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> universal healthcare, affordable higher education and social security It seems insane to me that people would want government to do healthcare. Every intera

> universal healthcare, affordable higher education and social security It seems insane to me that people would want government to do healthcare. Every interaction I have with US government is terrible. IRS, SEC, DMV, ... Might as well get comcast to do it. Health is a global issue. There should be global solutions.

AsyncAwait 9y ago
> It seems insane to me that people would want government to do healthcare It's not government DOING healthcare, it's still private doctors doing it, just it being free at the point of delivery via a government administered single-payer system. The reason many government services in the U.S. don't work is because they get defunded to curtail their effectiveness and then scapegoated. To someone from the EU, it seems barbaric to want to profit off of someone getting sick. You wouldn't want private armies, would you?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- cabaalis 9y ago
  You seem to forget the power of the purse. Providers would not be free to provide Healthcare in their terms. They would be forced to provide it in methods approved by the government.
  - AsyncAwait 9y ago
    > Providers would not be free to provide Healthcare in their terms. They would be forced to provide it in methods approved by the government. I know the "free market" argument is that the providers would innovate etc. but in reality they would just jack up prices where possible. Healthcare shouldn't be for profit, just like prisons, it only encourages bad incentives.
rbobby 9y ago
> It seems insane to me that people would want government to do healthcare. Like many systems, the Canadian system is a single-payer system. Each province (read state) decides what procedures will/will not be covered (essentially "the policy"). A doctor submits claims and gets paid (roughly... some provinces have caps). Doctors do not call the gov't to get pre-approval/approval for any course of treatment. Your doctor decides you need an MRI... it's covered. Need that appendix out... it's covered. Need a blood test... it's covered. Need to pop a baby out... its covered. Think of it as an insurance system that just works the vast majority of the time. Note that there are treatments/procedures that aren't covered and you'd have to pay out of pocket for them (the only one I've ever been made aware of was a special drug/thingy that improved the odds of a spinal fusion working... $5K a pop and you'd likely need 2). There are even some less common blood tests that aren't covered (no clue what... just something I heard). So... it's not all sunshine and rainbows. BUT... it's way way better than the US system. Also... it keeps people out of court. No one gets sued to cover someone's medical expenses (you broke my kids arm). And it keeps malpractice costs down (no need for the malpractice insurance to cover future medical expenses). In general it just makes Canadians nicer people :)

AsyncAwait 9y ago

> It seems insane to me that people would want government to do healthcare It's not government DOING healthcare, it's still private doctors doing it, just it being free at the point of delivery via a government administered single-payer system. The reason many government services in the U.S. don't work is because they get defunded to curtail their effectiveness and then scapegoated. To someone from the EU, it seems barbaric to want to profit off of someone getting sick. You wouldn't want private armies, would you?

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
cabaalis 9y ago
You seem to forget the power of the purse. Providers would not be free to provide Healthcare in their terms. They would be forced to provide it in methods approved by the government.
- AsyncAwait 9y ago
  > Providers would not be free to provide Healthcare in their terms. They would be forced to provide it in methods approved by the government. I know the "free market" argument is that the providers would innovate etc. but in reality they would just jack up prices where possible. Healthcare shouldn't be for profit, just like prisons, it only encourages bad incentives.

rbobby 9y ago

> It seems insane to me that people would want government to do healthcare. Like many systems, the Canadian system is a single-payer system. Each province (read state) decides what procedures will/will not be covered (essentially "the policy"). A doctor submits claims and gets paid (roughly... some provinces have caps). Doctors do not call the gov't to get pre-approval/approval for any course of treatment. Your doctor decides you need an MRI... it's covered. Need that appendix out... it's covered. Need a blood test... it's covered. Need to pop a baby out... its covered. Think of it as an insurance system that just works the vast majority of the time. Note that there are treatments/procedures that aren't covered and you'd have to pay out of pocket for them (the only one I've ever been made aware of was a special drug/thingy that improved the odds of a spinal fusion working... $5K a pop and you'd likely need 2). There are even some less common blood tests that aren't covered (no clue what... just something I heard). So... it's not all sunshine and rainbows. BUT... it's way way better than the US system. Also... it keeps people out of court. No one gets sued to cover someone's medical expenses (you broke my kids arm). And it keeps malpractice costs down (no need for the malpractice insurance to cover future medical expenses). In general it just makes Canadians nicer people :)