Lots of focus now around the flaws of the american healthcare system. What can we do now to ensure a better future?
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Vote better.
I don’t know. But on November 19th I had a stroke, treatment and ICU stay of 3 days was over $200,000. Honestly wish I didn’t survive it, would have been much cheaper.
- Saying “American Healthcare System” there’s no such thing.
There are many, many disparate elements to medicine in the US. Understanding all those elements and how they relate is primary.
Protest, riot, strike, etc. The government is owned by the robber barons. Aligning healthcare with a profit motive is violence of the highest order and we should respond in kind.
Yup. Peaceful protest doesn’t register to rich people. They can’t hear it over the clinking sounds of their champagne glasses as they toast their profit margins.
Collectivize it, Cuba has a much better system at much lower costs.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Assuming you’re a US citzen:
- Identiy that the fault is how we fund healthcare, not “government meddling” or “bad researchers”.
- Pick a major political party.
- Register as a member and find out where your local meetings are.
- Make clear that the ONLY issue you care about is fixing healthcare.
- Volunteer, donate, or run if you can.
- Vote in every general, primary, or special election for whomever makes fixing healthcare a priority. Spoil if you must, but VOTE.
- Dont fall for lies.
Fixing healthcare funding is itself broadly popular, but since its inherently unprofitable to care for sick, disabled, or elderly people all possible fixes are either “socialism” or “die quickly”
Healthcare should be like roads or schools or calling the police, not like cars or contractors or hiring a lawyer.
The single greatest problem with medicine in the US is insurance. It makes costs horrendous.
I can pay less out of pocket for certain procedures than my copay.
It shouldn’t be like calling the police.
If you call the police you might wind up dead or in an institution for months or weeks.
If you call for an am ambulance, you might wind up dead or in an institution for months or weeks AND will definitely have a huge bill that you have to pay.
The current parties will do nothing. We would need to replace over half of both legislative houses with people who support single payer Healthcare (right now there’s like less than 5 iirc) to make substantial change.
elect different lawmakers
Elect lawmakers that would pass single payer, like they have in europe. However, this is an unrealistic expectation in our modern political landscape. So we need to change the political landscape to make that possible.
- find a way to dismantle the right wing propaganda machine, or make one as powerful but not a fountain of lies. Difficult since the right wing has the full support of the billionaire owned news media. They are pros who have studied pyops inside and out and excel at it.
- join the democratic party and attempt to overthrow its pro-rich leadership. difficult. Is it really a democratically run institution?
create alternative orgs
create coops and/or nonprofits to provide better options than predatory insurance companies. maybe easier because its grassroots and small compared to changing our national leadership. There’s a danger of genuinely helpful institutions being outlawed due to mainstream medical lobbying.
direct action
we’ve already seen how successful propaganda of the deed can be. but will it actually produce change, or just lead to repression? it has at least communicated the extent to which Americans are disgruntled - not just the deed itself, but the overwhelmingly positive reaction to it.
general strikes, boycotts, other demonstrations might be a possibility. you need an effective campaign to get people on the same page.
The system won’t allow lawmakers that will enact real change
Yup.
Won’t happen until we legislate companies from contributing to electoral candidates and severely limit the amount an individual can contribute.
Which won’t happen.
So we’re basically done for.
As a Canadian… try and snag us some good doctors as the American healthcare system collapses.
Maybe we can get the Canadian ones back.
Get involved with Mutual Aid groups.
Learn some basic First Aid.
Make connections with doctors and nurses who want to escape this broken system and get them involved with Mutual Aid groups.
This last part shouldn’t be too hard, depending on where you live. I live in a progressive city with lots of doctors with good values who already do tons of charity work as it is. Getting them involved wouldn’t be too difficult because they’re likely already involved at some level. I’ve had doctors and dentists who volunteer at our free clinics for those without medical coverage, so it seems like taking the next step into Mutual Aid is probably something they’re game for.
