Heide Estes

We don’t have national healthcare but the US government still pays 41% of total national health care costs and that’s more than what they UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Spain combined pay to provide universal health care to all citizens. Profit-based health care is broken.

https://www.statnews.com/2023/12/19/us-healthcare-costs-government-covers-41-percent-of-total/

U.S. government spent more on health care in 2022 than six countries with universal health care combined

American taxpayers footed the bill for about 41% of the nearly $4.5 trillion in both public and private health care spending the U.S. recorded last year.

STAT
Dec 19, 2023 at 9:52pmWeb
Show threadCallistoDec 19, 2023
@hestes It's only ever been about denying services to "those people." It's never been about government spending.
Show threadDarwin WoodkaDec 20, 2023
@callisto @hestes No, it just makes medical care for "those people" more expensive since they end up in emergency rooms instead of doctor's offices.
Show threadCallistoDec 20, 2023
@darwinwoodka @hestes You ever try to get cancer treated at an ER? ERs stabilize a person and then kick them out, that's all. Look at life expectancies, morbidity, maternal and neonatal mortality, and the differentials in all of those across race, gender and class.
Show threadLomaxcatDec 19, 2023
@hestes
I wish the Conservative idiots in this country (Canada) that keep pushing us towards a US-type medical system would read this and pay attention. Of course, considering their main goal is to enrich themselves, I doubt this would mean much.
Show threadSaanichGuy 🇨🇦🇨🇦Dec 20, 2023
@hestes when medical coverage is tied to employment then indentured employment still exists. #healthcare
Show threadKatLSDec 20, 2023
@hestes how healthy are the insurance companies and big pharma?? look there.
Show thread504BatteryDrDec 20, 2023

@hestes

Almost like there are greedy, unnecessary middlemen with either unethical or zero medical expertise driving up costs. 🤔

Show threadSteven HiltonDec 20, 2023
@hestes All those prescription drug commercials aren't going to pay for themselves.
Show threadDavid G. SimmonsDec 20, 2023
@hestes well how else are the execs at UnitedHealthCare and others supposed to pull down $40m/year, and don’t get me started on PBMs! It’s all a giant grift, at the expense of your health.
Show threadTed_CvilleDec 21, 2023
@hestes Absolutely right!