3 ms·
> The only way to have equal care is to eliminate high end care. That's one way to think of it. But you also can just say: the only way to have equal care is t
by beezlebroxxxxxx 2y ago
> The only way to have equal care is to eliminate high end care.
That's one way to think of it. But you also can just say: the only way to have equal care is to raise the standard of all care to the quality of high end care. That's worth trying to achieve even if it's not logically perfect. Most things in life aren't but trying to get there is still a "reasonable goal". It's just about priorities.
The elephant in the room is also access to preventative care. Many people wait until the last possible moment to seek medical care because they can't afford otherwise, or do not have access to local medical facilities. Improving access to preventative medicine and care, which is often cheaper and more simple than cutting-edge procedures, would lower the overall demand on last-minute medical infrastructure, like an ER or hospital, which is often what people think of when someone says "access to medicine". An excellent example of this is Costa Rica, where much more effort is spent on access to preventative medicine and all of the infrastructure required for that. As a result, Costa Rica's health care system rates higher than the US while also spending 1/10th per capita on healthcare.
A lot of the healthcare system in America is just what we've ended up with, often as a result of greed and a relatively recent extreme distrust of public options, rather than some sort of clear eyed logical end point of healthcare rationalization. Improving access to medicine and raising the over standard of universal care is still a goal worth trying to achieve.
- s1artibartfast 2y agoI agree it makes financial sense to provide universal access to preventative care and basic (read cheap) healthcare. I think it is counter-productive in addition to being logically irrational to focus on equal access to high end care. It isn't possible and it poisons the well for meaningful change. Not everyone should have access to 10 million dollar care on the social dime. There is no upper limit on possible costs, so actively seeking equality just means banning higher care for those who can afford it. I dont think that the US outcome is the result of greed. companies are just as greedy in costa rica or eurpoe. Rather, US healthcare costs are the result of illogical and schizophrenic policy choices, with incompatible choices that dont work together. I could rant for hours about what those are, if you are interested. At the end, it is like a crowdsourced car that doesnt work. Someone picked a porche engine, and someone else picked bicycle tires, and someone else picked a tractor frame, so it doesnt work at all.
- snikeris 2y ago> That's one way to think of it. But you also can just say: the only way to have equal care is to raise the standard of all care to the quality of high end care. That's worth trying to achieve even if it's not logically perfect. Most things in life aren't but trying to get there is still a "reasonable goal". It's just about priorities. This is a good example of the common liberal fallacy of Utopianism.
- s1artibartfast 2y agoIm not familiar with the concept. Is Utopianism the phenomenon of focusing on an a goal, without considering the cost of achieving it, and critically considering what it would realistically look like when they are achieved.
- snikeris 2y agoYa that’s about right. Utopianism is the quest to attain or implement an ideal society.