this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2024
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I guess I've always known, but it really became crystal-clear when a practicing doctor gave a speech on YouTube about how insurance companies (currently) work in the US. Behind all the inspiring commercials and the "your health matters at CarePlace", their goal is to pay as little for care as possible, and extract as much money from you as they can until you die. This doctor had seen it their entire career!
WHY THE FUCK DO WE NEED A MIDDLEMAN BETWEEN OUR CARE AND THE PAYMENT PROFITING OFF OUR HEALTH ISSUES!?
Other countries have better care that costs less!!!
I don't know if you were there or could recall when the dems were getting the Affordable Care act in place but the Republican propaganda was non-stop. Talking about the worst thing is happening and that this was just trying to get us to Universal Health Care and we had to stop it. Then the Death Panels propaganda ... Fox was doing segments how ACA or ObamaCare complicates healthcare as opposed to being "straightforward" with insurance companies. Quite frankly, the average American didn't have the will to overcome the propaganda network on this. Also, proponents of universal healthcare fracture sometimes on details of policy or implementation while the opposition are steadfast and united against it.
It never makes sense though, most Americans believe in it in some form. I also think some would never let a Dem give it to them even if it saved their life.
Remember that it was like John McCain's final act to stop the repeal of ObamaCare: https://youtu.be/DWeayFHsH90 and that shocked so many...
I think it’s extremely telling that the ACA, as flawed as it is, was impossible for the Republicans to repeal. They know that once it happens, there is no going back.
The health insurance lobby in the US is just too strong. If the Democrats ever get a sweeping majority, maybe you’ll see something. But outside of that remote possibility, they’ll fight it harder than anything else.
Because they don't want us to have access to Healthcare. Period. Because then we could more easily detect bad products and we could class action sue companies and maybe even govt orgs for our diseases (thats why many countries in Europe have higher standards for products/chemicals). As it is, you can't sue Johnson&Johnson for cancer if you never get diagnosed with cancer in the first place. Can't sue the military for lung disease relating to burn pits if you never make it through the VA system. And there's millions of products doing harm here. Don't even get me started on Round Up or cancer rates in people my age compared to previous generations.
I will continue to wish bad things on private insurance CEOs then. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's kinda cathartic.
And as much as I value empathy and compassion, I have none for them. They literally let people die for money. I wish nothing but the worst on those fucking parasites.
But you better believe that preserving healthcare access for the non-rich is a constant topic. It should be more a singular voting issue than it is, but that's due to the same force driving opinions in its ultimate goal of forcing change back to a mercenary system.
And every "public-private", "same procedures as public but you pay to skip the queue", "public but newer processes are kept for private" system is just on their own journey down the colon to the same American end. There can be no consolidated public healthcare system that has a future in an environment where private performs anything that can ever be considered essential. Let medical tourism be the cash cow of the last country to give up mercenary healthcare, as their own doctors are stuck mopping the floors.