America's healthcare system is both an obvious enormous drain on our economy, with far higher per capita costs than anyone else, and a less obvious enormous drain on our economy because every employer, including the self-employed, has to spend a ton of time administering healthcare coverage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/18/opinion/universal-health-care.html
It's a good piece, we are spending the money yet still allowing Americans to suffer.
@echanda @maxkennerly It goes back to wage controls on World War 2, where employers offered benefits instead.
Somehow health insurance simply stayed untaxed income and so it's significantly subsidized (40+% in states with income tax for incomes below payroll tax maximum).
@maxkennerly
*the triumph of hope over experience*
Obama's ACA "hope" overlaying mega corp parasites on 'care.' No public option and definitely no single payer.
*Mandate*
There to protect ins profit levels forcing healthy young to pay for minimal risk ins corps wanted.
*leaving patients on the hook for large medical costs is contrary to the purpose of insurance*
View from people buying insurance. Exact opposite with ins cos. Having insured 'cover' as much of cost of a need is the profit.
@maxkennerly yep. US should switch to MedicareForAll or similar. madness we havent yet
and this point -- and many other social upgrades -- are part of the set of education & influence lessons in my edu-game Slartboz
@maxkennerly The US healthcare system is a bankruptcy machine. It has little to do with health care, but extracting as much cash from people as possible.
How did we go from the "corner GP who made house calls and the local midwife" to this in a half century?
What did we gain?
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