Summary

A Gallup poll shows 62% of Americans believe the government should ensure universal healthcare coverage—the highest support in over a decade.

While Democratic backing remains strong at 90%, support among Republicans and Independents has also grown since 2020.

Public frustration with the for-profit healthcare system has intensified following the arrest of a suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, reportedly motivated by anger at the industry.

Recent controversies, including Anthem’s rollback of anesthesia coverage cuts, and debates over Medicare privatization highlight ongoing dissatisfaction with the system.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Again, there’s that 30-40% Party Of No crowd that is likely the same starve the beast pro-Trump voters we’ve seen in polls time and again. The ones probably going to need those very same services, if they already aren’t using medicare/-aid.

    • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      That is why universal healthcare risk pools need to start at the state level. The goal needs to be to lock out the subsidization of those who are voting for predatory policies. This accomplishes a few important things.

      • It will systemically punish Republican voters in Republican led states.

      • Over time it will (in theory) massively shift the public consciousness in those areas around how badly they are getting fucked.

      • It removes the necessity of reliance on a federal change in order to begin the process of legislative reform.

      This is obviously not a perfect solution, but I don’t see this happening in any other way. There is roughly a (0%) chance we see universal healthcare implemented at the national level first.

      • Strykker@programming.dev
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        2 months ago

        This is basically how it works in Canada, but when the health care system gets worse during conservative control of the provinces people aren’t blaming the conservatives and province they are blaming the federal government and the liberal party.

        People have literally zero idea or care about what level controls things, they just want to blame “the other guy”

      • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        There are very few states that can handle the cost of state-funded health care, and unfortunately they would be faced with negotiating care from for-profit enterprises that have no care other than maximizing profits.

        It needs to be a “from the ground up” service, which we had at one point - we used to have a lot of state, municipal and county hospitals, but the majority of them got shuttered and replaced with for-profit enterprises - where the state creates facilities owned/operated by the state and can control pricing with no expectation for a profit to be made. That’s how you get care for all at government prices, we can’t keep shoveling money at for-profit businesses.

        • the_crotch@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          A lot of states are larger, both geographically and economically, than many European countries. What’s stopping those states from doing it?

          • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            You’re not comparing apples to apples.

            Those EU countries have a hoard of social services available, from pre-school to free/relatively inexpensive higher education, to medical services, unions, pensions and elder care…a lot of services Americans have to pay for on top of any exchange of health care premium for state health care tax. I mean, there’s a huge difference between EU workers’ compensation, housing costs, and benefits work compared to US workers, how companies are taxed and pay into social services, and to make them comparable would require massive change. The US has faced “taxes are evil” propaganda for easily 40 plus years now, and getting the funding to create a care system from both citizens and corporations will require a miracle.

            • the_crotch@sh.itjust.works
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              2 months ago

              If universal healthcare is cheaper than private insurance (and most say it is) why not simply charge the citizens of, for example, California 4/5th of what they’re currently paying? What am I missing here? If they did that in my state it would save me around $100/mo

        • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          This is an interesting idea, but I don’t see where that is ever going to be effective either given the massive logistical undertaking that would be required in order to deal with states managing non-profit medical facilities. The only option is to somehow circumvent the middle men.

          • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Circumventing the middle man is exactly why for-profit enterprises resist state care with everything they have. The government is a powerful negotiator that can undercut for-profit business because they don’t need to profit from the work being done.

            • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Yes, but you could say the exact same thing about the creation of single payer state insurance pools could you not? They can force negotiations on medical providers at the state level, and force them to accept state backed insurance if they wish to conduct business in that state. That seems like a way simpler solution than needing to come up with massive amounts of logistical infrastructure that already exists.

              • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Not as effective as the government as a whole. Also singles that state put among others as you said, placing additional adversity between the state and existing or potential employers.

                Look, if it were simple, we could do it. Even if much of the difficulty is artificially created by businesses and other monied interests, it still exists and one state doesn’t exist in a vacuum where businesses wouldn’t have the option to leave. Other states would undermine the attempt for political or financial gain. It’s not simple.

                • Riccosuave@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  I totally agree that no solution is going to be simple. I think what I envisioned was an inter-state compact where it would make it essentially impossible for medical providers to pull away. If we just use the West Coast as an example, what if Washington, Oregon, and California were to create a public option risk pool that could then be joined by other blue states? That is really the idea that I think is the most sensible, and potentially feasible to implement over time.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Here’s the thing… having health coverage doesn’t mean jack crap.

    I’ve told my story before, it got best of’d on reddit and such, but it bears repeating why we need Universal Health Care:

    tl;dr lost my doctors due to an insurance change 4 weeks in to a 6 week open heart surgery recovery…

    In 2018, my company was in the process of being sold. No big deal, above my paygrade, nothing for me to worry about.

    Then I got sick right after Thanksgiving. Really bad heartburn that lasted 5 days. It wasn’t heartburn. I had a heart attack. 12/3/2018 I had open heart surgery, single bypass, and that started a 6 week recovery clock.

    On 1/1/2019, the sale of my company closed and we officially had new owners. I also officially lost all of my doctors because the new employers don’t do Kaiser in Oregon. They do it in WA and CA, but each state has to be negotiated and they never had presence here.

    1/2/2019 I start working with Aetna to find doctors, hospitals, etc. Beyond the cardiologist I need a new pharmacist, podiatrist, diabetes care and a general “doctor” doctor.

    Fortunately, my new employer is a big enough fish, they have their own concierge at Aetna and she gets me into the Legacy Health system.

    On 1/3/2019 I start developing complications, but I don’t know it at the time. It starts with a cough. All the time. Then, when I try to lay down, like to sleep, I’m drowning, literally choking and gagging.

    The concierge and I try to get an appointment, we’re told 2-3 months. For a dude still recovering from open heart surgery? Best they could do is 2 weeks. 1/14/2019.

    I can’t lay down to sleep so I buy a travel neck pillow and sleep sitting up.

    I get to see the new doctor at the “official” end of the 6 week recovery. He doesn’t know me or my history so he wants to run tests.

    I’m sitting at home playing video games and waiting on test results when the call comes… Congestive heart failure. Report to the ER immediately.

    My heart developed an irregular heart beat, which caused fluid build up in my chest. They admitted me and were getting ready to pull fluid off me.

    “What happened to your foot?”

    “I dunno, what happened to my foot? I can’t feel my feet.”

    Remember when I said I was sitting around playing video games, waiting for test results? Yeah, my foot was touching a radiator and I didn’t know it. 3rd degree burns, first four toes. Pinkie was spared.

    So I’m in the hospital a week. I lose 4 liters of water per day. 50 lbs. of water. No wonder I was drowning. Regular bandage changes.

    So now I’m facing two procedures. Electrocardio version to fix my heart, skin grafts to fix my toes.

    This whole time the new insurance covers 80% until I reach the out of pocket maximum of $6,500. Then it will cover 100%.

    The old insurance? ER visit for heart attack, hospital admission, 8 days in the hospital, open heart bypass… $250. $100 for meds and all the oxygen bottles I can carry.

    So we hit the out of pocket maximum almost immediately. My wife had a problem with her foot running through the Seattle airport. The doctor who did her toe amputation was decided to be out of network so that was another $1,100.


    I was never unemployed through all this. I had enough vacation and sick time banked to cover it. Cobra didn’t apply. Continuity of care didn’t apply because the new hospital DID have a cardiac department. Buying my old insurance wasn’t an option, it was far too expensive without employer backing. Income is too high for assistance (thank god) and I took steps to max out my HSA account, which is good because we drained it twice.

    Three 1 week hospital stays (2 for me, 1 for my wife), multiple ER visits, two more major medical procedures… That would be enough to break most people even with good insurance.

    So if you read any of that, let me ask you something… Why does the quality of my health care and my quality of life have to depend on who I work for and what insurance companies they choose to work with?

  • solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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    2 months ago

    too bad it only matters what the 1% want. can’t wait to see what those 62% will do when their retirement money gets pillaged too. spoiler alert: nothing

    • taiyang@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I think part of the problem with that argument is that only a small percentage of Dems want real coverage and the rest want status quo insurance crap- and this coming from someone who did vote.

      I still remember when ACA happened. The smart people who wanted single payer or similar were shunned out the room. If I was a slightly stupider or slightly more vengeful men, I too might have gotten disengaged from the political system.

      • timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        Except if the dems had solid majorities for years they could be pushed left easily. Look at California. Not as left as Lemmy wants obviously but so much further left than the majority of the country.

        • btaf45@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Except if the dems had solid majorities for years they could be pushed left easily.

          That is exactly what it will take for major progress. Otherwise it won’t happen.

        • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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          2 months ago

          I see, Democrats needed to win every single election for a decade or more before they could give us healthcare.

          Cool system you have there.

          • timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            Yeah, that’s kind of how it works.

            Do you think the tea party got their fascist takeover in 2010? No, they worked years and years and kept pushing their party further to the right every single time until it finally happened.

            Imagine that- you have to put in a couple hours of work at most every year or two for so many years to actually get what you want. Oh how absolutely awful that burden is. /s

            • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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              2 months ago

              They got their fascist takeover by being bankrolled by billionaires.

              And guess what? Republicans actually achieve things every single time they win. The moment Republicans have power they push their agenda and they get what they want. Democrats don’t do that. Democrats allow themselves to be stopped by the likes of Lieberman and Manchin every time they get majorities. Why is that, do you think?

              • timbuck2themoon@sh.itjust.works
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                2 months ago

                It’s tragic. But hey- where were the people voting in primaries to oust Liebermann? And Biden and company just passed the biggest climate bill ever. But sure- take your ball and go home. I’m sure things will magically get better by being lazy.

                I think the turning point for being mature is when people realize that politics is not about big changes. Maybe they campaign on them but things don’t happen like that. It takes a long time even if the answer is obvious. Thinking that all of a sudden the US will dismantle the healthcare and health insurance industries in ONE term of Congress when it underpins a ton of the economy (which includes people’s jobs mind you- not just made up crap on the stockmarket) is foolish. It is a leviathan and will take time to eventually get to universal with insurance (ie. public and private) or single payer, etc.

                And FWIW, it’s easier for Republicans to get what they want because all they want to do is break things. Trying to build something takes time. But again, go off.

                • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                  2 months ago

                  I think the turning point for being mature is when people realize that politics is not about big changes

                  No, that’s the turning point for being cynical. You’ve been beaten down over and over and learned to accept it. Big changes happen all throughout history, literally what are you talking about!?

                  You’re exactly the same as anti abolitionist Republicans in the 1800s that thought slave abolition was too extreme and we needed to incrementally abolish slavery.

                  And FWIW, it’s easier for Republicans to get what they want because all they want to do is break things. Trying to build something takes time. But again, go off.

                  I want to break a lot of fucking things.

                  This is all pointless anyway. Harris lost because of worthless liberal incrementalism! People won’t vote for it!

                  If you want to lose forever, keep doing what you’re doing.

      • btaf45@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I still remember when ACA happened. The smart people who wanted single payer or similar were shunned out the room

        Because neither Obama nor Clinton campaigned in 2008 for single payer. And there was no margin to spare in getting the 60 senate votes needed (although they should have only need 50 no 60), and so Lieberman all by himself was able to kill the Public Option that most people would have used.

  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    That’s nearly 2/3 of Americans, a pretty strong majority. Those other 38% of Americans can go fuck themselves, right along with the corporate oligarchs they worship.

    • UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      Replace First-past-the-post voting with a more representative electoral system and the people will at least have the chance to vote intelligently.

      • ebolapie@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        And how are we going to do that when we gave the keys to the party that banned ranked choice voting in 10 states?

  • Gammelfisch@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Until the USA can cap healthcare costs, shit ain’t gonna happen. Every single legal resident in the USA should have the same healthcare as the politicians.

    • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      Show me where Kamala or the DNC were promoting Medicare for all (or any improvements to healthcare for that matter) in this election cycle? And don’t say negotiating prices on 10 more prescription drugs or I’ll know you’re completely unserious.

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        The Dems aren’t saint on the topic, but they also aren’t explicitly against it.

        The Rrpublicans have been very clear that taking healthcare away from millions of people is a party priority. The only reason it didn’t happen last time was because of 1 Republican Senator willing to fall on his sword shortly before death and end his career a pariah of the party.

      • brezel@piefed.social
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        2 months ago

        i did’t say that dems are for it. i said reps are against it. maybe take more time to take in what someone says before arguing against something else.

        • crusa187@lemmy.ml
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          2 months ago

          R voters also happen to want good healthcare - shocking I know. My point is that the politicians are in bipartisan agreement that profits and lining their own pockets with bribe money is more important than American lives.

          My broader point is that Dems lost so many voters because they didn’t indicate any willingness to change from Biden’s policies on this matter. And, obviously, it’s so bad that the people have reached an extreme breaking point. Sadly this allowed Trump to position himself as the change candidate and win, even though in actuality it will be change for the worse through further privatization and rolling back the possibility of those with preexisting conditions to get coverage at all. It’s barbaric, and the Dems were supposed to do so much better for the working class in this area.

  • ME5SENGER_24@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    How is it only 62%?! Who actually looks at their medical bill and thinks, “Yep, this is accurate and absolutely worth every penny”? I have health insurance, and I still avoid going to the doctor unless I’m practically dying because I simply can’t afford it.

    And yet, I’m stuck paying nearly $10k a year for insurance—just in case something catastrophic happens—only to still face massive copays, out-of-pocket costs, and coverage denials. It’s completely counterintuitive.

    The system is broken.

    Screw the insurance industry.
    Screw the state of medical care in the U.S.

    Healthcare shouldn’t be a privilege—it’s a human right. Normalize that.

    • LillyPip@lemmy.ca
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      2 months ago

      The other 38% are either young and healthy enough to have never have had to deal with the healthcare industry or are just so staunchly individualistic they’d rather die than let someone else get a ‘handout’. ‘Taxes are theft’, ‘why should MY money go to blah’, me me me. Lack of empathy and/or a very naïve understanding of what society is actually for.

    • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      2 months ago

      i say this as a huge supporter of single payer but also as a trans person.

      in an ideal world, a national health system is great but then you also look at places like the uk where wait times for gender affirming care are up to four years and both puberty blockers are on the verge of being banned by the left of centre party.

      • LillyPip@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        The reasons for that, though, are largely because the NHS has been under attack by the right wing for more than a decade. It was a huge inflection point for Brexit, and there’s been a major effort to break it so they can point at how broken it is.

        Don’t use the NHS issues to judge how such a system would or should work for trans care. It’s been actively sabotaged.

        • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          2 months ago

          my point was that it’s susceptible to it in the first place… and the attacks on trans care come from both the tories and labour

          • LillyPip@lemmy.ca
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            2 months ago

            All social* systems are susceptible to bigotry, and fascistic capitalism most of all.

            Labour isn’t perfect by any stretch, but pretending both sides have been equally to blame is just as unfortunate in the UK as it is in the US, Germany, Australia, and Canada. One side may be slow to put your needs to the fore, but make no mistake, the other wants you dead.

    • fuzzyspudkiss@midwest.social
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      2 months ago

      Red state here - the biggest argument I hear here all the time is that if we get public healthcare the care quality will go down and we will have to wait 8 hrs to get seen for a heart attack. They point to Canada’s system and say most Canadians wish they had our system. So the answer, as always, is brainwashing.

  • caboose2006@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I tried to explain to a luddite like 10 years ago that their healthcare costs would go down. He said he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want to pay for someone else’s healthcare. He had insurance through work. I tried explaining to him that THAT’S the whole point of insurance, you pay for other people’s healthcare, you’re not just paying into an account that you then draw from. Your premium goes to someone else’s cancer treatment. He said I didn’t understand insurance. Dude had 3 kids too. So his healthcare costs proportionally to mine would have been waaayyy lower.

    Like, it’s a no brainer.

    • vividspecter@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      He said I didn’t understand insurance.

      Reminds me of fiscal conservatives that would always lecture people on economics, while not having even the slightest understanding of how it works.