Which would actually save money!

I’ve wondered the same thing. Seems like it would need to be paired with price controls or public control of essentials, but that’s sort of a “seize the means of production” conversation that I don’t think would be popular unless something like AI genuinely puts enough people out of work.

It’s almost like a healthcare system that creates an arms race between health insurance companies denying care vs healthcare providers overcharging leaves us paying huge amounts of $$ while not receiving adequate coverage.

Yeah, they’re kind of right that “unnecessary care” happens, but they’re conveniently ignoring that they are a large contributor to the problem. Without insurance companies leaving hospitals and patients on the hook for thousands at a time, you might not see $20 bandaids, $2000 ambulance rides, and expensive tests that didn’t really need to be done.

It’s such a a fun game. And the time travel mechanic was really creative.

There’s a fake one circulating (that even made it to the IMDB page!) that got me to look up the original.

Here’s the fake:

Yeah, I like PugJesus and have full confidence.

Thanks for tagging me. This is a little upsetting. =(

Ooh, that is pricey, but I bet it’s amazing. I don’t often treat myself to the good stuff.

Sounds like good advice, thanks.

Although I probably DO need tea that’s tolerant of poor brewing. I have small children (and ADHD) and am very bad about forgetting that I have tea brewing…

I love Irish breakfast tea, but I don’t think I’ve ever had Darjeeling. Will have to pick some up soon to compare.

Damn, I did too!

Unfortunately as long as there’s a profit to be made, some corpos will always buy your favorite IP out and wear it like a skin suit.

You’re entitled to that belief, but I’ve seen the first one work in my field firsthand, as I said. We’ve also seen universal work in multiple countries, and I’m optimistic we’ll see ultimately see it in the US too.

The point was to throw out some ways that one can push for change without murdering people and hoping for the best, not to solve healthcare reform in a Lemmy comment section.

I don’t presume to have the answers, but there are plenty of alternatives if we’re comparing them to murder in the street.

I replied to another comment about one specific way to introduce licensure risk to insurance company doctors as a way to get them to change their policies. It happens all the time, and the more people that know about it, the better. (They rely on people being unfamiliar with how they operate)

Long term, I think our best bet is to keep pushing for universal healthcare that will effectively make health insurance obsolete. It’s a winning message (something like 60% of America already supports it), and we’ve come close at least twice in recent history.

Yup, I think we’re totally on the same page here.

The problem I see, though, is all the most morally defensible and procedural fixes require the healthy functioning of institutions that have been weakened, dismantled and / or perverted and turned against us. And a frightening number of us see that now and feel that normal channels for change are closed. I’m not at quite that point myself, but I know how bad it is for so many and I don’t blame anyone who reads our current situation that way.

Relevantly, I think this also makes a good argument that “how we solve things” as a society is as important the problems we’re solving. When our institutions are weakened or bypassed (through corruption, lobbying, or vigilantism), it’s destabilizing and leads to bigger issues. I hate how much power insurance companies have over care too, and I get it, I just want to urge everyone to be cautious about this familiar type of language that tries to frame violence as the “only remaining option”. It’s almost always pure rationalization coming from people’s anger rather than truly being our only option.

Always two, there are.

tldr: one idea would be challenging their ability to hide behind licensed MDs who are paid to shoulder liability

This is actually my field, and I’ve spent countless hours of my life arguing with these insurance companies on behalf of patients they’ve denied, (losing more often than I’ve won, but you have to try). They suck.

When they’re being exceptionally unreasonable, the bridge-burning hail mary I would throw would be threatening the license of the provider that denied the appealed claim. It has worked a surprising number of times.

Most people don’t realize that it’s not just paper-pushers at insurance companies who are denying claims. Those folks can routinely deny things that policy excludes, but if it’s a judgement call or a challenge that their policy isn’t meeting medical necessity, they hide behind doctors on their payroll who are putting their license on the line when they have to say that the insurance company is justified. Those individuals can be reported to their licensing board or even sued. Short of voting in universal healthcare one day, I think this is the most direct route to challenge this nonsense.