A Swiss man came to Pa. for his daughter’s wedding — and left with a $42,000 hospital bill

[scagnt83]

Medicare, Medicaid, MA . . . etc received funding to PAY for health care . . . which is not the same as funding health care.

Its exactly the same in the end. Just different paths (and layers of admin costs and profit margins) to get there.

Universal healthcare: Citizens pay for healthcare through taxes.

Our system: Citizens pay for healthcare through both taxes, premiums, and out of pocket at time of care.

We choose to give the subsidies to private corporations and allow them to pad their profits doing so.

UH systems pay the provider directly, instead of funneling the money through 3 different for-profit entities to get there.

Our method creates multiple layers of admin cost that other systems do not incur. Along with an incentive to increase the cost of care (the ones tasked with regulating the cost profit more by not regulating it)

 

[scagnt83]

In Canada and other countries, prescription drugs receive taxpayer funding, thus lowering the retail price of medication.

And here in the US, rx subsidies exist via government subsidies to insurance..... which in turn pays for the rx at a cost to the consumer that is lower than retail.

 

[scagnt83]

Many European countries subsidize (and control) health care via taxes

The US controls healthcare too.

They set negotiated rates.

They control profit margins on private companies (same end result as negotiating rates)

They control standards of care.

And the majority of the country is on managed care.