The Many Faces of US Politics...

[five points]

Looks like 2006 data.

[dec]

The figure is about 17% now

https://www.statista.com/statistics/268826/health-expenditure-as-gdp-percentage-in-oecd-countries/

[Eamonnca1]

The cost system of healthcare in the US is ridiculous and completely unpredictable, with astronomical ranges in what they charge for simple medicines, never mind procedures. People don't care until it personally bites them on the arse. You got charged 80 dollars for an aspirin? So what, the insurance company will pay them two under their particular negotiated rates and you're not on the hook for anything if you've got a 100% policy (although this will have massive premiums). Its all good though until the unpredictability hits and some doctor who is not covered under your policy (even though the clinic or hospital itself is) glances at your chart and throws down an invoice for five grand which you are then responsible for, even though you'd no clue it was coming. Doesn't matter that you were horribly ill or injured and your family desperate, you should have been checking every medical professional who entered the room to make sure you were still in network during your stay. And god help you if you have to go out of network, or worse, get caught with either no insurance or insufficient coverage for what you need. Hope you've got a handy hundred grand lying around to pay for that surgery you unexpectedly need or even more for the cancer treatment. Just bring the deed to your house with you, just in case. Assuming you own a house.

Yup. USAian healthcare is a racket. It's legalized extortion. Only in America is there an entire industry built around denying healthcare coverage. In a normal country you go to see the doctor and there might be one or two clerical staff arranging appointments. In the USA there's a lot more clerical staff and they have to spend time on the phone talking to these other people to confirm or deny that you're covered, to calculate how much they're going to cover, and how much of the bill you're going to foot yourself. Even the Soviet Union could never have come up with such an inefficient and convoluted system as part of their make-work programs.

In the UK you just go in and get your treatment, because everybody's covered and there's no need to check anything. There couldn't be anything simpler.

[Eamonnca1]

Yeah, this data is still not up to date but the trend is unmistakable with the USA pulling away from the pack in terms of inefficiency:

[Eamonnca1]

Here we go:

[Gmac]

$1700 a month for family of four 2 kids under 12 100% covered .
Is that extortion I don't know I've been paying it for so long .

[five points]

Here we go:

Good God, this is insane. We would have been safer sticking with the 2006 graph. 

[RadioGAAGAA]

$1700 a month for family of four 2 kids under 12 100% covered .
Is that extortion I don't know I've been paying it for so long .

$1700 a month.
$20,400 a year

Assume a wage of $50k a year for each taxpayer (dunno if that is reflective for you or not, but we'll run with it). $50k USD = £38.5k GBP or thereabouts.


In the UK, that would mean out of a salary of 2x£38.5k, you are paying 2x£8.75k in income tax (= 2x $11.4k).
In the US, that same couple on $50k/year each would be paying $8k of income tax each a year.


So, here - the married couple are paying equivalent of $23k in taxes - which goes toward many things as well as the NHS.

Over there, the married couple are paying $16k in taxes - but then also paying $20.4k a year in health insurance. The health insurance alone is almost equal the income tax within the UK.

OK - I'm not including sales tax/VAT in this, but say the delta is ~10% between UK and USA, that is a further $7.7k (3.85k each).
UK total tax = $31k
US total tax & health = $36.4k


You folks are being utterly f**king rinsed and you are too intransigent in your ideologies to see it.

[whitey]

$1700 a month for family of four 2 kids under 12 100% covered .
Is that extortion I don't know I've been paying it for so long .

$1700 a month.
$20,400 a year

Assume a wage of $50k a year for each taxpayer (dunno if that is reflective for you or not, but we'll run with it). $50k USD = £38.5k GBP or thereabouts.


In the UK, that would mean out of a salary of 2x£38.5k, you are paying 2x£8.75k in income tax (= 2x $11.4k).
In the US, that same couple on $50k/year each would be paying $8k of income tax each a year.


So, here - the married couple are paying equivalent of $23k in taxes - which goes toward many things as well as the NHS.

Over there, the married couple are paying $16k in taxes - but then also paying $20.4k a year in health insurance. The health insurance alone is almost equal the income tax within the UK.



You folks are being utterly f**king rinsed and you are too intransigent in your ideologies to see it.

Your numbers are way off

Average teacher in my town makes over $82K per year so a husband and wife would combined make close to $170K. Add in coaching a team or running a summer camp or tutoring program and they're closer to making $200K combined (with access to the best hospitals and doctors in the world)

https://www.masslive.com/news/2017/12/the_highest_paying_massachuset.html

[Eamonnca1]

Delegate count:
Buttigieg 22
Sanders 21
Warren 8
Klobuchar 7
Biden 6
Bloomberg 0

Betting odds for 2020 winner:

Trump 8/13
Sanders 4/1
Bloomberg 9/1
Biden 20/1

Bloomberg took a hiding last night. He was like a duck out of water. Warren obliterated him. Will be interesting to see how that affects the polling numbers over the next few days, and if his high burn rate can take the bad look off it. I just wish he'd get out of the race and put his money into something useful like flipping the 4 senate seats we're going to need.

Odds update:
Trump: 8/13
Sanders: 7/2
Bloomberg: 8/1
Biden: 22/1

Bernie's odds moving in the right direction. Biden, not so much.

Democratic candidate:
Sanders: 1/1
Bloomberg: 4/1
Buttigieg:8/1
Biden: 9/1

Update:
Delegate count:
Sanders 31
Buttigieg 22
Warren 8
Biden 8
Klobuchar 7
Bloomberg 0

2020 winner:
Trump: 8/13
Sanders: 3/1
Bloomberg: 10/1
Biden: 25/1

Democratic candidate:
Sanders: 5/6
Bloomberg: 4/1
Buttigieg:11/1
Biden: 11/1

Interesting that Chrome still thinks "Buttigieg" is a typo.

2020 winner:
Trump: 8/13
Sanders: 29/10
Bloomberg: 10/1
Biden: 28/1

Democratic candidate:
Sanders: 4/5
Bloomberg: 4/1
Biden: 10/1
Buttigieg:12/1

2020 winner:
Trump: 8/13
Sanders: 3/1
Bloomberg: 12/1
Biden: 12/1

Democratic candidate:
Sanders: 10/11
Biden: 4/1
Bloomberg: 11/2
Buttigieg:20/1

Bloomberg and Buttigeig getting it tight.

[RadioGAAGAA]

Your numbers are way off

Was basing it on the average wage in the US being ~$38k a year. :shrugs:

[Gmac]

Your numbers are way off

Was basing it on the average wage in the US being ~$38k a year. :shrugs:

in sf Bay Area where I live  117k is low income for a family 82k for an individual based on median incomes of the area ,country wide its 17 and 25 k
The cost of living in California is out of control .

[whitey]

Your numbers are way off

Was basing it on the average wage in the US being ~$38k a year. :shrugs:

Maybe you should live here for 20/30 years before you start "educating" us on how our healthcare system works

Someone earning $34 K per year in Boston is probably on Masshealth and paying next to nothing for their healthcare


Nationally:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.kff.org/health-reform/fact-sheet/aca-open-enrollment-if-you-are-low-income/amp/

In general, you may be eligible for tax credits to lower your premium if you are single and your annual 2020 income is between $12,490 to $49,960 or if your household income is between $21,330 to $85,320 for a family of three (the lower income limits are higher in states that expanded Medicaid).

[RadioGAAGAA]

Maybe you should live here for 20/30 years before you start "educating" us on how our healthcare system works

It doesn't work.

The money pumped in compared to the return received doesn't lie.

Someone earning $34 K per year in Boston is probably on Masshealth and paying next to nothing for their healthcare

So the average wage is more or less already receiving 100% publically funded healthcare?

and you cannot still see the numbers not adding up?

At this point - if you don't pause for a second and think about that for a minute or two - then there is little point continuing.

[Eamonnca1]

It's like talking to a brick wall, isn't it?