PSA: Rationed health care is the future

[fskimospy]

"Other systems" don't have emergency rooms filled with kids with the sniffles, billions each year in fraud, waste and abuse, and are based in completely different bigger systems. My wife's from Germany, I lived there for a few years too, she gets a good laugh when people think that it working there means it can work here. Now THAT'S a tired argument.

Again guys, America is the greatest country in the world. We can do anything, conquer any problem, we stand astride the planet, the colossus!

Except when it comes to health care.

On this issue alone we are hopelessly incompetent, and issues that other industrialized countries deal with relatively easily are completely beyond our grasp. We can't enact the same policies that have lead to massive savings and efficiency increases all over the planet because we're too weak, whiny, fat, sickly, and stupid. We are doomed to be a failure and any evidence to the contrary that might lead us to anything other than a more free market system is something that we as a country are to pathetic and worthless to implement.

Always find it strange that the ideology that proclaims criticism of America to be unpatriotic has such a dim view of America.

 

[Genx87]

It is an inevitability.

Of course it is whether it is done via a public or private program. We simply cant continue consuming healthcare at the rate we are and afford it.

 

[shira]

But some of the sickest will be of or before breeding age, so there will be some Darwinian selection. There is that now, since there is a gap between emergency care and care that is needed, but can't be obtained without insurance or money because it's not emergency or life-saving care. But under universal health care those requiring the most expensive care with the lowest chance of survival will be allowed to die. Just look at Oregon, or the United Kingdom - those who need the very expensive drugs of last chance cannot get them.

I agree this MAY occur for SOME genetic traits that reduce fecundity, but Hayabusa Rider implied that we'll breed sickness out of the population.

Most direct genetic causes of diseases that kill early are recessive and rare. What that means is that the vast majority of those with the "bad gene" are healthy (having only one copy of the gene) and will survive to pass on the gene to (half of) their healthy offspring. Only rarely will a child receive two copies of the gene. Thus, there will be almost no selective pressure to remove the gene from the population. On a random basis, there will continue to be the same, low incidence of the genetic disease.

It may well be the case that genetics provides a predisposition toward many or most serious medical conditions. But these are the conditions that typically occur later in life, after we've already passed on our genes.

So I really don't see sickness itself as providing selective pressure that produces a more healthy population.

 

[xj0hnx]

Again guys, America is the greatest country in the world. We can do anything, conquer any problem, we stand astride the planet, the colossus!

Except when it comes to health care.

On this issue alone we are hopelessly incompetent, and issues that other industrialized countries deal with relatively easily are completely beyond our grasp. We can't enact the same policies that have lead to massive savings and efficiency increases all over the planet because we're too weak, whiny, fat, sickly, and stupid. We are doomed to be a failure and any evidence to the contrary that might lead us to anything other than a more free market system is something that we as a country are to pathetic and worthless to implement.

Always find it strange that the ideology that proclaims criticism of America to be unpatriotic has such a dim view of America.

No, we can't enact policy that works in other countries because it won't work the same here. I don't think anyone will disagree that health care insurance in this country needs a major overhaul, it's the HOW that is the problem. I do not think the government should be in the health care insurance business, other than to ensure a competitive market place, such as interstate sale, regulating price gouging, and they most definitely need to focus on fraud, waste and abuse. As a society WE have a LOT to do with why insurance is so fucked up, like I said if your car insurance was getting billed for everything from fill-ups and tune-ups to new tires, replacing light bulbs etc..., car insurance would be outrageous too. The legisature put forth by the dems so far has been one monstrosity after another, and none go to fix the real problems.

 

[jonks]

Hey OP, where ya at?

http://xkcd.com/661/

 

[ebaycj]

If you force someone to pay money each month for health care whether they would normally use it or not, yes they will go to the doctors office, they will go every chance they get regardless if it is a headache or a heart attack and nobody will be able to tell them no because they paid for it. All it does is move the location of service. So now you have crowded doctors offices vs ER.

Doctor's offices are typically also 1/10th the cost of the ER.