Anything free is a scam. If medical is free to public, it means that politicians earn the money through the pharmas as there is no check on pharmas charging an exorbitant price.
@Adeptlinguist And, taking the example of Sweden, there is a small payment (about $25) to visit the doctor, and you pay for some medications…
BUT there is a ceiling on both charges: in any 12-month period you are never out of pocket by more than about $100 for doctor’s visits or $200 for prescription medication. Once you reach those sums, all care/drugs are free until the next 12-month period begins.
@in10RjFox One more thing, public healthcare in Europe or comparable places is not a “scam” in any sense of the word. It is a highly-appreciated (and effective) service provided for the public.
Looks like it works better than the US too - see comparative life expectancy.
@Adeptlinguist You are only seeing things from your perspective .. and worried about what goes out of your pocket. You do not know how the value of your money (intrinsic value) goes down as time passes by. The small payment is just to ratify that it was commissioned by you (the people). But for your $25, there will be another $25 paid by the government to the doctor, in the name of subsidy. You are a mortal, but the system is immortal.
@in10RjFox For info, I have lived (and experienced healthcare) in four countries: UK, France, US and Sweden. I have pretty detailed knowledge of how healthcare works in each of those countries.
@in10RjFox Free means free at the point of use. I would gladly pay taxes for a single-payer medical system. We pay for it by requiring billionaires and corporation to pay their fair share of taxes - NO MORE TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH AND GREEDY! - ban off-shore tax-havens for corporations, cut our outrageous excessive military spending, and pass a small tax, 1/4 of 1%, on transactions in securities and derivatives.
@Adeptlinguist looks like you don't understand my point. What is free or cheap to you, is a burden to the future generation. It is your future that is being robbed. I forgot the CEO of a pharma who was interrogated for claiming high salary after increasing the price of a drug by 400%. The drug was for old age home all paid by the government.
@in10RjFox People will always need medical care. A universal non-profit system is the best system. The economy of scale when everyone pays in to a nation-wide program is drastically more efficient than the for-profit model. Cost of medication will be much lower for one thing.
