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Objective:Health - Who Cares About Health Care?

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Wed, 06 Mar 2019 09:32 UTC

What's better: A pinko commmie health care system where everyone is forced to support a bunch of lazy sick people who don't care for themselves or a ruthless capitalist system where only the rich can afford care while the poor and middle class are bankrupted by medical costs or given substandard care because it's all they can afford?

Neither of these systems seem ideal - far from it. But if you only listen to the critics, this is often how the options appear. Beyond the hyperbole, what is it that makes for a good health care system? What countries seem to be doing it right, or doing it wrong? The picture is complicated and there are no easy solutions but objective analysis can help us tease apart what works and what doesn't.

Join us for this week's episode of Objective: Health as we discuss the current state of health care in different countries and what we think would work better.

Running Time: 01:07:53

Download: MP3

Reader Comments

codis · 2019-03-06T10:01:24Z

The only good health care are you yourself.

For others, you are just business.

Gcarlin · 2019-03-06T13:03:15Z

You still need a basic national health care system. You can say that health is responsibility of the person, but what about an injury... Don't tell me that you can shop around for your broken leg or what not.

This is the problem outsiders have when they come visit from Canada or europe

codis · 2019-03-06T13:11:11Z

OMG, how we even came so far - without government, and without public health care ? How did man ever manage to descend from the trees without the state's benevolent oversight ...

GregH335 · 2019-03-08T12:35:18Z

That's the mantra of liberals & socialists.... "GOVERNMENT - TAKE CARE OF ME".

Gcarlin · 2019-03-08T23:22:53Z

That's the mantra of liberals & socialists.... "GOVERNMENT - TAKE CARE OF ME".

All of the red states take more government money than they pay in taxes. You are the ones who leech off government and cry about taxes.

Good luck paying for a 30k hospital bill out of pocket cause only a rich person could afford that.

Gcarlin · 2019-03-09T02:07:20Z

That's the mantra of liberals & socialists.... "GOVERNMENT - TAKE CARE OF ME".

You are a huge bullshitter too. No way you voted for Obama as you claimed in another post to pretend to be "impartial".

Go lick the rear of the Koch brothers for their tar sands oil!

Dus7 · 2019-03-06T18:25:43Z

This is a strange question:

What's better: A pinko commmie health care system ... or a ruthless capitalist system ...?

because "pinko commie" is 1950s derogatory scare term (perhaps meant quasi-humorously?), more recently supplanted by 'socialist,' while the U.S. really does have a capitalist for-profit medical industry.

"Health care" is like "homes" in real estate where you actually buy an empty house; a 'home' is where someone (currently) resides, but health and home are thought to sound more appealing than medical and house . Advertising and propaganda have skewed our language for nearly a century now. There are thousands of words bent toward euphemism as if we can't handle reality and would rather invest our money and loyalty in childish fastasies. While unfortunately successful, I don't like it.

I agree with codis that 'health' is our personal responsibility. Medical/dental care is a professional service that should be available to all at a reasonable cost and run by a single non-profit agency for efficiency.

Why is 'socialism vs capitalism' even a question? The majority of American (U.S.) citizens want the affordable non-profit version. And, of course, it needs to be of a very high quality. Currently,the average medical/dental service across the country is not nearly the standard of many other nations.

The topic has been much discussed over recent years if not decades, and I don't see the point of "...we discuss the current state of health care in different countries and what we think would work better." Are doctors and patients involved in this discussion? It's already obvious to many of us that other countries have better medical services, and formulating the best system for the U.S. will not be difficult but awaits the loosening of the stranglehold BigEverything has on medicine.

codis · 2019-03-07T15:01:47Z

Dus7 The physicians/doctors are private businesses. The "healthcare" system of the state is all about the money that flows between you and the doctor - again an example where the government barged in between forcefully, taking large share and only raising prices.

Gcarlin · 2019-03-07T19:24:53Z

Dus7 The physicians/doctors are private businesses. The "healthcare" system of the state is all about the money that flows between you and the doctor - again an example where the government barged in between forcefully, taking large share and only raising prices.

No, in countries where the government is doing it, it's cheaper even if you pay out of pocket as a non citizen. Because the us has mostly private insurance, they raise the prices whether you pay for insurance or out of pocket.

Gcarlin · 2019-03-07T19:27:53Z

taking large share and only raising prices.

I think you forget how much insurance companies take as profit for not actually doing work. Banking and finance system drains life blood of the working class to richen share holders. Sure, you can buy stock but the majority of the real voting class stock is owned by huge firms and rich a holes

codis · 2019-03-08T06:31:21Z

Gcarlin

... in countries where the government is doing it, ...

Doing what ? Paying with money stolen from other people at gunpoint ???

Gcarlin · 2019-03-08T23:15:54Z

Gcarlin
... in countries where the government is doing it, ...
Doing what ? Paying with money stolen from other people at gunpoint ???

Are you a dumbass? It's called taxes. Instead of paying this tax, I have to pay MORE for private insurance, plus copays and deductibles.

Meanwhile in Canada and Europe, I can get surgery and pay in full for less.

Why? Because US healthcare system is bull shit

Doomsday · 2019-03-06T18:52:29Z

If the banks and corporations can't get you and the rest of the masses into jail or perpetual credit debt - they have a decent chance to profiteer on your physical and mental health through astronomically priced prescriptions, crippling expensive medical and dental procedures, legalized narcotics and health care insurance.

hobnob · 2019-03-08T10:53:11Z

"everyone is forced to support a bunch of lazy sick people who don't care for themselves"

This is quite close to what I think every time I hear someone argue for nationalized healthcare, and I'm always a bit surprised at how cold I am. "Yeah but look what they've done to themselves." How about a bit of arbitrary differentiation? Taxes can pay for accidents. But if you've listened to these mainstream guidelines your whole life, keep up with vaccines every year, "count calories," live and breathe plastic, blame all the wrong things for your ills, had no self-control - well perhaps you need to pay for your decisions, rather than tax the poor 50% to relieve your neuroticism (which isn't likely anyway, so why not let go of the issue). And I'm not without empathy, I understand and make several of these decisions, but policy ought to still reflect basic causality, even if it is a little Darwinian. We'll live.

Gcarlin · 2019-03-08T23:23:18Z

Wrong thought process. Have one accident, need a surgery and guess what-become broke because US health care is ridiculously expensive even with insurance.

Meanwhile the same surgery could be done for 10x less the cost out of pocket as a non citizen in Spain or France.

Don't tell me that you can avoid an accident like a broken bone by being careful. Sometimes it just happens, and according to this american stupid idea, you might as well just blame the victim of such accident.

What are they??? - They're flame tips coming off of a ball of fire. Okay?...

tekdude

I guess his uncle was Micheal Rockefeller? [Link]

Animanarchy

My brother-in-law - a wonderful man - went through this stage of living in a constant dream world not long before my sister-in-law had to realize...

Eventide

Absolutely no money laundering going on here....

DeliciousTears

Standup comedy. He's got a substantial repertoire of Russky jokes.

boli

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