Red State Holdouts Feeling Pressure to Expand Medicaid

iluvatar5150 · Feb 21, 2024

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/21/1232859171/red-states-that-have-resisted-medicaid-expansion-are-feeling-pressure-to-give-up

Richard T · Feb 22, 2024

Seems like a no brainer to expand. Yes, you save the Federal budget and spend some state money but the returns to the medical community and those that need health care aid are better than not expanding. The GOP has had years for their alternative but I never hear too much about their reforms.

rambot · Feb 22, 2024

ANYHTING to help Americans shift closer to a single payer system.

What's going on down there is a travesty.

Laodicean60 · Feb 23, 2024

USA spends the most on healthcare so why are Americans so unhealthy? Maybe Medicaid doesn't need increasing we just need to get healthy.

rambot · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
USA spends the most on healthcare so why are Americans so unhealthy? Maybe Medicaid doesn't need increasing we just need to get healthy.

View attachment 343121

No. There are a lot of other places that are also very unhealthy.....and canada is not much better either. I will concede that Europe is definitely healthier than NA though.

The problem. Is the cost prohibition of accessing preventative care. Because I live in Canada I can access my doctor at no cost (and no increased cost) so we can have e check ups, I can go in when something isn't quite right and I don't have to worry about financing anything.
I mean there are Americans who refuse to even go in foe reactionary care because they simplycamg afford it.

Surely, surely you've read the stories.

Laodicean60 · Feb 23, 2024

rambot said:
No. There are a lot of other places that are also very unhealthy

This is true but the cost of services.

JustOneWay · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
USA spends the most on healthcare so why are Americans so unhealthy? Maybe Medicaid doesn't need increasing we just need to get healthy.

View attachment 343121

Indeed. we would need to sue companies out of business for polluting the environment and contributing to unhealthiness. Also sue the restaurant industry for contributing to unhealthy weight, and put cigarette and alcohol companies out of business for good. Then start targeting individuals who insist on two scoops of ice cream while offering guests only one scoop, Arrest over eaters....ban buffets....arrest beard meets food guy....fine people for walking instead of jogging....and pull over all drivers and ticket them if their blood pressure or cholesterol count is too high.

Democrats can't even try to introduce healthy food into school lunches without the rightists blowing a gasket. Making people to be healthier is not an American virtue.

BCP1928 · Feb 23, 2024

rambot said:
No. There are a lot of other places that are also very unhealthy.....and canada is not much better either. I will concede that Europe is definitely healthier than NA though.

The problem. Is the cost prohibition of accessing preventative care. Because I live in Canada I can access my doctor at no cost (and no increased cost) so we can have e check ups, I can go in when something isn't quite right and I don't have to worry about financing anything.
I mean there are Americans who refuse to even go in foe reactionary care because they simplycamg afford it.

Surely, surely you've read the stories.

It takes courage and sacrifice to resist godless socialism.

rambot · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
This is true but the cost of services.

.... is less than what is spent in the US.

Have you compared something like insulin costs in the US to any other developed nation? There's more stories than there should be in America of people being UNABLE TO AFFORD insulin shots and dying because of it. It was stories like these that at LEAST got insulin capped if you're on Medicare. 35$/vial. OK fine.
Worse considering before that it was between 50-1000$

Brihaha · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
USA spends the most on healthcare so why are Americans so unhealthy? Maybe Medicaid doesn't need increasing we just need to get healthy.

View attachment 343121

I think America spends the most on health-care because the priorities are based on capitalism. Doctors, hospitals and insurance companies' profits are prioritized over the actual health of patients. I am relatively healthy for a guy in my mid fifties, and I cannot afford to visit a doctor. I could barely afford it when I had medical insurance. I've been battling gum and teeth issues for a couple years now. Every year or two I can manage to see the clinic doctors to get a prescription for antibiotics. It's $200 for the visit just to be seen.

Our priorities in America are not in tune with the needs of our citizens.

Laodicean60 · Feb 23, 2024

JustOneWay said:
Indeed. we would need to sue companies out of business for polluting the environment and contributing to unhealthiness. Also sue the restaurant industry for contributing to unhealthy weight, and put cigarette and alcohol companies out of business for good. Then start targeting individuals who insist on two scoops of ice cream while offering guests only one scoop, Arrest over eaters....ban buffets....arrest beard meets food guy....fine people for walking instead of jogging....and pull over all drivers and ticket them if their blood pressure or cholesterol count is too high.

Something needs to be done, maybe more education? We do need the FDA to do more work because we have known carcinogens in our foods compared to the EU.

Laodicean60 · Feb 23, 2024

rambot said:
.... is less than what is spent in the US.

Have you compared something like insulin costs in the US to any other developed nation? There's more stories than there should be in America of people being UNABLE TO AFFORD insulin shots and dying because of it. It was stories like these that at LEAST got insulin capped if you're on Medicare. 35$/vial. OK fine.
Worse considering before that it was between 50-1000$

Proved my point about costs and you have to Identify why so many need insulin and other blood sugar medication.

rambot · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
Something needs to be done, maybe more education? We do need the FDA to do more work because we have known carcinogens in our foods compared to the EU.

That's not "work". That's powerful corporations lobbying and purchasing senators.

iluvatar5150 · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
USA spends the most on healthcare so why are Americans so unhealthy? Maybe Medicaid doesn't need increasing we just need to get healthy.

View attachment 343121

Putting aside the per capita expenditures, the US life expectancy is still lower than those of peer countries. But life expectancy numbers are an average. I'd be interested to know the other stats underpinning them. For example, is US life expectancy lower because we don't keep old people alive as long; because infant mortality is higher; because poor people who don't have the money for medical care die more frequently in middle age; or something else?

I doubt it's because we don't take enough care of old people. I suspect it's because we have a culture that seeks to deprive poor people of even basic services, leading them to accumulate more health problems earlier in life.

comana · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
Proved my point about costs and you have to Identify why so many need insulin and other blood sugar medication.

It’s not a mystery why type 2 diabetes is so prevalent. There is huge profit in the junk, fast, and processed convenience foods. Why buy fresh ingredients when it’s already prepared in a box, jar or can? The hidden sugars combined with sedentary lifestyles adds up.

Laodicean60 · Feb 23, 2024

rambot said:
That's not "work". That's powerful corporations lobbying and purchasing senators.

Government in bed with corporations.

Laodicean60 · Feb 23, 2024

iluvatar5150 said:
Putting aside the per capita expenditures, the US life expectancy is still lower than those of peer countries. But life expectancy numbers are an average. I'd be interested to know the other stats underpinning them. For example, is US life expectancy lower because we don't keep old people alive as long; because infant mortality is higher; because poor people who don't have the money for medical care die more frequently in middle age; or something else?

I doubt it's because we don't take enough care of old people. I suspect it's because we have a culture that seeks to deprive poor people of even basic services, leading them to accumulate more health problems earlier in life.

A lot of what JustOneWay posted is about corporations and our lifestyles and what Comana posted. Why do low income who have EBT cards allowed to buy junk?

The U.S. has highest rate of disease burden among comparable countries, and the gap is growing - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker

In the U.S. and comparable countries there has been a reduction in disease burden, as measured by Disability Adjusted Life Years (or DALYs), in recent years. Our latest chart collection, which analyzes data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, shows that while disease burden...

www.healthsystemtracker.org

trophy33 · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
USA spends the most on healthcare so why are Americans so unhealthy? Maybe Medicaid doesn't need increasing we just need to get healthy.

View attachment 343121

Maybe the spending is so high because the US health care is based on profit and on over-medication.

And there is no profit in making the patient healthy and without a need to buy a medication/treatment. Therefore, health care system must be a bit socialized to be effective.

comana · Feb 23, 2024

Laodicean60 said:
A lot of what JustOneWay posted is about corporations and our lifestyles and what Comana posted. Why do low income who have EBT cards allowed to buy junk?

The U.S. has highest rate of disease burden among comparable countries, and the gap is growing - Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker

In the U.S. and comparable countries there has been a reduction in disease burden, as measured by Disability Adjusted Life Years (or DALYs), in recent years. Our latest chart collection, which analyzes data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, shows that while disease burden...

www.healthsystemtracker.org

Fresh food is not always easily available in low income neighborhoods but also factor in the corporate lobbyists who lobby for EBT to be open to junk foods. This country runs on capitalism and profits. Health is only of interest where a profit can be made. See the pharmaceutical industry and its hold on how our doctors treat disease.

BCP1928 · Feb 23, 2024

myst33 said:
Maybe the spending is so high because the US health care is based on profit and on over-medication.

And there is no profit in making the patient healthy and without a need to buy a medication/treatment. Therefore, health care system must be a bit socialized to be effective.

Which is why we have to put up with things like TV ads for prescription medicines. The cost of those expensive ads gets added to our healthcare costs.

Red State Holdouts Feeling Pressure to Expand Medicaid

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