1173
We live in the American Nightmare (thelemmy.club)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/comicstrips@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/64572229

Listen to Malcolm X if you haven't. In history, reformation follows revolutionary acts. While there are those who preach peace, there are also those who use violence to achieve peace. Those in power obviously don't like to shed light on those that may take up violent acts.

I doubt if the french revolution was occuring today that CNN, CBS, The Washington Post, etc, would say anything. And if they did it would be to demonize the acts.

In the wake of the alleged shooting by Luigi Mangione, insurance providers started approving claims, saving lives. I don't see major networks pointing out that fact.

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[–] 8 points 4 months ago (32 children)

Yes, otherwise I wouldn't know it was good.

This year I have paid $1000 for over $1,000,000 of medical care.

Admittedly I doubt it actually costs that much but even if it's a fraction I feel grateful what I'm paying is not too much.

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  • [–] 27 points 4 months ago (7 children)

    The point your missing is you shouldn't have to pay anything.

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  • [–] 0 points 4 months ago* (6 children)

    That would be nice but is there anywhere on earth that has totally free healthcare? I thought even the gov run ones have some payments involved.

    Payments might make sense for some discretionary things, as long as they're affordable. There are a small number of people who really will just make shit up for attention and even a small cost can help mitigate that. But it has to be affordable for everyone which it obviously isn't under capitalism.

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  • [–] 9 points 4 months ago

    In developed countries part of your taxes goes to healthcare, and then you get healthcare when needed. Sometimes you pay extra if you want something outside of the regular coverage, but it's always something extra. Like, you get an operation, but if you want a personal room for recovery you pay extra for it, otherwise they give you a bed in a room for, like, 4. That sort of things.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    I had major surgery and a payment method didn't even cross my mind. I was seriously injured, we have free healthcare (with caveats), it was simply prudent to take care of it right away than let it fester and further tax the system.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    In the UK you don't pay directly for most things. The big things you do pay for are; dental, opthalmology checkups, if you go to a highstreet chain rather than a hospital, and prescriptions, unless you are exempt.

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  • [–] 27 points 4 months ago* (6 children)

    $1,000,000 of medical care.

    That is something I can't conceive of and I'm not alone.

    Big numbers are sometimes big for no reason and elimantiong middlemen makes it go down.

    Edit: I'm sorry you went through whatever it was regardless.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago* (5 children)

    If you knew the details it might not be as crazy as it sounds... probably not a million but many thousands I'm sure.

    Yeah it was pretty rough. Most difficult experience of my life. Even family members said for them it was also their most difficult experience.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    If you knew the details it might not be as crazy as it sounds... probably not a million but many thousands I'm sure.

    I'm sure it was awful and I don't mean to demimish that in any way. But again, fundamentally no matter the details it's not something I can truly fathom. No one of any status in my country would accrue millions in medical debt.

    I'm Canadian, our healthcare is flawed in many ways and only looks good when compared to the states'. But even ours, with medications, eyes, dentistry, etc. being excluded from free healthcare, that's ludicrous.

    Again, not to invalidate what you've been through, but to reiterate: it didn't all have to be that way.

    Sorry, this is a sensitive subject and don't mean to get intro it this much. I just want you and others to know this isn't natural or even common

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (3 children)

    Well presumably everyone in Canada has good insurance.

    But regardless of whether you pay out of pocket or not someone is still paying the cost when people need expensive medical care. Hopefully yours is more efficient than ours but time, expertise, hospital beds, supplies... these things are not cheap.

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  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago* (2 children)

    Well presumably everyone in Canada has good insurance.

    Oh boy.

    No.

    The biggest grocery stores (oligopolies) are notorious for not giving employees 40h/wk specifically so they don't need to include health benefits. And that's just one example.

    Edit: nearly half of. Canadians are living paycheque-to-paycheque

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  • [–] 9 points 4 months ago (9 children)

    Has it occurred to you that you shouldn't be paying anything at all?

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  • [+] 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)
    [deleted]
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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago

    UK here, I'm getting my asthma inhalers free now im in Scotland, but was like Β£7 in England. Ive had 2 operations and about a week of ward-care, all "free".

    We're also being told over and over and over again that the NHS is not fit for purpose and needs to be scrapped and privatised completely. Its baffling.

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  • [–] -2 points 4 months ago* (4 children)

    In what western country would you pay less than $1000 annually for healthcare?

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  • [–] 10 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    They didn't pay less than $1000 for healthcare. They paid $1000 in addition to their insurance. In developed countries you pay for your healthcare and then you don't pay for it again when you actually use it.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago

    In comparison:

    German statutory health insurance (GKV) in 2026 totals around 21% of gross salary (14.6% base + ~2.9% average Zusatzbeitrag) plus 3.6% Pflegeversicherung β€” combined employer and employee. For a €4,000/month salary, that’s roughly €840/month total; at the income cap of €5,812.50, the full combined cost reaches about €1,220/month. Employee and employer each cover roughly half.

    I think the cheapest combination would be state owned hospitals and health centers. The state owns the land, pays the staff and buys equipment and medication in huge quantities, which may result in cheaper prices. If not, they could also start producing their own base medication.

    A profit oriented health sector is not a good idea. It only gives you minimum care combined with high costs.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago* (2 children)

    No fucking way the real cost is $1M unless you had an organ transplant. And that's still considering US prices which are inflated.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (1 child)

    It probably wasn't that high but hundreds of thousands I would believe. I don't really want to go into the details for privacy reasons but it required a lot of medical care and expertise. Probably more than a transplant although I'm not too knowledgeable about that.

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  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    Wow, you really DO have abnormally good insurance, to only pay a grand in a year.

    For anybody else confused by this because you live in a civilized country, let me translate: The standard offering from employers nowadays is called a high deductible health plan. The deductible is the amount you have to pay* for healthcare before your insurance pays anything, and it is typically several thousand dollars.

    (* There are a few preventive services that are 100% covered, so if you have no health issues whatsoever you can still get a yearly checkup and a flu shot without paying extra)

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