[ExI] Why is "cost of living" such a big problem?

[Henrik Ohrstrom]

>
>
> Henrik I cannot claim to understand your answer.
>
> I will suggest one however.  In the USA, one is legally required to have
> health insurance.  If one cannot afford it, one can apply for subsidized
> health insurance.  Problem: the US government cannot balance its budget and
> will be unable to pay for that much longer.  Answer: move all government
> subsidies of health insurance to the state level.  The US federal
> government is out of other people’s money but the states are not.
>
> spike
>
If you as an extropian don't understand or accept an market based
explanation then I really don't know what to say. I'll try anyway.

Please accept that anything that strengthen the consumer would help.
For want of other alternatives I suggest the Swedish variant, that is
basically a strong insurance company, state based in Sweden but not
necessarily so in other places, who represent the patient and buy relevant
care on a free market.  Note FREE !
You have most of that already so you just need to kick out a number of
Economic predators who have no business preying on the market and you do
not even need to kick them out, just level the playing field. Now the laws
support the predators and grind the patients for profit without giving the
victims any chance to defend themselves.

I have just come back to my on call room after a visit to the ER treating a
dying gentleman who is probably about your age, to young to die but not
young anymore.
I don't need to count iv needles, nor injections. he has payed his
ambulance earlier in life, no relatives are bankrupted because he get a
good palliation in our hospital.
We can concentrate on good care, we get a good price on equipment and
medicines so it is even "cost effective "
No greedy insurance rep who says "that is not covered by insurance "
Do you have any idea how straigth up fucking horrible it was when I was in
Nashville when the insurance rep who took part in the rounds said : no, you
can't do a CT, that's not covered by insurance. You can't do that this etm
etm.

I say, there are a number of walls found wanting in your country. But
that's probably socialist shit so do something less bloody.
And yes I do take this personally even when it is US citizens who suffer.

/Henrik
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