How's that Obamacare Repeal Working Out For You?

[Martin Hash]

If that were true, our already sky high healthcare spending would be closing the wealth gap.

For the fraction of those sky high costs that don't go to The 1%, that's true.

[Martin Hash]

You said if we do the thing we're already doing that it will do something different than what's already happening.

That's a funny line. (Cogent no, funny yes.)

[Okeefenokee]

I'm just trying to follow your reasoning.

We already spend at double the rate as the rest of the world on healthcare, per jbird's graph.

We also have wealth disparity, per you.

Why would ratcheting up the spending even more cause a decrease in wealth disparity, if the already gargantuan amount of spending right now isn't doing it?

[Martin Hash]

Asked & answered. (Read upstream.)

[Okeefenokee]

Asked & answered. (Read upstream.)

If that were true, our already sky high healthcare spending would be closing the wealth gap.

For the fraction of those sky high costs that don't go to The 1%, that's true.

Are you saying that because most of healthcare spending goes to the top, but some of it goes to the rest, that more healthcare spending, that will mostly go to the top, will close the wealth gap?

Makes absolutely no sense.

[Martin Hash]

Asked & answered. (Read upstream.)

If that were true, our already sky high healthcare spending would be closing the wealth gap.

For the fraction of those sky high costs that don't go to The 1%, that's true.

Are you saying that because most of healthcare spending goes to the top, but some of it goes to the rest, that more healthcare spending, that will mostly go to the top, will close the wealth gap?

Makes absolutely no sense.

Okay. I guess not. You must be right.

[Okeefenokee]

Asked & answered. (Read upstream.)

For the fraction of those sky high costs that don't go to The 1%, that's true.

Are you saying that because most of healthcare spending goes to the top, but some of it goes to the rest, that more healthcare spending, that will mostly go to the top, will close the wealth gap?

Makes absolutely no sense.

Okay. I guess not. You must be right.

Where's the magic ingredient? If I get a hospital bill, that money is going to pay doctors, nurses, janitors, medical equipment manufacturers, utility providers, ambulance drivers, pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies, drug researchers, and on and on and on, but if most of it is going to wealthy people, and less of it is going to not wealthy people, where is the magic ingredient in this that says that doing even more of that is going to produce something different?

[Speaker to Animals]

How is it that Costa Rica charges between $60--$250 per month for health insurance that provides health care that consistently beats the US?

Looks like the trade is wait times for consistent coverage.

Let's look at what they do.

Singapore is ranked as the most efficient health care system in the world, and is among the top in actual service.

A key principle of Singapore's national health scheme is that no medical service is provided free of charge, regardless of the level of subsidy, even within the public healthcare system. This mechanism is intended to reduce the over-utilisation of healthcare services. Out-of-pocket charges vary considerably for each service and level of subsidy. At the highest level of subsidy, although each out-of-pocket expense is typically small, costs can accumulate and become substantial for patients and families. At the lowest level, the subsidy is in effect nonexistent, and patients are treated like private patients, even within the public system.

Singapore's system uses a combination of compulsory savings from payroll deductions to provide subsidies within a nationalised health insurance plan known as Medisave. Within Medisave, each citizen accumulates funds that are individually tracked, and such funds can be pooled within and across an entire extended family. The vast majority of Singapore citizens have substantial savings in this scheme. One of three levels of subsidy is chosen by the patient at the time of the healthcare episode.

Medishield is a low cost insurance scheme intended for those whose savings are insufficient to meet their medical expenses. Premiums can be paid out of Medisave accounts. A new scheme, Medishield Life, was agreed by parliament in January 2015. Co-insurance payment rates are to be reduced from 10–20% to 3–10% and the lifetime claim limit is to be removed. Eldershield is part of the Central Provident Fund which insures against the cost of private nursing homes and related expenses. It already has more than a million policy holders. Medifund is a safety net for those who are unable to meet their assessed contribution. Risks are not pooled, so an individual may be exposed to catastrophic expenses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Singapore


Let's look into that.


What if we took Singapore's idea and applied it to Medicare, funding through a payroll tax?

Then look at how Costa Rica contains costs.

[Okeefenokee]

Why do you want to kill my Grandmama?

[Speaker to Animals]

Why do you want to kill my Grandmama?

Sorry, Kath.