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JustADudeBeingADood t1_j6yl981 wrote

This will create the same issue we have with high college prices. The government subsidizes the bill rather than attacking the inflated medical costs/greed which only makes healthcare CEOs more rich and kicks the problem down the road.

We saw the same thing happen with the government subsidized college loans/grants.

I'm all for loan forgiveness actually, as long as the root causes are also being addressed simultaneously.

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Pruedrive t1_j6yov8z wrote

I mean.. the goverment could move to a single payer universal healthcare system, like the rest of the industrial world.. then they can set the prices.

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JustADudeBeingADood t1_j6yq5a1 wrote

Hey I'm all for that too. Literally anything than the corporate greed infested healthcare system we have now.

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Pruedrive t1_j6yqim8 wrote

The way we pay for Healthcare is fucking ridiculous, and let's face it, it's pretty ghoulish companies profiting off of people's illnesses.

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Adventurous-Aide664 t1_j6za919 wrote

Exactly, for profit health insurance is a scam. Their only goal is to maximize profits for their shareholders, so that means they do all they can to avoid paying for care.

The system in other countries is much simpler because there are way fewer payers, sometimes only one and the goal of that agency is not to make profits.

Here we have thousands of middlemen that siphon off our money into their pockets while producing little to nothing of value and making everyone's lives more complicated.

By the way, the top 6 health insurance CEOs made $115 million last year. Just six people siphoned off over 100 million that could have gone to paying for healthcare. Disgusting

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Strat7855 t1_j6zj4bj wrote

Take it a step further; insurance should be for things that may happen. That's what the entire business model is supposed to be based on.

But everyone gets sick/injured at some point. There's no "may" about it.

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Educated_Eel t1_j6zdyrv wrote

Am doctor. completely agree. Great recent JAMA article on the subject. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2801097

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supermomfake t1_j71jde5 wrote

Nurse and case manager- left because my job kept becoming about “saving” money instead of caring for patients.

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[deleted] t1_j6zdxln wrote

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BobbyBuzz008 t1_j6zvugp wrote

That’s not entirely accurate. Connecticut did have a public option healthcare plan called the Charter Oak Health Plan. Every adult in CT could join and your premium was on a sliding scale based on your income. Governor Malloy killed the public option back in 2011 as he knew the CT Access Health insurance exchange couldn’t complete with it.

https://www.ct.gov/GovernorRell/cwp/view.asp?Q=422194

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[deleted] t1_j72n19v wrote

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Pruedrive t1_j72n8uw wrote

I wouldn’t use them as a comparison.. they have cut themselves off from the international community with brexit and our economy far surpasses theirs.

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[deleted] t1_j72okux wrote

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Pruedrive t1_j72rkkt wrote

I wouldn’t use Canada as an analogue either if we are being honest… they have a population smaller than CA. And you really can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

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[deleted] t1_j72trid wrote

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Pruedrive t1_j73286h wrote

There really aren't any peers that are scaleable.. or appropriate. That said though a whole host of other nations with nowhere near the same economic might as ours have figured it out.. surely we can. Also part of it probably will be a focus on preventative care.. tons of people would benefit from getting just annual checkups, more so when a medical professional tells them to put down the fork and do something healthy for a change.

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TreeEleben t1_j72b5a9 wrote

All medical industry spends a fortune every year on campaign donations. They are terrified of the government stepping in.

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Pruedrive t1_j72c35x wrote

Which should be the gold standard for.. this will probably help the broad range of us, while effecting the pockets of the wealthy.. ergo it must be good.

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Crombienator t1_j71trg4 wrote

First, the system absolutely needs to be fixed, and you do have greedy people abusing the system for profit no doubt. Second, there seems to be a massive misunderstanding about the difference between coverage and care. Simply erasing the fiscal woes in healthcare in no way guarantees universal "care." What good is having affordable insurance(or even free) when you have few doctors willing to participate in the government telling them what to charge, how much they can make, and what care they HAVE to provide. Is every doctor equal? Do they have the exact same qualifications? Do they all try the same? Do they all care the same? Pretending there aren't massive issues with the rest of the "industrial world" is just foolish.

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Pruedrive t1_j71uys8 wrote

I’m not sure how many people go into the medical field solely for financial gain… I would hope medical professionals are there cause they want to help people first and foremost. If this dissuades people from that line of work because, the government steps in and says, hey you really shouldn’t be making people go into debt for the rest of their lives, over circumstances that often are outside of their control just because you can.. well then fuck fuck those people. What’s even the point to having a Hippocratic Oath, if you are going to put a financial barrier between you and your patients. Now understand, I’m all for medical professionals being well paid.. but we pay stupid amounts for our healthcare in this country that a multitude of our other peer nations don’t, and there are huge factors to that, mainly how we pay for our healthcare.

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Crombienator t1_j71wrdx wrote

The best doctors in the world aren’t gonna work 60 hours a week for cheese. Can’t they care, and want to make a good living for there time and investment?

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shotpun t1_j73ws60 wrote

teachers are literally doing that right now and have been since the 80s

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Crombienator t1_j77zr1r wrote

With all respect to teachers. These two not even in the same stratosphere for comparison.

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D-a-H-e-c-k t1_j6z8dha wrote

At the state level sure. Don't agree with a national single payer health plan. Perhaps a federal network and framework, but I don't trust the Fed to manage such a service properly

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maybe_little_pinch t1_j6zfvu8 wrote

Eh. But then you will have red states refusing it and gutting it like they did with the Medicaid expansion. This whole “the states do it better” schlock needs to die when it comes to stuff like human rights. Healthcare is a human right.

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RWMach t1_j7137q3 wrote

The bigger issue I see is that no state even ATTEMPTS to implement a system like that in their own state. States like CT, NY and CA say it's such a good idea and the only way forward Yada Yada, but that never try making a state system despite every republican in the federal system saying it should be up to the states.

Well, if it's up to the states and no state implements anything, what does that say?

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D-a-H-e-c-k t1_j6zh0b7 wrote

No one has rights to other people's labor.

The closer the government the more accountable to its constituents. State level healthcare is on the same population scale as most other healthcare systems around the world.

To get right down to it I'd rather just have it at the municipal level.

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blumpkinmania t1_j6zmu56 wrote

That cant work because poor and sick people will just move to places that have universal care and bankrupt those places. It must be national.

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D-a-H-e-c-k t1_j6zpeeq wrote

Property values will accommodate demand.

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blumpkinmania t1_j700437 wrote

Yeah. I’m not sure keeping the poor and sick out by turbo charging already high housing costs is a viable let alone desirable idea.

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D-a-H-e-c-k t1_j709vsr wrote

That's a separate issue. Same with education. Housing values follow school performance.

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Pruedrive t1_j6za8qw wrote

Sure there is a lot of distrust but the federal goverment is perfectly capable of running large agency's and programs, as long as they properly fund them and give them enough autonomy to do their own thing. Can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

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shotpun t1_j73wosj wrote

imagine how fucking horrible the USPS would be if you made it a state by state thing. some things just need to be able to communicate internally on a national scale

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ertebolle t1_j6z1ssy wrote

Connecticut has very limited power to address that, though, unfortunately.

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bryanhealey t1_j71qp5g wrote

band together with MA, pass single payer.

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ertebolle t1_j71t0fi wrote

Would be the perfect thing to do the day after Aetna announces they’re abandoning Hartford.

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Nyrfan2017 t1_j6yzn1h wrote

I have been saying that for years they should start renaming laws to bandaids .. they aren’t fixing any issues just putting Band aids on it

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Alert-Ad687 t1_j6ywu5b wrote

Not really. For college, student loans and aid pay for tuition and fees at a $1:$1 ratio. There’s no discount.

This is “forcing” hospitals to negotiate perhaps $2 Billion in debt down to $20 Million. It’s a bargain.

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AtomWorker t1_j6z5jl5 wrote

I'm not sure what you mean. Tuition is massively overpriced because you're paying for schools to squander money on fancy new buildings and frivolous athletic programs. Even finance companies don't build such lavishly furnished facilities as your average university.

Personally, I think college sports should be decoupled from universities. Go with a European model where soccer academies are backed by pro teams instead of schools.

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Guy_Buttersnaps t1_j703wss wrote

> Tuition is massively overpriced because you’re paying for schools to squander money on fancy new buildings and frivolous athletic programs.

That doesn’t have much to do with it.

Tuition is inflated because of the government’s half-assed involvement - they use their power to make sure that pretty much everyone can get loans for education, and they underwrite those loans, but they don’t use their power to actually invest in education or to implement any sort of price control.

Imagine you have something for sale. You know that everyone wants / needs what you’re offering. You also know that it’s pretty much guaranteed that everyone will be able to finance what you’re offering, and you know that money is guaranteed and that whatever happens after will have no impact on your bottom line. You’ll charge whatever the hell you want.

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hamhead t1_j72upvj wrote

The problem is that fixing this basically requires that everyone *not* be able to get loans... which is "unfair"

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ImpossibleParfait t1_j6zae4m wrote

This is kind of a good idea, but 99% of college athletes don't go pro and most of them only play sports because of the scholarships. This wouldn't be a good idea in America unless college became affordable. It's a cart before the horse situation. In the US more people play sports in college to pay for college then they do with an intention of going pro.

College has become so expensive because goverment guaranteed loans allows colleges to charge more.

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AtomWorker t1_j721rww wrote

I get what you're saying, but schools have full control over the cost of tuition. Athletic programs and associated scholarships are part of massive marketing strategies to entice prospective students. They're not doing it because they're trying to alleviate financial burdens; it's all about revenue.

Plus, it's the upper middle class who most consistently take advantage of those scholarships. They're the only ones who can consistently afford the youth programs that typically unlock those opportunities.

Everyone seems to overlook the fact that corporate and political leaders serve on the boards of all these schools. It results in universities being corporate America's wet dream. Massive tax breaks and significant financial backing by the government.

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Alert-Ad687 t1_j6zcqjp wrote

What I mean is with Lamont’s proposal, hospitals/collectors would be giving a 90% discount on debts owed. $20 Million to pay off $2 Billion.

With student loans and financial aid, the college isn’t giving a discount.

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JustADudeBeingADood t1_j6yypsw wrote

I'm not saying there is a discount (well, there are with grants like Pell). I'm saying the government offers loans to 18 year olds that no private bank will offer outside of our current financial aid system. It has created a student loan crisis so bad the government is now forgiving loans...effectively creating a discount.

Because any 18 year old can and will sign up for any amount of government backed loans for college, colleges simply inflate their prices because they have no shortage of customers.

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jon_hendry t1_j6z0gcq wrote

The hospitals have already sold off the debt to bill collectors.

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Alert-Ad687 t1_j6zchjz wrote

What do you mean there is a discount with Pell? If the student brings $5k in Pell Grants to the university, their student account is credited $5k and not a penny more.

Yes, student loans have probably caused tuition inflation. But the government wiping out medical debt at a 90% discount is definitely…a discount. Not really a good comparison.

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[deleted] t1_j6zecud wrote

[deleted]

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Alert-Ad687 t1_j70nk41 wrote

Ehh, not sure that’s been the case. Most federal student loans for the past 10+ years have been Federal Direct loans, not funded by a private bank.

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No-Coast-Punk t1_j6zrqcc wrote

> only makes healthcare CEOs more rich

You're missing the part, where this is the entire point of the American medical system.

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WhittlingDan t1_j6zzyo8 wrote

>I'm all for loan forgiveness actually, as long as the root causes are also being addressed simultaneously.

You read my mind.

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Background_Steak t1_j702xsr wrote

to be fair a lot of for profit colleges are now defunct. And there's a sweeping relief package for defense to repayment applicants that's working its way through the court system. college prices are still to high but there has been a lot of action on the student loan front under biden.

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falconk27 t1_j705q12 wrote

It's completely different for the simple reason that college can be a optional cost, but medical debt is often not optional. Plus these are loans already taken out being purchased at a substantial discount.

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dicassano t1_j71g893 wrote

I absolutely agree with you on addressing the root causes, but I assure you that it will never be addressed, thanks to capitalism and power of lobbyist.

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mikemikemikeandike t1_j6zc99w wrote

Enough with the goddamn bandaids; fix our healthcare system!

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HybridNeos t1_j6zdufk wrote

I'm sure the thousands of people with medical debt would rather wait a decade to reform the healthcare system than have relief now /s. A win is a win and we can celebrate it while still pushing for the root cause to be addressed.

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ImProbablyHiking t1_j725mu6 wrote

Except now medical costs will go up because healthcare providers know the government will bail people out again. Such a good solution /s

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interiorcrocodemon t1_j6zg4x6 wrote

Democrats refuse to actually fix something in a way that would hurt their corporate donors.

Republicans just ensure that the poor people can't afford anything ever.

Can we get a third party now?

Or get the torches and pitchforks out until citizens united is overturned?

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Yum_Kaax t1_j6yj57u wrote

> Gov. Ned Lamont unveiled a plan Thursday to pay down as much as $2 billion in medical debt for Connecticut residents using $20 million in federal relief fund.

Not sure how that math works. Plans like this scare me because the cost tends to just get pushed to the taxpayer. I already pay an obscene amount for my own medical insurance and high deductible. How about Lamont put together a bill requiring lower deductibles for all healthcare plans and require full coverage after it is met. None of this "we pay 80% of your hospital visit after the deductible bs."

I also need an explanation as to how these hospitals can bill over $1000 for a COVID PCR test.

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-ctinsider t1_j6ylyd7 wrote

Under the proposal, which Lamont plans to include in his upcoming biennial budget, the state would partner with a nonprofit that purchases medical debt at a fraction of its original cost, then forgives borrowers.

Officials say the initiative would use funds from the federal American Rescue Plan. Residents would not have to apply and would simply receive notification that their medical debt has been forgiven.

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roo-ster t1_j6yxa1e wrote

> a nonprofit that purchases medical debt at a fraction of its original cost, then forgives borrowers.

In other words, these 'debts' have already been written off by the healthcare providers. They were then put out on the open market for bottom-feeders to bid for the right to extort payments from people who may or may not actually owe any money.

This is the "greatest country in the world"? Really?

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Shmeves t1_j6zhwgz wrote

Yup. Capitalism run rampant. Corporate greed/greed led to this. I’m glad the non profit exists to help, but it sucks that they’re necessary in the first place.

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houle333 t1_j70kdwv wrote

Hey, you wrote "bottom feeders" but that's kinda inaccurate. You should have written "group of private investors that includes Lamont's wife as a limited partner".

Wouldn't want people to get the wrong impression and think you are implying that the Lamont's are bottom feeders.

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jon_hendry t1_j6z037g wrote

It's the same thing John Oliver has done on his show. The medical debt can be bought for pennies on the dollar.

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GBJGBJGBJx3 t1_j6zuyob wrote

My mother passed away in '18 after a long battle with Breast Cancer and was burdened with tens of thousands in medical debt at the end of it even with decent insurance through Access Health. Sister and I had to forfeit our family home to creditors as a result. This is such a welcome move, though I wish some system to prevent this debt from accruing again was also underway. Happy to see CT leading in this area for once.

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SixToesLeftFoot t1_j70mllv wrote

Unless you or your sister signed something agreeing to pay, her bills are not on you. They can tell you that they are, and if you say you will pay them you are on the hook, but if your assets were your own (i.e. your moms name not on them) then you had every right to tell the insurance company to go fuck themselves; in plain English.

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GBJGBJGBJx3 t1_j70oqp7 wrote

Appreciate the input, but the home was still in her name at the time of death so it was up for grabs as soon as her estate opened. Luckily we knew enough to protect ourselves from getting on the hook for anything personally, but still such a shame to see the roof she worked tirelessly through treatment to keep over my sister and I's head basically go up in smoke because this country cares more about profits than human life.

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SixToesLeftFoot t1_j70pv7x wrote

Yeah, that does suck; sorry to hear it. And condolences on the loss of your mom.

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red_purple_red t1_j6yw7h6 wrote

The wins just keep coming in for Lamont

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ertebolle t1_j6z21wn wrote

Future scary-voiced Republican ad: "Some of the medical debt Ned paid off was from people being hospitalized for COVID, but we all know COVID is a hoax - where did that money really go?"

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bobbidoll666 t1_j6z6emv wrote

Idk I used to work 25 hrs and get medicaid. Now I'm full time and they want like 85 a week and I pay the first 2k anyway. Plus co-pays. I might as well quit and get a part time job. It would be easier

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WhittlingDan t1_j700z59 wrote

I have bunch of health issues and it got to the point I had to work less so I could get medicaid. In the last few years things have gotten worse and I'm going for disability but am not eligible for the regular social security part. I will get approximately $800 a month to live off for disability. It may have gone up touch.

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bigelow6698 t1_j6zymr4 wrote

A lot of people (myself included) openly advocate for Universal Healthcare.

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Blastoid84 t1_j724k2n wrote

I'd say the vast majority of reasonable citizens want this.

Those opposed IMO are just brainwashed that this is some socialist only thing. It's a basic need and one that the gov't should be working out based on how much we pay in taxes.

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lambaghetti t1_j7091ig wrote

Can we please stop fucking around and get UH

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MTGBruhs t1_j6zaqxa wrote

So, they're using 20 mil to buy down 2 Bil. Why don't they just make things cheaper in the first place, instead of overcharging?

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falconk27 t1_j706fc0 wrote

This is debt from people who can't easily pay so the hospitals/insurance find it cheaper to sell that bundled debt to collectors. The collectors now own the debt and can put in all the work to get those people to pay. If CT buys this debt, cheap because blood from a stone, they can just forgive it instead of trying to collect interest for years

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evilgenius12358 t1_j702tgq wrote

CT Health Care Premiums are about to go through the roof!

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happyinheart t1_j6ytecw wrote

Hey there unfunded pension liabilities. You just sit there growing even more massive.

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ertebolle t1_j6z1v5f wrote

They literally can't put any more money in the rainy day fund.

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happyinheart t1_j6zaglb wrote

The pension program and rainy day funds are separate programs.

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keepitupxxx t1_j6yyhi6 wrote

Yes debt for CT citizens should be corrected and cured🤔

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shibby69420 t1_j6zca6v wrote

I think this is fine, however there should be some additional caveats attached.

First, this doesn’t do anything to address the underlying issues in terms of how people are getting into this medical debt in the first place. There needs to be change around how medical systems and providers determine costs for the uninsured / underinsured.

Second, participants in the program should have to agree to regular, preventative care. The state should help them access that care and if needed, provide some financial support. Often times, large medical debt is incurred because conditions have spiraled out of control requiring significant intervention. By having these individuals access preventative care, conditions can be spotted earlier and intervention and treatment can occur, usually leading to lower costs to provide care.

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Otherwise_Ad_5069 t1_j72owi9 wrote

So the right thing to do was not pay my medical bills. Lesson learned.

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sully313 t1_j73pwk4 wrote

will this increase my taxes, as someone with no medical debt?

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Nyrfan2017 t1_j74qnb0 wrote

This is great except it doesn’t fix the issue of medical being thru the roof

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enigma7x t1_j750yxy wrote

People are in this thread expecting Ned Lamont to unilaterally implement socialized medicine as governor of Connecticut. Like jeez man he's using federal funds to buy up medical debt that's gone into collection and forgive it. Just trying to help in the ways he has the power to do so. Not every politician is a god emperor who is going to solve massive systemic problems in isolation. If this is your approach to politics you are in for a lifetime of utter disappointment and unhappiness.

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pesto05 t1_j770nxn wrote

or just don't pay the bill. problem solved. can't take what I don't have.

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Jawaka99 t1_j71zhfa wrote

Get your surgeries in now to get in on the handouts.

This isn't solving the problem its just throwing money away. Fix the problem with medical costs.

−1

KindlyAd5679 t1_j727cn8 wrote

Lamont is an #####s,and is digging the state into a grave,along with douche Pres.

−1

JoeInNh t1_j708e5v wrote

oh great, another govt bailout that will only increase prices. Debt does not dissapear!!

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year_39 t1_j72cnkt wrote

This is a plan that will use grant money, at no cost to us, to literally make medical debt disappear.

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JoeInNh t1_j72jzox wrote

Oh right because grant money comes out of thin air I forgot about that trick

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usernamedunbeentaken t1_j6z1zxm wrote

The federal aid from our ridiculous stimulus spending doesn't need to be spent, right? Can we just use this $20m to reduce our own debt? Basically offsetting federal irresponsibility with some state responsibility?

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bigbread2020 t1_j6zd7iy wrote

He's turning this state into a cold California we're so fucked

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saqmuel15643 t1_j6zk8z3 wrote

Man, if we stopped spending so much money on trying to ban legal firearms and make hundreds of thousands of CT citizens felons, we could probably afford this no problem

−8

Knineteen t1_j6zohwz wrote

So, this will just encourage idiots like me to NOT pay my medical bills.

Let it go into collections, string along the doctor for years with promises of payment and then wait for government to “rescue” me.

God bless Ned’s America!

−9

triplefastaction t1_j6zr89e wrote

Well got the idiot part right.

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Knineteen t1_j7067rd wrote

Of course! I'm stupid enough to play by the rules and be responsible for myself. I wish I weren't this dumb.

−3

WhittlingDan t1_j701mgn wrote

So people shouldn't get help because YOU would cheat the system? That speaks volumes about you.

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Knineteen t1_j7065fp wrote

They are cheating the system as well.

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WhittlingDan t1_j79qzmp wrote

This speaks volumes about the people you associate with, if you think everyone else is cheating as well.

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Knineteen t1_j79w0wy wrote

Boo hoo. We don’t live in a vacuum. Stop pretending there should be different rules for everyone simply because you want free healthcare.

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year_39 t1_j72dohb wrote

Even though you're being a willfully ignorant jerk about it for the sake of arguing, any medical debt you have should be forgiven and you as a human being should not have to pay for medical care.

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Knineteen t1_j73cjww wrote

Because it’s my right to force someone else to provide their service for free? That’s your argument?

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year_39 t1_j75ht6s wrote

Yes, all medical care should be completely and unconditionally free.

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bent_peepee t1_j6ym0uh wrote

anyone here want to pay my mortgage while we’re at it?

−20

SovietRaptor t1_j703xxw wrote

What a great idea, maybe we could all pay our mortgages collectively by drawing funds proportionally based on income.

1

koidrieyez t1_j6yk2pv wrote

Yeah bills of any kind don't just get "erased". They just get reassigned to those who didn't incur them.

−22

volanger t1_j6ysi7h wrote

Not exactly. The debt is often sold off immediately to another company for pennies the original cost. You, as the new owner of the debt, can either collect it or forgive it.

John Oliver did exactly this year's ago.

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koidrieyez t1_j6yzf6n wrote

Just a roundabout way of saying someone else is paying.

−15

volanger t1_j6yzvqo wrote

Watch the clip, he bought millions of dollars of debt for couple hundred thousand. And honestly I don't mind tax dollars doing that for low and middle income people. Money only ever goes up, and this debt relief will help millions of households and even allow people to start businesses if they wish.

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mikemikemikeandike t1_j6zc579 wrote

I already pay a boat load in taxes. There’s only so much people can take before we say it’s time to go.

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volanger t1_j6zeim2 wrote

There's a surplus they can use, hundreds of thousands isn't much for gov, and, and this is the important thing, the amount that this will generate cannot be ignored.

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mikemikemikeandike t1_j6zf5wo wrote

What are you trying to say? Between your wording and misuse of commas, I’m lost.

−3

zgrizz t1_j6yjm9m wrote

So, can I get all the money back that, like a responsible citizen, I paid in medical bills over the years? Or does all this tax money just go to people who didnt bother?

I'm not rich. I just work. And pay my bills. And do my best to get ahead.

−26

jon_hendry t1_j6z0a0z wrote

Just thank your lucky stars that you never racked up medical bills and then were stuck with a condition that left you unable to earn the money to pay them off.

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madnessdanz t1_j6yw8ms wrote

>I'm not rich. I just work. And pay my bills. And do my best to get ahead.

  • Literally everyone.
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