3 ms·

Every time I read anything about US healthcare I find it incredible that everyone there isn’t demonstrating in the streets every day to get it changed. This is

by gmac 6y ago

Every time I read anything about US healthcare I find it incredible that everyone there isn’t demonstrating in the streets every day to get it changed. This is a thread is from 2019, when I accidentally discovered how much Americans might pay for a worming tablet: https://twitter.com/jawj/status/1199026735980990465 https://twitter.com/jawj/status/1199026735980990465

jsmith99 6y ago
It's astonishing that Americans have to pay for insurance at all, given that federal government healthcare spending per capita alone is at least as much as the NHS costs per capita, and the NHS is only average by international standards.
refurb 6y ago
It’s because a lot of people are financially insulated from a lot of these costs due to good coverage. You hear about the horror stories but for a lot of Americans (not all) they have sense as to the cost of a drug beyond the $25 or $50 co-pay each month.
- Amezarak 6y ago
  I'm not sure how true this is. About 40% [1] of Americans have high-deductible health plans, which means they're spending at least $1400 (usually much more) before insurance kicks in a dime. Then about another 15% are uninsured. 17% have Medicare, but prescription drug coverage on Medicare is...complicated, and people are exposed to drug pricing. [1] https://www.covermymeds.com/main/insights/articles/2018-real-time-benefit-check-national-adoption-scorecard-key-findings/#citation https://www.covermymeds.com/main/insights/articles/2018-real...
  - refurb 6y ago
    My deductible for my high deductible plan doesn’t apply to prescriptions. That’s a separate plan and I have co-pays and co-insurance. Medicaid is almost zero out of pocket. Medicare is low cost as long as you don’t hit the donut hole.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
swozey 6y ago
We can't lose our jobs lest we lose our healthcare
AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago
You have to think like an American to understand it. See, American culture strongly incentivizes us to view other people as competitors. We like things that benefit us and don't mind that they hurt others, while at the same time we are wary to adopt things that potentially benefit others more than they benefit us. People that have good healthcare thanks to their job (and those that merely think they do) often view healthcare reform as something that benefits their competitors more than it benefits them. This mindset is also why we have a narrative against all forms of social welfare, because they take our money (at gunpoint, as some would say) and give it to our competitor.
sjg007 6y ago
Certain folks are. Diabetics who can't afford insulin do, so the states are trying to get free insulin plans established. Senior citizens are to some extent as well. Otherwise healthy Americans who don't experience the long term pain of chronic conditions, until obviously it is too late and they need medical care. Americans don't really understand price and value for money. The ACA is really popular though so we just need to transition that to a medicaid/medicare buy in. I mean we already pay for that in our taxes anyway. A bigger issue is the medical lobby who likes the sweet sweet insurance money as does the insurance lobby who likes the sweet sweet insurance money of a relatively low risk pool (working Americans).

by gmac 6y ago

jsmith99 6y ago

It's astonishing that Americans have to pay for insurance at all, given that federal government healthcare spending per capita alone is at least as much as the NHS costs per capita, and the NHS is only average by international standards.

refurb 6y ago

It’s because a lot of people are financially insulated from a lot of these costs due to good coverage. You hear about the horror stories but for a lot of Americans (not all) they have sense as to the cost of a drug beyond the $25 or $50 co-pay each month.

Amezarak 6y ago
I'm not sure how true this is. About 40% [1] of Americans have high-deductible health plans, which means they're spending at least $1400 (usually much more) before insurance kicks in a dime. Then about another 15% are uninsured. 17% have Medicare, but prescription drug coverage on Medicare is...complicated, and people are exposed to drug pricing. [1] https://www.covermymeds.com/main/insights/articles/2018-real-time-benefit-check-national-adoption-scorecard-key-findings/#citation https://www.covermymeds.com/main/insights/articles/2018-real...
- refurb 6y ago
  My deductible for my high deductible plan doesn’t apply to prescriptions. That’s a separate plan and I have co-pays and co-insurance. Medicaid is almost zero out of pocket. Medicare is low cost as long as you don’t hit the donut hole.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

swozey 6y ago

We can't lose our jobs lest we lose our healthcare

AnIdiotOnTheNet 6y ago

You have to think like an American to understand it. See, American culture strongly incentivizes us to view other people as competitors. We like things that benefit us and don't mind that they hurt others, while at the same time we are wary to adopt things that potentially benefit others more than they benefit us. People that have good healthcare thanks to their job (and those that merely think they do) often view healthcare reform as something that benefits their competitors more than it benefits them. This mindset is also why we have a narrative against all forms of social welfare, because they take our money (at gunpoint, as some would say) and give it to our competitor.

sjg007 6y ago

Certain folks are. Diabetics who can't afford insulin do, so the states are trying to get free insulin plans established. Senior citizens are to some extent as well. Otherwise healthy Americans who don't experience the long term pain of chronic conditions, until obviously it is too late and they need medical care. Americans don't really understand price and value for money. The ACA is really popular though so we just need to transition that to a medicaid/medicare buy in. I mean we already pay for that in our taxes anyway. A bigger issue is the medical lobby who likes the sweet sweet insurance money as does the insurance lobby who likes the sweet sweet insurance money of a relatively low risk pool (working Americans).