Millions risk losing cover as Justices take up Obamacare Challenge

I love when people make comments about things that they don't understand.

 

But you have to admit, why are we the only first-world nation not to have universal coverage?

 

The same reason people from all over the world are shipped here to receive the best medical care.

You can have something be really great, or free, but not both.

 

http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/us/the-growing-popularity-of-having-surgery-overseas.html?_r=0

http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/09/19/0322221/wealthy-americans-turning-to-europe-for-medical-treatment

 

We do not have the best health care in the world. That is just your wishful thinking.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danmunr...ked-dead-last-compared-to-10-other-countries/

 

Americans travel for medical procedures for 2 primary reasons

1. Experimental procedures not allowed in the US
2. People looking for cheap procedures.

I know a lot of people who go to Mexico to get dental work done....but they aren't going there because the quality of work is awesome, they go because they save thousands of dollars.

When people are shipped to the US for medical work, it's always for the higher quality of medical care.

 

That even us normal Americans can't afford.

 

Well that's the problem isn't it? Somehow we need to find a way to make healthcare more affordable without having the government take it over and kill the quality of the healthcare.

It's not an easy problem to solve, and simply forcing everyone to buy insurance isn't going to help.

 

So what's the solution then? Clearly the system before the ACA didn't work and you contend that the ACA also doesn't work. So by all means, propose something.

 

The whole point of changing healthcare in America is that it is more expensive than it should be. Healthcare needs to be less expensive so that more people can afford it and don't go broke when they get sick. Healthcare costs in America hurt our economy. These are basic principles of the healthcare debate and the fact that you thought saying that Americans leave America "for cheap procedures" is telling of your knowledge on this subject.

 

"I have a secret plan to end the war in Vietnam, but you'll have to elect me to find out what it is."

 

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/artic...have-the-best-health-care-system-in-the-world

http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/rese...u-s--health-care-compare-internationally.html

The US definitely isn't the cheapest healthcare we know that for certain. What we don't know for certain is if it has better quality then some other nations with cheaper healthcare.

 

the solution is always choice, competition, removal of barriers to market entry

 

Except in health care, as we've known for 50 years.

 

Would you be a fan of removing licensing requirements? Anyone can say they are a doctor or start an ER and the market will just take of itself? How does choice or competition or transparent information work with someone in the midst of a heart attack?

This is another one of those instances where your libertarian utopia runs into real world problems.

 

I'm not saying I have the solution, in a lot of ways insurance is the reason health costs got so out of control in the first place. Insurance allows hospitals to charge ridiculous rates they otherwise wouldn't get away with.

It's the same reason why body shops charge your insurance what they do when you get in an accident. Since the actual customer isn't directly getting the astronomical tab in most cases, they can charge a lot more. Body work that would normally cost a few hundred dollars ends up costing a few thousand dollars when insurance is picking up the tab. The same goes for medical care.

The problems associated with medical care not being affordable is a serious problem, but I don't think it has a quick solution. IMO the whole system would have to change and it would have to be done very carefully so as to not sacrifice quality for quantity of care. If you've ever had to deal with military healthcare or VA healthcare, you know what government run healthcare will look like and the average American wouldn't put up with it.

Also important to note, just because I personally don't have a really good solution planned out,doesn't make a bad idea any better and a large part of the current ACA is a bad idea.

 

Why? What, specifically, has made the system worse under ACA than prior?

 

Meant to respond to this in my last post, I'm not sure that would do it, but generally speaking those are usually good ideas. Part of the problem is that there is no incentive for pharmaceutical companies or health care providers to charge insurance companies less for health care.

When you can get away with selling hammers for $1,500 to the government, why sell them for cheaper?

 

There are tons of people who have lost their insurance policies and been forced to sign new ones that either had less coverage, or were not affordable. It also does nothing to address the root cause of high health care costs, it just forces everyone to have health insurance. It's good for "on paper" results, but how are people better off paying for health insurance plans they can't afford to use vs not having health insurance at all?

 

You ask for more free market / less regulation, but the negotiations you describe as not working are purely free market negotiations between private sector entities. The incentive is that insurers have to compete with other insurers in a transparent marketplace, so they have incentive to push for lower prices so they charge lower rates. These are things that were pushed further by the marketplaces in ACA that you also complain about.

Except the government generally pays less for health care services than the private sector. That's why doctors complain about Medicare reimbursement rates.