[bugglebeetle]

No, we do it that way because both political parties are bought and sold by the assholes who run insurance companies. They use this corruption to impose a private tax on everyone. No one in the US is saving money. We spend more than most wealthy country for worse outcomes.

[lotsofpulp]

The insurance companies are not that powerful. Pharmaceutical companies are far more profitable, as are healthcare software, other tech, doctor groups, hospital groups, etc. You may want to look into liability laws and tort reform for other big reasons for why healthcare in the US costs a lot.

[bugglebeetle]

Do you work in the industry or something? Yes, all of for profit healthcare is a monstrosity that should be abolished. Everyone I’ve ever met knows the first part of that and it does not excuse how awful health insurance companies are or all the terrible things they’ve done, both past and present. Tort reform has been tried on the state level and it has no impact. It’s just a canard trotted out by those who are trying to keep the human suffering money pump pumping.

[lotsofpulp]

No, I am just looking at the numbers. Typically, businesses with a lot of power have high profit margins (who wouldn’t want to earn more money?).

[bugglebeetle]

If I had to chose between making more money off screwing over an unemployed middle aged person seeking medical treatment or less money not doing that, I would choose the latter. As would most people, because they’re not depraved.

[itishappy]

That's not true at all. No need to speculate, insurance companies are real. In fact, you're complaining about the fact that most people have already chosen the former. Is the medical industry really filled with depraved individuals? I suspect you're looking at this differently than them, and I'm interested to know where you think that disconnect might be.

[bugglebeetle]

Most people don’t work in the health insurance industry…? But the management of health insurance companies are almost certainly filled with depraved individuals. They’re repeatedly caught engaging in all kinds of evil and deceptive tactics to deny people necessary treatments, including those in quite desperate circumstances. The lower-levels? Who knows. Like a lot of other human suffering industries in the US, they probably just compartmentalize it away or are steered away from thinking about by the c-suite sociopaths who run them.