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Comment by ed_elliott_asc | Hacker News Reader

Why why why do you put up with this in America?? I live in the uk and health has always been free at point of use.

The cost is spread amongst all tax payers and costs kept low.

I honestly don’t understand why not every single American is screaming for access to health services that are literally on their front lawn.

I cannot fathom this is any way shape or form.

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Because the vast majority of people have coverage through work and the fear of unknown changes in coverage is greater than (potentially) saving some money. Throw in Medicare (old people) and Medicaid (poverty) and I think you’re somewhere around 85% of the populace covered.

The vocal minority of people who do not have health insurance through work, not receiving subsidies, not receiving Medicare, and not receiving Medicaid are the ones clamoring for universal healthcare. Just because they’re loud doesn’t mean they reflect the will of the masses.

Vocal minorities don’t win elections. They just get a lot of news coverage.

People get stuck working for corporations because it’s the only economical way to get healthcare, even if they could otherwise pull off entrepreneurship/freelancing/retirement. Others get stuck as subservient to parents or spouses who control their access to healthcare.

I wouldn’t assume that having coverage means you’re happy with the situation.

Hello, just thought you should know that you're completely incorrect. I make a decent income and have an excellent healthcare plan which costs me about 7% of my pre-tax income. My copays and out of pocket max are low enough that I can use this plan at will when I feel like I need to.

However, since my friends and family do not all have decent insurance and cannot cover their high deductibles if things go even slightly wrong, and since I personally was in a place not so long ago of delaying treatment on an ongoing health problem I've been having due to a lapse in coverage due to a job change, and since my loved ones have recently been in financial situations that disincentivize them from getting treatment to improve their quality of life, I would be happy to pay (ahem) higher taxes (what's a premium again?) in exchange for peace of mind regarding my future health and that of my loved ones.

And the health of people that I do not even know.

> Why why why do you put up with this in America??

What do you suggest we do?

> I honestly don’t understand why not every single American is screaming for access to health services that are literally on their front lawn.

You think we aren't?

You think it matters?

Look at the last election... results speak for themselves, that is why people are confused why this isn't the single largest issue for American people.

Which election? Neither Hillary nor Trump were in favor of socialized medicine. Bernie was, but the rigged system made sure he wasn’t an option.

We have 11 nuclear powered aircraft carriers in service in four more on the way. No money for healthcare.

It's not that there's no money, there's just not enough will.

Nuclear powered aircraft carriers are cheaper than diesel powered aircraft carriers.

I believe the point was that aircraft carriers are more expensive than no aircraft carriers.

Possibly, but the point was poorly formed, lacked specificity, and is outside the scope of conversation.

A common talking point is about how we spend y on the military_thing when we could be spending on y on problem_x. Seemed fairly obvious in the context of this discussion.

It's not in scope merely because cliche stupidity is common.

Many of these articles exaggerate the price of healthcare in the US. I'm an independent contractor and pay for my own health insurance. My wife and I together cost less that 500/month (universal care would take way more in taxes) Checkups are covered, prescriptions are mostly free or very inexpensive, and if I do have an emergency, I don't need to wait 6 months to get treated, like in the UK or Canada. I also get some of the best doctors in the world.

A good test of a country's quality of healthcare is where people that don't have to worry about money go to get treated....that's currently the US.

It has problems, but sacrificing quality for nationalization is not the solution.

This post must be missing a sarcasm tag... the average cost of healthcare in the USA is HUGE and far higher than most other developed countries. As for quality, you are severely underestimating the clinical care provided in countries even as "underdeveloped" as India (I quote it because I'm sure you might have that opinion of the country in question).

If you have any kind of moderate condition in the USA you are likely screwed. Of course our system protects against catastrophic incidents and helps with basic checkups but everything in between is not covered by most plans.

> Many of these articles exaggerate the price of healthcare in the US. I'm an independent contractor and pay for my own health insurance. My wife and I together cost less that 500/month

Do you think $500 a month is cheap? That's insane - that's about a quarter of my entire income tax in the UK.

> It has problems, but sacrificing quality for nationalization is not the solution.

But both life expectancy is lower and infant mortality is higher in the US than in the UK.

What quality do you think you'd be sacrificing? I'm getting better life expectancy and infant mortality than you are, and I'm paying a lot less than you are.

The distortion from what you say and reality is at comical levels, you might as well be saying the earth is flat. The reality is that the country with the best healthcare quality in the world: Denmark, pays $3,512 per each citizen per year on average for a significantly better health care.

Source: https://www.denverpost.com/2009/09/03/health-care-in-denmark...

That's some blatant misinformation. In Canada you don't wait for treatment. If you need treatment, you will be treated. Stop spreading some garbage myth.

I don't know where you live in Canada, but that's not entirely true. There are long waits for some procedures (far longer than medically indicated) and a significant number of people cannot access primary care because of the shortage of GPs (especially in rural areas). I would still, 100%, rather live in Canada than the US but your comment (intentionally or not) completely glosses over the waiting lists for some medical specialties.

People in the US see short lines and think "wow I can use our system whenever I want" instead of "wow our system is so expensive that it's usage is much lower than capacity".

Yeah, is clear him and thousands of others like him around the internet have a very clear agenda posting about how they believe the US health care system is great, that going bankrupt for healthcare services (or dying because they couldn't afford meds[0]) is just an acceptable and normal part of American society.

[0] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/alex-smith-died-couldnt-af...

Because Americans think it will be about as effective as the VA. I used to work in the NHS, and it has a lot of good points, but rationing is an inevitable part of care when "everything" is free at the point of use:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/elderly-go-blind-as-nhs-i...

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