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Originally Posted by skier
Isn't your guys current system serving the same function as universal health care, albeit being more complex and expensive?
The way it looks to me is that you have two major systems that pay for your healthcare at the same time, but are in contradiction with each other. One looks for ways to avoid paying for those who are (mostly) able to pay- insurance. The other looks for ways to pay for those who cannot- government programs. Paperwork between insurance companies, their clients, and the government alone must be immense. And you are expected to pay for both.
The concepts of universal health care and life insurance are pretty damn close. You and everyone else in the system pays a comparatively small sum to INSURE themselves in case a medical problem comes up, which is low risk but high cost. You keep saying how universal health care is so much more expensive than the your U.S. solution, but I do not see how it is possible. We have the same health problems, and our quality of life is roughly equal. The theory behind both systems is at the most basic level the same except one is unified and the other fragmented and divided six ways from sunday.
How can you not see that a unified, country-wide system that covers everybody is more efficient than 1000's of insurance companies, one large government system, independant hospitals, private practices, etc. that try to work together despite having different goals and motivations? Not to mention each of these portions have different organization systems, broken communications between them, seperate billing, lack of accountability, and that even those who work in the industry often become confused about who pays what.
Also, there are many cases where your insurance system "fails" it's clients, forcing them to pay for treatment which is seen as a success because they now can post a higher profit, chasing after the almighty dollar. So not only are you paying insurance and taxes against the chance you may become expensively ill, but in the end it might not even work, bankrupting you and your family, forcing you to change your entire life because of a twist of bad luck you should, and thought you were well prepared for.
I have a lot of faith in universal health care, and it's never let me down, or anyone I know down. Everyone I talk to believes in it, and would defend it if challenged. Nobody I know thinks it broken, and it's hard to think so many americans believe it to be a shoddy system when it does so well.
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I am by no means arguing that the US system is good as is. There are flaws.
I will argue that
How can you not see that a unified, country-wide system that covers everybody is more efficient than 1000's of insurance companies, one large government system, independant hospitals, private practices, etc. that try to work together despite having different goals and motivations?
is naive.
On paper sure it sounds like it would work, but many things that work on paper do not work in the real world. Just think of all the problems that happen when you take a profit motive out of the system, and replace it with a gigantic beuocracy (next window please). I think people are far more likely to be efficient with their own money than a government is ever going to be.
On a side note the US health care system has never let me down, never let anyone I know down, never let my family down.
Also one thing you can do these days is pay for medical with pretax dollars, making our costs even lower. Of course we need to make sure we take the time and effort to do it instead of forcing everyone into the government program.