Free access to healthcare goes a long way, and it changes the system in a number of ways.
In America, imagine an entire parasitical industry exists. It exists by collecting money from people in exchange for offering them access to healthcare. The more treatment someone receives, the less profit that industry makes. The more hurdles they place between a patient and the services they need, the more money they make.
Imagine having a medical condition but knowing that if you lose your job, you might lose access to the treatment for your condition.
If you are poor enough here in the US, you might qualify for MEDICAID. Depending on where you live, you likely have to jump through a ton of arbitrary hoops to keep your coverage. If you get a job, maybe a raise or extra hours, even a slightly better job? You might lose your MEDICAID.
Or some politician decides to cut the optional state expansion to MEDICAID. With less income from these sources, the only hospital near you might decide it’s not profitable to stay open and now you have to travel an extra hour or two to the nearest hospital.
It doesn’t need to be a utopia. It just needs to be better than this.
Free access to healthcare goes a long way, and it changes the system in a number of ways.
In America, imagine an entire parasitical industry exists. It exists by collecting money from people in exchange for offering them access to healthcare. The more treatment someone receives, the less profit that industry makes. The more hurdles they place between a patient and the services they need, the more money they make.
Imagine having a medical condition but knowing that if you lose your job, you might lose access to the treatment for your condition.
If you are poor enough here in the US, you might qualify for MEDICAID. Depending on where you live, you likely have to jump through a ton of arbitrary hoops to keep your coverage. If you get a job, maybe a raise or extra hours, even a slightly better job? You might lose your MEDICAID.
Or some politician decides to cut the optional state expansion to MEDICAID. With less income from these sources, the only hospital near you might decide it’s not profitable to stay open and now you have to travel an extra hour or two to the nearest hospital.
It doesn’t need to be a utopia. It just needs to be better than this.