Re:Life expectancy in the U.S. is declining for middle-aged ...
by tinyhouse on Tuesday December 03, 2019 @10:02AM
(#21692792)
I'm assuming 10$/month you're talking about the supplementary insurance like "mashlim" that 90% of the people with reasonable income do. The article also says that 53% of the higher income group also have private insurance, which I'm sure is more expensive than that. (the article is from a few years ago so things might have changed since; I don't know). But I agree that most people probably don't need private insurance.
Also to make things clear, when you say people in the US pay hundreds of dollars a month, that's also true for many Israelis. The public insurance is not free if you have a job. The more you make the more you pay. If you work in tech it's likely you're also paying hundreds of dollars a month. (don't get me wrong, I think this system makes sense, it's the same as income taxes). The situation in the US isn't great but it's been much better in the last decade. For example, I live in Massachusetts and everyone in the state is required to have health insurance. If you're low income then you get your insurance from the state.
Re:Life expectancy in the U.S. is declining for middle-aged ...
by Betelgeuse90 on Tuesday December 03, 2019 @10:31AM
(#21693141)
Fair enough. I'm glad more states are following suit.
Both of us appear to understand the differences between the systems and so I don't think we should be bogged down with semantics. Israel has a single-payer public healthcare system, almost entirely paid for by taxes, which is utilized by a large majority of the population.
Also, it's not "private" insurance in any meaningful sense. It's out of pocket adjustments for exactly the same services. This is what I was alluding to.