of people electing anti-government wreckers and crass opportunists, like that guy charging his security detail to stay in his own hotels. It's also the country that went to the moon. Your choice.
    - kolbe 9y ago
      The US is not the country that went to the moon. That was their grandparents. The US is their poor, obese, undereducated, and overconfident offspring.
BurningFrog 9y ago
One factor is that if you're on disability/Medicaid, you can get $1000 worth of Oxycontin for a $3 copay. Those pills in turns have a street value of $10,000. This stream of federal drug money is¹ one big driver of the opioid epidemic. In some parts of the country, a huge part of the population is on disability, and it's hard to say no this kind of money. ¹ Or at least was. The system has probably tightened a bit the last 5-10 years.

by kolbe 9y ago

I know everyone pictures the kid with a broken arm getting it set when they hear about socializing medicine, but all I picture is the US paying large corporations to make more people OD on opioids.

mulmen 9y ago

We don't have socialized (single-payer) medicine but we are still over-prescribing painkillers. Why do you think socializing medicine would change this? Do countries that have single-payer healthcare have more or less problems with heroin and prescription drug abuse?

lurker456 9y ago
less, for several reasons - in the US system, treating symptoms instead of the underlying cause is easier for the doctor and more profitable in the long run. - "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"; less patients that wait until pain is unbearable (due to its cost) which then need different treatment. - less conflict of interest that affect what doctors prescribe - there is only one buyer, with a strong negotiation position, potential profits are capped
- tankenmate 9y ago
  Also with one buyer they are more keenly aware of when one particular drug or class of drugs spikes in usage.
- ythn 9y ago
  Many of these points apply to socialized medicine as well. Take Germany for example: - "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"; less patients wait until pain is unbearable and as a result doctors are inundated a lot of mildly sick people (who probably didn't need a doctor). - Treating symptoms instead of the underlying cause is easier for the doctor who is inundated with people that have mild sniffles and aches. Hence, a lot of my German friends were prescribed "spa time" in the hopes that it would clear itself up before getting a "real" prescription if spa time didn't work.
makomk 9y ago
I believe countries with single-payer healthcare have less problems with this, but they also have very different cultures around the amount of healthcare and drugs they provide. I can't see it being politically viable to impose single-payer-style restrictions on access to healthcare in the US any time soon.
- KGIII 9y ago
  Also, the US does more drugs, per capita, than the rest of the planet - unless those numbers have changed recently. It's probably a cultural thing, in some regards. We love our drugs.
creaghpatr 9y ago
Because there would be an endless supply of government money for rehab centers. Already the ACA has spawned an entire addiction market in Florida. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/megyn-kelly/florida-s-billion-dollar-drug-treatment-industry-plagued-overdoses-fraud-n773376 https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/megyn-kelly/florida-s-billio...
toomanybeersies 9y ago
1 in 3 Americans are prescribed opioids in any given year. 80% of the world opioid supply is consumed by the USA. I can't say whether opioid prescription rates have an inverse relationship with single-payer healthcare, but the USA has astonishing rates of opioid prescription compared to the rest of the world.

pjc50 9y ago

I'm sure the US could mess it up that badly, but it doesn't have to be that way.

kolbe 9y ago
Really? Take a look at everything else the federal government does and tell me it could possibly end up being anything better.
- pjc50 9y ago
  Sure, but that's the choice of people electing anti-government wreckers and crass opportunists, like that guy charging his security detail to stay in his own hotels. It's also the country that went to the moon. Your choice.
  - kolbe 9y ago
    The US is not the country that went to the moon. That was their grandparents. The US is their poor, obese, undereducated, and overconfident offspring.

BurningFrog 9y ago

One factor is that if you're on disability/Medicaid, you can get $1000 worth of Oxycontin for a $3 copay. Those pills in turns have a street value of $10,000. This stream of federal drug money is¹ one big driver of the opioid epidemic. In some parts of the country, a huge part of the population is on disability, and it's hard to say no this kind of money. ¹ Or at least was. The system has probably tightened a bit the last 5-10 years.