Originally posted by: quest55720
Originally posted by: Phokus
Originally posted by: soccerballtux
Originally posted by: winnar111
Step 1: Spent $600 billion on health care
Step 2: Find out actual costs are about 4x as much.
Step 3: Act shocked that step 2 happened.
Step 4: Cut out so called 'non essential' services and begin to ration everything else.
Maybe we can skip to the end.
So true it's sad. This is how it's worked in every other socialized healthcare system. Yet somehow nobody listens to this fact.
Yet, every other 1st world socialized health care system cost half as much per capita than ours does, and they provide for EVERYONE whereas we leave out 50+ million
Funny how that works.
That is why it starts at home by leading healthier lifestyles. Until that happens the system will be broke. It is just not providers or insurance companies that are the problem. We need to work on reforming all 3. Get the cost of insurance down where more people can afford it.
You need to change the mindset of people first and healthier lifestyle will follow.
One of the benefits of socialized medicine IS people taking advantage of the system. It is the ability to be proactive about ones health.
So you have a weird mole on your back. Been there forever, but recently you swear it got bigger and looks funny. In today's system your average person will let it go until next time they go see the doctor, if they have the chance in the 13 minutes (on average) a doctor has to spend with his patient. Couple years down the road that could be full blown melanoma, costing thousands and junking up the whole system.
Alternatively, with socialized medicine, you make the appointment and take advantage of the system. You get a biopsy. They run some tests and you go from there. Taking advantage of the system has just potentially saved a bunch of money.
With all that said, I will guarantee you that any attempt at socialized medicine in the United States will be an absolute travesty. It will be worse than welfare, tax codes, and social security combined. It is almost better to just let our current privatized system do whatever it wants until it dies and we spend a year or two dealing with that aftermath than to waste billions of dollars on a halfassed quick fix compromise. There are way to many people that still believe insurance for profit (privatized) is a good idea and even more who are so caught up in a dogma to admit it. On top of that there is too many special interest groups and politicians sticking their nose in it.