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I agree completely, neither extreme is ideal. As I said, I think that given current system it's desirable to fund basic healthcare from taxes, but I think there

I agree completely, neither extreme is ideal. As I said, I think that given current system it's desirable to fund basic healthcare from taxes, but I think there should be an option to avoid state services if I decide to do so. The major problem in my story isn't insurance itself even though it's expensive as hell, it's that the hospital isn't a business and I'm unable to use my mandatory insurance to cover private healthcare costs. I personally think the Swiss system is good. I never wanted to imply that private services are always high quality, but there definitely is more motivation and it shows - while there might be a considerable portion of bad hospitals in the US, here are literally just a handful below average ones (compared to the US) in my country and it's impossible to get there legally. Of course low quality hospital beats no hospital, but you should be able to fix that with some kind of mandatory insurance that is state-sponsored if the person is poor, for example, no? Don't forget that I'm reacting to a comment praising public hospitals from control reasons, not about absence of social safety. I don't understand why people in the US can't or don't pay their insurance themselves instead of through their employer, though. Seems like a huge risk - well you described it.

anon08142018 8y ago
Because insurance is a private industry and there are few goverment assisted options if you are very poor its very expensive to purchase it by yourself in the US. Private insurance has every incentive to keep raising prices and to keep lobbying the government to stay away from the market. Your employer can group all of their employees into a single risk pool, so each employee gets a discounted rate. When you purchase insurance on your own you are no longer in a group and so the cost is far more. Doctors are also incentivized to prescribe you drugs you don't need and drugs that insurance covers instead of the correct medication. My wife had to wait to get surgery on her leg because she just signed up with a new employer and didn't have insurance yet. If she had gotten the surgery without insurance it would have cost somewhere around $100k US.
- TomMarius 8y ago
  > Because insurance is a private industry and there are few goverment assisted options if you are very poor its very expensive to purchase it by yourself in the US. Private insurance has every incentive to keep raising prices and to keep lobbying the government to stay away from the market. This is proven to be false by Switzerland, where people purchase their private health insurance themselves.
  - anon08142018 8y ago
    Yes, lots of things are possible. I imagine there are both cultural and regulatory differences between the health insurance market in Switzerland vs the US.
    - TomMarius 8y ago
      Yes, I agree. I suspect it's a regulatory problem, that's why I asked - I'd like to know the specifics.
      - anon08142018 8y ago
        This link seems to cover a lot of the differences. It sounds like a decent system, but not one that would ever work in the US. The private healthcare companies have too much to money to lose and would use the media to frame such as system as communist and dangerous. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-US-healthcare-system-and-Switzerlands https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-US-...
        TomMarius 8y ago
        If that's true, then literally any plans for public hospitals or healthcare insurance are doomed from the beginning, isn't that right?
        anon08142018 8y ago
        Basically. That is a good summary of the political debate over healthcare for the last few decades in the US.

anon08142018 8y ago

Because insurance is a private industry and there are few goverment assisted options if you are very poor its very expensive to purchase it by yourself in the US. Private insurance has every incentive to keep raising prices and to keep lobbying the government to stay away from the market. Your employer can group all of their employees into a single risk pool, so each employee gets a discounted rate. When you purchase insurance on your own you are no longer in a group and so the cost is far more. Doctors are also incentivized to prescribe you drugs you don't need and drugs that insurance covers instead of the correct medication. My wife had to wait to get surgery on her leg because she just signed up with a new employer and didn't have insurance yet. If she had gotten the surgery without insurance it would have cost somewhere around $100k US.

TomMarius 8y ago
> Because insurance is a private industry and there are few goverment assisted options if you are very poor its very expensive to purchase it by yourself in the US. Private insurance has every incentive to keep raising prices and to keep lobbying the government to stay away from the market. This is proven to be false by Switzerland, where people purchase their private health insurance themselves.
- anon08142018 8y ago
  Yes, lots of things are possible. I imagine there are both cultural and regulatory differences between the health insurance market in Switzerland vs the US.
  - TomMarius 8y ago
    Yes, I agree. I suspect it's a regulatory problem, that's why I asked - I'd like to know the specifics.
    - anon08142018 8y ago
      This link seems to cover a lot of the differences. It sounds like a decent system, but not one that would ever work in the US. The private healthcare companies have too much to money to lose and would use the media to frame such as system as communist and dangerous. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-US-healthcare-system-and-Switzerlands https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-the-US-...
      - TomMarius 8y ago
        If that's true, then literally any plans for public hospitals or healthcare insurance are doomed from the beginning, isn't that right?
        anon08142018 8y ago
        Basically. That is a good summary of the political debate over healthcare for the last few decades in the US.