What are people supposed to do if they get seriously ill?

[I Am The Scum]

I'm against a government run Single-Payer system.

You're not actually explaining why you're opposed to it, though. Government-run health care is not in contradiction to the existence of a free market. You have criticized the single-payer system because it might not cover Drug X. However, you have failed to acknowledge that people within that system still have the option of going down to the store and purchasing Drug X, or even purchasing an insurance plan that covers it.

 

[lomiller]

Define coverage. Everyone in America is free to access healthcare, so technically, everyone is covered.

If everyone is covered are we really discussing whether everyone should be forced to pay for their coverage and whether there are more efficient ways to provide that coverage then waiting until they get sick enough and sending them to the emergency room then taking their house to pay for the treatment?

You have to separate health insurance coverage from healthcare coverage.

Eh? “coverage” is an insurance specific term. Insurance “covers” medical practitioners “provide” (or not, in many cases)

 

[Travis]

Travis - Have you applied to PCIP or MRMIP?

It's specifically for people who have been turned down for health coverage. If you're in your twenties, you can get covered for $200 a month (much cheaper than a California mortgage).

I have looked into that. We'll see how things come along.

All healthcare systems involve rationing of some kind or another. The rich always have the ability to pay for what is not covered. Ask Nikki Blunden.

So why do you approve a system of rationing that would leave me to die from something that is treatable?

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but in every country, there are people suffering and dying from lack of healthcare. The Single-Payer ideal of Universal Coverage is just as much a fantasy.

I'd like to see one example of a person in a UHC system that was denied proven life saving treatment.

I'm not against a safety net. I'm against a government run Single-Payer system. I acknowledge that our system has to change.

How would you change it so that there is universal coverage?

it seems to me that you are conflating UHC with Single-Payer. A free-market system is universal in that everyone has access to it.

Really? Do you think I have "access" to it in the same way that I theoretically have "access" to a Bugatti?

Here's a question to you. Why would a free market insurer willingly take on someone, like me, that will probably cost them more to take care of then they would ever earn off of me in reasonable premium payments? The only way they could earn a profit off of covering me is to make my payments so high that I can't afford them.

Uninsured Americans have access to Medical care right now.

So why do people desperate for it not have it right now?

Nikki Blunden and others like her are examples. She got a donor to provide the money to fund her drug. It's ironic that this same drug is paid for by major insurers in the US.

Are you sure that private US insurers pay for that drug?

 

[xjx388]

So why do you approve a system of rationing that would leave me to die from something that is treatable?

Every system of rationing leaves people to die from treatable illnesses. I don't want people to die, I want them to have access to the best healthcare possible. But I want them to provide for themselves for the most part. I'd back a plan to create a catastrophic illness safety net type of insurance to replace Medicare and Medicaid along with incentivizing savings toward healthcare.

I'd like to see one example of a person in a UHC system that was denied proven life saving treatment.

OK, I guess you are ignoring Nikki Blunden . . . What about people like this?

How would you change it so that there is universal coverage?

I don't necessarily think universal "coverage" (insurance) is important. Everyone in the US can access medical care right now. I want to eliminate government and private insurance as we know it and have people save for their own care and have access to a catastrophic illness plan.

Really? Do you think I have "access" to it in the same way that I theoretically have "access" to a Bugatti?

That's a bad comparison. I think of it more in terms of necessities like food and shelter. Many people in this country do not have access to enough food or decent shelter. Many people have access to gourmet chefs and multi-million $ shelters. Why is there no cry for the government to provide "Universal Food Provision" or "Universal Shelter?" I say because the Free Market does a damn good job of providing those necessities universally with a limited government safety net for people who temporarily can't provide those things on their own.

Here's a question to you. Why would a free market insurer willingly take on someone, like me, that will probably cost them more to take care of then they would ever earn off of me in reasonable premium payments? The only way they could earn a profit off of covering me is to make my payments so high that I can't afford them.

Maybe an insurer might not. But what if it didn't cost as much as it did now? And providers of healthcare might be willing to give you discounts or charity care, especially if they are allowed to write such things off their taxes. You need to stop conflating health insurance access with healthcare access.

So why do people desperate for it not have it right now?

They are desperate for the wrong thing.

Are you sure that private US insurers pay for that drug?

Yes. In another thread I linked to Cigna's policy. I've since verified that other majors do as well.