Do you still feel lost when it comes to healthcare in America?
This is something that has so much substance to it that we made it a two part series.
There’s a lot to cover and you want to understand how the process works, and what people have fears or uncertainty about.
We’re going to take a deeper look at healthcare and the process, and then you can start to understand how people feel.
You will see why Bernie Sanders and his plan has so many emotions attached to it.
You will be able to understand this whole system a little better, and be able to have conversations about it.
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How Did We Get Here?
You may ask yourself how did we get here with healthcare in America?
You have Bernie Sanders promoting a plan that may appeal to everyone, though it has its drawbacks and uncertainty.
You have a healthcare system that appears to be broken or which does not offer beneficial coverage to everyone.
One of the reasons we ended up in this place is due to taxes and the greed of excessive profits for insurance companies.
Another reason that the healthcare system is the way that it is may be attributed to varying political points of views or methods of how to fix it.
Obamacare was a really great idea where everyone would receive universal healthcare.
The problem is that there had to be compromise in this to make everyone happy.
It was a source of significant political debate, and many people weren’t happy with it.
The idea was great in that everyone would get healthcare which is the way that it should be.
The political debate raged on and there was a lot of criticism of the plan as a whole.
There was a lot of government inefficiency due to the website created for this program that simply didn’t work.
So while it was a great idea, it still didn’t work for everyone and it created a lot of political unrest.
It can help to look at how the process works or what some of the realities are in this situation.
If you don’t have healthcare, then that presents a very significant problem in that you can’t be taken care of when you need it most.
If you do have healthcare, there are a lot of flaws with the system though too.
Let’s take a look at how this process works, and what sort of issues you may have with healthcare as it exists today.
How Does The Process Work Now?
How does it work for us now?
Let’s walk through what happens and how this process usually works in a typical setting.
So you go to the doctor and have your appointment, and then you typically pay a copay.
If it’s an annual physical then you would likely have to pay more to go towards your deductible.
Keep in mind that deductible is usually at least a couple thousand dollars, and you are paying towards that on an annual basis.
Then when you reach that deductible insurance will cover a certain percentage.
So as you go to every doctor appointment you start to realize and think about that deductible and the copays that you have to pay out at the actual visit.
If you go to urgent care for an injury or something that comes up which must be dealt with right away, that’s a different expense.
Typically insurance is set up so that you pay more for an urgent care or emergency room visit.
You can expect to pay something along the lines of $75 at such a visit, and it’s typically due right there on the spot.
It may be less if it’s a copay to your doctor, but sometimes the need arises for urgent care or an emergency room visit.
If you have to get a medical procedure done, then that’s an entirely different expense.
Often insurance will cover a certain percentage because the doctor and hospital are in network.
There may be other specialists though like an anesthesiologist that may or may not be in network–and this of course would mean additional expenses to you.
This can cause stress because you don’t know what to expect and this may ultimately be a lot out of your pocket.
If you have no control over all of the specialists during such a procedure, you have no idea what to expect in terms of expenses.
So if you have a procedure or surgery done, you may end up with a much bigger bill at the end than you had anticipated.
These are the things people get frustrated about, and it’s confusing and very hard to navigate.
It’s hard to find answers, especially in writing.
Bernie would take that away and get rid of deductibles and copays, and this is what makes him so intriguing to so many people.
This sounds great, but apparently Bernie’s plan is even more extreme than other places who use this type of a system.
He says we spend so much on healthcare compared to other countries, but then he takes it even further in certain aspects.
So this is the baseline of how things currently work, and what sort of change Bernie may bring to things.
Looking At Some of the Fears
When something is unknown then people tend to fear it.
When it comes to healthcare, there are a lot of unknown variables and therefore it makes it quite confusing.
So a natural reaction when we don’t understand something is to feel fear.
There are many fears when it comes to healthcare in the US.
These can help you to understand the mindset of people, and may even help you to see the process more clearly.
- People can’t keep their insurance now: If something like this went through then this would frustrate people in a significant way. People would feel like they aren’t able to make their own decisions. They want to have a say in what happens in their own life of course. If people can’t keep their current insurance, then you can start to understand why this becomes a problem.
- Doctor quality may go down: There is the idea that doctors may get paid less which could make it a bad situation. This may mean that less people want to actually go through the effort of becoming doctors. This may be a myth or exaggerated, but the thought is still there. If the doctor quality goes down then that may lead to lesser healthcare and a wide range of issues attributed to it.
- Too expensive: It’s not exactly clear how the numbers would work out. There is the perception though that healthcare like this would come with a higher price tag. That means that there is the potential of this being expensive for everyone. Whenever people perceive that they will have to pay more for things, then this brings about fear and even outrage.
There are so many fears and negatives that you will hear people bring up.
You may see some of the positives, but still feel a bit fearful when you really get into it.
There is a tendency to fear the unknown and it’s natural to feel that way.
This is where listening to the news, doing your own research into these topics, and working to understand can really help you to be informed.
Understanding the fears is part of it, and now you can understand where people are coming from.
It Starts With Understanding The Basics
The truth is, this topic is confusing!
If you really look at it, there aren’t many people who fully understand how everything works.
There is so much jargon, and so much to understand.
It would be great if it it were somehow more simplified so that people could better understand this.
This episode isn’t getting into the nitty gritty, but rather looking at some of the basics.
This was about looking at the experiences that people have with healthcare for a basic understanding.
This was about understanding what the general thoughts and even fears were about this.
There are a lot of positives to what someone like Bernie proposes, and it’s important to remember that.
Perhaps that’s why so many people get behind him, because they see hope.
It can be good for people to have an option to opt out of something like this and keep their current insurance.
Basically it’s good for people to have choices, and to have a say in what works best for them.
If you would like a little bit of help with some of the vocabulary, you can take a look at this.
Medicare for All? A Public Option? Health Care Terms, Explained
written on January 14, 2020 by Selena Simmons-Duffin.
Takeaway
Healthcare is confusing, which is part of the problem!
There are so many reasons why this is a big issue.
Ask others what they think about this.
Do your research and use the facts that you get from a podcast like this to help you to be informed.
This is relevant and current, and you are bound to hear a lot about it in the upcoming months.
This is a great conversation topic and a good one to follow in the news!
If you have any questions, please leave them below in the comments section.
We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
