General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: European-style welfare states are lovely! [View all]TheKentuckian
(25,023 posts)1) Most people don't make any choice about health care, they take what their work offers them and will soon be required by law to do so. On the delivery end the plan decides not the consumer, they dictate which doctors you can see, what pharmacy will fill your prescription, they deem what is and isn't medically necessary not you or your doctor, they decide which medications you can be prescribed that they will cover.
There is no question that the individual market where choice actually does exist is broadly panned, in fact that is what gets most of the help in the Wealthcare and Profit Protection Act. Only the healthy and very comfortable and the wealthy that actually have "choice" are not crying under the burden of their "freedom". The segment that supports this strange and seemingly absurd definition of "choice" is in the population that A) has none and B) makes little use of care because they are generally healthy. They are essentially equally happy with whatever their employers offer and subsidize (functionally) in lieu of wages.
Their "happiness" is a non-heart attack inducing deduction (or low or none at all, in some cases) and little need. Their "choice" a complete and utter hocum.
2) The tiny fraction of people that actually don't want health care always have that choice. Very few people get stuck in a Schivo situation, they'll usually let you die in a heartbeat unless it is some political boon for the "choice" advocates to whip up a bunch of fuckwits.
People want their middle man to be cheap, cover their problems, pay the fucking claims, and they don't have to be fighting them. That is all, if people think that those conditions are satisfied they don't give a damn who their carrier is.
People want to choose their doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and they want them and their medical professional to determine their treatment plan and single payer is how you get everybody "in network" and everybody "preferred" at which point you have user end freedom.
The concerns argued are essentially delusional save for the wealthy. I'll grant perception being a big chunk of reality but rather than reenforce it ask some easy questions about what choices people really want and you'll find that when contrasted with actual policies and guidelines as well as actual market function that what we have nor what we will have is anything resembling what actual choices people wish to have.
Your ass feels a lot free when you get sick visting your sister and are "free" to pay an extra 40% or maybe have no coverage at all (trading away freedom of movement to your network if you want coverage that you pay for). You are free to inject your child with medications that make your child's veins feel like they are on fire because "choice" changed their formulary. You have the option to suck it when your doctors practice is dropped.
Certainly, you have the responsibility to hear "that is not a covered benefit" or "that is not a covered code" and have the privilege of lossing your formally medically necessary treatment denied by your new carrier when your employer switches on you.
There is little choice for most.