The Trump Presidency 2.0
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Florida173
SOF Support
This is my exposure connection to various VA disabilities.. burn pits be damned
Why is the Kennedy Center being renamed to the Trump-Kennedy Center?
Topkick
Verified Military
I'm no fan of the Kennedy's. But, this is another troll move and Trump likes to see his name on the side of buildings. The Dems will get back in office and likely address some of these things they see as shenanigans.
I think some of this is funny ( because I dont like the establishment ) but also a waste of time. Hopefully, we are not spending too many tax dollars on Trump's ego.
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We’ve spent a lot of money on his trolls. Easily in the seven figures.
Kraut783
SOF Support
I can say this....at the field level, business as usual....but with a hint of the unknown and uneasiness
Devildoc
Verified Military
The Quartermaster
Verified Military
ThunderHorse
Verified Military
More winning for Americans: White House announces more deals to bring down prescription drug prices
Man, wouldn't it be awesome if there was some sort of Healthcare system that did this for all citizens? To bad it doesn’t exist.
Devildoc
Verified Military
What system would that be?
Pretty much every single-payer or Bismarck* styled healthcare system does.
It's been pretty consistent that our Frankensteined model gives us overall higher costs with comparatively worse outcomes (per capita).
*The German model is what I'd emulate if I could wave a magic wand.
Hard disagree here.
Every time the government gets involved in something, prices rise to take advantage of "free money". It happened in health care with ACA and federal subsidies driving premiums and health care costs up. It happens regularly with college tuition and increases in student loan caps where every time the cap jumps so does the tuition... by the same amount as the increase. It happened in the Auto industry with EV credits which immediately raised the sticker price of EV's the exact $7,500 that the government credit provided, literally on the day the subsidy went into effect. It keeps happening and won't ever stop.
The kicker? Someone is still paying for it and that person is the tax payer. That's why tax burdens go up, which drives the gap between the people who pay taxes and the ones who don't. The people paying for it aren't the ultra-wealthy, they have loopholes, trusts, corporate and international strategies that they can use to end up with no tax bills. The people that pay for government programs and the increase in government spending is the middle class. And today's middle class extends all the way from the $60k a year blue collar worker to the $200k a year engineer. And the final straw? The increases in prices driven by subsidies effect EVERYONE disproportionately. Companies raise prices to cover the added expense of benefits. There's a whole set of second order effects that go with the tax problem caused by Government overhead in these programs. The people that are hurt the most? The people without the wealth to afford the increases. The very people that single payer is meant to help.
That's why the "Tax Freedom Day", the day when the US collectively has earned enough money to pay for the federal taxes has moved all the way out to mid April, roughly 1/3 of the year. Your salary or wages from January 1st until about April 15th are now 100% going to pay for these kinds of programs (and the national debt). How does it feel working for free for 3 1/2 months out of the year and knowing that (unless you are receiving the benefit) you are paying for the rest of the country while trying to eke out a living under the increased burden? How much would it add to the burden to change from subsidies to Government run healthcare?
ThunderHorse
Verified Military
One of the reasons our "system" is expensive is because of how many free-loaders there are. People want medical debt to be clearable in bankruptcy...no thanks, you people cost the tax payer money. However, I will say, things get interesting when you don't have insurance and have to pay cash. The prices come down significantly.
Also consider how many foreigners come here for procedures that they wouldn't do in their home country. Our system at times kinda sucks, but it's the best in the world. Yeah, I know Americans go to Turkey or South America for dental and hair work, but would you really go there for cancer treatment? No you wouldn't.
Also consider how many foreigners come here for procedures that they wouldn't do in their home country. Our system at times kinda sucks, but it's the best in the world. Yeah, I know Americans go to Turkey or South America for dental and hair work, but would you really go there for cancer treatment? No you wouldn't.
The Quartermaster
Verified Military
The UK's healthcare system is free, so free that no one in the critical areas wants to work there like dentists. They don't want to be slaves with piss poor earnings.
Workers also have a basic human right not to be anyone's slaves who demand the work for free and our taxes used to pay for the "free" things.
I at least, do not want this over here.
Workers also have a basic human right not to be anyone's slaves who demand the work for free and our taxes used to pay for the "free" things.
I at least, do not want this over here.
I prefer capitalism. Sure europe and some other places are healthier, but they're not eating the junk we are. ~60% of health-care spending goes towards preventable chronic illness such as obesity, diabetes, alcohol related diseases and tobacco related cancers.
The good ol' US of A produces 66% of the worlds novel pharmaceutical patents. All of Europe is responsible for about 25%, with China and India responsible for the rest. Thats a lot of medicine compared to these places that are supposed to be much smarter and better than us.
I could go on about how our pharmaceutical industry subsidizes Europe's cheap healthcare, but looks like that problem is getting fixed.
Devildoc
Verified Military
You really need to apply game theory to understand how the larger medical system works. With providers, pharmaceutical industry, hospital industry, insurance, ancillary and support, just to name a few. No one is going to make a serious move unless others make a serious move. They are all linked.
I do like Germany's system, and France's system is similar. They do have single payer which is there for people who need it, but there is also private insurance. With private insurance you get better providers, better rooms, better care, etc. A lot of the tax burden is offset private pay.
I am no fan, as in zero, of single-payer healthcare/ socialized medicine.
I do like Germany's system, and France's system is similar. They do have single payer which is there for people who need it, but there is also private insurance. With private insurance you get better providers, better rooms, better care, etc. A lot of the tax burden is offset private pay.
I am no fan, as in zero, of single-payer healthcare/ socialized medicine.
So the overwhelming opinion is we don't like the government getting involved in negotiating healthcare costs, but the Trump administration negotiating pharmaceutical prices is somehow different and good?
Somebody explain it to me.
Last I saw, the Bismarck model (or something similar) is the most widely used across the developed world. It does a good job of blending the "net" of social systems while allowing and encouraging private insurers. I have no fucking idea why nobody ever mentions it when it comes to healthcare reform.
IIRC, the German model is about a 7% tax on pay (matched by employer) for healthcare insurance. For comparison, the average American spends about 11% of pay on healthcare costs. A distinction is that 7% rate applies to dependants as well, so there isn't an increased cost like there is here.
For anyone who doesn't know, German law basically dictates the minimum requirements that an insurance plan must provide to get federal money, as well as dictates that only non-profits can operate in the system. This covers something like 90% of the country. It's basically tricare select, for something most people here are familiar with.
Private insurance exist, which is where the for-profit industry lives. This is comparable to what most of us deal with on the civilian side; only difference is you have to meet opt-in categories to get it, such as being self-employed, making over ~80k, etc.
Somebody explain it to me.
Last I saw, the Bismarck model (or something similar) is the most widely used across the developed world. It does a good job of blending the "net" of social systems while allowing and encouraging private insurers. I have no fucking idea why nobody ever mentions it when it comes to healthcare reform.
IIRC, the German model is about a 7% tax on pay (matched by employer) for healthcare insurance. For comparison, the average American spends about 11% of pay on healthcare costs. A distinction is that 7% rate applies to dependants as well, so there isn't an increased cost like there is here.
For anyone who doesn't know, German law basically dictates the minimum requirements that an insurance plan must provide to get federal money, as well as dictates that only non-profits can operate in the system. This covers something like 90% of the country. It's basically tricare select, for something most people here are familiar with.
Private insurance exist, which is where the for-profit industry lives. This is comparable to what most of us deal with on the civilian side; only difference is you have to meet opt-in categories to get it, such as being self-employed, making over ~80k, etc.
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