I remember when I was a kid, doctors were so interactive and really took time to get to know you and talk to you, learn about what you’re going through and explain things. Now as an adult, it’s been nearly impossible to find a doctor who is willing to take any amount of time to sit down, explain things, show any sort of compassion or empathy at all.
I suffer from acid reflux, and in order to diagnose that, they basically put a tube down your throat, it’s called an endoscopy. You have to be fully sedated with anesthesia and take nearly an entire day off of work because the way the anesthesia affects you, you can’t drive and someone has to drive you. Well for many years now we’ve had this other procedure which is a tube, but they put it through your nose instead. There’s been lots of research papers about the use of it, it’s used in other countries as a procedure regularly. So I asked several gastroenterologists if they offer the procedure and every single one of them said no, and would not provide any additional information or insight as to why you have to be completely sedated and pay thousands upon thousands of dollars for expensive anesthesia. I am simply blown away. It makes no sense. A research tested method that has been written about for about a decade now in actual research studies by board certified medical physicians, and no one offers it. Literally no one, and they won’t even consider it.
I’ve also been through at least several primary care physicians because the ones I have seen are so short and don’t really take time to get to know you at all. They just pop in, ask you a handful of questions and leave, if your test results come back with anything abnormal, they say it’s nothing to worry about, they don’t want to take any extra time to help look into anything or diagnose you… like wtf?
It just seems like doctors these days are out to get you to spend as much money as possible and do the absolute bare minimum for you in return. And now we have direct primary care options where you can circumvent insurance entirely, pay your doctor thousands upon thousands of dollars a year for the same level of care that we had in the '90s. But now you have to pay out of pocket for that in addition to your insurance. Wtfffff
I feel compelled to point that out though as government provided health care is not the only possible solution, and I’m in the group that would oppose that. However I have provided a better alternative: eliminate the deductions for employer provided insurance. (I think the above about other benefits jobs provide - I should be comparing paycheck not “fringe benefits”.
This might be better for wealthy people but it’s hard to see how this would benefit the very poorest who are in most need of health care. What does this solution do for them?
Only a tiny minority who mostly don’t have jobs and thus no insurance and so we already need to do something different. For the middle class this is better.
What about contracting a terminal illness like cancer where you might not be able to work. You need a job to keep your healthcare but if an illness or disability that you have or get at some point stops you from working and you need to pay for that healthcare, what do you do?
Thats BS theres plenty of lower class who have jobs and get shit insurance. I shouldnt have to say this…
But sure the middle class is more important
Also, I don’t see how eliminating the deductions helps. And I don’t mean that in a snarky way. I’m genuinely asking how that would make the situation better.
The profit motive needs to be removed from healthcare, or patients will continue to get fucked.
Healthcare needs to be separated from employment, and the profit motive needs to be removed from healthcare.
Should the government run it? Maybe not, but what’s the alternative? It’s like every election. Choosing one of two bad choices and hoping you choose the less bad.
And in the case of healthcare, I’ll take government run, profit free, tax funded healthcare over what we have now.
Edit: autocorrect error.
Non profit, non vertically integrated healthcare. Letting the insurance companies “partner” with the pharmacies and hospitals is monopolistic or at best duopolistic in some markets. And it lets them charge whatever or threaten to leave a community. Which has happened repeatedly in my area. Then the biggest hospital in the area buys up another small one and the costs go up again.
