The US pays more for their healthcare than any country, so why is proposing universal healthcare like many countries considered radical ?

Question

You pay almost double the amount per person than the next country, but don’t have better health outcomes. Most of the money goes to private insurance and private healthcare providers profits. The average American pays far more of his salary towards healthcare, even factoring in lower taxes. And many have no coverage at all. Why does copying more sensible and value for money universal healthcare schemes like New Zealand or Sweden get called crazy and radical?

Answer 1

The fact we pay way too much for many healthcare services is one of the main reasons we can’t afford to expand coverage to everyone.  First, we must address the reasons why our healthcare costs too much.  Warren’s plan as it stands would cost 50 trillion dollars over the first 10 years.  That simply can’t b3 paid for.  



The other issue is unlike many countries with universal care we have an enormous percent of the population that’s paying no income tax and therefore wouldn’t be paying into the system.  

Answer 2

IF YOU STUDY THOSE SYSTEMS CLOSELY YOU WILL FIND THAT THEY ARE NOT AS GOOD AS THEY CLAIM

Answer 3

Because republicans and businesses owners consider helping others helping the less fortunate and happening anyone other than themselves to be radical, aka evil. Republicans have zero empathy, zero heart and zero concern for anyone other than themselves.  The fact that anyone would oppose universal health care which morally and ethically is a right shows how perverse and how ego centric and selfish republicans are. I highly doubt Jesus Christ would find sympathy with the wealthy and the republicans who’s attitude towards healthcare is “let everyone who can’t pay die or be put in debtors prison” attitude. You’ll find many republican Protestants who oppose universal health care because their fat German drunkard of a heretical founder, Martin Luther, stated that caring for others and acts of good will and charity aren’t necessary for salvation. A convenient position for The greedy and the wealthy.

Answer 4

Because inbreds think the more the spend the better.  The more they spend = the harder they work. blue collar mentality

Answer 5

Teddy Roosevelt, in 1916, proposed adopting the German national health insurance and pendion plan. Republicans tofay are FAR dumber than TR! 

Answer 6

I DEFY you to  cite the authority in the Constitution  for the federal government to interfere in health care at all.  No, sparky, the "general welfare clause" does NOT.  Read Federalist Paper 41.  I DEFY you to cite the ONE thing, taken over by the federal government from private industry or the states, that didn't become a huge, bureaucratic nightmare and monument to gross inefficiency and waste.  BETCHA CAN'T!!  If the federal government stopped interfering with more and more regulations and mandates, the cost of health care would drop overnight.  



Tell us why private insurance companies and care providers should not make a profit.  Providers spend a lot of time and money going to school to learn their trade.  Would you have them paid a minimum wage like burger flippers at MacDonald's?  Insurance companies make most of their profits from investing their customers' payments.  They are taking the risk.  They should get the reward.

Answer 7

Go to Venezuela and see for yourself what a Socialist country looks like.

Answer 8

Because we don't see a path from where we are now to a future where there is universal healthcare that costs LESS than what healthcare costs in the US now. 

[Edit: which, by the way, isn't double other countries as the original poster says, it's closer to 10 times the cost in other countries, especially in hospital settings.]



Everything not provided by magic fairies has to be actually paid for by somebody. So those of us who work and pay federal income taxes now (as opposed to those among us who are poor enough to qualify to GET money from the government at tax time each year) assume that universal healthcare means that in the future we will be breaking our backs under the tax burdon of paying for other people's share of the most expensive health care in the world in addition to paying for our own as we must do now.



The prospect is both terrifying and completely unfair, so it makes us angry.

Answer 9

We desperately need universal healthcare.

Answer 10

if you educate yourself on countries with UHC, you might notice some similarities among them...



....like how they have rigid state controls on education, access to higher education, mandatory national languages and immigration standards much more stringent than here in the liberal and inclusive USA...



...all those things are purposely designed to keep their populations small, homogeneous and like-thinking....and to specifically limit who gets to enjoy all the benefits of citizenship...









....that's the "radical" part from the American perspective.....

Answer 11

The emphasis needs to be on cost reduction - competitive pricing of drugs, elimination of frivolous lawsuits against doctors, unnecessary medical procedures, etc.  That is most successfully accomplished through the government stepping in to demand solutions for the good of the people.

Answer 12

With these intelligence fluids they can turn family against families all over the world .This is why there"s murders in america .They use psych 101 to kill and make people sick george causes the troubleas well .Adrian my brother in law had a drop of posion that makes you fight .this could be used in title fight .Intelligence maynepoll products watch

Answer 13

I had no idea about this

Answer 14

Because the higher YOU pay, the higher THEIR profits

Answer 15

You said it. It is seen as radical because our system is based on greed. 

Answer 16

I suspect some of the many millions of dollars Netflix "presented" to Obama came from payoffs from insurance companies who bribed wealthy fat cat Democrats to get Obamacare forced on America.

Answer 17

No, they don't, and your bogus socialist mathematical analysis is stunted. I suggest you see a doctor. A good one who works. Not a British doctor, but a real good doctor who knows medical science and the medical profession. Now, GO!! DO!! GO, GO, GO!! DO, DO, DO!!

Answer 18

Universal health care is funded by taxpayer money not by private companies who do not rely on the people having to pay through the roof in taxes.  

  

Answer 19

You would be  paying  more in  taxes 

Answer 20

The question proves the Asker is clueless.



He doesn't seem to know that those healthcare "facts" he is ranting about are rigged. The truth is that any country without some form of national healthcare is penalized by 45% on those ratings. So no matter however good it may be it will always come in way down the list in those stats. 



The truth is that 98% of new medical technology comes from the USA - 29 out of 30 new surgical techniques come from the US. Five doctors out of every eight are trained in the US. And 49 of 50 medical research breakthroughs are from the US. At one time, the UK was a world leader in medical research. When they switched to national healthcare, they lapsed into mediocrity. Most of the "highly rated" national healthcare schemes are entirely dependent on the USA for more than 95% of their medical techniques, technology and research.So those wonderful universal health care countries are 100% dependent on the USA to maintain their system.



The level of care in the USA is vastly superior to that in UHC countries.



You pay MORE for UHC, not less.

Answer 21

Irrelevant to me how the US spends their money.  I live in CA and have medical and I have never paid one doctor, psychiatrist, dentist, physical therapist, counselor, eye glasses, prescription nothing in 20 years.  However - if you decide to relocate to CA to get onto MediCal be prepared to find meth addicts and needles all over the State.  The democreeps give out free needles and they spread all over the State from their "sanctuary cities" (read open air drug markets)..  Tons of Hep C, HIV and worse.  They have hundreds of new mutated venerial diseases now that cannot even be detected.

Answer 22

I'd rather watch people die than pay more in taxes to support bums and other people's kids! Especially when people talk about including illegals!

Answer 23

The universal health plans being proposed would result in an almost doubling of the amount of money the government currently spends. How can that possibly save anyone money?

Answer 24

You do not see people walking around with wooden legs or crutches in America like you do in countries with socialized "medicine".

In the US billions are spent on Dialysis for thousands of patients each year...if you live in a country with socialized medicine you might as well kiss your @ss good by cause they will not provide it.  



Get out of the basement, travel and find out for yourself just how many lies the socialist democrats have told you. 



The USA was, is and shall always Be The Greatest Nation the earth will ever know. 

Answer 25

Health care costs are so high BECAUSE OF the enormous degree of government intrusion in the market. It's the most heavily regulated and subsidized industry we have. Contrast it with the telecommunications industry, which affords even low-income people increasingly versatile devices without cleaning them out or fleecing others.

Answer 26

My problem with how Democrats sell universal healthcare is the total DISHONESTY of their statements.

Tell people that sales tax will effectively DOUBLE when you bring in the VAT (Value Added TAX) to pay for it.

Canada, Australia, Europe, The UK ALL have Value Added Tax to pay for it,



Dont lie and say the rich will pay for it.



Don't pretend that the quality of your healthcare wil be the same because it is not.

It is a fact that in Canada the wait for orthopedic surgery, like a knee replacement can be two years.



It is notable that NONE of the stories about healthcare problems in Canada or the UK are ever reported in the liberal press.



In Germany the sales tax burden is 30%. In the US it is 10%.



Tell people the truth and then let them decide based on the facts.

Answer 27

Because it would limit heathcare's bottom line(profits)!

Answer 28

Because big pharma has convinced people a number of untruths such as:



-The reason it's so expensive is because we have better care



-If we regulate healthcare they will not be able to get the care they need



-Nationalizing healthcare will mean they pay more for worse care

-If pharma companies aren't making massive profits they won't be able to afford to research new drugs

-"Death Panels"

Answer 29

Countries with "universal healthcare" are rationing care, going bankrupt, and usually both.

Answer 30

Because it disrupts the oligarchs control and profits.

Answer 31

Because the US produces a higher standard of medical care than any other nation on the earth. A standard that is not possible under a "universal" system.

Answer 32

THOUSANDS of people with "universal healthcare" come to the US at their own expense every year for medical care.

 There are good reasons for that,The extremely long wait times amount to a death sentence for many.

Answer 33

Go to Venezuela and see for yourself what a Socialist country looks like.

Answer 34

The answer to that is simple. A universal healthcare system requires you by force of law (taxes) to pay for not only your own, but other people's healthcare "including people who have chosen to ruin their own health". People in the United States have a long history of not wanting to be forced to be charitable.



The expensive healthcare in the United States is a tremendous issue. I believe the best way to solve it is to deny healthcare to those with pre-existing conditions caused by themselves (i.e. a person with lung cancer who has smoked all of their life). People who make bad, intentional choices are tremendously taxing on the healthcare system. Also there are three additional ways to solve it. Hospitals should not be a business, we need to cure people, not give them meds to suppress the symptoms, and people shouldn't be so sue-happy by using doctors for malpractice unless it is actually malpractice.

Answer 35

Because rich people like their money.

Answer 36

The US both directly and indirectly subsidizes Sweden's, New Zealand's and many other country's healthcare systems. If we tried to do the same thing they do it would be vastly more expensive because we wouldn't have anyone to help with the bills. 



New Zealand only exists because the US pays for its military and they take the money they would have spent on the military and spend it on other things like healthcare. We also give them trillions of dollars worth of medical technology and deeply discounted prescription drugs. The same is true for most of europe and canada too. 

Answer 37

Because "health care for all" is impossible and unfair.  Democrats are too greedy and corrupt to be trusted with running anything.  If you want health care, you must pay for it yourself.  The "rich" owe you nothing, you deadbeat!  "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1st Timothy 5:8, KJV).  Even so, come, Lord Jesus!  Establish the Kingdom in Jerusalem, and keep the world safe from Democracy!

Answer 38

It's not that radical, in the past, the same/similar idea was a part of the GOP platform . I'm a Republican more along the lines of Eisenhower and Nixon, the party has drifted since then 

Answer 39

The ruling class 1% controls the insurance companies that profit off of our expensive system. And they control the media which tells us it's bad. When in reality it's cheaper and more effective for getting Americans in healthcare. We could easily pay for it by lowering the defense budget and taxing the 1%. I'd say tax them at 70% and the tax dodgers like Jeff bezos and trump at 99.99% 

Answer 40

Yeah....and ours is better. If you want the 3-6 month waits you get in England or Canada you probably could make it cheaper.

Answer 41

Government run healthcare is a disaster

Answer 42

Lets copy Sweden's!

Step 1.  Replace 90+% of the US population with Swedes.

Step 2.  Adopt Sweden's universal healthcare.



You might have a problem with step 1 but that's about the only way step 2 will work like it does in Sweden.

Answer 43

The USA is run by various rich elite interest groups. Not only are you paying the insurance companies, you're also paying all of their shareholders, possibly around the world. They start wars for weapons profits, as in the people deciding who goes to war actually have shares in the weapons companies. The guy who replaced Kennedy after he was shot in the head had shares, or actually owned the company that made the helicopters that were used by the CIA to smuggle the heroin out of the golden triangle there, in Vietnam and surrounding areas. Air America. The point I'm making is, the money wins, not for you, for how much they can take from you, and put in their pocket, because it's utterly corrupt. You first have to get rid of everyone in the US government, then you can make a better system, tax the rich and give to the poor, and give children a roof over their heads. 

Answer 44

There are ways we can lower the cost of healthcare without a government takeover. 



Government has proven it can't run an effective healthcare system with the criminal failures in VA.





Lolz

Answer 45

Because the United States is a country founded on the concept of massive freedom and massive responsibility.  Because each individual is responsible for his/her health, health care, and health insurance.  Because the government is NOT responsible for the individual.  Because health care is a commodity found in a free market place.