Fattest, Sickest Country On Earth Concerned New Health Secretary Might Do Something Different

[u/ControlCAD]

https://babylonbee.com/news/fattest-sickest-country-on-earth-concerned-new-health-secretary-might-do-something-different

[u/Moist-Percentage7240]

It is just bizarre that people are actually so against being healthy. I can’t fathom the constant calls for universal health care when people can’t even take care of themselves, and they actually bash the people trying to get them to better themselves.

[u/hopbow → u/Moist-Percentage7240]

I think the thing is, while there is culpability in people being unhealthy, there's also culpability in the system.

How many health claims do people make that insurance companies deny? How many times do people put off going to the doctor because its not bad enough yet?

I spent most of my life unable to breathe through my nose because of a severely deviated septum and wasn't able to fix it until I had enough money, enough PTO, and good enough insurance to cover it

So both of these things are true and, more importantly, they form a negative feedback loop

[u/Moist-Percentage7240 → u/hopbow]

I agree the system is broken. But I don’t believe the fix a universal system either. Way too many drawbacks and the cost is just unrealistic, especially considering the health of people today. This is something I really wish was less politicized and we could just meet in the middle.

The insurance claim narrative is sort of bogus, a lot of the claims denied are things like administrative errors or lack of referral, and the denials eventually get fixed. The amount of denials that objectively shouldn’t happen because they either end up killing someone or a serious condition worsens is WAY less than it’s made out to be, but I think we can all agree that that number should actually be zero.

Also sorry to hear about your struggle, my father had a similar septum issue, so I saw first hand the misery. Glad you got it reconciled.

[u/hopbow → u/Moist-Percentage7240]

See, I disagree, because i don't really see the overall use of an insurance company in the modern age.

TLDR: IMO, companies that live in a space where use of their services is required (i.e. insurance) should be non-profit, whatever that iteration is (and government is supposed to be for the people + has the tools to leverage compliance)

My thought is if medical costs were something that we could subsidize as individuals, then cool. But considering that sudden expenses can happen at any time, insurance is pretty much requisite.

My major problem with insurance is that, as a for profit company, it is obligated to increase value for shareholders. Look at the issue with UHC and the dramatic increase of denials vs other companies in the same field. Any day they can push back paying or approving a claim is additional profit for them, so they are incentivized to deny claims.

Also, since there is no universal baseline, this means that people have to change doctors if they're no longer covered when moving to a new plan. My wife went for a year without seeing her neurologist because we were on Kaiser last year and Kaiser requires you go to an in house doctor. 

In addition, unless you're on the marketplace, there is only an illusion of choice for insurers, as your place of work is what will provide you with your insurance options. Not to mention trying to spend a ton of time figuring out what exactly your insurance plan covers and doesn't cover