{"id":50451,"date":"2020-05-05T01:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T01:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/127.0.0.1\/aee\/aee-1359-health-in-america-part-2-drug-prices-insurance-companies-and-demonizing-wealth\/"},"modified":"2023-04-25T15:41:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T15:41:44","slug":"aee-1359-health-in-america-part-2-drug-prices-insurance-companies-and-demonizing-wealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allearsenglish.com\/aee-1359-health-in-america-part-2-drug-prices-insurance-companies-and-demonizing-wealth\/","title":{"rendered":"AEE 1359: Health in America Part 2: Drug Prices, Insurance Companies, and Demonizing Wealth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you still feel lost when it comes to healthcare in America?<\/p>\n

This is something that has so much substance to it that we made it a two part series.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot to cover and you want to understand how the process works, and what people have fears or uncertainty about.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to take a deeper look at healthcare and the process, and then you can start to understand how people feel.<\/p>\n

You will see why Bernie Sanders and his plan has so many emotions attached to it.<\/p>\n

You will be able to understand this whole system a little better, and be able to have conversations about it.<\/p>\n

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How Did We Get Here?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You may ask yourself how did we get here with healthcare in America?<\/p>\n

You have Bernie Sanders promoting a plan that may appeal to everyone, though it has its drawbacks and uncertainty.<\/p>\n

You have a healthcare system that appears to be broken or which does not offer beneficial coverage to everyone.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons we ended up in this place is due to taxes and the greed of excessive profits for insurance companies. <\/p>\n

Another reason that the healthcare system is the way that it is may be attributed to varying political points of views or methods of how to fix it.<\/p>\n

Obamacare was a really great idea where everyone would receive universal healthcare.<\/p>\n

The problem is that there had to be compromise in this to make everyone happy.<\/p>\n

It was a source of significant political debate, and many people weren\u2019t happy with it.<\/p>\n

The idea was great in that everyone would get healthcare which is the way that it should be.<\/p>\n

The political debate raged on and there was a lot of criticism of the plan as a whole.<\/p>\n

There was a lot of government inefficiency due to the website created for this program that simply didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

So while it was a great idea, it still didn\u2019t work for everyone and it created a lot of political unrest.<\/p>\n

It can help to look at how the process works or what some of the realities are in this situation.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have healthcare, then that presents a very significant problem in that you can\u2019t be taken care of when you need it most.<\/p>\n

If you do have healthcare, there are a lot of flaws with the system though too.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look at how this process works, and what sort of issues you may have with healthcare as it exists today. <\/p>\n

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How Does The Process Work Now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

How does it work for us now? <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s walk through what happens and how this process usually works in a typical setting.<\/p>\n

So you go to the doctor and have your appointment, and then you typically pay a copay.<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s an annual physical then you would likely have to pay more to go towards your deductible.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that deductible is usually at least a couple thousand dollars, and you are paying towards that on an annual basis.<\/p>\n

Then when you reach that deductible insurance will cover a certain percentage.<\/p>\n

So as you go to every doctor appointment you start to realize and think about that deductible and the copays that you have to pay out at the actual visit.<\/p>\n

If you go to urgent care for an injury or something that comes up which must be dealt with right away, that\u2019s a different expense.<\/p>\n

Typically insurance is set up so that you pay more for an urgent care or emergency room visit.<\/p>\n

You can expect to pay something along the lines of $75 at such a visit, and it\u2019s typically due right there on the spot.<\/p>\n

It may be less if it\u2019s a copay to your doctor, but sometimes the need arises for urgent care or an emergency room visit.<\/p>\n

If you have to get a medical procedure done, then that\u2019s an entirely different expense.<\/p>\n

Often insurance will cover a certain percentage because the doctor and hospital are in network.<\/p>\n

There may be other specialists though like an anesthesiologist that may or may not be in network\u2013and this of course would mean additional expenses to you.<\/p>\n

This can cause stress because you don\u2019t know what to expect and this may ultimately be a lot out of your pocket.<\/p>\n

If you have no control over all of the specialists during such a procedure, you have no idea what to expect in terms of expenses.<\/p>\n

So if you have a procedure or surgery done, you may end up with a much bigger bill at the end than you had anticipated. <\/p>\n

These are the things people get frustrated about, and it\u2019s confusing and very hard to navigate.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to find answers, especially in writing.<\/p>\n

Bernie would take that away and get rid of deductibles and copays, and this is what makes him so intriguing to so many people.<\/p>\n

This sounds great, but apparently Bernie\u2019s plan is even more extreme than other places who use this type of a system. <\/p>\n

He says we spend so much on healthcare compared to other countries, but then he takes it even further in certain aspects.<\/p>\n

So this is the baseline of how things currently work, and what sort of change Bernie may bring to things.<\/p>\n

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Looking At Some of the Fears<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When something is unknown then people tend to fear it.<\/p>\n

When it comes to healthcare, there are a lot of unknown variables and therefore it makes it quite confusing.<\/p>\n

So a natural reaction when we don\u2019t understand something is to feel fear.<\/p>\n

There are many fears when it comes to healthcare in the US.<\/p>\n

These can help you to understand the mindset of people, and may even help you to see the process more clearly. <\/p>\n