Universal Health Care

Without risk of becoming too political (hah! Good cartoons are all about politics and society) I will admit that I simply do not buy into the "Socialism never works," argument. Like any cliche, it's true until it isn't.

The political divide in this country (the US) has become much more a gaping chasm than a simple bridgable gap. Most people are not in the extremes, but those who are have become so extreme they're suffering tunnel vision and groupthink.

My son recently became hospitalised for a week and is now in two weeks of daily outpatient. I have health insurance and it's still expensive; I dread to think what the cost would be if I didn't have it. I've certainly quickly hit the roof of my deductible.

My father once told me - no lie - that not everyone deserves healthcare. The question then becomes, who gets to decide?


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As a non-American... looking at the way that your system of healthcare and well... everything in your society has developed and evolved. Let's just say that it is pretty strange, and quite scary! I'm not sure that they were intended... more likely the unintended consequences of competing interests. I would rather that Australia and Netherlands took it as a lesson in what to be careful of instead of an example to emulate.

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It's confusing, for sure. The ironic part of my rant is that my dad is Canadian - in Canada, of course - retired, and wheelchair bound due to ALS. By any stretch, he is the person that "doesn't deserve healthcare," as he'd put it.

I definitely understand the expense and financial implications of overhauling the US system as it is, but I don't understand the insistence on refusing to make changes to it.

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I guess it is the usual thing... things are terrible, but people are scared that they alternative is worse! Better the devil that you know...

... or I would suggest that the people with the most power to change the system are the people who most benefit from the current set up!

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I hope he will get well soon.
Stay positive.

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Manually curated by brumest from the @qurator Team. Keep up the good work!

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We in the UK love our NHS, but it needs defending from forces who want to break it up. People should not have to fear falling ill just because they cannot afford care. We have private options too that people can choose to use.

I reckon all political systems are bad at the extremes. We have seen experiments in communism/socialism go wrong. Unbridled capitalism would also be bad. Most societies are a mix of these with taxes paying for social goods such as fire and garbage services as well as public amenities. I was reading about Finland that has very low homelessness and a happy population with more equality. I don't think it is anywhere near communism. To see the allegations thrown at some Democrats of such tendencies is laughable. It is fearmongering and should be called out.

!BEER

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I agree 100%. The vast majority of the people are not in the extreme, but we - at least in the USA - seem to have a pendulum that swings from one end to the other, and when it swings far to the right, we see what dangers unbridled capitalism bring, definitely.

There are plenty of reasons for it, but the only solution I personally can ever think of is to improve education, yet when education itself is distrusted, we end up with a continual spiral.

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The extremists will try to control the agenda by discrediting other sources of information (fake news!). I saw someone saying that if you have ten sources saying someone and one (of possibly unknown reputation) saying otherwise then it is the latter you should question more thoroughly.

Most people are not particularly political. They just want a decent life and can be swayed by empty political promises. Generally difficult problems do not have easy answers.

!ENGAGE 25

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(Edited)

I have dealt with workman's comp.

It sucked.

Monopolies invariably promote waste and abuse, and a system that extorts the consumer and then hides costs behind a wall of bureaucracy while denying choice cannot rationally be defended. It is an economic dead end.

I also dealt with free-ish market dental care. It was wonderful. Far more pleasant than the insurance model, to be honest. Prices up front, open and honest exchange, cash discount... it worked like literally every other service on the free-ish market.

The government that can't manage it's own mandatory licenses, accrues unfunded liabilities in every "social service" it already runs, and has an abysmal record in Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, workman's comp, etc. should not be forced upon me. The problem with politics is it turns every dispute like this into a zero-sum game.

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I have a strong dislike of the insurance model in the US. It turns healthcare into the 'wild west' and, in my mind, has driven costs up, not down. That said, I'm under no illusions that a government entity would do it better; it wouldn't.

You're absolutely right, turning the discussion into a complete right/wrong zero-sum discussion doesn't do anyone any favours. It just leads to talking points and talking heads talking down to others.

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If only it were the "wild west." No, that was my dentistry situation. It was a choice based on reputation. The status quo is corporate collusion with government to restrict consumer choice, obscure real costs, and manipulate the entire medical industry.

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