> (BTW, in practical terms, putting liberal elites in well-paying, politically-connected industries on your healthcare system is a great way to make sure it doesn't turn into the VA. America cares deeply about our happiness. It doesn't care about our veterans and sort of wishes they hadn't survive, so we could just remember their sacrifice instead of actually facing up to what we did to them.)
this is a pretty common talking point, but I don't really see this happening with the systems that already exist that wealthy people have to use. I, an upper-middle class white person, still have to take at least a half day of PTO any time I need to go to the DMV. my dad, wealthier than me, still had to spend a whole day at city hall disputing a $40,000 water bill (the city doesn't even have a functioning water meter on his property because DPW paved over the access; it's been "estimated" for twenty years).
It would quite possibly be a net saving. The UK, for example, spends less public money on healthcare than the US. There's no necessary reason why you should end up paying more in taxes for universal coverage than you pay currently for insurance.
there are definitely some good arguments for universal healthcare, but software devs should not delude themselves that they will do any better than break even in most cases.
edit: probably not true, I didn't investigate the UK tax system enough.
edit: On an individual level, a lot will depend on your income, and how expensive your US health insurance is. Here is an informative post:
https://www.quora.com/If-you-make-100-000-in-UK-what-percent...
That works out to about $560/month for someone with a salary of $100,000. If you take into account employer contributions, that's still less than a lot of Americans are paying. If you're on a lower income, you're likely to be paying significantly less in the UK for much better coverage.
And I almost forgot - copays! The amount you're paying in taxes in the UK really is paying for virtually the full cost of your treatment when you're sick.
It's because doctors et al don't want to work for less than $x/hr and there are people who don't produce enough to trade with doctors or prefer to spend their money on other things. There's no way to get a free lunch out of this.
Meanwhile, I (SRE at a hedge fund) and all my liberal coastal elite friends can absolutely afford private doctors in an emergency without having to think about cost up front, and we do support universal healthcare—and we know it would be a larger tax bill for us.
(BTW, in practical terms, putting liberal elites in well-paying, politically-connected industries on your healthcare system is a great way to make sure it doesn't turn into the VA. America cares deeply about our happiness. It doesn't care about our veterans and sort of wishes they hadn't survive, so we could just remember their sacrifice instead of actually facing up to what we did to them.)