4 ms·

It is better to be rich than poor. In other news, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

nr2x 6y ago
Boris Johnson, PM of the UK, got his COVID care from the National Health Service, and while I imagine he got some VIP treatment, the delta between rich and poor in the US is the same as life and death. It's not an issue of an extra comfy pillow and a room with a view, it's being left to die because you can't afford treatment. Other countries don't do that.
- tedfernau 6y ago
  It is not being left to die because you can’t afford treatment. It is bad enough that we don’t need to exaggerate.
  - pwinnski 6y ago
    There are many reports of people self-rationing insulin and dying as a result. That's as close to "left to die because you can't afford treatment" as it's possible to get without murder charges.
  - ardy42 6y ago
    > It is not being left to die because you can’t afford treatment. It is bad enough that we don’t need to exaggerate. If you don't have the money to pay, hospitals in the US are only required by law to stabilize you. So, for instance, if you can't afford cancer treatment, you'll likely die of untreated cancer.
    - ReallyAnonymous 6y ago
      In South Carolina, where I work for a hospital, you automatically qualify for Medicaid when you’re diagnosed with cancer. This way people don’t die from untreated cancer. Getting diagnosed early when uninsured is where we fail as a society. Our politicians cover up this failure by giving them Medicaid so we spend $500k treating advanced disease and they still die, rather than universal coverage.
      - nr2x 6y ago
        Yup, the cost of delayed care is quite often lives.
- gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
  > it's being left to die because you can't afford treatment What? Emergency rooms can't refuse people in the US.
  - spiderfarmer 6y ago
    No, but they can still let you die after they stabilized you.
  - BearOso 6y ago
    People who can’t afford the cost or just don’t want to pay the exorbitant cost will avoid going, even if it means their lives. Having chest pain? What if it’s just indigestion, you don’t want to go to the ER and have a $5000 bill. Oops, it was a heart attack and you’re dead. This is an actual discussion I had with one of my parents. Luckily, in that case it wasn’t a heart attack, but this is the patient-hostile system we’re working with. The thing I always say is that when you allow health organizations and insurance companies to be for-profit, profit is going to be prioritized over health.
- bJGVygG7MQVF8c 6y ago
  > Other countries don't do that. That won't be the case for much longer.
pfortuny 6y ago
The definition of money is more or less “the capacity of access to goods”. What is the problem here?
- spiderfarmer 6y ago
  A lack of empathy.
  - twirlock 6y ago
    Any time this is your answer to anything, just say "my personal intuition is magically infallible."

nr2x 6y ago

Boris Johnson, PM of the UK, got his COVID care from the National Health Service, and while I imagine he got some VIP treatment, the delta between rich and poor in the US is the same as life and death. It's not an issue of an extra comfy pillow and a room with a view, it's being left to die because you can't afford treatment. Other countries don't do that.

tedfernau 6y ago
It is not being left to die because you can’t afford treatment. It is bad enough that we don’t need to exaggerate.
- pwinnski 6y ago
  There are many reports of people self-rationing insulin and dying as a result. That's as close to "left to die because you can't afford treatment" as it's possible to get without murder charges.
- ardy42 6y ago
  > It is not being left to die because you can’t afford treatment. It is bad enough that we don’t need to exaggerate. If you don't have the money to pay, hospitals in the US are only required by law to stabilize you. So, for instance, if you can't afford cancer treatment, you'll likely die of untreated cancer.
  - ReallyAnonymous 6y ago
    In South Carolina, where I work for a hospital, you automatically qualify for Medicaid when you’re diagnosed with cancer. This way people don’t die from untreated cancer. Getting diagnosed early when uninsured is where we fail as a society. Our politicians cover up this failure by giving them Medicaid so we spend $500k treating advanced disease and they still die, rather than universal coverage.
    - nr2x 6y ago
      Yup, the cost of delayed care is quite often lives.
gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
> it's being left to die because you can't afford treatment What? Emergency rooms can't refuse people in the US.
- spiderfarmer 6y ago
  No, but they can still let you die after they stabilized you.
- BearOso 6y ago
  People who can’t afford the cost or just don’t want to pay the exorbitant cost will avoid going, even if it means their lives. Having chest pain? What if it’s just indigestion, you don’t want to go to the ER and have a $5000 bill. Oops, it was a heart attack and you’re dead. This is an actual discussion I had with one of my parents. Luckily, in that case it wasn’t a heart attack, but this is the patient-hostile system we’re working with. The thing I always say is that when you allow health organizations and insurance companies to be for-profit, profit is going to be prioritized over health.
bJGVygG7MQVF8c 6y ago
> Other countries don't do that. That won't be the case for much longer.

pfortuny 6y ago

The definition of money is more or less “the capacity of access to goods”. What is the problem here?

spiderfarmer 6y ago
A lack of empathy.
- twirlock 6y ago
  Any time this is your answer to anything, just say "my personal intuition is magically infallible."