Free-Market Healthcare Can Kiss My Ass

This is going to be one of those posts where I don’t try to be reasonable and polite. I do apologize in advance.

Give me universal, single payer health care and give it to me now. This idiocracy of private health insurance is just so ridiculous it boggles the mind. Why would anyone defend this system when there is a viable alternative? I fail to see ANY benefit of this system to the socialized medical systems in every other developed nation. And don’t give me any BS about waiting 6 months for care. That’s just blatantly untrue.

Right now, we’re trying to decide on a healthcare plan for next year. On one hand, we have an HMO plan. No monthly premium, 100% coverage in-network, minimal co-pay, no coverage out-of-network and there are pretty much no doctors in-network outside of Houston. So it’s incredibly cheap, and all of our current doctors and potential pediatricians are included. But if we travel pretty much anywhere and have a problem, we’re on our own.

The alternative Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan provides 60% coverage out of network, a wider network but only 90% coverage in-network. It also has a monthly premium and higher out of pocket for hospital stays. In total, because of the baby, we’re looking at a projected difference of at least $2500 in guaranteed expenses.  If there’s some major problem in Houston, the BCBS could cost us a lot more than the HMO. But if we’re traveling and there’s a major problem, the HMO would leave us out in the cold.

So which do you pick? Either one can screw you over in the right circumstances. I wouldn’t mind paying for the higher price one,  if it was just a flat higher price. The higher price doesn’t buy me better care, just the ability to not be completely screwed if I need a doctor and am not near home. But it could be a lot more. We shouldn’t need to have to make this kind of choice in terms of healthcare.

You know what we would have to worry about in a universal healthcare system? NOTHING. Get sick, go to a doctor, get better. Done.

But universal healthcare would be to expensive the free-market zombies whine. Yeah? To expensive for who? The US spends more on healthcare than any other country. How exactly is the free-market saving us money? It’s certainly not saving my sister money. She’s been smacked around with medical bills because she can only afford bare bones crap insurance. Her insurance almost seems pointless, except for the fact that medical bills are so incredibly and needlessly overpriced that without it she’s be super screwed instead of just regular levels of screwed.

People who champion the free-market health system are selfish pricks. They care for no one else but themselves. And they can afford good insurance so screw the rest of you. I normally try to be open minded but this selfish attitude just pisses me off.

Anyways, there’s my rant for the week. I now return you to your regularly scheduled discussion.