What is the most promising pathway to reach universal healthcare?
What is the most promising pathway to reach universal healthcare?
Let's assume we want all people to have health care. What are the steps / methods most likely to get us there?
In the U.S. seems like we're a long way from that goal. I'm curious about chunking down the big goal into smaller steps. Interested to hear perspectives from other countries too.
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"All" is an awfully large group - perhaps start with "some", e.g. "all in Maine" (and likely some subset of that even, like those who have lived there for 5+ years already, to avoid someone getting cancer first, then suddenly moving to Maine, then once the expensive treatments are over with go back home, etc.), and then if people enjoy seeing it be done well, expand our from there. I dunno... it's a thought, at least.
No, we don't need to see if public healthcare works. We already know that it's cheaper than private healthcare and that it works better than private health care.
Other countries have been proving that for generations and the numbers prove it in our country.
We just have to do it.
I think comment above yours has a point. It's not a question of whether or not it works, it's a question of getting people on board, and fending off vested interests like insurance companies. So maybe getting it done in one place would be more attainable, and serve as an advertisement. For me at least, I'm asking how we do it. Saying "we just have to do it" isn't actionable advice.
We know how to do it, we already have Medicare and all of the first world countries have proven that as long as you give funding to the medical industry, public health care works, the same as libraries receiving funding or fire departments receiving funding.
You can take a look at any referendum to see how specifically we would transition to that system, but it would basically be expanding Medicare to Medicare for all, and later removing the remaining restrictions for pre-existing conditions.
It would be a very simple transition, and more productive for the country and cheaper for everyone.
The only reason we're not doing it are profit driven motives by people making money off of the private health care industry.
Sorry, I think we're talking past each other. I'm not asking how the mechanics of the healthcare would work once a bill is passed. How do we even get that far? Our elected representatives don't seem to have substantive interest (a few bright spots aside) and while polls often show majority support amongst the public, the results can vary a lot based on how the question is asked. So big picture / long term just as a start we need more perfect democracy, and we need better awareness and advocacy of the idea. In terms of first steps and short term (I think regretfully a decade or two is short term) I could see an argument to implement it in a specific state, or expanding medicare for certain age groups or something like that. But I don't know! That's why I'm asking.
Oh I see. I was literally putting together a list of the developments Cypress took when they enacted universal healthcare in 2019 and the Medicare for All bullet points to explain the initial steps more clearly.
You're actually curious how we can foment support for such a bill, if I understand correctly.
Ideally, you attend rallies and town hall discussions about health care and call up your senators and public officials and radically advocate for it and get enough people to join forces to convince politicians to vote for it.
Practically? We have two options. 1) getting lucky and voting in someone as focused on positive progress as Bernie or 2) in the United States, where economic dominance is the primary factor that shifts private interests, just like recently with sustainable energy, just like with transportation infrastructure, we're going to see the point where large corporate interests and our government simultaneously realize that they're losing capital ground to international competitors because they refuse to make progress on the key issue of health.
Once they realize that the incredibly cheap healthcare offered to first world citizens supports the interest of the upper class by keeping a healthy and happy proletariat is complimented by the international embarrassment of having the only wealthy population that often can't financially or medically survive a fairly innocuous malady like a broken leg or diabetes, we're going to very rapidly see sweeping reforms that will actually be taking a step in the right direction because the forces that be are retreating in fear from seeing the end of the road they're forcing the rest of us to walk down(they lose power).
It sounds bleak, but it's actually a good thing. Target will have big placards with doctor saying "and it doesn't cost anything!" putting a Band-Aid on a kid's knee, you'll see speeches by politicians about how we've always had the best healthcare system, and now you're getting better than the best, even though they'll just be playing catch up with first world countries .
But that's fine because our dumb system and the people who believe they control it will be learning. They're just learning the hardest, stupidest way, that doing the right thing actually benefits everybody.
I think the same thing will happen with education, we're already dumb as hell compared to other countries because we don't offer affordable education, and we're already past the point that we've lost an entire generation of professionals because of it.
TLDR: critical mass will be reached as other countries outpace us because their citizens don't die from colds, and those in control will change their minds.
Have you watched this yet? The first 30s should let you know whether it's for you, and the rest may well change everything for you, forever:-).