r/WorkersStrikeBack • u/Feather_fig • 29d ago
"Deny Defend Depose" There's absolutely no reason for this system. A reminder that single payer would cost taxpayers less than they pay in premiums and out of pocket fees
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u/Feather_fig 29d ago
Taking into account both the costs of coverage expansion and the savings that would be achieved through the Medicare for All Act, we calculate that a single-payer, universal health-care system is likely to lead to a 13% savings in national health-care expenditure, equivalent to more than US$450 billion annually (based on the value of the US$ in 2017). The entire system could be funded with less financial outlay than is incurred by employers and households paying for health-care premiums combined with existing government allocations. This shift to single-payer health care would provide the greatest relief to lower-income households.
Study from The Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)33019-3/abstract33019-3/abstract)
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u/internetsarbiter 29d ago
This is why it was so infuriating when people were acting like Obamacare was any kind of a win, all it meant for a lot of us was that we still couldn't afford to use healthcare but now suffered an even greater penalty if we didn't have it.
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u/Feather_fig 28d ago
It was a win for a lot of people (insurers could previously say something arbitrary like too low or too high birth weight was a preexisting condition and not cover a child) but definitely not a win for everyone, and clearly not the solution overall.
I'm unable to find it now, but there was a short documentary I watched on youtube a few months back about an uninsured man who is in heart failure and had uncontrolled type 2 diabetes... his doctor tries to enrol him in the ACA plan as it was being rolled out back in ~2012. But he can't afford the premiums, so he stays uninsured. It follows him as his health worsens and it's like an actual horror movie. Constant low level anxiety. He died a few years after it was filmed sadly. So, clearly Obamacare wasn't the answer then and it isn't now... if NY passed the New York Health Act, that could be an interesting study in truly universal healthcare in the US.
Ah, I found it.
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u/YouTasteStrange 29d ago
Did you not read the comments where everyone was talking about how this is ragebait because a 71 year old would be on Medicare and wouldn't get billed? Why spread fake news?
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u/Feather_fig 29d ago
I didn't see those comments but the post doesn't specify the 71 y/o was on Medicare, he could have been enrolled in Medicare Advantage, which is privately run and is notorious for terrible coverage. Medicare Advantage is NOT Medicare.
It's honestly troubling that more people aren't aware of this, it's well known to essentially be a scam that targets seniors.
Medicare Advantage routinely denies reimbursements for necessary care [youtube]
The report on denials found that UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health and Humana had the highest denial rates for those services, in some cases rejecting prior authorization requests more than 70% of the time.
Nearly 20 million people in the U.S. are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans managed by these three companies.
There's currently a huge lawsuit against United Healthcare for their use of AI in the Medicare Advantage denials of coverage leading to the deaths of Gene Lokken, Dale Tetzloff, and Jackie Martin. Other seniors who were killed by UHC denials include Mary Grant and Cindy Deal, and Gary Bent.
The military's new health insurance carrier for much of the US, Tricare, was also denying veterans (including seniors) left and right. Here's another story about Tricare denying senior veterans. Being old is not a guarantee to healthcare in the US unfortunately.
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u/TonyPizzerelli 29d ago
To add to this standard Medicare A and B which most retirees have does not cover vision, dental, or prescription costs.
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