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Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by abalone on Saturday January 12, 2019 @11:56PM (#18895162)
Literally every other industrialized country has a Medicare For All type system and somehow the hospitals manage to stay open.

And you can’t mention a tax increase without mentioning the savings of not having to pay for private insurance.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by zeroname on Sunday January 13, 2019 @12:09AM (#18895195)
I am talking about actual Medicare, which causes big losses for hospitals. Those need to be covered, that is my point.

You can not just import other nations healthcare systems. Those are cheaper because the doctors and nurses earn less and the service is worse.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by abalone on Sunday January 13, 2019 @02:56AM (#18895651)
You don’t cite any evidence to support your claim. Most U.S. doctors graduate with >$100K in medical education debt. Other countries have better health outcomes, so that pretty much kills your “worse service” claim.

Rob Delaney is a great example of an American who experienced both US and U.K. systems in depth. Look him up.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by zeroname on Sunday January 13, 2019 @07:29AM (#18896416)
> You don’t cite any evidence to support your claim. Most U.S. doctors graduate with >$100K in medical education debt.

You posted a source yourself:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more...

Salaries are almost twice as high. Those other countries also tend to have higher taxes and other salary deductions, so doctors earn less.

> Other countries have better health outcomes, so that pretty much kills your “worse service” claim.

No it doesn't. Not every US citizen actually receives the service, because they want to (or have to) save money, kicking the problem down the road, exacerbating the issue. Americans also tend to be more obese.

You call the "cancer survival" rate a cherry pick, but it's actually a good indicator how good the actual treatment is and how timely it is administered.

> Rob Delaney is a great example...

One guy's opinion isn't "evidence" either. I could give you individual health care horror stories from single payer countries, but that would be emotional manipulation.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by DanBC on Sunday January 13, 2019 @08:31AM (#18896600)
Everyone knows that 5 year cancer survival rates in the US are high because the US over-tests so much.

This is evidence that harm is being caused. It's not evidence of a good health care system.

Why are male incontinence products so prevalent in the states? It's because men are pushed to get PSA and similar screening for prostate cancer. This means the US detects a lot of slow growing cancer that's unlikely to kill someone (which improves the 5 year survival stats), but it also means that the US then provides treatment to those men. That treatment has side effects.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by Sir_Vival on Sunday January 13, 2019 @11:33AM (#18897285)
It doesn't seem like "over testing" or "harm" if the end result is less people dying. The fact of the matter is that I was able to get an MRI the same day I went to the doctor with an issue twice in the US. One of those times was for severe recurrent headaches. The doctor didn't think it was a tumor (and it wasn't), but he did it to be sure. If I were in Canada chances are I would have waited months for that appointment. In the worst case that would mean the tumor had time to grow. In the best case that's months of unnecessary worry, which isn't healthy in itself.
Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by icebraining on Sunday January 13, 2019 @02:03PM (#18898098)
If you were in Canada you could get that MRI privately and still probably save quite a bit of money.
Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by DanBC on Monday January 14, 2019 @01:10AM (#18901021)
> if the end result is less people dying

That isn't the end result.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by abalone on Sunday January 13, 2019 @05:58PM (#18899261)
> > Other countries have better health outcomes, so that pretty much kills your “worse service” claim.

> No it doesn't. Not every US citizen actually receives the service, because they want to (or have to) save money

So by “better” service you mean no service for the poor. That’s better? This is how you spin a system with worse health outcomes into something “better” — again, without citing a shred of evidence.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by DanBC on Sunday January 13, 2019 @08:25AM (#18896582)
> the service is worse.

You keep saying this but you've never provided any evidence, and it's clear the US care is worse across a range of indicators.

Some people say the US system works best for the rich and healthy, but even they suffer because of the weird amount of over-testing and over-diagnosis that happens.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by rscho on Sunday January 13, 2019 @07:50AM (#18896464)
Switzerland...
Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by zeroname on Sunday January 13, 2019 @08:03AM (#18896509)
...is a total outlier country in every respect. It also has a vastly higher cost of living. Nominal salaries are not comparable with the US. Still, they're better than in other European countries, so their doctors (and many other professionals) flock to Switzerland (after having taken all their "free" training in their home countries).

By the way, health insurance in Switzerland is entirely private, but its affluent citizens are forced to buy insurance by law.

[dead]
Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by abalone on Sunday January 13, 2019 @02:41AM (#18895608)
> literally every other country has "death panels"

Source? This term was invented by Sarah Palin and was judged 2009’s Lie of the Year by PolitiFact.[1]

> In America, everyone gets every treatment

You have no idea what you’re taking about. There are 28 million uninsured Americans and millions more who are unable to afford treatment due to high deductibles.[2]

You cherry-picked one statistic, but overall the U.S. has worse health outcomes vs other high income countries while spending 2X as much.[3]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_panel

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/12/rates-of-uninsured-in-us-hol...

[3] https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/03/u-s-pays-more...

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by zeroname on Sunday January 13, 2019 @07:57AM (#18896490)
> Source? This term was invented by Sarah Palin and was judged 2009’s Lie of the Year by PolitiFact.[1]

The lie (or at least misrepresentation) was that Obamacare had a "death panel clause" in it. An argument could be made that it still does:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/14/obamacare-d...

For the equivalent in the UK:

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-28983924

> You have no idea what you’re taking about. There are 28 million uninsured Americans and millions more who are unable to afford treatment due to high deductibles.[2]

Your source doesn't actually say that. It only says 28.5 million Americans are uninsured for whatever reason. A high deductible implies low monthly premiums. To give the example of the NHS, it's 13% of your paycheck - you don't have the choice. If everybody was forced to buy insurance, premiums could be lower as well. Obamacare is just a "have your cake and eat it too" system that cannot work in the long run.

You "Medicare for all" proponents simply need to own up to the cost and not keep bullshitting about how some European country has better care at less cost and therefore the US could have the same. It's just not comparable. Several countries like Germany or Australia also have a public-private mix system. That option shouldn't be off the table either.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by DanBC on Sunday January 13, 2019 @08:17AM (#18896559)
> For the equivalent in the UK:

> https://www.bbc.com/news/health-28983924

What do you think this means? How are you understanding this article? Because I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean what you think it means.

Are you honestly saying US insurance companies don't do exactly the same thing?

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by jtbayly on Sunday January 13, 2019 @08:41AM (#18896634)
When the government decides it isn’t worth it, you don’t have the option of paying for it anyway if you disagree. Hence the high-profile cases of parents with money, begging the government to be allowed to take their baby someplace else willing to treat him.

Insurance companies cannot prohibit you leaving the country.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by ceejayoz on Sunday January 13, 2019 @10:35AM (#18897031)
> Insurance companies cannot prohibit you leaving the country.

Neither will developed-world single-payer systems, in virtually all cases. It sounds like you're referencing the Alfie Evans case, which a) was unusual enough to receive international headlines and b) involved a terminal, untreatable minor incapable of making their own decisions.

Hell, even in the UK, you can opt for private treatment - they've got a dual private/public system, as do many single-payer systems.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by DanBC on Monday January 14, 2019 @01:11AM (#18901027)
> you don’t have the option of paying for it anyway if you disagree.

Completely untrue in the UK. We have private healthcare alongside our NHS system. You can pay for it through insurance, or you can sell your house and pay for it in cash.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by DanBC on Monday January 14, 2019 @03:31AM (#18901561)
Hang on, are you talking about cases like Alfie Evans? Because that case had nothing to do with coat, and was entirely about what was in Alfie's best interests.

Doctors proposed a plan. The parents disagreed with that plan. The doctor's had to go to court to get permission to go ahead.

Contrast this with the US system. Doctors propose a plan and if the parents disagree it is them who have to go to court to stop the doctors.

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by zeroname on Sunday January 13, 2019 @08:46AM (#18896659)
> Are you honestly saying US insurance companies don't do exactly the same thing?

I certainly don't think it's "exactly the same", but that's not my point. I just wanted you to move the goalpost from "there are no death panels" to "okay, there are death panels, but they are everywhere, potato/patata!". Kinda like this guy:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/5/8/1660050/-Death-Pan...

Re:Hospitals release lists of retail prices for services by zeroname on Sunday January 13, 2019 @12:28AM (#18895264)