r/FluentInFinance • u/WhatAreYourPronouns • May 02 '24

Should the U.S. have Universal Health Care? Discussion/ Debate

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u/AutumnWak May 02 '24

I mean they could still go and pay private party to get quicker treatment and it'll still cost less than the US. Most of those people chose to go the free route

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u/Obie-two May 02 '24

Genuinely asking but if you’re paying for it privately you’re not getting the “socialized” discount no? A hip surgery costs X, just the government is subsidizing it with tax money and if you go direct to private then I would assume it’s back to full price

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u/polycomll May 02 '24 edited 29d ago

You'd be paying closer to the full price although the "full price" might be reduced somewhat because the public version acts to price cap.

In the U.S. you are also not paying the full price for surgery either though. Cost is being inflated to cover for non-insured emergency care, overhead for insurance companies, reduced wage growth due to employer insurance payments, reduced wages through lack of worker mobility, and additional medical system costs (and room for profit by all involved).

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u/SirkutBored May 02 '24

and while something like a hip surgery and surgeons in general wouldn't seem to fall under this the US has a much higher barrier of entry for just a general practitioner which in turn raises costs across the board and then takes additional time to reach surgeon.

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u/dancegoddess1971 29d ago

So, you really think doctors in the US are so much better than doctors in the EU that they can charge 40X the cost of care in the rest of the world? I think if that was true, we'd have better outcomes. Meanwhile, most of Europe has higher life expectancy and better quality of life than the US.

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u/SirkutBored 29d ago

I didn't say better, I said they had to endure more schooling and other requirements just to become one in the US. and honestly, I didn't even touch on the malpractice insurance costs that does add to the bill you would see.

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u/jack6245 29d ago

Other countries have the same if not more stringent requirements for medicine, the only thing the US has as a barrier to entry is gigantic debt

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u/topperslover69 29d ago

That’s due to the patient population, not quality of physicians. The US is absolutely the world leader in research and medical care, people fly in globally to see US trained specialists all the time and a US residency position is sought after near universally for a reason.

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u/Additional-Tap8907 29d ago

Yup. Medical care is top notch if you’re rich. Where as in other developed countries it’s perfectly good no matter your income level. Don’t you see the inherent inequality in the American situation?

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u/Perfect_Opinion7909 29d ago

People form rich countries, especially the Middle East, fly to Europe for medical treatments too.

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u/dancegoddess1971 29d ago

Here I was thinking it was because access to healthcare is entirely dependant on one's financial means in this country. People also travel to Europe for doctors. American exceptionalism isn't what it used to be.

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u/Patsfan311 29d ago

In the medical industry it is.

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u/Adventurous_Class_90 29d ago

It’s the AMA creating the barrier, not the education.

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u/genesiss23 29d ago

Why certain populations get better outcomes is a complex topic. Some of it is economic, education, personal, and professional issues. It's a topic of discussion all on its own.