undefined | Better HN

0 pointsjakewins9y ago0 comments

This is one of the more ironic parts - obviously, few people choose death. They choose to massively delay going to the doctor, driving up total cost by skipping preventative care, and then bankruptcy when they finally do.

That bankruptcy is not a magic free moment - it simply means someone else pays. Depending on the case, this might be the state through medicare/medicaid, it might be the health care provider, or it might be third party creditors.

Eventually, though, those defaults are all factored into operating costs of hospitals, the government, banks and so on - meaning you and I pay for them.

So, in the old system, we were all forced to pay for health coverage, whether we liked it or not. In the new system, we're all forced to pay for health coverage, whether we like it or not. ACA is explicit and, with extreme certainty, cheaper, since it expands preventative care on a systemic level.

But, of course, since people didn't realize they were paying for it previously, they now throw fits because the cost is made explicit.

0 comments

2 comments · 1 top-level

mikeash9y ago· 1 in thread

Right on. We've had some form of universal coverage at least since the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act was passed in 1986. Unless someone wants to roll that back, then it's just a matter of how you want the universal coverage to be structured, not whether you want it to exist.

But, as with many things, the politics around this issue is all about feels over reals.

joezydeco9y ago

We've had some form of universal coverage at least since the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act was passed in 1986

Which, of course, is the most expensive way to go. You have people who can't pay visiting the emergency room for an ear infection or the flu. And that cost gets passed on to everyone else, which is why that single Tylenol tablet in your hospital room costs $10.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse