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About that "World's Best Healthcare System" the U.S. is supposed to have...

They don’t understand shit about it and they don’t care. Their actions indicate they only care about being against the allegedly evil Obama and “Obamacare”.

And power.

Their own.

The needs of the people for affordable access to reasonable healthcare? That actually meets the needs of people? Wha...???
 
They don’t understand shit about it and they don’t care. Their actions indicate they only care about being against the allegedly evil Obama and “Obamacare”.

And power.

Their own.

The needs of the people for affordable access to reasonable healthcare? That actually meets the needs of people? Wha...???

This. A big part of Trump's agenda (and his base) is to overturn or abolish everything Obama did or promoted in his two terms, and thus to make it as if he was never elected. It would thrill Trump's base to see all of Obama's achievements gone, and Trump is nothing if not a man who holds grudges forever. He's all about payback. Abolishing Obamacare was never about the merits of the program, it was about undoing one of Obama's signature achievements. The fact that lots of real people would be hurt by abolishing, or at least ruining it, was never even considered.
 
Resurrecting this old thread for this short article:
https://slate.com/business/2019/09/health-insurance-us-kaiser-study.html

When you include health insurance premiums, Americans pay more in "compulsory payments" (i.e. taxes) than almost any other country.
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An American earning the average wage pays a staggering 43.2% of his or her income for taxes and health insurance premiums. I am guessing that percentage is much, much lower for the wealthy, since although their percentage taxes go up (to a point) their healthcare premiums are probably not that much different than a median wage earner.


If you account for the vast amounts of money we channel into employer-based health insurance, it turns out that Americans are taxed like Europeans and spend on social welfare like Europeans. And in return, we get a system where hospitals regularly sue patients and parents have to worry about getting hit with a several-thousand-dollar surprise medical bill if they decide to take their feverish kids to the ER. We get ripped off.
 
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as a fellow commie lib i'm with BKF on this, I dont judge our health care system on the care provided to the top 20% (or whatever %). Where is the innovation in providing the top care to everyone, and not just those "willing"(able.) to pay for it at the market rate? I just dont believe that economic forces are completely responsible for Americas leadership in Medical innovation, I think that maxim is a scare tactic to ward off increased government intervention i.e. socialism in the healthcare business sector.
Remember the good ol days of 2014 when BKF was the lone commie lib in randleman before he caught Trump fever? And we used to discuss actual policy issues on this board instead of the Trump scandal of the minute? Good times.
 
This guy is employed with health insurance. He got a cardiac condition from the flu. He makes $30,000/year. He ended up owing $10,000 to Baptist Health in Louisville KY after lifesaving surgery.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/25/916514499/heart-disease-bankrupted-him-once-now-he-faces-another-10-000-medical-bill
He had to declare bankruptcy, but has since had to get more heart surgery and now owes several more thousand dollars that he can't pay. Baptist is not satisfied with the $30,000 it received from the insurance company and is still pursuing him.
Baptist is a "nonprofit" that pays no taxes.
Not sure about the current CEO, but a Google search indicates that the prior CEO received a salary of over $1,000,000 annually. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/companies/2017/03/21/steve-hanson-leaving-top-baptist-health-post/99459294/
 
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