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I see your pount about insurance but would love if health insurance and medical costs were more transparent. In some countries without mandatory health insuran

I see your pount about insurance but would love if health insurance and medical costs were more transparent. In some countries without mandatory health insurance, medical cost is a lot lower and simpler. If major medical emergency happens, then families usually need to take out a loan. But for regular medical issues, you save for it. This includes issues like childbirth which in America very few people can afford without insurance. I imagine, having health or car insurances gives some sense of false security, which leads to poor lifestyle choices or driving fast, which in turn causes one to experience bad health or accidents, thus using their insurance. Which causes insurance rates to rise. And one is not directly negotiating with hospital or bodyshop, those prices rises too.

Broken_Hippo 6y ago
It isn't mandatory health insurance that makes it more expensive: I have taxpayer funded insurance, which basically makes it mandatory for most (some folks don't qualify if you are a certain category of immigrant, but you still have to have it). There is a private option if you want to pay extra. ... And the system is more efficient because of standardization and pooling money together. The US system doesn't have much of any standardization, and in general has a lot more facilities than it might otherwise need - plus things like some of the government provided insurance not paying enough and not having the ability to act like public insurances. These all make it more expensive. Heck, even standardizing insurance coding would help. It is cruel to expect folks to take out a loan for medical emergencies. In some places, you die if you can't pay. It isn't like health is completely under your control: Type I diabetics couldn't prevent it (for example). Many cancers can't be avoided. And so on. Negotiating with medical facilities is a pipe dream. There are many cases where you simply don't have the choice (emergency) nor the mental space to do it (for example, do you know how to judge what facilities are better for a gall bladdar removal surgery? How about where to get cancer treatment? How does one judge any of that?) Does care insurance cause you to drive fast? Seriously? Isn't that more cultural than whether or not you have insurance?

Broken_Hippo 6y ago

It isn't mandatory health insurance that makes it more expensive: I have taxpayer funded insurance, which basically makes it mandatory for most (some folks don't qualify if you are a certain category of immigrant, but you still have to have it). There is a private option if you want to pay extra. ... And the system is more efficient because of standardization and pooling money together. The US system doesn't have much of any standardization, and in general has a lot more facilities than it might otherwise need - plus things like some of the government provided insurance not paying enough and not having the ability to act like public insurances. These all make it more expensive. Heck, even standardizing insurance coding would help. It is cruel to expect folks to take out a loan for medical emergencies. In some places, you die if you can't pay. It isn't like health is completely under your control: Type I diabetics couldn't prevent it (for example). Many cancers can't be avoided. And so on. Negotiating with medical facilities is a pipe dream. There are many cases where you simply don't have the choice (emergency) nor the mental space to do it (for example, do you know how to judge what facilities are better for a gall bladdar removal surgery? How about where to get cancer treatment? How does one judge any of that?) Does care insurance cause you to drive fast? Seriously? Isn't that more cultural than whether or not you have insurance?