The end of universal healthcare?

I’ve caught wind of those rumors. 😲

Perhaps I should begin setting money aside immediately; given my current health status, I anticipate needing roughly $500-$333 per month, and that is strictly excluding routine checkups—not to mention the dental work, which I would prefer not even to contemplate.

I manage a chronic condition that necessitates daily medication, which carries a significant price tag, and then there is the endless cycle of dental issues where solving one problem simply reveals another.

When you factor in gynecological care, and then consider the sheer expense of prenatal visits once I become pregnant—good heavens, the thought alone is daunting.

Furthermore, there are my parents, who are aging and increasingly frail, particularly my mother; when I account for their medical expenses, which their Social Security benefits certainly won't cover, the burden becomes clear.

Where exactly is this country heading?!?!

It isn’t an abolition; it’s a reform... just one more in the series.

It moves us toward private health insurance, which is standard practice globally.

You get what you pay for.
As Americans say: 😈there's no free lunch

So, I was reading the news earlier, and apparently, they’re setting up this basic coverage package that’s going to be tiny—basically just a bare-bones freebie—and everything else will come with a price tag. You'll probably be looking at $5 or even $3.25 just to get your referrals and prescriptions sorted out.

Honestly, I don't think the system can get any worse than it already is. I heard people on the radio yesterday talking about how hospitals are falling apart, infant mortality rates are climbing, and you're waiting months just for a simple checkup... and now we’re supposed to pay extra for all that? It’s just more of the same.
Personally, I'd like to think things might actually improve eventually, but it’s going to take a long time...

At this rate, we’re basically forced to go out and grab some extra private insurance. We don't really have any other choice.

I don't think they'll "abolish" it; rather, you'll finally have the freedom to choose which insurance companies you pay and how much coverage you want for supplemental plans.

I recently read that ADENDDA is already offering coverage for $17 a month that handles all those co-pays previously covered by Medicare's supplemental plans.

I’m lucky enough not to deal with chronic issues, and I see my dentist and OBGYN privately, yet I still spent the last two years paying for supplemental insurance—it was costing me $27 out of my paycheck every single month.

It turns out I've handed over nearly $667 over two years, despite only getting about $300 worth of actual value from it. So, I've decided I won't be renewing once this year's final installment is cleared.

I'd much rather eventually pick out my own private policy from an insurance provider that actually comes highly recommended.

New Yorker said:It isn't an abolition; it is a reform... merely one in a series of changes.

And it steers us toward private health insurance, which is standard practice globally.

You get what you pay for, after all.
As Americans say: there's no free lunch.😈

Is it really, though, if you bother to compare their standard of living to ours?

In Russia, they abolished public healthcare; I have friends there and have visited personally—I can assure you it is an absolute catastrophe. If a person falls ill, they won't even dare visit a doctor because they simply don't have the cash.
And even if they do go and a doctor prescribes medication, it is still futile since they cannot afford to buy it.
It is horrific.

And what are we supposed to say about children (what then, will they turn them away from the clinic if we lack the funds for an exam?), or senior citizens (who might as well head straight to Arlington National Cemetery to minimize costs), or those with chronic illnesses—who are left with nothing to do but pray and wait for death?

Simply wonderful.

Even today, we’re hearing the Secretary of Health on the morning news claiming they want to hike up insurance premiums just for smokers.

First off, how exactly do they plan on proving someone smokes? 😁 If I just deny it, what then? Are they going to hire a private investigator to follow me around and snap photos of me with a cigarette? 😬

Second, if smokers are being penalized with extra costs, shouldn't people who live on fast food and greasy takeout be footing the bill too? 🙄 Following that logic, both groups are destroying their health, so why pick on one over the other?

Norris said:about chronic patients—who can just pray and wait for the end.

I guess that’s actually the ultimate goal for our Department of Health... 🙄 to make sure a patient passes away before they even reach the front of the line, so the government doesn't have to waste a single cent on them. 👎

It's honestly sickening.

Norris said:Yeah, just look at their standard of living compared to ours.

In Russia, they scrapped the healthcare system... I have friends over there and I've visited them—let me tell you, it’s an absolute disaster. If someone gets sick, they don't even dare go to a doctor because they simply don't have the cash.
And even if they do go and a doctor writes them a prescription, it doesn't matter because they can't afford the meds anyway.
It's awful.

And what about kids (what, are we going to turn them away from the clinic too if we can't pay for the checkup?), or seniors (who might as well head straight to Arlington National Cemetery, it'll save the system some money), or people with chronic illnesses—who can basically just pray and wait for the end.

Just great.

Healthcare costs money regardless of how well off society is. Ours was "free" for way too long, so now the whole thing is completely screwed.

Kids will still be covered while they're in school, and for retirees, they'll probably debate whether the age should be 65 or 75.
Then they might start factoring in individual income when determining benefits (that's one of the proposals on the table).

Bottom line, things can't stay like this.

Megan Reed said:Even today, we've got the Secretary of Health on the morning news basically announcing that supplemental insurance premiums are going up for smokers.

First off... how are they even going to prove someone smokes? 😁 If I just tell them "no," what then? Are they seriously going to hire a private investigator to snap photos of me with a cigarette? 😬

Second... if smokers have to pay extra, shouldn't people who live on fast food and grease be hit with the same thing? 🙄 What’s the actual metric here? By that logic, both groups are wrecking their health just the same...

The cost of treating smoking-related illnesses is way higher than whatever tax revenue they pull from cigarette sales anyway...

What about treatment for alcoholism, for instance? Is it the same deal? I'd assume they’d be stuck paying much higher premiums for supplemental insurance than everyone else.

Melissa Cruz2 said:Healthcare costs a fortune regardless of how much money you actually have... we spent way too long treating everything like it was totally free back in the day, and now the whole system is just completely screwed.

I mean, honestly, we’re already paying for this stuff right now anyway. Just take a good look at your paystub and do the math—calculate how much they're stripping away from your check every single month versus what you actually see in your pocket...

And don't even get me started on the whole under-the-table economy and all that mess...

Megan Reed said:What about treating alcoholism, for example? Is it the same deal? I guess they’d end up having to pay higher premiums for supplemental insurance than everyone else...

I honestly don't even know what to tell you. No clue how you'd even regulate something like that... I don't drink, I don't smoke, and frankly, I couldn't care less about them. If they have all that extra cash to blow on booze, maybe they should just chip in a little more toward their own insurance coverage...

rustymoose54 said:honestly, we’re already paying for this right now. just take a look at your paycheck, do the math on how much gets shaved off every month versus what you actually have left to spend...

then there's the whole under-the-table economy thing, too...

whatever, people love to pretend they aren't part of the system. but I personally paid for my kidney surgery $23!!!!! out of my own pocket $23. and let me tell you, that kind of surgery and hospital stay isn't cheap...

Melissa Cruz2 said:They might as well just fold those costs into the insurance premiums while they're at it.

😬

Melissa Cruz2 said:but I actually paid out of pocket for my kidney surgery $23!!!!! just $23. and let me tell you, that kind of surgery and hospital stay isn't cheap.

My mom deals with thyroid issues too, and once she realized how much those ultrasounds and biopsies would run without supplemental insurance, she was at the clinic paying for them the very next day because it just makes sense financially.

All the equipment, the machinery, the consumables, the surgical tools... it’s all sourced from global manufacturers at standard international prices. There is no room for haggling there.
The only thing that remains cheap is the labor of nurses and doctors. That is true everywhere.
On top of that, medication costs are massive.

Medicare covers a specialist consultation around $23. Or, for example, stitching a minor skin wound near $33.
But just the suture alone can cost $8-$15 because it’s an imported product (usually Ethicon). Then you have to account for the gauze, the antiseptic solution, the bandages... if you use $50 worth of supplies but Medicare only reimburses $100, you end up in the red. You still have to pay the supplier for those sutures, otherwise they won't ship to you again. That is how healthcare losses are created.
Additionally, even a basic ultrasound machine costs about $10,000...

There isn't an antibiotic that costs less than $33 (a pack of Amoxicillin is about $15, Augmentin $36...and those are last year's prices; they are higher now).

And then we wonder where all the money goes.
A system where everyone contributes a percentage of their salary, only for it to be spent however anyone feels like, simply cannot function.
If we had options where someone contributing, say, $33 per month had the right to spend, for instance, $667 during that year—and those who contribute more could spend more—then things might start to fall into place. Not before then.

Of course, certain categories (like the elderly, children under 16 or 18, patients with infectious diseases, and pregnant women) would be protected. For everyone else: you get as much healthcare as you can afford.

But the main issue is the smoke and mirrors used to claim that 3/4 of the budget goes toward healthcare worker salaries.
A specialist's net hourly rate is roughly $12, while an RN's is about $6.75...so do the math yourselves.

I'll say it again: people pay for healthcare all over the world. It's like food—you die without it, too, and if you don't have the money, no one in the grocery store is going to give you bread for free.
And you can't drive a car without gas.

Just as we've gotten used to paying for everything else, we will eventually have to do this 😈

Megan Reed said:How exactly are they planning to prove someone smokes? 😁 So what if I say no? What then? Are they gonna hire a private investigator just to catch me with a cigarette? 😬

I mean, if they look at your scans and tell you your lungs are basically in a coma—and it’s not just some basic bronchitis or a common flu—then you're looking at a whole different ballgame. 😉

nimbleskipper13 said:

Everything looks fine on paper, I guess, but there’s a massive hole in the logic here because they aren't offering a real safety net for people who actually have the money—you know, like an option where I pay $333 a month and just know I'm fully covered for everything? At the same time, you've got a huge chunk of the population that simply can't afford it, or frankly, doesn't want to, and they won't lift a finger to pay until they're facing a crisis; and when that happens, the healthcare system is going to be stuck footing the bill for the bare essentials out of the federal budget surplus.
If we let things slide like this for a few years, the quality of medical care is going to tank, and we'll see a whole generation of young professionals either sitting unemployed or walking away from the field entirely. It's the same old story we saw in the American construction industry back in the 80s—just tearing one thing down to build something else in its place, regardless of the fallout. Who cares, right? As long as the cycle continues.

The government will continue, just like everywhere else in the world, to be responsible for emergency care, life-saving procedures, and protecting vulnerable groups like children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with chronic conditions.

No health insurance plan anywhere in the world covers absolutely everything; there is always a cap.
Once you hit that limit, you're paying out of your own pocket.

I don't see why that would lower the quality of care. In fact, it could actually drive improvement—wealthier insurance companies can afford top-tier specialists and better equipment, allowing them to provide superior service and attract more customers.
The ones who perform better will succeed, while the rest will fail.

Medicine is a business, just like anything else...
People need to realize that investing in health is an investment, similar to building a house or expanding a business. Illness is a risk and an unfortunate circumstance. Those with more resources will be healthier because they can afford treatment.
True equality doesn't exist anywhere. In our past, we tried to maintain a false illusion of equality through socialist fairytales, but it was never reality.
If someone wanted healthy teeth, they bought high-quality toothpaste, went to the dentist, and wore braces. If they didn't care, they ended up with crooked teeth.

Social welfare is one thing, but healthcare shouldn't be treated as mere social welfare.😈

nimbleskipper13 said:It’s not an abolition, it’s just reform... one of many.

And it pushes us toward private health insurance, which is standard practice across the world.

Money talks!
Americans say it for a reason: there's no free lunch 😈

OH, COME ON... YOU MEAN IN THE USA? IS THAT YOUR EXAMPLE?
That's our tax money we're talking about, not their pocket change... 👎