4 ms·
Lobbying and regulatory capture are preventing the very simple solution of universal healthcare. If targeted assassinations are what it takes to get progress,
by SpaceNoodled 2y ago
Lobbying and regulatory capture are preventing the very simple solution of universal healthcare.
If targeted assassinations are what it takes to get progress, then it is what it is.
- doitLP 2y agoHow exactly will targeted assassinations of stuffed suits running healthcare companies lead to progress towards universal healthcare?
- wildrhythms 2y agoElectoral politics haven't worked, so here we are. Healthcare bankruptcy is the leading form of bankruptcy in the United States.
- marcus_holmes 2y agotbh I'm more interested to see if it changes the arguments around gun control.
- IgorPartola 2y agoIt won’t because it’s cheaper to hire security than to lobby for gun control. I don’t know if you remember this story [1] but that didn’t do it. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_baseball_shooting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_baseball_shoot...
- neverartful 2y agoBecause 1 executive is gunned down? How many poor unknowns out on the streets get gunned down routinely? Is his life worth more?
- kelseyfrog 2y agoIn terms of being able to affect political change, yes. If the wealthy were targeted in assassinations using firearms, the 2nd amendment would mean very little. When the political will of the country is reflected in a small group of people it becomes increasingly possible to affect politics by affecting that group.
- QuarterReptile 2y agoThis is a bizarre take, pretty clearly out of step with who cares about the 2nd amendment.
- kelseyfrog 2y agoI'm referencing this paper[1]. Once a problem affects this group, it has a much higher chance at changing policy. 1. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-poli...
- marcus_holmes 2y agoThis is what I was thinking. You can kill thousands of schoolkids and nothing will change, but gun down a few CEO's and suddenly there'll be hard conversations about control.
- eightysixfour 2y agoWell, today BCBS rolled back their plan to limit anesthesia, which is a similar policy to one UHR recently launched: https://www.axios.com/2024/12/05/blue-cross-blue-shield-anesthesia-anthem-connecticut-new-york https://www.axios.com/2024/12/05/blue-cross-blue-shield-anes...
- stevenwoo 2y agoThis assassination appears to have reversed Blue Cross Blue Shield's very recently announced policy of not paying for longer periods of anesthesia.
- xena 2y agoFor now. It'll be snuck back in later.
- casercaramel144 2y agoWe will see. :-)
- phkahler 2y ago>> the very simple solution of universal healthcare Umm no. Even if we force insurers to be nonprofit there are still huge problems. Treatments can cost arbitrarily much - even in labor costs, so there will always be a limit to what can be covered. "Patients" will still use excessive amounts of service. Doctors will suggest extra tests so long as they are covered. Referral bonuses will happen behind the scenes. Price gouging is ongoing. Universal care only addresses a little of the problem, and eliminates some of the checks on others. I don't have a solution, but just wanted to refute the idea that there is a simple one. One thing I speculate is that elimination of insurance entirely might be good in some ways. Along those lines, only catastrophic things should be covered. Passing reasonable costs on to patients directly will put downward pressure on costs while also eliminating middle men. But that has downsides too.
- jimbob45 2y agoI don't have a solution, but just wanted to refute the idea that there is a simple one. Having a public insurance option to put downward pressure on existing insurance carriers was the most sensible strategy. Both Republicans and Democrats were on board too but exactly one Democrat torpedoed that idea…
- IgorPartola 2y agoI mean literally every other developed nation has a solution: universal healthcare. Some have far better healthcare systems than the US too. So saying that this is an unsolved and possible unsolvable problem is clearly disingenuous. Now, the process of transitioning to universal healthcare for such a large system is something that is likely unprecedented. But that’s not what you are talking about.
- Mountain_Skies 2y agoWhen you actually look into the details, you'll find that "universal healthcare" doesn't have a universal definition and there are incredible numbers of negative outcomes in other developed nations. People from every developed nation will complain about how much their health system sucks as long as there isn't an American in the room. Reality and Reddit are rarely the same thing.