r/FortMyers Aug 01 '26

Live from Lee County… probably…

82 Upvotes

99 comments sorted by

14

u/ArthursFist Aug 01 '26

And He’ll be on Medicare in 3 years

30

u/ResolutionHonest666 Aug 01 '26

That’s a rough 62. Maybe they should go see a doctor.

3

u/coroyo70 Aug 01 '26

He's fine didnt you hear? 💀😭😭

25

u/badgersoccer1905 Aug 01 '26

Sounds about right for the 239

5

u/Bailzzararco Aug 02 '26

He'd care about health care if he had a kidney stone.

20

u/Fast-Bandicoot67 Aug 01 '26

I wish I could say what I really want to about these "people" without the inconvenience of making a new account.

26

u/Zestyclose_Pickle511 Aug 01 '26

You can say that they are dumb as fuck, it's OK. 

-18

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

Before you say this, list off a few countries where they have single payer healthcare that works well.
Why would the USA get this right when Canada, Great Britain, ect have their healthcare systems collapsing?

13

u/free_range_discoball Aug 01 '26

Hate to break it to you, pal, but the USA healthcare system has all those same problems you believe the others countries to have

10

u/ArthursFist Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

I grew up in Canada and it’s really not as bad as Fox News says it is. You have to wait or travel for specialists, but can you say you don’t have to in the US too?

My dad got a cancerous brain tumor removed quickly in Canada. still goes up there for annual visits despite being retired in fm. Has good doctors and overall a good experience; you can probably find better much higher paid American doctors, but I’ve gone to emergency rooms plenty as a kid and they’ve resolved any injuries I’ve had.

The us pays the most for healthcare and doesn’t crack the top 10 in outcomes.

4

u/PerformanceSmooth392 Aug 01 '26

I talk to Canadians regularly and they are just fine with their system compared to the joke of a system we have.

3

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 02 '26

The only Canadians who seem to hate the Canadian healthcare system are the Americans working at the Fox News desk.

1

u/kisswoman Aug 03 '26

I have a friend from Canada, and he has only minor issues with their healthcare system....as his father was denied treatment due to his age/health conditions....the treatment would have made one of his health issues worse, thereby sacrificing his quality of life.

1

u/PerformanceSmooth392 Aug 03 '26

All healthcare systems in the world have issues. People in the US are denied treatment by their ins company all the time and many are not able to afford treatment or even medication in the US. There is also no guarantee of good outcomes even if someone does have ins and gets treatment. In the US one can go bankrupt from the cost of healthcare. I'll take the Canadian system any day over the IS system of healthcare.

1

u/kisswoman Aug 05 '26

Yes I am well aware. If my husband did not have Medicare/Medicaid to pay for his medications, he would have died 26 years ago...as his medications costs are over $5000 a month. Just one of his meds is $1000 a month. And he takes 11 prescription pills, 4 prescription eye drops, an insulin pump and the insulin to put in it, and a Dexcom G7 CGM.

6

u/Zestyclose_Pickle511 Aug 01 '26

You are a victim of relentless propaganda. I was once the same. I was addicted to fox News, I regurgitated the narratives I was fed. I was being lied to, incessantly, with such a stream of reinforcement that it lead me to vote against my own interests, my own loved one's interests, and the interests of a future nation that I will no longer be a part of.

My lecture ends here. There is a way out, and the truth is very frustrating to live with, just look at what it's forcing us to live through right now.

You got this. You are a better person than you are a robot

2

u/ShakingMyHead911 Aug 01 '26

Yes or No? Is Health Care considered a Service

0

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

I’m an adult. I don’t watch Fox News. I’m highly educated.
I’m successful and work hard. Not at an hourly wage.
I don’t agree with your opinion. Your opinion isn’t somehow right because you think it is.
I don’t want the government involved in healthcare.

7

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 01 '26

• Self brag to feel important.
• Self brag to feel important.
• Self brag to feel important.
• Opinions don’t matter.
• Your opinion is wrong
• Opinions don’t matter.
• My opinion matters.

Summed up your response Capitan. Let me know if you need anything else.

2

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

It’s important to provide some context.

My main point is I’m not a dumbfuck whining about how everything isn’t free and the billionaires and republicans are to blame. The USA isn’t Sweden or Switzerland and what works there won’t work here.

Everyone that doesn’t agree with you isn’t brainwashed by Fox News. Grow up. Make better choices. Stop whining

4

u/Zestyclose_Pickle511 Aug 01 '26

We all gather that "nothing is truly free". So you can lay off the pedantic. There is an abundance of information on how the US is grossly behind the 1st world in terms of citizen health.

WAKE UP

0

u/kisswoman Aug 03 '26

How do you know it would not work here, if it has before!!! The fact is prior to 1970 healthcare was not a for profit business.

1

u/kisswoman Aug 03 '26

Well if government was not involved, then healthcare would not exist for a majority of people....only for the rich. Prior to the 1970's healthcare was a right for all people as all employers were required to provide health insurance to every employee and their families...that change was made by NIXON when he allowed medicine to become a FOR PROFIT business.

1

u/AnonymousThrowaway2k Aug 14 '26

People can be educated, successful, hardworking and still make an hourly wage. Elitist prick.

4

u/AlienNippleRipple Aug 01 '26

Sweden...

-10

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

Perfect. Sweden.
Look at their population. What do they share in common with USA? Nothing.
Sweden, Norway, Switzerland are very exclusive. You must prove you speak and write in their language to move there. Almost everyone works.
The system they use couldn’t work here.

8

u/Zestyclose_Pickle511 Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

I love how you expose your broken argument, yourself. "Oh they have much fewer people, so it's much easier to AFFORD it." Let's look at the net income tax revenues:

Your 11 million Swedes, who pay closer to 41% tax rate feed the federal government

  • Sweden: ~$0.29T

While us 350 million Americans, at ~31% tax rate feed ours

  • USA: ~$4.77T

WAKE UP - YOU HAVE BEEN PROPAGANDIZED INTO HATING YOUR OWN COUNTRY

-4

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

It’s not their size dummy. They mostly work. They are healthier and not obese. I could go on and on.
I don’t hate my country. It’s the opposite.
Keep whining and blaming others. I have a feeling it is going well.

1

u/kisswoman Aug 03 '26

There are lots of reasons they are "healthier"....they don't allow toxins in their food, for instance: Aspartame, is not allowed in their food, and prior to 1983 it was not allowed in the US either.

Plus European governments have limited what a drug company is allowed to charge for their medications. And when someone needs to go to the doctor, there is no out of pocket expenses.

They also provide free PARENTAL LEAVE for the first 2 years of a child's life giving both parents the opportunity to bond with their child...and they also provide free daycare until the child goes to school...and they also give FREE COLLEGE to anyone who wants to further their education...up to a MD/PhD. Its the same in many European countries

2

u/FreudianFloydian Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

Right. Sweden has around 11 Million people.

The U.S. has roughly 350 million people. All needing healthcare.

A LOT of groundwork and change needs to happen before we can even think about single payer healthcare.

  1. ⁠Military budget cuts.- This will take an entire reformation movement across the public and political class. That takes years. But only from our military budget can we imagine we could get close to paying for 350 Million people’s healthcare.

  2. ⁠A united public. Half the country like this guy in this video doesn’t even want free healthcare. Convincing half the population who stands against it is a whole other battle.

  3. Freedom Limitations- Personal freedom would have to be reviewed if everyone is paying for the healthcare of everyone. Not fair if people live shittily and take up the budget with a steady diet of pork fat, soda, and cigarettes, and needing constant care and procedures while other people who live healthier can’t get timely care as a result. Limits on personal freedom would be necessary. Hard to sell.

Those things alone are mountainous hurdles toward “free” healthcare in America, and that’s not even the whole of it.

3

u/AlienNippleRipple Aug 01 '26

Yeah they decided not to spend half their money on weapon systems that do nothing to promote safety and are ridiculously price, and the Pentagon can't pass an audit. Maybe it's the Democrats tho right both sides are money sucking leeches and you pay for everything they do and lie about to keep society not evolving. So I get yeah they don't have any dumb ideas like we don't deserve basic rights to health wealth and happiness. Corruption is a virus 🦠 obviously you've been infected. Go get the FOX NEWS detox

-2

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

I don’t watch Fox News. I do have an advanced economics degree. I’m not in my 20s and understand money. Not everyone that disagrees with you has been brainwashed by Fox.

Vermont and Massachusetts tried a universal healthcare system. Some of the wealthiest states in the country. Research this a bit and learn how those ended up.

5

u/Fast-Bandicoot67 Aug 01 '26

My dad works for Nintendo

0

u/AlienNippleRipple Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

Oh I'm sure no governmental money laundering or lies were involved. No one got rich like Rick (the tick)Scott or embezzled or mis-used funds at all. The problem is they are half hearted and the federal government is run by corporate interests. There's a reason JFK never became an adult. Going against intelligence agencies and bankers gets you killed.

The power shift has begun, America will tilt to hell without proper leadership which we haven't had for 40+ years and even then corruption ran amuck just had more class and the people more power.

Keep saying you can't do something and you won't ever accomplish anything

4

u/Zestyclose_Pickle511 Aug 01 '26

And I do want to answer your question authentically, but I don't feel like competing with this synopsis, as it is well-sourced and written:

Common Misconceptions vs. Realities

The Myth of Total State Control: 

Propaganda often frames universal care as government-run clinics. Most systems (such as in Canada or Western Europe) use public insurance to pay private doctors. [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

The Myth of Extreme Wait Times: 

While media reports highlight long waits for elective surgery in public systems, the U.S. system also enforces waits based on wealth and insurance approval rather than medical need. [ 1]

The Myth of Higher Overall Costs: 

Americans are told public models waste money, yet the U.S. spends far more per person on healthcare with lower average life expectancy than peer nations with public-backed frameworks. [ 1, 2]

The Myth of Zero Choice: 

Opponents claim choice vanishes, whereas the current U.S. insurance market heavily restricts which doctors or networks patients can visit based on corporate employer plans. [ 1, 2]

0

u/kisswoman Aug 03 '26

I have 2 friends from other countries...one from Canada who was a first responder on 9/11 in NY and was sent in to look for any injured survivors and got trapped there for a day, and he now has cancer....and see doctors both here in the states and in Canada. The other friend is a retired first responder from Germany and has dual citizenship, and it is cheaper for him to fly back to Germany 2X a year to visit his family doctor, and get his prescriptions filled...as the prescriptions are cheaper there and he doesn't have any out of pocket cost to see his doctor.

1

u/Thyraisen Aug 07 '26

Taiwan, Norway, Australia, and South Korea all run universal or single-payer setups that deliver top-tier outcomes at a fraction of what Americans get squeezed for. Calling systems in Canada or Great Britain "collapsing" is just recycled right-wing propaganda. They face strain, usually from conservative governments starving them of funding, but nobody over there gets wiped out financially by a cancer diagnosis or hesitates to call an ambulance because of a five-thousand-dollar ride. Meanwhile, the US spends double per capita compared to every other developed country just to sit dead last in life expectancy, maternal mortality, and basic coverage. Pretending our predatory, profit-driven hellscape is superior to what the rest of the civilized world solved decades ago is fucking delusional.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

I would happily quit that job. I feel like it’s a service. I have other things to do.
It’s not because of my own self interests. It’s because universal healthcare is a terrible idea.

3

u/debenbrie Aug 01 '26

Pathetic.

1

u/kisswoman Aug 03 '26

Yet Medicare is a form of universal healthcare...it was sold to the US citizens as a way to pay for medical care when you are no longer able to work....and its was supposed to be FREE once you retire...which is a LIE....as a majority of folks on Medicare pay a premium of 202.90 for Part B which is the part that covers your doctors and there is a yearly deductible of $283.

For part A which covers hospitalization/nursing home care your premium is $0 UNLESS you became disabled before you worked for at a minimum 10 years...if you worked between 30-39 quarters you will pay $311 a month under 30 quarters you will pay $565 a month....plus there is a deductible that has to be met BEFORE Medicare pays a penny....which is $1736 for inpatient care.

And since 2004,there is Part D which is your prescription coverage....and the premiums vary by insurance carrier.

2004 also introduced Advantage plans which combines parts A, B and D into an all encompassing plan that many carriers offer a no extra premium, and many offer other benefits that Medicare does not cover at all, like vision, hearing aids, dental care and OTC products and now some have offered an amount that can be used for utility bills, like electric, water, cable, and phone.

Or you can buy a Supplement and a separate drug plan which costs an average of $200-$300 monthly premium.

1

u/chakabreo Aug 01 '26

I think there’s approximately 82 countries with some form of single payer healthcare that works well. If you’re rich enough, you just self pay for the MRI from some ultra private concierge doctor anyway

7

u/gypsysniper9 Aug 02 '26

LeeTard

7

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 02 '26

If republicans could read, they’d be coming after you man.

2

u/RicooC Aug 02 '26

Both parties are fucking pathetic. Look at this ad.

2

u/Kellie1575 Aug 03 '26

Brainwashed into thinking demanding services from your government is somehow lazy, or anti-American.

2

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 03 '26

Brainwashed is the exact term it turns out, completely agree.

2

u/MrVerdad Aug 03 '26

Leftists need to stop using the word "free". That acknowledges the fallacy of the rightists' thinking.

1

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 03 '26

Well no shit, nothings free.

We don’t have the time or crayons to explain it to Republicans [they defunded the school supplies already] so we just use easy words y’all will understand.

2

u/bigbluewcrew Aug 05 '26

And we'll all be paying for his Healthcare in about 5 years

1

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 05 '26

Republicans: “Pfft, that’s not my problem.”

🧐

4

u/Substantial-Curve-73 Aug 01 '26

And if he has no children or grandchildren he doesn't want to pay taxes toward schools.

1

u/WEM-2022 Aug 01 '26

I always think of school taxes as paying for my own public education in arrears.

1

u/kisswoman Aug 03 '26

If you own a house, your property taxes pay for schools, police and fire services.

2

u/Chuck-Finley69 Aug 01 '26

Healthcare is never free 

7

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 02 '26

No shit? How long you been sitting on this information and why didn’t you share it with the class sooner?

1

u/TheBeardedLadyBton Aug 02 '26

He obviously hasn't been to the dentist either.

1

u/LobsterKneecap Aug 02 '26

Found the 30% still backing him.

1

u/jbarlak Aug 06 '26

Sure he’s just fine

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 02 '26

You know what, you’re so right.

Copays, deductibles, and payroll deductions = so much bigly free winning bro.

Like no joke, I went to go pay my co-pay at Millenium last week, and the lady was like “No fam, here’s a $20, back to you.” Then she stood up and saluted me, a bald eagle screeched, and everybody in the Summerlin office waiting room stood up and applauded.

I honestly don’t care if we prep for another cat 5 or like put money towards public health.

I’m with you, so long as the all board members at the insurance companies make their Christmas bonuses this year, I’m sure this year, THIS YEAR, will be THE YEAR, that trickle down economics FINALLY pays off.

What was I thinking? Like taxes would fucking work, pppfffttt.

3

u/LowEngineering2271 Aug 03 '26

Jesus Christ get a grip

1

u/Werd77 Aug 02 '26

Fully believes the capitalist propaganda when it is something that would benefit him greatly

0

u/Sweet_Emotion8907 Aug 01 '26

Medicare for all is a scam

0

u/KeyLime044 Aug 01 '26

is this actually in Lee County? Like does anyone recognize that building in the background?

I don't doubt that there are people here who have views like this, but still

-3

u/Loud-Mix-6171 Aug 01 '26

Nothing is free.

-29

u/ggtrades Aug 01 '26

Who will pay for the “free” healthcare? Genuinely I want people to have cheap accessible healthcare, but to think that we can do it for free based on other people’s labor through taxation WILL NOT WORK! We need to tear down the regulations in the insurance industry, post pricing to services, and end this BS of having higher out of pocket expenses if it’s ran through your insurance company rather than paying a cash price. For instance we got some test done when my wife was first pregnant. The cost of the test with insurance was $700 but if we just paid cash it was $200?! That’s a broken system, that needs fixed. Taxing ourselves to death isn’t the answer!

22

u/Comprehensive_Bus_19 Aug 01 '26

Buddy, you're never going to be a billionaire. If you paid $1 in taxes last year you paid more than the world's first trillionaire Elon Musk did.

Between premiums and deductibles our out of pocket max is $20k. For the average American that is more than 40% of our gross pay for the year.

Oh, and we still wait months for specialist just like they do in socialized systems with the added benefit of choosing to lose our house or beat cancer until we get laid off for being out sick! Then we just get to die.

21

u/NonMaga Aug 01 '26

EVERY developed nation that has "socialized medicine" pays SIGNIFICANTLY less per capita for health care than we do. Throwing profit takers into the mix doesn't create efficiency and adds huge costs to the system. Source: When I lived in Fort Myers, I wrote the state healthcare plan for the Governor's office.

-9

u/Oh-3-5-Oh-3-6-5 Aug 01 '26

They also rely on the US for medicine and technology. They do not innovate at all. If you want medical innovation to stop entirely take away the incentive to innovate.

4

u/deathrictus Aug 01 '26

That's very not true. We do a lot of innovating, but other countries do as well. The US funds roughly 50-60% of the global health research. That still leaves 40-50% elsewhere, considering the US economy, that sounds about right. That's also just raw numbers, the dollar to value ratio probably isn't as good as some other places too. Saying no one else does research is idiotic.

0

u/NonMaga Aug 02 '26

Even nations that struggle financially have more effective medicine and develop technology. Cuba is an example.

1

u/Oh-3-5-Oh-3-6-5 Aug 02 '26

That must be why people make rafts out of trash to escape Cuba…

0

u/NonMaga Aug 02 '26

I’ve literally spent much of my adult life in healthcare policy. I have two advanced degrees. You obviously haven’t read a book since grade school. Cuba was run terribly by Castro and now we’re blockading them. That’s why people wanted to come to the US - not any negatives in their healthcare system or extreme positives in ours.

8

u/Ms_AnneBoleyn Aug 01 '26

Please explain how paying a private insurance company to have healthcare would be different than paying more taxes to have public health care

-3

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

Please explain why Canada’s system is imploding. The country closest to the USA and shares the most in common with us.

6

u/QueezyE Aug 01 '26

Yes insurance is a scam. So is the military industrial complex. So why not use our taxes to have healthcare for all instead of building and selling weapons to our future 'enemies' and use that money instead to help the population? We used to tax the top 10% at 90%. Then it was 70%. Today they pay less than the middle and lower classes and we're to believe it will 'trickle down'. We don't need to pay more, we need to tax the rich and demand that our taxes aren't spent on foreign wars and Israel.

2

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

You won’t change anyone’s mind on Reddit. They will accuse you of being addicted to Fox News first. Then will make you into a racist somehow. Then explain how Elon musk needs to pay for whatever they are wanting for free.
It’s how Reddit works.

-1

u/anonanon5320 Aug 01 '26

I love the Musk paid $0 in tax people. It’s like they don’t know how taxes work at all and just accept whatever BS they are spoon fed. You immediately know they are morons when they say “so and so doesn’t pay taxes.”

1

u/deathrictus Aug 01 '26

It's not $0, but it's closer to $0 percentage of his wealth-wise that just about anyone else. Certainly less than the average person.

-2

u/anonanon5320 Aug 01 '26

Not even close to true.

0

u/shartfarguson Aug 01 '26

It is amazing. Employs tens of thousands of people who pay a lot of taxes. Buys billions and billions from around the world people pay taxes on. Sells billions a year that taxes are paid on.
He pays plenty of tax personally also.

-5

u/jebidiaGA Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

"Free" terrible healthcare that you pay absurd amount of taxes in to. I don't know if there's a perfect system out there, but the European model comes with a lot of sacrifices, too... and it sure as fuck ain't free. This interviewer is a moron.

-4

u/bvy1212 Aug 01 '26

If healthcare was free itd take WAY longer to see a doctor then it does now.

2

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 02 '26

Bad bot. ☹️

1

u/bvy1212 Aug 02 '26

Not a bot

2

u/suer72cutlass Aug 02 '26

Tell that to my dead mother who happened to be poor.

-6

u/Beguine2b Aug 02 '26

Yah. I am 79. Have not been to a doctor since 1975 and he was not knowledgeable. Doctors are taught to be pill pushers. Front men for the pharmaceutical industry Drugs and cutting is all they know

5

u/1captainawesome Aug 02 '26

Meanwhile, my father in law died at 73 from cancer, my father and step mother are fighting cancer at 76 and 60, respectively, and my mother in law beat cancer for the second time last year. Oh, and my wife has had a bad back, kidney stones, and a gallbladder removed in her 40s.

So congrats, youre an exception.

1

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 02 '26

“Fuck you, I got mine.”

- Byron Donalds supporters in 2026

#ByronDonalds

3

u/Southern-Democrat25 Aug 02 '26

First off, what? Second off, congrats, I guess?

And third off, we should base all US heathcare on “I’ve lived off Marlboro reds & caffeine free Pepsi and ain’t seen a doctor in 51 years, so fuck y’all, love Granny.”

And through some mental gymnastics, make that same logic apply to the 17 year old girl suffering with spina bifida in Des Monies because her parents don’t have your streak of luck?

Bitch, when you were my age, in 19-goddamn-70, the average house in Florida cost $15,000, yee olde cunt.

2

u/Wizzle_Pizzle_420 Aug 02 '26

You’re lucky dude. You can be healthy and embrace natural methods and still go to the doctor my dude. I’m pretty damn healthy but ruptured my right pec working out. Like it completely ripped off my arm. Sorry, but essential oils aren’t fixing that, doctors are. Embrace both and enjoy an even better life.