[fellowniusmonk]

I can't think of any credible reason not to have universal healthcare at this point.

Maybe 20 years ago but there is too much empirical data across multiple countries and environments now.

Assuming our cost for care drops commiserate to what's been seen in other countries we could use the saving to increase merit scholarships for the contributing young as a introductory form of UBI.

[mikkupikku]

Doctors are the primary and most numerous beneficiary of the American status quo. And have you seen the houses they live in? In 99% of America, doctors live in the nicest biggest houses there are in town. What's more, doctors are politically and socially untouchable. Even saying what I've said will probably have people itching to respond that doctors earned their huge salaries, that medical bankruptcies are completely unrelated, that doctors actually have little political power, that some doctoring organization has released some feel-good vague statements about fixing the system (but nonetheless not actually financially backed the candidates that might fix it), etc. How doctors are actually the victims and it's all the insurance companies, even though doctors have way more political and social sway than insurance corps. How doctors are the victims of the executive leadership of hospitals, even though those executives are usually MDs as well..

How can the problem be fixed if we don't even talk about it? How do you even negotiate with, "Yeah but you're going to need a doctor some day, so you better not be critical of them in any regard." ?

[scns]

> I can't think of any credible reason not to have universal healthcare at this point.

When you grab em by their Amygdala, the naked monkeys will do what you want. Even to their own detriment.

As soon as they are in fight-or-flight-mode, (most) people cannot be reasoned with.

Sad but true

[throw0101a]

> When you grab em by their Amygdala, the naked monkeys will do what you want. Even to their own detriment.

Even to their own death (and the death of friends/family):

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_of_Whiteness

* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40697553-dying-of-whiten...

[nozzlegear]

Strictly from a realpolitik standpoint, universal healthcare like the systems found in Europe is unlikely to happen because too much of the American economy is tied up in healthcare and healthcare services. People trying to improve the system here in the US would be better served by looking for a fix that's uniquely American (ACA, all-payer rates, public option, etc.), rather than trying to tear out what we have and replace it with universal healthcare.

Mandatory disclaimer that I don't like our health insurance or healthcare prices any more than anybody else does, and in a perfect world I'd love to have universal healthcare instead.

[iknowstuff]

Plenty of european systems involve private insurance fyi. It’s not all single payer

[giancarlostoro]

It sounds like a great idea, then a government shut down happens.

[PygmySurfer]

> It sounds like a great idea, then a government shut down happens.

How about fixing the government so it can’t be shut down because a few hundred politicians can’t agree on the next budget?

[throw0101a]

> It sounds like a great idea, then a government shut down happens.

Single payer / universal healthcare ≠ doctors/nurses are government employees (necessarily).

You go to your local health care provider, show your card, and received treatment. The single payer (government) then gets billed and money is transferred to the providers account.

If the government is shutdown, there could be a delay in payment in outstanding bills, but that does not mean health care providers shutdown. Medicare ran during the last shutdown:

* https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/government-shutdo...

* Telehealth was: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/medicare-patients-go-wit...

Social Security cheques went out too:

* https://www.cbsnews.com/news/social-security-government-shut...

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_federal_gov...

Lots of stuff can potentially be automated, and so continue to run.

[spease]

Just because the fed exists doesn’t mean the entire economy shuts down with the government.

It depends on how it’s structured.