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I don't see what EMTALA has to deal with homelessness in this context. It largely comes down to uninsured, even post-ACA. If we can't afford the current system,
by mgh95 2y ago
I don't see what EMTALA has to deal with homelessness in this context. It largely comes down to uninsured, even post-ACA. If we can't afford the current system, it's not a matter of if, but when, either hospitals or providers leave medicare. To put it in perspective, the AMA reports (https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/medicare-medicaid/heartbreaking-medicare-cuts-start-hit-home-congress https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/medicare-medica...) that physician medicare compensation has declined 29% since 2001. At a certain point, it will simply be financially unsustainable. Whataboutism to distract from the fact that medicare alone is 3.7% of gdp and is forecast to grow to 5.1% by 2033 (https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-medicare-social-security https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-medicare-social-s...) doesn't fix anything.
And FWIW, US Medicare spending alone is shaping up to grow to almost as much as some EU nations on a % of GDP basis (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Healthcare_expenditure_statistics_-_overview#:~:text=By%20contrast%2C%20current%20healthcare%20expenditure,the%20lowest%20ratio%20(5.6%25).&text=Relative%20to%20population%20size%20and,%E2%82%AC6%20590%20per%20inhabitant https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...).). Medicare isn't the solution. It's the problem.
- inferiorhuman 2y agoAnd FWIW, US Medicare spending alone is shaping up to grow to almost as much as some EU nations on a % of GDP basis Your source puts Austria, France, and Germany at the top, or roughly 11–13% of GDP. https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-fourth-quarter-and-year-2022-advance-estimate https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-fourth-... https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10830 https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10830 The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the 2022 GDP at $25.46 trillion ($25,460 billion). Congress puts 2022 spending on private health insurance at $1,290 billion (5%) and Medicare at $944 billion (3.7% of GDP).
- mgh95 2y agoYes, we are tracking to grow to as much as some not all or most. Emphasis on tracking to grow which you should see the source for 2033 forecast. The fact that one program (Medicare) is growing to be as large as the NHE should be cause for pause.
- inferiorhuman 2y agoSo your argument is that Medicare spending might potentially approach the same proportion of the GDP as a European country that doesn't spend a lot on its healthcare?
- mgh95 2y agoPretty much. And that's just one program that services a small portion of the population. The issue is we can't make this level of spending work, why should we believe spending more money will be successful?
- PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago> If we can't afford the current system, What we can and cannot afford is a choice, not some immutable fact of nature. A cynical, if realist, version of this would be: if we choose to not spend any more ... But that's still better since it acknowledges that we, as a nation, have agency in this.