An aspect of health care for all that many Americans may not realize

[BSdetect]

I have two friends who underwent treatment that was ground breaking and that helped improve treatment for others. Their experience helped save others later.

That happened in Australia. They were covered by normal general health insurance.

In both cases their treatment would have bankrupted them in this country.

Why it is so difficult to cover everyone in this country is beyond me.

[KCDebbie]

1. It's not difficult to cover everyone but the repubs, medical

Services and health insurance industry are blocking ALL moves to make healthcare more affordable for Americans because it would make these industries less profitable...

[LiberalLovinLug]

6. Yup, follow the money

Its a shame that the USA did not follow the rest of the west in the last century when they all set up their universal health care systems. Now, it will be that much more difficult because you'd be fighting not only for the big costs of setting it up, and the logistics, as well as just winning over the country to back such a radical change, but also you'd have to fight the more wealthy slick prepared "services and health insurance industry" lobbyists and lawyers, who today have the help of social media manipulation, Fox News, and other RW media.

[bahrbearian]

2. Its all about the Benjamins for our politician's

[watoos]

3. We have 16 aircraft carriers and the rest of the world has 3.

Trump wants to spend 25 billion dollars on a wall.

"Fixed fortifications are monuments to man's stupidity." General George Patton.

[lostnfound]

4. I suspect the market value of insurance companies and pharma is part of the reason

Stephen Helmsley made $101 Million one year as CEO of United Health. The shareholders and board weren’t rewarding him for efficiency or excellent health care, it was for profitability, which they like because it drove up the market cap.

How much wealth is tied up in stock of those companies?

[erronis]

5. Why is it difficult? No profits for insurance companies, probable controls on prices

I've been working in the realm between the providers (hospitals, practices, individuals, pharma, labs), the insurance companies (commercial, Medicaid and Medicare), and the patients.

There is an incredible amount of profit made at the provider and insurance levels. They won't give this up unless there is a major cataclysm. They have also done whatever they can to hide the actual costs/prices/profits when these disclosures might threaten their profits.

I don't know the $ number of these profits but they are probably in the $100+ billion range. And these profits go to the executive suite and shareholders. These types won't give up voluntarily and they can hire some well-dressed lobbyists and lawyers.

That's why I say it needs to be cataclysmic. Something major needs to give.

[progree]

7. Under Trump we have low cost so-called "junk insurance" plans that are quite good actually,

for the insurance companies (sigh).

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. We have been brainwashed for many decades....

to believe everything in human life must be monetized and be a component of our capitalist system. That includes food, water, health, housing, education, recreation, information, etc., and they're trying to monetize even more as we speak (more of education, highways, parks, etc.).

Convincing the public that Wall Street and their CEO gods are America's Mecca and heroes to be worshiped and invested in for income and retirement put icing on their cake.

Since the 1950s, I've watched America add layer after layer of complexity and cost to our healthcare systems so that it's now so entrenched and employs so many millions, I'm not convinced it can be fixed aside from a total collapse and rebuild.

..............