this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2023
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[–] WashedOver@lemmy.ca 88 points 11 months ago (2 children)

At times I wonder if medically assisted suicides are frowned upon due to not being able to further drain the money out of patients and their extended credit lines.

[–] thantik@lemmy.world 47 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

You don't have to wonder any longer. You've figured it out. Take the morality out of many political decisions and you have the right answer. Abortions? -- nobody gives a shit about those children. It's a convenient cover so they don't have to say "Mothers are killing the thing that we will enslave and drain later on in the economy!" Everyone says that they care about the child until it's born -- they don't even care before that point. And the lack of care/suffering/poverty of the child afterwards is the point of exploitation. So the system is working as intended. They need more workers, they need to siphon every ounce of production out of those workers.

[–] AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Abortions? – nobody gives a shit about those children. It’s a convenient cover so they don’t have to say “Mothers are killing the thing that we will enslave and drain later on in the economy!"

What sort of purpose does it serve to force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term when the fetus has a Fatal fetal abnormality?

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

It's for the useful idiots who follow these politicians to believe that those politicians' choices are driven by moral principles rather than cold personal upside maximization and a sociopathic disregard for others: for appearances' sake, same as going around kissing babies and shaking the hands of people they look down on.

This might sound crazy to any normal person because normal people wouldn't sacrifice others like that merely for the sake of "the message", but sociopaths don't feel any guilt or shame when they hurt or harm others, so they're capable of sacrificing others to quite an extreme level merelly for some minor benefits to themselves, if the victims are powerless to reciprocate (which in this case they are).

[–] IHadTwoCows@lemm.ee 6 points 11 months ago

It gives conservatives something to jack off about.

Violence is the only reasonable response.

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 11 months ago (4 children)

They're also frowned upon because it's pretty cruel to tell someone "well, you could just die" because they can't afford medical treatments or a place to live.

[–] IHadTwoCows@lemm.ee 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Rush Limbaugh taught conservatives to hate universal health insurance because doctors would tell you to just die.

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[–] FontMasterFlex@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

How is that any different than it is now? You can choose to die with dignity, or, in the current system, drain your funds, your families funds, put everyone in debt, THEN die.

[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 5 points 11 months ago

Nobody needs to tell us that. We already know.

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[–] 0110010001100010@lemmy.world 61 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I remember when we bought a house 8 years ago (seems like a lifetime now) talking to the mortgage broker and he basically said they straight-up ignore medical debt because everyone has it and nobody would ever get a loan if it was considered. It's utterly insane to me how the wealthiest nation in the world can't keep its citizens healthy and out of debt.

[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 35 points 11 months ago

They can, but the current system is far more profitable.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 16 points 11 months ago (3 children)

the wealthiest nation in the world can't keep its citizens healthy and out of debt.

But it can. The wealthiest nation in the world per capita is Luxembourg; then Switzerland. I think Norway finishes the top three. Excellent medical systems.

CUBA's consolidated single-payer healthcare system beats the US's #30 rank. And does it far, far cheaper. https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/best-healthcare-in-the-world/

As Jeff Daniels says in the first act of the first episode of Newsroom, " Yosemite?"

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[–] SeaJ@lemm.ee 13 points 11 months ago

That's lucky of you. Many do take it into account.

What's nuts is that the majority of people declaring bankruptcy because of medical debt have insurance.

[–] deweydecibel@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

The credit agencies do this, too. Medical debt is either not counted against your credit score or is weighted so little it won't affect much.

It makes perfect sense, because it's not an accurate depiction of your credit seeking habits. It is debt that you did not choose to take on.

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[–] crsu@lemmy.world 48 points 11 months ago (3 children)

The US healthcare system is a for profit death cult ran by racketeers

[–] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

~~The US healthcare system~~ America is a for profit death cult ran by racketeers

FTFY

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[–] IHadTwoCows@lemm.ee 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Violence is the only reasonable response.

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[–] Jaderick@lemmy.world 43 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

It always has. IIRC the biggest reason for bankruptcy in the US has been medical bills, for a while. Our greed driven system is garbage.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 37 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Michael Moore made a whole damn documentary about it in 2007, 16 fucking years ago.

Nothing has changed.

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[–] CADmonkey@lemmy.world 29 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Stop paying medical bills. A debt strike would be easier than a general strike.

[–] SeaJ@lemm.ee 16 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Well part of it 8s not going to hurt your credit score anymore:

https://www.cnbc.com/select/medical-debt-credit-report/

Any bills under $500 in collections won't be going against your score. Debts larger than that in collections have to be there for at least a year to be on your credit score and disappear once they are paid.

We could fix all this shit by having the cheaper Medicare for All solution.

[–] FReddit@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Aetna pulled out of my county for five months. I ended up in a ICU for three days, which is about a $50,000 bill.

So now I'm on the hook for an $8,000 out of network deductible.

Fuck U.S. health insurance.

[–] SeaJ@lemm.ee 8 points 11 months ago (4 children)

My wife had to go to the ER a few years ago. The hospital we thought we were going to was in network. Unfortunately the ER is a separate entity that was not in network. That was a nice $1000 bill.

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[–] Limit@lemm.ee 8 points 11 months ago

$500 is nothing. My son fell and hit his head and had a small seizure from the fall.. took him to the ER, ct scan, medical exam, anti nausea medication, costed $750 out if pocket AFTER insurance. It was like a $3k medical bill before insurance. For like 2 hours at the ER and a scan... it's ridiculous.

[–] FlavoredButtHair@lemmy.world 29 points 11 months ago (4 children)

It amazes me how people went to work sick as if it was normal. Of courses some bosses were assholes and "wouldn't let you go home" or "needed you at work". Sure boss let me sneeze in my hand before I shake everybody else's hand.

Now these days woah big scary covid. If you're not feeling good please stay home. We should've been staying home like 30 yrs ago,

[–] Patches@sh.itjust.works 14 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Went

They still are.

I have a 103 fever and here I am. At work.

I'm not sure what places you are working that kept the COVID era scare.

Medicine is so polarized I can't even tell my coworkers I tested positive for COVID. One of them will go on a violent rant for hours. '"Yep, I'm definitely a crisis actor. They don't pay much these days. This is my second job"

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[–] Gargantu8@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Literally all my coworkers still come to work sick despite having sick leave. Gets everyone else sick.

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[–] nicetomeetyouIMVEGAN@lemmings.world 28 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I've been seeing this headline for more than twenty years.

[–] Sharpiemarker@feddit.de 14 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Another 20 years and people might be fed up enough to do something about it.

[–] agitatedpotato@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Mostly they just get sick and die.

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[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I see we're waiting for the "cancer patients start going into insurance companies with boomboom vests" phase of the crisis

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Yet COVID vaccinations are down...

And "essential workers" are right back to being expected to work while sick...

This is fine.

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[–] troglodytis@lemmy.world 18 points 11 months ago

I'm American. When I get cancer I plan to have one or two good months and kill myself.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago

The Repblican health care plan since 2009:

https://youtu.be/bSRo51SbQQs

  1. Don't get sick.
  2. If you do get sick...
  3. Die Quickly

Man, where's Alan Grayson when you need him?

[–] PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I was at a work training in the US with someone from Japan. She said she had only been to the US one other time but that she had gotten sick and spent 2 weeks in the hospital.

I don’t know what Japan’s healthcare system is like, but I can’t imagine being someone from another country and unfamiliar with our shitty system and getting that huge ass bill.

[–] ExLisper@linux.community 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Most probably it was still covered by here Japanese insurance. A friend of mine broke an arm while in US and some insurance he bought in Poland paid for everything. You don't have to be familiar with American system. It's just like any other insurance.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 12 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Traveller insurance can often offset it.

It's NOT like any other insurance.

Case in point: I rolled into the hospital with a sore arm. X-rays and an arm cast. But I left my wallet at home because my ride showed up early. "just phone down with your health number, if you could, so we can update the right file. Thanks!". 0$

Non-US case2: I felt a wave of dizziness on the way to work and almost browned out while driving. Pulled over. It passed and I drove 2 blocks to the hospital. Related my story and spent 8 hours in test after test, room after room. I got the full workup. $0

Non-US case 3: my dear friend collapsed while this wife was out getting Starbucks. Dumbstruck and in pain. He could only speed dial her number: 911 was too complex. She does 911 and races home (xkr-s) as the first ambulance arrives and lets them in. They stabilize while the specialized cardiac bus is arriving. "Follow us in. Look. We're gonna try for surrey but if he crashes we'll divert to rch(trauma center). We're gonna hit the lights, siren and punch it. Don't feel you need to-- [spots jaguar idling] okay. So keep up only if it's safe. We're going." SGH spotted something, not sure. Admitted for obs. Something was something, so it was a hot and loud bus to RCH anyway because it was serious and if he coded in traffic it would kill him. Heat up the trauma center o-r on a Sunday morning to apply 5 stents and prevent death by Widowmaker heart attack. He lives. Goes home in 2 weeks. $0

We're not even paying monthly premiums anymore. But I would. I'm at the top end of the income-based sliding scale and I'll pay it every damned month.

US example: dude rolls into wrong hospital while unconscious after soccer collision. Concussion. Tylenol. "Go home. Don't fall asleep". $80k(trauma center)+$10(Tylenol).

My US example: IT. Great insurance as they like us (Unix dev). Northgate Hospital in WA as I'm an H1b imm'grint takin-yer-jerb. Roll in for a simple procedure to alleviate spinal pressure when a sinus (not that kind) isn't draining by itself. Advise the doc it's a common thing for me, and a local and a horse-needle will get it back in line. Doc lays in with a scalpel and butchers me. Charges $500 for the pleasure but the invoice of arbitrary charges I didn't have to pay was insane. Came home when my first h1 was up. Not looking back.

Americans have normalized low-key medical fear and avoidance that they don't realize; and they are missing chances to catch things before it costs them their house or their life; and defending medical-induced bankruptcy (which can't be discharged through bankruptcy) while completely blind to the fact that no other g8 is this objectively cruel to its own people.

[–] 0000011110110111i@lemm.ee 14 points 11 months ago (3 children)

We are so baffled in Europe about how a country that preaches human rights around the world revels in denying its own people one of the most fundamental human rights. Truly mind boggling.

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[–] CompostMaterial@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I view medicine in the US similar to video piracy. If you are going to make access expensive and difficult to obtain, then I have no issue with stealing it. Medical debt is handled differently than other types of debt. IANAL, but I have no qualms with running up a 700k medical debt for life saving treatment then bouncing on the bill.

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[–] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (10 children)

Hey I just a had a thought. We should have a vote on student loan debt. If you vote against a blanket clearing of the debt you automatically go on a list of people who can't declare bankruptcy due to medical debt.

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[–] DieguiTux8623@feddit.it 7 points 11 months ago

But the strong economy...

[–] Roulette@lemm.ee 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)
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