Hellobee Boards

@arosebyany: I am an atheist too, I more meant other conservatives who are religious. And I hope you did use up all your bad luck! By the way, you definitely aren't the only one who feels that way on hellobee. People often post similar views, but it does appear to be the minority here.

I think at the end of the day, most people don't care about politics, no matter what they say - they are just self-interested.

I know a lot of people who choose not to be insured because they don't want the government to tell them what to do with their money and its their choice whether or not they have insurance and they claim to be conservatives, whatever. But then surprise, when they have a catastrophic health situation they jump on Medicaid with no qualms or they freak out about their bills and ask their friends and family for money. So they're not for handouts and tax-payer funded services until they are in dire straights, and then its the government's fault for allowing a healthcare system that forces them to go bankrupt or whatever.

Alternatively, I know young people who are super liberals and say everything is a human right and we should all pay into the system, etc. until they hit their 30s, have kids, and actually start making some money and realize oh crap all these government services cost me a ton in taxes and this sucks.

Philosophically, this all works if people live their politics. If you're a conservative and you really just feel like its not the government's job to tell you what to do with your money and you will really and truly live those beliefs and deal with the consequences of not having health insurance by then not burdening the system, fine. If you're really a liberal and you're really down with paying a lot in taxes so that everyone can have the safety net services you think are essential and a right for all, then pay the taxes. But people rarely live their principles to the bone like that. I live in CA, and I can't tell you the number of super liberal old people who voted for all these government programs when they were younger and then mysteriously retire to Oregon or Arizona or Nevada where the tax structure is favorable to them. And I don't know any of my conservative relatives not go on without a peep Medicare when they get older.

For better or for worse, Americans have a sense of exceptionalism, so the idea of a government healthcare system that everyone has equal access to bothers a lot of folks at that core level. As you see from the posters here, the opinions against a single payer system range from I don't want to give up my healthcare choices to the government even if its wildly expensive to I just don't feel like funding other people's care.

I think a great example is that terminally ill child from Britain. The NHS has determined that child cannot be saved and so they want to pull him off life support, while the parents wanted him flown to the US for experimental treatments. The court in Britain agreed with the NHS and said that they could remove the life support. Their specific hospital agreed to extend support for a little while longer so the parents could say goodbye. This story has become wildly popular in America and even Trump has gotten involved because here in America, the idea that the government would pull someone off life support is appalling to most people. We have the same issues here with HMOs, so its not like we don't deal with this too, but I've heard so many people rail about THOSE CRAZY SOCIALIST COUNTRIES PUTTING PEOPLE TO DEATH BC THEY DON'T HAVE CONTROL OVER THEIR HEALTHCARE yada yada.

So, yeah, I think the issue is cultural more than anything else. I don't think health insurance companies are to blame - they reflect the marketplace and Americans choose to have this weird broken system where they complain about the high costs but don't want to let go of their individual rights and choices to the government even if chances are, in most people's situations, it would be a non-issue.

FWIW, my husband was in the military and then used the VA health system for several years after retirement and it was horrendous, if we're looking at a purely government-led healthcare system. Like, awful. On the other hand, I also went without health insurance for most of my life until I was 22 because my parents couldn't afford it and I spent most of my 20s dealing with a lot of delayed health maintenance because of things that weren't addressed in my youth. And then I ended up with a freak brain tumor at 31 - the bill for which was over $1 million but I paid nothing with my health insurance because I had great coverage. And then I ended up with 1 high risk NICU stay pregnancy and 1 AMA pregnancy each with C-sections, again totally covered by my health insurance. A lot of why I'm staying at my current job is because the health insurance is so excellent and I will not allow my kids to go without coverage like I did growing up and then deal with all these issues later. So, I don't really have an opinion on what our healthcare system should look like, but I do know that government care did not work for us and my private health insurance has saved my life and my kids' lives. That doesn't mean I couldn't receive wonderful care in other countries (my family has in the past), but I just don't think those systems would translate HERE because Americans are weird.

As an aside, I do like marketplaces in general because I think we should uncouple health benefits from employment. I don't think it should be a reason people stay at their jobs and I think our economy now is not based on one longterm job until retirement - people are more into gigs and side hustles and jumping from opportunity to opportunity. I think if they don't have to worry about having health insurance coverage when making job decisions, we will see a more robust and entrepreneurial economy overall that is more dynamic and successful.

@ShootingStar: agreed. I've been there too. Plus there's just the stuff that comes with old age. But I'm just saying I do think it would help.

@Truth Bombs: amen

I generally find the people who don't approve of universal health care are the people who have no experience with it. They base their opinions on hearsay rather than fact or statistics. I lived in the US most of my life and currently live in Europe. Universal healthcare is wonderful, in my opinion. We've never waited to see a doctor, be it for a regular exam, a child's illness or an emergency. There's a lot less red tape and the quality of care is on par with the US. Everyone deserves health care.