Are you seriously suggesting that socialized medicine will prevent American obesity and alllllll the associated problems that come with that? Or that the processed food industry will simply start producing healthy food?

There is a reason the world looks at American's as fat gluttons.

 

RFK is in charge. All will be well in this capitalist regime. Socialized medicine won’t solve much really. Just stop people from being bankrupt and level the playing field of affordable care with long wait times. We are already short staffed so that if we cared we’d create a national guard system of healthcare workers. Fixed the tarriff debacle by creating needed service jobs that can’t be outsourcer. Boom.

 

prevent entirely? no. is it part of a solution toward a healthier and better-functioning society? yes.

even if outcomes didn’t improve at all, we wouldn’t be paying rent-seeking middlemen who do nothing to improve care or prices.

i’m also in favor of actually regulating food production. not based on dip**** podcast bro-science, but on actual nutrition science, of course.

 

You haven't experienced actual socialized medicine, it seems. Multi-month waits, chronic staffing shortages, arbitrary restrictions and requirements that prevent you from actually making headway on treatment. God help you if you need specialist care in any kind of timely manner. This is all with our flagship "free" program, Tricare Prime.

There's a reason Canadians come down for medical treatment in the US and pay out of pocket, and it's not because their health care system is good.

 

And yet how many people put themselves through 20 years of military service ( big government) just for Tricare?

Ask someone why they're doing 20. "I need that Tricare for the family" is one of the most common answers. Nobody is suggesting Tricare is flawless, but the cost effectiveness more than often outweighs it's cons. Next time some "small government" vet bro complains about Tricare, ask them which company health insurance plan they pay for.

 

I quit the reserves for many reasons, but one of them was Tricare is not nearly as impressive as people make it out to be. I’d rather be able to put 8.5k/yr in my HSA. Sacrificing time with your children while you’re relatively young, so you can have some “free” healthcare when you’re 60 is not my idea of a good return on investment. There are other ways to have supplemental insurance that fit well within a 30 year airline pilot’s net worth and retirement spending profile.

 

Statistically around 15-20% people make it to retirement, so your theory doesn't really pan out in actual numbers. The vast majority of people give it up for something else. Never let facts get in the way in the way of a good internet rant, am I right?

As someone who has drawn on Tricare for a long time, there are many problems with it. I listed some of them above without delving into partisan politics nonsense. Another reason it sucks so bad is the negative retention incentive for specialists. Doctors, especially specialists, are far underpaid compared to their civilian peers. This leads to shortages in the field, and they get overworked. This results in massive attrition the moment they are eligible to separate, sending experienced practitioners to the civilian world where they are better treated and better compensated.

Again, I don't say this as a theoretical. Tricare is an absolute **** show unless you're perfectly healthy and just going for your annual physical. Don't get me started on the 4+ hour pharmacy waits, either.

 

I went to pilot training with a bunch of Euros. I remember one day the IP's discussing medical and an American commenting on how the Euro healthcare system such a better system. Nearly all the Euros in the room gave him a funny look and one pipped up, "Ya, if you like paying 50% tax only to wait months to get an x-ray." A bit of hyperbole I suppose, but these particular Euros (from multiple countries) seemed to think it wasn't the Shangri-La that some over here think it is.




Ya and then we spend a lot of those years jumping from Doctor to Doctor because health systems keep dropping Tricare. We had one Dr in the local area who kept accepting Tricare because his son was in our Guard unit. Then one day his practice was bought out and Tricare was dropped almost immediately. Tricare certainly has its perks, but it has a lot of warts as well. I've talked with Dr friends who say that accepting Tricare is basically charity work.

 

I have never met a single person who stays in for 20 just for Tricare.

 

I'm speaking of ex-mil pilots in the airlines. If you have the numbers for Vet pilots on Tricare vs company insurance id love to see it. And I say this as ex-mil myself without Tricare.

I'm with Crew dawg, I'd rather put $ in my HSA.