America

[Starport Seven-Five]

Interesting statistic: The USA does NOT have an entrenched socialised health care system, but it far outstrips EVERY OTHER NATION on EARTH in the amount of capita spent per person on health care. Why? Stuffed if I know. One explanation put froward to me is that your average American pays more on health care than, say, someone from the UK where we have the NHS as the NHS is a gargantuan body, capable of arguing medicine costs down from drugs companies better than individual insurance based businesses. Again, I couldn't possibly put this forward as an argument of my own and it may be bogus, but interesting nonetheless.

What you explained here is part of it. I think the biggest problem is middlemen though. Our health insurance companies in the US are for profit and make billions per year. They don't provide service or cure anyone's disease, just move paper around and increase the costs for doing so.

It takes away from what we spend on our citizens. We have to because of the threats we have from big nations that don't like NATO and AUKUS. Europeans (like soccer stars) come to the USA for treatment to not have to wait in line in their own countries.

We don't have to do anything. It's a choice our elected representatives make. Russia was claimed to be one of our biggest boogymen and they can barely steal some land from a neighbor... so we probably should reevaluate our spending a bit.

I totally agree. But to play devils advocate (just for arguments sake), those who don't want the government to control their medical procedures/healthcare often want the government to fully pay for it too.

Well they don't right now so that is a moot point.

 

[Communicore1991]

Can we not talk about politics, or health insurance or the Supreme Court rulings or elected representatives please? I don't want this threat to get locked and would prefer to see it remain a celebration of this nation many of us are fortunate to live in and celebrate the good things about it.

 

[Buzz Rules]

What you explained here is part of it. I think the biggest problem is middlemen though. Our health insurance companies in the US are for profit and make billions per year. They don't provide service or cure anyone's disease, just move paper around and increase the costs for doing so.

It's a little more complex than that in my opinion.

We don't have to do anything. It's a choice our elected representatives make. Russia was claimed to be our rival and they can barely steal some land from a neighbor... so we probably should reevaluate our spending a bit.

We don't have to help Ukraine/NATO interests or potentially have to defend our Asian and Oceania allies in the Pacific against China? Did you watch 60 Minutes on Sunday? China's building a military base in Cuba.....

Well they don't right now so that is a moot point.

When they codify it, they most likely will if politicians promise to do so.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Can we not talk about politics, or health insurance or the Supreme Court rulings or elected representatives please? I don't want this threat to get locked and would prefer to see it remain a celebration of this nation many of us are fortunate to live in and celebrate the good things about it.

I would love that to be true.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Can we not talk about politics, or health insurance or the Supreme Court rulings or elected representatives please? I don't want this threat to get locked and would prefer to see it remain a celebration of this nation many of us are fortunate to live in and celebrate the good things about it.

Okay change of topic. What unique theme parks are in America that we can celebrate due to American ingenuity?

 

[leebee]

Actually, I'm pretty impressed that this thread could go on for 13 pages and not get shut down. We've talked about topics that can be hot buttons, that have political implications, and yet it's stayed pretty much a decent, interesting, insightful "conversation." Kinda shows that even with very different views, we CAN hold productive conversations as adults!

PS- @Buzz Rules, pizza preferably, but I'm pretty fond of hot dogs and cheeseburgers, too!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Can we not talk about politics, or health insurance or the Supreme Court rulings or elected representatives please? I don't want this threat to get locked and would prefer to see it remain a celebration of this nation many of us are fortunate to live in and celebrate the good things about it.

I will oblige, all those things are the things that make it great and we are celebrating, so it is a tricky ask... still there is also sea to shining sea and us, I like who we are as a people.

 

[DeeBee3]

I'm sorry, I can't let this go. $70,622. That's the cost for the knee replacement surgery I had two weeks ago. $60,400 is the charge from the hospital. The rest is surgeon and anesthesiology fees. I haven't seen anything itemized yet (this was from insurance claims that have been processed) so I don't know if this is everything, or if there are more charges to come (medications, xrays, lab testing, etc). I was at the hospital for 11 hours.

It took 3.5 months to get the surgery scheduled, which is nothing; if I'd gone with a different medical group, they were booking a year out. I don't see too much "great" about this. At least I have "great" health insurance, at $350 a month and a $5000 deductible. I guess we have different definitions of the word "great."

Leebee, I'm just jumping in because I saw your post and recalled the relatively recent law in place. Look up the "No Surprises Act" - Was signed into law Dec 2020 but didn't go into effect until 1/1/22 (not sure why the delay). Might be helpful for others on this thread.

Effective January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act (NSA) protects you from surprise billing if you have a group health plan or group or individual health insurance coverage, and bans:

• Surprise bills for emergency services from an out-of-network provider or facility and without prior authorization
• Out-of-network cost-sharing, like out-of-network coinsurance or copayments, for all emergency and some non-emergency services
• Out-of-network charges and balance bills for supplemental care, like radiology or anesthesiology, by out-of-network providers that work at an in-network facility

The No Surprises Act also requires some health care facilities and providers to disclose Federal and State patient protections against balance billing and sets forth complaint processes with respect to violations of the protections against balance billing and out-of-network cost sharing.

If you don’t have health insurance or if you pay for care without using your health insurance, then you will get a “good faith” estimate of how much your care will cost BEFORE you get care. You can find more information on good faith estimates and your rights under the No Surprises Act here

. If you’ve had your care and find that the billed amount is at least $400 above the good faith estimate, you may be able to dispute the charges through the patient-provider dispute resolution process
.

You may already be protected against surprise medical billing if you have coverage through Medicare, Medicaid, Indian Health Services, Veterans Affairs Health Care, or TRICARE.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Actually, I'm pretty impressed that this thread could go on for 13 pages and not get shut down. We've talked about topics that can be hot buttons, that have political implications, and yet it's stayed pretty much a decent, interesting, insightful "conversation." Kinda shows that even with very different views, we CAN hold productive conversations as adults!

PS- @Buzz Rules, pizza preferably, but I'm pretty fond of hot dogs and cheeseburgers, too!

 

[Buzz Rules]

I will oblige, all those things are the things that make it great and we are celebrating, so it is a tricky ask... still there is also sea to shining sea and us, I like who we are as a people.

 

[Frwinkley]

How naive you are, to compare the overturning of decades-old law, multiple times in a week, to interpreting the law. It's a questionable coincidence at best. If you can't recognize that this is the direction the Court is going and those decisions are hurting more people than they're helping, then you're not an effective debater.

Bravo!! So well said!

Doesn't matter what you watch on TV, Facebook, Twitter, podcasts, etc. The Supreme Court and elected officials (not all) are hurting more people than they are helping. This has nothing to do with the media you consume. For all the gains we've made as a nation, last week's action (along with last year's action) set us back significantly.

 

[sam_gordon]

I would love that to be true.

Said one of those adding to the political posts.

It seems the mods are not around as often as they have been in the past. Won't surprise me if in a couple days the thread, if not locked, is "cleaned up" some.

 

[GreatLakes]

Our country has survived much worse than we are seeing now. Much more divisive elections (take a look at the elections just before and after the civil war), much more discriminatory Supreme Court cases (Dred Scott), and while the civil discourse of the past few election cycles is sickening it isn't 1968. We literally (the actual meaning of the word, not the misuse of it when you actually mean figuratively) had a former vice president plot and actively participate in a coup.

We are an imperfect union but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, even with our flaws. When you compare our country to the rest of the world's former colonies I think we did alright. We ebb and flow and will continue to do so.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Said one of those adding to the political posts.

It seems the mods are not around as often as they have been in the past. Won't surprise me if in a couple days the thread, if not locked, is "cleaned up" some.

I try to make my posts explanatory and informative.

 

[Buzz Rules]

Our country has survived much worse than we are seeing now. Much more divisive elections (take a look at the elections just before and after the civil war), much more discriminatory Supreme Court cases (Dred Scott), and while the civil discourse of the past few election cycles is sickening it isn't 1968.

We are an imperfect union but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, even with our flaws. When you compare our country to the rest of the world's former colonies I think we did alright.

Well said.

 

[GreatLakes]

Opportunity. Maybe that's available in other countries too. I haven't had a need to research moving.

That doesn't mean I think it's perfect.

This would be my answer. An African-American immigrant is now the richest man on Earth. Regardless of what you think of him, and I do not like him at all personally, that is pretty darn impressive.

 

[Buzz Rules]

“True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth." — Eleanor Roosevelt

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves." ― Abraham Lincoln

"Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people." — Franklin D. Roosevelt

"I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own." ― Audre Lorde

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." ― Benjamin Franklin

"But laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man may present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population." — Albert Einstein


"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." ― Martin Luther King Jr.

"While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others." — George Washington

 

[SirDuff]

Thanks I didn’t know that. Have always heard that no other democratic countries have a similar system to the US electoral college. Will research further. Still, I think it is an antiquated and unfair system. In attempting to equalize the votes of smaller states, I believe it actually penalizes those of us in more populated states. Simply put, our votes are diluted and thus carry less weight. I know plenty of people who don’t bother to vote because they feel that their votes don’t count. That’s a shame.

So, Canada's system is nothing like the system in the US (I don't know enough about electoral systems in other countries to know if no other countries have similar systems (though none that i know of do)). However, Canada's system (based on the British system) also leads to the problem of representation and people losing the popular vote but still being elected.

 

[ford family]

This would be my answer. An African-American immigrant is now the richest man on Earth. Regardless of what you think of him, and I do not like him at all personally, that is pretty darn impressive.

Quite a stretch you made there.

ford family

 

[Beezle2]

This would be my answer. An African-American immigrant is now the richest man on Earth. Regardless of what you think of him, and I do not like him at all personally, that is pretty darn impressive.

Who are you talking about? edit: ok..I guess I have an answer. jeez