8 ms·

I know it is politically correct nowadays to diss US healthcare system. But in the current pandemic, it is more about government preparedness. If you let an exp

I know it is politically correct nowadays to diss US healthcare system. But in the current pandemic, it is more about government preparedness. If you let an exponentially infectious pandemic run wild without any curtailing mechanism, no matter how sophisticated the healthcare system is, it is bound to get overwhelmed.

tabtab 7y ago
Many in the US have no healthcare insurance, or watered-down plans, recently permitted by GOP.
- dbhattar 7y ago
  My point is no matter whether you have insurance or not, if hospitals are overloaded, you will not be treated. Just look at situation in Italy.
  - tabtab 7y ago
    Until it all runs out, I'd rather start with a situation where I have health insurances versus a situation where I don't. In other words, I'd rather try to escape the encroaching fire in a Toyota than a Yugo.
    - dbhattar 7y ago
      It is good to have insurance. I have one. But when I was trying to reach a doctor during the weekend because I had bad cough and was very worried, I couldn’t get through. The line was overloaded. At that time it hit me that, in case of emergency, different set of rules apply. Having insurance becomes almost irrelevant.
      - tabtab 7y ago
        Corona has swamped a lot things.
  - pmontra 7y ago
    Italy here. I agree with your point. Luckily despite the rumors of war like triage we're still treating everybody because we increased capacity. There is a little slow down in new cases today. Still a race between setting up new capacity and hospitalizing people.
- aksss 7y ago
  I’m not sure it’s accurate to say/imply that “many” have short-term plans, which is what were reauthorized. Those plans make sense for some but certainly not many.they Are edge case solutions. There are, as you say, many with no health insurance.
diob 7y ago
You're right that it's about government preparedness, but how do we expect a government that's all about protecting the profits of the insurance industry to have the best interests of the citizens in mind? We're in the midst of a crisis and we still can't imagine giving away tests / vaccines for free. Even though economically it would be the best course of action, we're so opposed to anything that even slightly resembles a handout here. Even when those handouts have drastically positive effects on the economy. The USA needs to end the whole "crabs in a bucket" mentality, or we'll wind up wondering why this is happening again just a few years from now.
beloch 7y ago
I suspect that if you compare the total capacity of the U.S. healthcare system (i.e. the line the coronavirus curve needs to be flattened to fit under[1]), you'll find it's lower per capita in the U.S. than in many other developed nations and more likely to be overwhelmed. The U.S. medical system expects to deal consistently only with the well-insured, less frequently with the not-so-well-insured, and barely at all with the uninsured. Other countries design the capacity of their medical systems for the typical needs of their entire populations. Couple a system that probably has lower overall capacity with a tardy response from the government and things aren't off to the best start. As a Canadian, I sincerely hope the U.S. just gets lucky this time around. [1]https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/11/flattening-curve-coronavirus/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/11/flattening-curve-coronav...
happytoexplain 7y ago
I absolutely can't stand the notion that describing or warning against the very real, awful scenario many Americans face with their healthcare is first and foremost a "diss", as opposed to something that must be said loudly and often until the problem is eliminated. This is human suffering we're talking about.

tabtab 7y ago

Many in the US have no healthcare insurance, or watered-down plans, recently permitted by GOP.

dbhattar 7y ago
My point is no matter whether you have insurance or not, if hospitals are overloaded, you will not be treated. Just look at situation in Italy.
- tabtab 7y ago
  Until it all runs out, I'd rather start with a situation where I have health insurances versus a situation where I don't. In other words, I'd rather try to escape the encroaching fire in a Toyota than a Yugo.
  - dbhattar 7y ago
    It is good to have insurance. I have one. But when I was trying to reach a doctor during the weekend because I had bad cough and was very worried, I couldn’t get through. The line was overloaded. At that time it hit me that, in case of emergency, different set of rules apply. Having insurance becomes almost irrelevant.
    - tabtab 7y ago
      Corona has swamped a lot things.
- pmontra 7y ago
  Italy here. I agree with your point. Luckily despite the rumors of war like triage we're still treating everybody because we increased capacity. There is a little slow down in new cases today. Still a race between setting up new capacity and hospitalizing people.
aksss 7y ago
I’m not sure it’s accurate to say/imply that “many” have short-term plans, which is what were reauthorized. Those plans make sense for some but certainly not many.they Are edge case solutions. There are, as you say, many with no health insurance.

diob 7y ago

You're right that it's about government preparedness, but how do we expect a government that's all about protecting the profits of the insurance industry to have the best interests of the citizens in mind? We're in the midst of a crisis and we still can't imagine giving away tests / vaccines for free. Even though economically it would be the best course of action, we're so opposed to anything that even slightly resembles a handout here. Even when those handouts have drastically positive effects on the economy. The USA needs to end the whole "crabs in a bucket" mentality, or we'll wind up wondering why this is happening again just a few years from now.

beloch 7y ago

I suspect that if you compare the total capacity of the U.S. healthcare system (i.e. the line the coronavirus curve needs to be flattened to fit under[1]), you'll find it's lower per capita in the U.S. than in many other developed nations and more likely to be overwhelmed. The U.S. medical system expects to deal consistently only with the well-insured, less frequently with the not-so-well-insured, and barely at all with the uninsured. Other countries design the capacity of their medical systems for the typical needs of their entire populations. Couple a system that probably has lower overall capacity with a tardy response from the government and things aren't off to the best start. As a Canadian, I sincerely hope the U.S. just gets lucky this time around. [1]https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/11/flattening-curve-coronavirus/ https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/11/flattening-curve-coronav...

happytoexplain 7y ago

I absolutely can't stand the notion that describing or warning against the very real, awful scenario many Americans face with their healthcare is first and foremost a "diss", as opposed to something that must be said loudly and often until the problem is eliminated. This is human suffering we're talking about.