8 ms·

I donated $100, and yeah, our healthcare system is a goddamn travesty. I don't get it. If you're fortunate to live long enough, the one thing that's guaranteed

I donated $100, and yeah, our healthcare system is a goddamn travesty. I don't get it. If you're fortunate to live long enough, the one thing that's guaranteed to eventually happen is you're going to get sick in a very expensive manner. It's not an "if" question, it's a "when" question. I don't think that should mean financial ruin. People against universal healthcare must think they're just immune to ever getting sick or something.

rch 13y ago
I think a key feature of health insurance is that not everyone gets hit with 6 or 7 figure healthcare bills. It's because of that fact that we can and should do better as a society.
ekianjo 13y ago
> that's guaranteed to eventually happen is you're going to get sick in a very expensive manner. Wrong, there's still a large part of the population who will end up dying of what we call "natural causes" such as Heart attacks and stuff like that. These are very inexpensive, because you don't see them coming, usually. So, no, not everyone on Earth dies from Cancer.
- d23 13y ago
  > Wrong, there's still a large part of the population who will end up dying of what we call "natural causes" such as Heart attacks and stuff like that. These are very inexpensive Oh nice, they should put that on the brochure.
- xeroxmalf 13y ago
  Though some heart attacks are "natural causes" many could actually be prevented[0] if the patient had access to specialists and testing. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of_poverty#Cardiovascular_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of_poverty#Cardiovasc...
- overgard 13y ago
  That's why I qualified it with "if you're lucky to live long enough". So, yeah, you might be lucky enough to unexpectedly drop dead before some other scourge takes you However if you don't happen to fortune into a sudden unexpected death, your body will inevitably decay to the point that you will become a large financial and emotional burden on someone. (Or die homeless and friendless). But we can't take care of those people, cuz socialism! They should have had the common courtesy to just hurry up and die.
  - hueving 13y ago
    If the probabilities were as bad as you suggest, there would be no such thing as health insurance. They need to bring in more than they spend on health-care costs. Most people can't end in a devastating health-cost manner.
    - overgard 13y ago
      So.. your argument is that because insurance companies can profit, it's not so bad? "Well, your legacy might be financial ruin for your children, or an early death to avoid that, but since most people die before they realize they're severely ill, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm not arguing probabilities here, I'm arguing deductive reasoning. You are a decaying meatsack. So am I. At some point something very bad will happen to that decaying meatsack. Such an event will be absurdly expensive to treat. Since I think we'd all agree that for pretty much anyone it makes sense to have health insurance, the obvious next step is: just give everyone health insurance and take it out of tax, and simplify these things 1000 fold. (Not to mention that a single payer would have WAY more leverage, and thusly could negotiate way lower prices. And that's not a hypothetical.. that's how it works in pretty much every country that isn't the US).
      - na85 13y ago
        >So.. your argument is that because insurance companies can profit, it's not so bad? His/her argument is, AFAICT: "Because insurance companies can profit, that shows that less than a majority of people die after a prolonged, expensive illness. Therefore the earlier statement that "it is 100% certain you will have a long, expensive illness at some point in life" is not true. Plenty of people die of sudden stroke or heart attack in their 70s after a relatively healthy life up to that point.
ElDiablo666 13y ago
People against universal healthcare are just good people who are confused and/or deluded. Their arguments will never really add up because it's only about corporations making profits and to that end people will need to be deluded and manipulated into believing that we shouldn't implement a proper system. Just remember this when you say you don't get it: it's just the political power of traitors speaking through humans via propaganda.
- sp332 13y ago
  I'm against public healthcare in the USA because there's no way (in the current political climate) it won't be massively corrupt. Did you know the insurance companies were lobbying in favor of our new system? It's still about corporations making profits.
  - nedwin 13y ago
    The lobbyists were lobbying to get the new system setup in a way that was favourable to them. That doesn't mean the new system is inherently wrong.
  - Xdes 13y ago
    Public healthcare ought to be implemented at the local level for those that want it (which I don't). I'm quite fine with not seeking treatment when I get a terminal illness. If it ever gets to that point I would prefer euthanasia (illegal in the USA).
    - blueskin_ 13y ago
      Best bet is to fly to Switzerland when terminally ill, it's what I plan if it ever happens to me.
    - shawabawa3 13y ago
      > I'm quite fine with not seeking treatment when I get a terminal illness. If it ever gets to that point I would prefer euthanasia (illegal in the USA). You say that now, but I guarantee you the moment you get diagnosed you change your mind. Especially considering so many terminal illnesses can in fact be cured with (very expensive) treatments. Also, what about all the non-terminal illnessess? What happens if you break your leg? Or get stabbed? Or get in a car accident? Or any of the millions of other things that can happen?
prophet_ 13y ago
Why people mention how much they donated? Am I missing on something?

rch 13y ago

I think a key feature of health insurance is that not everyone gets hit with 6 or 7 figure healthcare bills. It's because of that fact that we can and should do better as a society.

ekianjo 13y ago

> that's guaranteed to eventually happen is you're going to get sick in a very expensive manner. Wrong, there's still a large part of the population who will end up dying of what we call "natural causes" such as Heart attacks and stuff like that. These are very inexpensive, because you don't see them coming, usually. So, no, not everyone on Earth dies from Cancer.

d23 13y ago
> Wrong, there's still a large part of the population who will end up dying of what we call "natural causes" such as Heart attacks and stuff like that. These are very inexpensive Oh nice, they should put that on the brochure.
xeroxmalf 13y ago
Though some heart attacks are "natural causes" many could actually be prevented[0] if the patient had access to specialists and testing. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of_poverty#Cardiovascular_disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of_poverty#Cardiovasc...
overgard 13y ago
That's why I qualified it with "if you're lucky to live long enough". So, yeah, you might be lucky enough to unexpectedly drop dead before some other scourge takes you However if you don't happen to fortune into a sudden unexpected death, your body will inevitably decay to the point that you will become a large financial and emotional burden on someone. (Or die homeless and friendless). But we can't take care of those people, cuz socialism! They should have had the common courtesy to just hurry up and die.
- hueving 13y ago
  If the probabilities were as bad as you suggest, there would be no such thing as health insurance. They need to bring in more than they spend on health-care costs. Most people can't end in a devastating health-cost manner.
  - overgard 13y ago
    So.. your argument is that because insurance companies can profit, it's not so bad? "Well, your legacy might be financial ruin for your children, or an early death to avoid that, but since most people die before they realize they're severely ill, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm not arguing probabilities here, I'm arguing deductive reasoning. You are a decaying meatsack. So am I. At some point something very bad will happen to that decaying meatsack. Such an event will be absurdly expensive to treat. Since I think we'd all agree that for pretty much anyone it makes sense to have health insurance, the obvious next step is: just give everyone health insurance and take it out of tax, and simplify these things 1000 fold. (Not to mention that a single payer would have WAY more leverage, and thusly could negotiate way lower prices. And that's not a hypothetical.. that's how it works in pretty much every country that isn't the US).
    - na85 13y ago
      >So.. your argument is that because insurance companies can profit, it's not so bad? His/her argument is, AFAICT: "Because insurance companies can profit, that shows that less than a majority of people die after a prolonged, expensive illness. Therefore the earlier statement that "it is 100% certain you will have a long, expensive illness at some point in life" is not true. Plenty of people die of sudden stroke or heart attack in their 70s after a relatively healthy life up to that point.

ElDiablo666 13y ago

People against universal healthcare are just good people who are confused and/or deluded. Their arguments will never really add up because it's only about corporations making profits and to that end people will need to be deluded and manipulated into believing that we shouldn't implement a proper system. Just remember this when you say you don't get it: it's just the political power of traitors speaking through humans via propaganda.

sp332 13y ago
I'm against public healthcare in the USA because there's no way (in the current political climate) it won't be massively corrupt. Did you know the insurance companies were lobbying in favor of our new system? It's still about corporations making profits.
- nedwin 13y ago
  The lobbyists were lobbying to get the new system setup in a way that was favourable to them. That doesn't mean the new system is inherently wrong.
- Xdes 13y ago
  Public healthcare ought to be implemented at the local level for those that want it (which I don't). I'm quite fine with not seeking treatment when I get a terminal illness. If it ever gets to that point I would prefer euthanasia (illegal in the USA).
  - blueskin_ 13y ago
    Best bet is to fly to Switzerland when terminally ill, it's what I plan if it ever happens to me.
  - shawabawa3 13y ago
    > I'm quite fine with not seeking treatment when I get a terminal illness. If it ever gets to that point I would prefer euthanasia (illegal in the USA). You say that now, but I guarantee you the moment you get diagnosed you change your mind. Especially considering so many terminal illnesses can in fact be cured with (very expensive) treatments. Also, what about all the non-terminal illnessess? What happens if you break your leg? Or get stabbed? Or get in a car accident? Or any of the millions of other things that can happen?

prophet_ 13y ago

Why people mention how much they donated? Am I missing on something?