Context: If you want to give people choice and power in healthcare, you need to decentralize it, not centralize it. Because greedy people like centralization since it gives them money and power.
Kind of a shit take that supports the concentration of power and capital.
Universal Healthcare is gained when a population as a whole demands that the wealth of others be distributed in a way that benefits the whole instead of the few.
Decentralizing it, without a central authority, means wealth is not distributed and countless are left to suffer. In fact, how is that any different from the way things are right now?
Before the greedy consolidated healthcare into mega-organizations and privatized hospitals, most hospitals were run by charities, religious organizations, and local governments (usually counties). People paid cash for routine healthcare, which kept prices low, and had major medical insurance for major expenses. People had control over their healthcare.
The system was not perfect, but it was a lot better than what we have today. And we can do a lot of things to make such a system better, such as requiring hospitals to provide indigent care to those who cannot afford to pay (i.e. free or reduced cost healthcare) in exchange for not paying taxes. If they chose not to provide indigent care, then they are taxed, and that tax money is used to fund government-run hospitals and clinics.
You don’t have to centralize healthcare to provide universal healthcare. There are a number of ways to do it.
Yes, we already have that in many major counties in Texas, and it seems to be working very well. We provide universal healthcare, unlike the rest of the country, and yet taxes are still low, and people have a choice of providers.
I would still make some recommendations that would make it better. Now we just need to refine and duplicate the model nationwide.
That’s still incorrect. UHC isn’t just subsidized, it’s free at point of sale. There are no counties in the US that offer this. There are no organizations in the US that offer this.
With Harris Health, if you qualify for free healthcare, you get a “gold card” that gives you free healthcare. You have to qualify based on your household income and household size. Others are provided services based on a sliding scale based on their income.
And there is no such thing is free healthcare. You either pay for it in advance via taxes or insurance premiums, or you pay at the time of service. It is not free, and will never be free.
Systems can be made to be more efficient and more affordable, but they will never be free since it takes resources and labor to run a healthcare system.
I tried searching it and couldn’t find a single thing except for some articles talking about 1332 waivers from the Affordable Care Act, which is very much centralized.
They’re funded by Federal, State, and Local government as well as philanthropic donations.
Primary and specialty care access must be increased; although Harris Health provides 25% of the primary care for indigent individuals, another 27% do not receive care. The gap must be closed and not allowed to continue to increase.
So basically a centralized healthcare solution which turns away more poor or uninsured than they help. A commendable service, but not even close to the effectiveness and mercy of universal healthcare.
Of course, this just highlights the problem with centralized care. If local universal care run by the government turns away people because it is underfunded, what do you think a nationwide government run healthcare system will do when it is underfunded? The same thing! They will deny care just like the insurance companies do. And you won’t have any choice in the matter since they are the only provider and/or they control the money spent on your healthcare.
As I said, the system is not perfect and it needs to be improved. And it is better than Canada telling people to choose euthanasia because the government doesn’t want to pay for their care, or when the UK denied care to a little girl, and then refused to let her leave the country to get healthcare elsewhere. They don’t provide universal healthcare either, despite their claims.
Context: If you want to give people choice and power in healthcare, you need to decentralize it, not centralize it. Because greedy people like centralization since it gives them money and power.
Kind of a shit take that supports the concentration of power and capital.
Universal Healthcare is gained when a population as a whole demands that the wealth of others be distributed in a way that benefits the whole instead of the few.
Decentralizing it, without a central authority, means wealth is not distributed and countless are left to suffer. In fact, how is that any different from the way things are right now?
Before the greedy consolidated healthcare into mega-organizations and privatized hospitals, most hospitals were run by charities, religious organizations, and local governments (usually counties). People paid cash for routine healthcare, which kept prices low, and had major medical insurance for major expenses. People had control over their healthcare.
The system was not perfect, but it was a lot better than what we have today. And we can do a lot of things to make such a system better, such as requiring hospitals to provide indigent care to those who cannot afford to pay (i.e. free or reduced cost healthcare) in exchange for not paying taxes. If they chose not to provide indigent care, then they are taxed, and that tax money is used to fund government-run hospitals and clinics.
You don’t have to centralize healthcare to provide universal healthcare. There are a number of ways to do it.
Well let me know when you accomplish that. Technically, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from doing it right now.
Yes, we already have that in many major counties in Texas, and it seems to be working very well. We provide universal healthcare, unlike the rest of the country, and yet taxes are still low, and people have a choice of providers.
I would still make some recommendations that would make it better. Now we just need to refine and duplicate the model nationwide.
Texas does not have universal healthcare. It does however have the second highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world. Not just the US.
I never said Texas has universal health care. I said that certain counties in the state have universal health care.
That’s still incorrect. UHC isn’t just subsidized, it’s free at point of sale. There are no counties in the US that offer this. There are no organizations in the US that offer this.
With Harris Health, if you qualify for free healthcare, you get a “gold card” that gives you free healthcare. You have to qualify based on your household income and household size. Others are provided services based on a sliding scale based on their income.
And there is no such thing is free healthcare. You either pay for it in advance via taxes or insurance premiums, or you pay at the time of service. It is not free, and will never be free.
Systems can be made to be more efficient and more affordable, but they will never be free since it takes resources and labor to run a healthcare system.
I tried searching it and couldn’t find a single thing except for some articles talking about 1332 waivers from the Affordable Care Act, which is very much centralized.
Yes, unfortunately it does not get a lot of publicity. Most people outside of Texas don’t even know something like this exists.
Here is the one for Harris County, Texas. #[1](https://www.harrishealth.org/about-us/harris-health)
Other major counties in Texas have this as well.
https://www.harrishealth.org/about-us/harris-health ↩︎
They’re funded by Federal, State, and Local government as well as philanthropic donations.
So basically a centralized healthcare solution which turns away more poor or uninsured than they help. A commendable service, but not even close to the effectiveness and mercy of universal healthcare.
Of course, this just highlights the problem with centralized care. If local universal care run by the government turns away people because it is underfunded, what do you think a nationwide government run healthcare system will do when it is underfunded? The same thing! They will deny care just like the insurance companies do. And you won’t have any choice in the matter since they are the only provider and/or they control the money spent on your healthcare.
As I said, the system is not perfect and it needs to be improved. And it is better than Canada telling people to choose euthanasia because the government doesn’t want to pay for their care, or when the UK denied care to a little girl, and then refused to let her leave the country to get healthcare elsewhere. They don’t provide universal healthcare either, despite their claims.