Scandinavia and the World
Scandinavia and the World

Comments #9543629:


Dena

0
Taxes, Healthcare and Culture 15 10, 9:18am

@real-cool-cat "The thing is, if you need here hip replacement or angioplasty, the doctors don't even look that have you paid your medical bills, what is your insurance status or so on."
Pure American business practice does look at that... and we do have rather greedy people at the top. And the system rewards such people rather than marginalize them. They can even get caught stealing from the Government-funded healthcare programs ... and suffer little except maybe some fines.

In fact, the current Florida Governor was CEO of Columbia HCA ... when it was fined US1.7 billion for committing health care fraud! Billing for services not provided. Illegally claiming various costs as a deductible expense. Billed for services patients didn't qualify for under the laws. No jail time. No criminal status.

"I've heard republicans talking about that life is sacred, but it apparently only applies to unborn humans"
Which gets quite silly. The Republican platform is anti-abortion, but then they're against welfare and family assistance; "If you got pregnant, that's your own fault. You have to pay for your mistake, not I." Then they'll turn around and deny funding to the organizations who work to reduce unwanted pregnancies ... because a small portion of the organization also aids women in obtaining an abortion in case of an unwanted pregnancy.

"I've read that there is up to 45 000 annual deaths in US due to lack of health insurance"
That was from a Harvard Medical School study back in 2009. http://www.pnhp.org/excessdeaths/health-insurance-and-mortality-in-US-adults.pdf if you want to read. The actual number is probably harder to determine due to causal factors, but few people would argue about people without insurance delaying, or even avoiding, standard screening care for lack of funds; screenings that would catch fatal conditions before they became irrevocably so.

"it's eerie enough that in a rich country a lot of people are living in some mobile trailer homes like animals"
Unfortunately, unsurprising considering the mantra 'greed is good'. For the larger businesses, people are ... cogs in the machine. Replaceable parts.

The recent revelations regarding Wells Fargo's business dealings ... over 5000 people fired for doing what upper management pressured them to do (and punished whistleblowers) ... and the CEO? Resigned, and he's looking at over US100 million in retirement pay. For effectively stealing from people.