[ganlaw]

As a Canadian living in the US, I have to disagree.

The fact that 27 million people (1) live in the US without health insurance alone is a big enough reason to know that that US system is not working. People should not die or go bankrupt due to not having insurance.

The current system might work for the rich and privileged but that is not good enough.

1. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-26...

[flubert]

The thing that always makes we wonder in these types of online health care discussions, is why Medicaid and Medicare are ignored. This is a genuine question, since I'm privileged enough to have a job with good health insurance, and I don't have personal experience with those programs.

[dragonwriter]

> The thing that always makes we wonder in these types of online health care discussions, is why Medicaid and Medicare are ignored.

They aren't; they are expressly included in GPs coverage statistics.

[TMWNN]

>The fact that 27 million people (1) live in the US without health insurance alone is a big enough reason to know that that US system is not working.

That's 91-92% coverage of a country of 330 million.

91% of Americans have medical insurance, whether through their employers, or government programs like Medicare/Medicaid. That's compared to 95-97% in other developed countries because there are always some people who fall through cracks, like (say) a Canadian who doesn't get a new provincial health care card after moving, or a German who neglects to buy into a new sickness fund after changing careers. The only such systems with actual 100% (or as close to it as possible) coverage is something like the UK NHS, which does not have a requirement to show a membership card (because, well, there isn't one) to receive treatment.

PS - Obamacare did not greatly expand coverage. 85% of Americans had medical insurance pre-Obamacare.

There are things I'd certainly improve about the US system—decoupling primary healthcare coverage from employment, for one—but the way people online ~~lie~~ exaggerate it's not surprising that so many non-Americans believe that every American is one hangnail away from bankruptcy.

>People should not die or go bankrupt due to not having insurance.

Only 4% of US bankruptcies are because of medical bills (https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2018/0...). A tipoff that [insert large percentage here] of bankruptcies aren't actually because of medical costs is that only 6% of bankruptcies by those without health insurance are because of that cause. The biggest cause of bankruptcies is lack of income, which health insurance doesn't affect.

[mrmuagi]

I don't think having everybody insured would be the criteria for it being working either. I came across a lecture about how metabolic syndrome treatment accounts for a large chunk of health care spending (75% [0]), and there's a lot of blame put on added sugars and processed foods. A large push for preventative care would be ideal.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceFyF9px20Y

[Gunax]

I'm not really disagreeing. I'm just trying to say that there are valid and rational reasons to prefer private healthcare.

Listening to NPR and their ilk would lead you to believe anyone else is some ignorant simpleton (the word 'deplorable' comes to mind)