4 ms·

but... why? i mean, if i can afford it, i would want private health care because it's usually less crowded and you can have stuff done a lot faster. for exampl

but... why? i mean, if i can afford it, i would want private health care because it's usually less crowded and you can have stuff done a lot faster. for example: a friend of mine had to wait 6mo to do a vasectomy through our public health care system. another friend waited 2w to do his (through private health care) if you could afford it, wouldn't it be better to pay for it? for me (and maybe i'm completely in the wrong here) it's like public transportation vs cabs/uber. i know i can take public transportation everywhere, but sometimes i'm in a hurry so i just get an uber. it doesn't mean other people can't use public transportation, it's just that i'm in a hurry and i need to get somewhere faster.

ameister14 7y ago
For the single payer system to work as Bernie has set it up, everyone must be within coverage.
- fernandotakai 7y ago
  i mean, i'm within coverage of brazil's public health care. i can go to any public hospital right now and get whatever care i need. no extra payment required. (you can read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BAde https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BA...) but i also pay for private health care -- because it's... well, better. and fortunately, i can afford it. so i can go to a private hospital and also get whatever procedure i need. if you think about it, i'm basically paying in double because my taxes go to the public health care system AND i pay for private insurance -- but i honestly don't care, because i want other people, that have no insurance, to have health care.
  - 9HZZRfNlpR 7y ago
    Pretty sure thus is the way everywhere here in Europe too, you still pay the huge compulsory insurance but no one forbids private insurance or private out of the pocket. In fact many private places also offer things covered by national insurance if they agree to prices set by the gov.
    - fernandotakai 7y ago
      that's basically my question: can you, within bernie's proposals, do that or not or not? if not, i think his proposal is not that great. if you can keep your private health insurance? well, that is a great plan and i would 100% agree with it.
refurb 7y ago
Wow, someone with actual experience in a single payer system getting down voted for raising a concern. Well done HN.
codegeek 7y ago
You are confusing Private Health "Care" wth Private Health "Insurance". The issue with Private health Insurance in US is that they have too much power and strong hold on doctors/hospitals etc and for them to make profits, EVERYTHIng is priced too high, EVERYTHING. So private health "insurance" has to die for this to be effective. They can exist only for supplemental stuff. No one is talking about taking away private health "care". You can still go to whoever you want.
- fernandotakai 7y ago
  i'm not! where i live, we have public health insurance and private health insurance (if you don't know, wikipedia has a good summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BAde https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BA...). i can go to a public hospital and get most procedures done -- the problem is, a lot of them, specially electives, take a LONG time (sometimes, over a year). but i can do them, and i'm not going to get bankrupt if i get bitten by a snake. but i also have private health insurance -- i pay it myself for me and my wife. why? because sometimes, i don't wanna get into insane lines and wait for hours on ER. also, i can get elective procedures done a lot faster -- which means i'm not crowding our public health care system. what i mean is: everything i can do with my public heath insurance system i can also do with my private health care system. it's just a matter of how fast it is.

ameister14 7y ago

For the single payer system to work as Bernie has set it up, everyone must be within coverage.

fernandotakai 7y ago
i mean, i'm within coverage of brazil's public health care. i can go to any public hospital right now and get whatever care i need. no extra payment required. (you can read more here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BAde https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BA...) but i also pay for private health care -- because it's... well, better. and fortunately, i can afford it. so i can go to a private hospital and also get whatever procedure i need. if you think about it, i'm basically paying in double because my taxes go to the public health care system AND i pay for private insurance -- but i honestly don't care, because i want other people, that have no insurance, to have health care.
- 9HZZRfNlpR 7y ago
  Pretty sure thus is the way everywhere here in Europe too, you still pay the huge compulsory insurance but no one forbids private insurance or private out of the pocket. In fact many private places also offer things covered by national insurance if they agree to prices set by the gov.
  - fernandotakai 7y ago
    that's basically my question: can you, within bernie's proposals, do that or not or not? if not, i think his proposal is not that great. if you can keep your private health insurance? well, that is a great plan and i would 100% agree with it.

refurb 7y ago

Wow, someone with actual experience in a single payer system getting down voted for raising a concern. Well done HN.

codegeek 7y ago

You are confusing Private Health "Care" wth Private Health "Insurance". The issue with Private health Insurance in US is that they have too much power and strong hold on doctors/hospitals etc and for them to make profits, EVERYTHIng is priced too high, EVERYTHING. So private health "insurance" has to die for this to be effective. They can exist only for supplemental stuff. No one is talking about taking away private health "care". You can still go to whoever you want.

fernandotakai 7y ago
i'm not! where i live, we have public health insurance and private health insurance (if you don't know, wikipedia has a good summary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BAde https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistema_%C3%9Anico_de_Sa%C3%BA...). i can go to a public hospital and get most procedures done -- the problem is, a lot of them, specially electives, take a LONG time (sometimes, over a year). but i can do them, and i'm not going to get bankrupt if i get bitten by a snake. but i also have private health insurance -- i pay it myself for me and my wife. why? because sometimes, i don't wanna get into insane lines and wait for hours on ER. also, i can get elective procedures done a lot faster -- which means i'm not crowding our public health care system. what i mean is: everything i can do with my public heath insurance system i can also do with my private health care system. it's just a matter of how fast it is.