Let’s assume we want all people to have health care. What are the steps / methods most likely to get us there?
In the U.S. seems like we’re a long way from that goal. I’m curious about chunking down the big goal into smaller steps. Interested to hear perspectives from other countries too.
People need to vote.
If all the eligible people voted in the US, we could have universal healthcare in a year. Biden needs a super majority in both Houses.
I mean with all the republicans competing to defend the most departments, 2024 might be our year. Then again there’s a fuckload of people in the United States who still worship Reagan so who the hell knows.
Fuck I hope so this sucks. My mother just fucked up her ankle and refuses to go to the doctor because we can’t afford it. I’m afraid it’s gonna be something bad that ends up being permanent if she doesn’t seek treatment. Makes me feel sick.
I don’t think you’re being serious, but the idea isn’t to give everyone worse care. If you talk to people from the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, Canada, or any other country that has universal healthcare (all the green ones on this map) they would have plenty to say about things that could improve. You also wouldn’t find too many who would be willing to trade with the U.S.
Get all the people you want to have universal health care, to want universal health care. If you want it for them, sell it to them.
The only thing ever stopping any policy from existing is vote counts. Convince others that universal healthcare is in their best interests. If you’ve tried that and failed, take steps to improve your communication skill and try again.
A 57% majority of Americans say the government should ensure health coverage. Of course then 53% say the system should be based on private insurance, which is contradictory.
Another factor to consider here is people don’t vote directly for policies. They vote for legislators who then decide which policies are a priority, and can interpret for themselves, right or wrong, what it is their constituents voted them in to do.
In the U.S. seems like we’re a long way from that
Not just a long way. No visible way at all.
You need to fix your political landscape first, for example have > 2 parties, and have other than these two ultra conservative parties. Only then will you be able to make significant changes in your country.
You’re 100% correct on principle. The problem is that given our electoral system, third parties end up taking votes from viable candidates, and we end up with terrifying people running things.
We can’t change the electoral system, because we’ve never actually had an Article V convention (Constitutional Convention) so we don’t know what would happen there. We’d get an entirely new constitution, and it would not be a better one. You’ve probably seen how dysfunctional our republicans are, I’m not about to let them tear up e.g., my right to free speech or a fair trial.
Given the current makeup of the Supreme Court, what would come out of that convention would be provide zero protections for anything.
But yes, we need third parties. I just don’t see a plausible way to get them without taking on an amount of risk that most people aren’t willing to take.
“All” is an awfully large group - perhaps start with “some”, e.g. “all in Maine” (and likely some subset of that even, like those who have lived there for 5+ years already, to avoid someone getting cancer first, then suddenly moving to Maine, then once the expensive treatments are over with go back home, etc.), and then if people enjoy seeing it be done well, expand our from there. I dunno… it’s a thought, at least.
No, we don’t need to see if public healthcare works. We already know that it’s cheaper than private healthcare and that it works better than private health care.
Other countries have been proving that for generations and the numbers prove it in our country.
We just have to do it.
I think comment above yours has a point. It’s not a question of whether or not it works, it’s a question of getting people on board, and fending off vested interests like insurance companies. So maybe getting it done in one place would be more attainable, and serve as an advertisement. For me at least, I’m asking how we do it. Saying “we just have to do it” isn’t actionable advice.
We know how to do it, we already have Medicare and all of the first world countries have proven that as long as you give funding to the medical industry, public health care works, the same as libraries receiving funding or fire departments receiving funding.
You can take a look at any referendum to see how specifically we would transition to that system, but it would basically be expanding Medicare to Medicare for all, and later removing the remaining restrictions for pre-existing conditions.
It would be a very simple transition, and more productive for the country and cheaper for everyone.
The only reason we’re not doing it are profit driven motives by people making money off of the private health care industry.
