Originally posted by @shavixmirHow about the health care of those in the army?
Why this argument on healthcare and not in the army?
This is what they want for the country.
Unfortunately, the armed services are notorious for giving subpar care to soldiers, or even denying them care to save money This goes back at least to the poor veterans from Vietnam who suffered because of Agent Orange.
Next thing you know they form secret death lists like they did at the VA in Arizona.
Unfortunately, the only time those in government seem to care about saving money and rationing is when it comes to the health care of the populace at large.
11 Feb 18
Originally posted by @whodeyDeliberately changing the subject, I see.
How about the health care of those in the army?
This is what they want for the country.
Unfortunately, the armed services are notorious for giving subpar care to soldiers, or even denying them care to save money This goes back at least to the poor veterans from Vietnam who suffered because of Agent Orange.
Next thing you know they form secret de ...[text shortened]... e about saving money and rationing is when it comes to the health care of the populace at large.
Answer the question!
Why should I pay for the army and you not pay for a national healthcare system?
Originally posted by @philokaliaI realise that this is only anecdotal evidence but here goes anyway... My brother lives in AK. The market in AK is so small, that he could not get an affordable offer from any insurance company and found himself saddled with a hefty fine (something on the order of a thousand dollars) for failing to sign up to what is laughably called Affordable Health Care. He voted Trump, and I can see why.
Obamacare was NOT like the NHS, and isntead it actually gave a ton of people higher premiums.
Remember the so-called "October Surprise?" The badness of Obamacare literally influenced the election.
If a national health care system is to work, it really does have to work for everyone, regardless of income, and Obama Care failed on that crucial point. I'm not saying that the Republican alternative (if there is one) would be any better, and that speaks volumes about the American political landscape.
I have lived for over 35 years in countries with national health care systems in place (UK, Germany, and now Switzerland), and I can say that in all three countries, the health care is both excellent and affordable. The common factor in all three countries: it's mandatory. No opting out. And there is still choice: you can choose which insurance company you buy from, you can choose your doctor, you can choose which hospital. It's not perfect, of course; there will always be anomalies and minor annoyances and more people who need kidney dialysis than there are available resources. But overall, and for the man on the Clapham bus, it's no contest: medical care free at the point of service is hands-down better than the half-baked American health care mishmash.
There is something fundamentally wrong with a health care system when the first question a doctor asks you is not "where does it hurt?" but "how you gunna pay for this?"
11 Feb 18
Originally posted by @moonbus"Data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows Arkansas's rate of total uninsured declined by 50 percent between 2013 and 2016. The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion — also known as the private option and now rebranded as Arkansas Works — was approved by the state legislature in 2013.
I realise that this is only anecdotal evidence but here goes anyway... My brother lives in AK. The market in AK is so small, that he could not get an affordable offer from any insurance company and found himself saddled with a hefty fine (something on the order of a thousand dollars) for failing to sign up to what is laughably called Affordable Health Care. ...[text shortened]... first question a doctor asks you is not "where does it hurt?" but "how you gunna pay for this?"
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families highlights another remarkable figure in the Census data: "Arkansas’s uninsured rate for children dropped to just 4 percent in 2016, a new record."
https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/09/12/census-data-shows-arkansass-rate-of-uninsured-cut-in-half-since-2013
Arkansas had five different carriers for health insurance in 2016 and 4 in 2017. I doubt your brother tried particularly hard to find a policy.https://www.healthinsurance.org/arkansas-state-health-insurance-exchange/
If the lowest cost policy still exceeded 8.16% of his adjusted household income, he would have been eligible for a waiver. There are other hardship exemptions: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/forms-how-to-apply/
11 Feb 18
Originally posted by @no1marauderAK is Alaska
"Data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows Arkansas's rate of total uninsured declined by 50 percent between 2013 and 2016. The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion — also known as the private option and now rebranded as Arkansas Works — was approved by the state legislature in 2013.
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families highligh ...[text shortened]... r hardship exemptions: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/forms-how-to-apply/
11 Feb 18
Originally posted by @no1marauderRight. Now tell me the state capital. I'll give you a hint: it's not Anchorage.
😞
11 Feb 18
Originally posted by @no1marauderI like the part about 8% of the household income...
"Data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau shows Arkansas's rate of total uninsured declined by 50 percent between 2013 and 2016. The Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion — also known as the private option and now rebranded as Arkansas Works — was approved by the state legislature in 2013.
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families highligh ...[text shortened]... r hardship exemptions: https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/forms-how-to-apply/
You can be expected to pay 30%+ in tax to the government, 8% to healthcare, and then you've got food & rent, that all people need.
Pretty fabulous numbers.
How can people even tithe properly?
12 Feb 18
Originally posted by @philokaliaSo healthcare should be free?
I like the part about 8% of the household income...
You can be expected to pay 30%+ in tax to the government, 8% to healthcare, and then you've got food & rent, that all people need.
Pretty fabulous numbers.
How can people even tithe properly?
Sounds good to me.
12 Feb 18
Originally posted by @philokaliaThe Swiss have a recipe for fiscal responsibility: no tax without a plebiscite. Plebiscites are mandatory, and the results are binding. If the government wants to introduce a new tax, or raise an existing one, or extend one which is due to expire, it must hold a plebiscite. If the gov't says "yes" and the public says "no", the "no's" have it.
I like the part about 8% of the household income...
You can be expected to pay 30%+ in tax to the government, 8% to healthcare, and then you've got food & rent, that all people need.
Pretty fabulous numbers.
How can people even tithe properly?
Across the border in Germany, political parties promise the moon but once in office do whatever they have to to appease the powers to whom they are beholden (special interest groups, large corporations etc.). In Germany, the sales tax rate is 20%. It is comparable in the UK.
In Switzerland, the current rate of sales tax is 7.7 % for cars, watches, booze, and other luxury items; 3.7% for hotel rooms; 2.5% for food, books, medication, etc. The government just asked for permission to extend the sales taxes until 2035. If permission is not granted by a majority vote in March 2018, the taxes will expire automatically in 2020.
Same applies to income tax, capital gains tax, fuel tax, unemployment and other social-benefit taxes, etc. across the board. It's called direct democracy; it works.
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12 Feb 18
Originally posted by @wajomaYou've never been outside your own country, then. Or maybe only to Mecico and Russia.
On the one hand you say economics don't come into it on the other hand you employ economics even if it's one of the worst suckers only need apply propaganda misnomers going haha the a f f o r d a b l e c a r e.
If you thought healthcare was expensive, wait until it's free.
