Let's try to have a more nuanced discussion. My sister is an ER doctor in the US; we don't turn people away. Clearly, we need a better healthcare system, but it's not because the US is narcissistic.
ERs do not turn people away, but much of ER traffic is due to skipping preventative care due to lack of financial resources or insurance.
Refusal to avoid the outcome of more serious health issues by putting funding into it is because that funding has to go elsewhere to make next quarters numbers.
I’m not going to debate this. I’ve been in the room with big tech leaders and political figures who speak in no uncertain terms behind closed doors; their goal is to keep power and their methods are designed intentionally to make people believe their power is immutable truth. We are indeed demanded of by normal humans with extremely narcissistic personalities and an innumerate public that cheers them on.
They might not turn you away, but they’ll definitely ask for a credit card while you’re lying their nearly dying, and then send you a bill that will bankrupt you. When this happened to me I had suicidal ideation for a while after, as much as I’d like to not admit it.
An ER doctor friend of mine at a large hospital in NYC told me after I had a medical emergency that you should always leave your wallet at home and leave a fake name and address if you’re uninsured. They’ll give you care and then you won’t have to pay. He said as a doctor he’s going to save you no matter what.
"My sister is an ER doctor in the US; we don't turn people away."
They make them wait for hours, make people who are in very bad shape fill out paperwork before treatment and then charge astronomical and seemingly totally made up prices. The US definitely has the spirit "I have got mine, I deserve it and fuck everybody else"
Everyone agrees it is a terrible system. The high prices are because many people cannot pay, and the wait is because many people have no where else to go. We just can't seem to get from our system to a better one, but it's not because we are evil. Our healthcare system is in a stuck bad state and change is complicated.
Prescription drugs are a whole other thing. Those high prices are because you will die if you don't get the drugs. That's a relatively easy fix, and there is no excuse for our government not taking action on that.
