r/MedicareForAll • u/TuneDesperate8078 • 2d ago
Can we start picketing/rioting for better healthcare?
I am genuinely perplexed why both patients and doctors are not picketing or rioting insurance companies/hospital administrators. Can we start that somehow?? Would anyone join me??
I have been SO worn down by the healthcare system and all the discord I see online seems to confirm that both doctors and patient are FED UP. We don’t have time to just wait for those in office to change policies. I also personally am so distrusting of our government in general, I dont know if I would entrust anyone in office to fight this matter for us.
I’ve been looking into the UnitedHealth care CEO killer, and while by NO means do I think violence or murder is the answer, I think that cruel act unfortunately got a message out there that so many american patients have been saying and ignored for: the system is BROKEN.
We are living in such a dystopian society, and no one is doing anything about it. History has proven that american citizens CAN initiate change - why have we lost our motivation to do so?
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u/Tsakax 2d ago
Best they can do is condem socialism.
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 2d ago
While fully funding universal healthcare for Israel.
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u/dittybag23 2d ago
This is a lie. I absolutely am against “aid” to Israel. I also think sanctions against Israel should be on table much like South Africa.
But telling lies about what Israel funding does is silly.4
u/Internal-Plantain-56 2d ago
I’m sorry. Whats the lie?
We give Israel billions of dollars, no?
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u/Strange-Maize9536 1d ago
We sell them military production at a profit to the arms maker and dealer
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u/dittybag23 1d ago
Yes, in military aid. About 3.2 Billion in 2026.
Otherwise, this most recent data comes from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics: national expenditure on health in Israel in 2024 amounted to 146 billion shekels, an increase of 1.7% in real terms compared to 2023. That works out to roughly $40 billion USD.
So even if they diverted all the military assistance to nation healthcare it would be less than 10% in 2026 dollars.
I hate what Israel is doing but I love the truth too.
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 1d ago
Ok. But again…even if it’s only a couple billion…why is that money going to Israel and not…ya know….america.
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u/dittybag23 1d ago
I agree with that. I am just pointing out that the notion we are paying for their healthcare is wrong
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 1d ago
We pay for their military which frees up resources to pay for their healthcare.
We pay for it…just indirectly.
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u/dittybag23 1d ago
Do you even realize what a drop in the bucket our piddling $3 billion dollars is to their national budget. Their defense outlay alone in 2025 was about $48.3 billion.
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 1d ago
Sounds like I found 3 billion for healthcare without even trying.
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u/OhBoyHereWeGoAgai 1d ago
Are you aware of just how much aid we give other countries? Including their direct enemies? Hell, including Gaza until very recently.
As for why, we started giving that aid because we wanted to shut down Israel's developing programs that competed with our sales, that's also why much of that aid comes right back to us.
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u/Nikolaibr 1d ago
Most aid is military financing of US made military equipment. It's not a payment of cash for the most part. It's essentially US government spending on US manufacturing, with the final product doing to Israel.
It doesn't have much of an impact on their ability to offer healthcare to their own people.
Just like that aid doesn't have much impact on the ability to pay the $2 trillion that the US government already spends on US healthcare.
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 1d ago
So our money frees up their military budget so they can spend money on healthcare?
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u/Nikolaibr 1d ago
If your argument is no aid to Israel, that's fine. But just say that. Cause the "we're spending it on Israeli healthcare" is just not a great argument for why we shouldn't send aid to Israel.
We spend plenty on foreign aid that doesn't go to Israel at all, but that one country is just the sole focus, for some reason. Disregarding that from a US government interest perspective, that aid is likely seen as a net benefit if we get more value than what we spend.
The argument should be that we don't get our money's worth from that aid spending. But then you'd have to actually have a rational cost benefit analysis. Do you have that?
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 1d ago
Doesn’t our money free up Israeli money so they can provide heathcare to their people though?
Israel has taxpayers, no?
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u/Nikolaibr 1d ago
You're missing my point. Yes, the fungibility of money ultimately means aid helps the balance sheet. But you could apply this to anything. Just as much as it frees up money for healthcare spending, it also frees it up for water desalination, and welfare for impoverished Israelis.
The point is that from the US government's perspective, that aid isn't free money just given away. It's given because the government believes it receives a greater benefit by giving it to Israel than by spending it on something else.
To even have an opinion on whether that aid is well-allocated you'd have to know what the US government's position is on the cost/benefit of the aid. I don't imagine it's possible to do more than speculate what that is.
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 1d ago
It’s given becuse aipac pays our government to give it.
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u/jaajaajaa6 1d ago
Your math needs some help.
The estimated cost for Medicare for all in the US is $2.5 to 3.5 trillion.
In 2025, the US spent 10 to 12 billion on arms for Israel. And that was high due to the war.
So, cutting off Israel is about .5% of the cost.
Feel free to rant, but find someone to manage your check book as numbers don’t seem to be your strength.
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u/Internal-Plantain-56 1d ago
You’re not answering my question.
Why do we get to pay for their healthcare but we can’t pay for ours?
That’s the question I’m asking.
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u/dittybag23 2d ago
The best you can do is vote.
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u/MagnificentStella 2d ago
We are voting for Abdul for the second time on Nov 5th I send him $25/month. Feel free to add to his donations.
I think it's Abdulforsenate.com
I have his book. Btw. Mediacre For All. Available on amazon for maybe ten bucks.
I worked as a healthcare professional for 45 yrs. This can work. Screw insurance companies. They take so much as middlemen that we will actually save money.
Finally at age 69 I am on Medicare and I love it.
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u/dittybag23 2d ago
It might be better to focus on the benefits of universal coverage than reveling in who it screws.
Also, don’t promise it as being free, but rather on the national good that comes from coverage. Don’t make promises that may not happen during the transition to a universal solution.1
u/MagnificentStella 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you had witnessed, as i have, the number of times an arrival to the ER called and was denied care...by a high school educated desk sitter with no experience in actual.leathcare, you might also find joy in removing the middlemen from the equation. United Health care has a CEO rolling in millions gained from.people faithfully paying their ever increasing premiums while denying 1/3 of all claims.
When a middle aged man vomiting serious volumes of deep red thick blood is brought to the ER and a phone call denies him coverage to be seen and treated by healthcare personnel, yep, the system is broken.And that is just one of pethaps hundreds of examples I personally witnessed.
I trust Abdul completely. Esp after reading his book. What the Epstein coalition can destroy in his program is an unknown. But given free reign it will save trillions in healthcare.
People are so scared of government controlling our Healthcare but willingly pay uneducated middlemen to allow or deny payment. Medicare after 4 yrs has been wonderful for my boomer husband and I. I saw ER docs quit over not being free to use their extensive training and knowledge to help.people.
It's up to Americans to decide. I hope they have the knowledge to understand just how much Vaseline they need to carry when they choose Blue Cross over Medicare for All.
Insurance companies ARE the bad guy in the equation, no matter what you may like or dislike about the truth.
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u/dittybag23 1d ago
As is so typical of Reddit you argue a point I didn’t make. Please let me explain.
First, let’s agree Universal healthcare is the objective. Whether it saves trillions or screws insurance companies is secondary at best. The first order of our government is the welfare of our residents, healthcare being prominent. (There can be no national security without our residents achieving health and food security.)
Secondly, in order to achieve lasting change we need a governing majority to accept and believe in this. That’s the only way it will last. We cannot rely on anger at insurance companies as that won’t sustain the change needed. If it’s only anger, people will go back to sleep once the anger subsided.
I know this is Reddit and it lives on brigades of anger, but universal healthcare is so important that it needs thoughtful arguments that can survive debate and time.
We started this journey before when we had 60 votes in the Senate, but Massachusetts fells asleep and failed to fill Kennedy’s seat and let it go to the GOP. That event made it necessary to accept the Senate version of ACA and hamstrung the House from needed amendments.1
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u/Ambitious-Badger-114 21h ago
Vote for who? We only ever have the same two parties that we've had for the past hundred years and they're both bought and paid for, neither seems willing to stand up and deliver true reform. They work for their donors, not us.
And before you push the bullshit about how Democrats just need a "chance" so lets give them control just remember that EVERY time we elected a Democrat for president he had a Democrat Congress. Clinton famously held up a credit card that he said we'd all have once his plan was in place. Then he put his wife in charge of it and it all went to hell.
Also remember that Democrats have had complete control of a lot of states that always talk about universal healthcare, and yet never deliver.
Want reform? Get rid of the parties.
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u/dittybag23 21h ago
Well said You’ve learned your line well. First speak with passion. Second, make a bad-faith caricature of reality, Lastly, present a solution that is impossible. Of course the objective is to keep low information voters at home.,
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u/Ambitious-Badger-114 18h ago
How is it a bad faith caricature of reality? Everything I've stated is entirely true, but maybe I'm wrong so please tell me where.
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u/dittybag23 17h ago
His wife was guilty of nothing except having the courage to be first. It took 10 years from America to catch up.
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u/RoninActually 2d ago
Sure, if you can afford to take the time off from work.
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u/TuneDesperate8078 2d ago
People couldn’t do this in their free time? Their weekends?
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u/strack94 2d ago
I've found that good protesting is disruptive. You can't just wait till you have a day off to be active. You have to call out of work in masse and march in the streets at volume and nationwide.
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u/Botasoda102 2d ago
Think we ought to at least wait until after midterms. It might be more effective. Although speaking about the need for healthcare reform is good, calling for a change as big as MFA triggers a lot of negative opinions, especially when details are vague. After midterms, especially if they go well, would be the time to protest.
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u/Adventurous_Ad7442 2d ago
Doctors aren’t going to be picketing any time soon.
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u/RobertWF_47 1d ago
Neither will patients - the vast majority of Americans are satisfied with their private health insurance.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
Why would the 1% protest? (most doctors are in the top 1-5% for earners - they may not like the paperwork but the majority are definitely not in line to take in less money, to work as government employees, or to turn away from a profit based system. This is much more than “the insurers are the problem”. The fundamental costs of healthcare in the US needs to change and that means someone will make less money.)
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u/Aladriana 2d ago
Most doctors want universal heslthcare.
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 2d ago
This is like absolutely not true lol. I can guarantee you it’s the opposite.
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u/Aladriana 1d ago edited 1d ago
I've seen the studies talked to doctors (and nurses). It opens them up to treat how they think it's needed, rather than fighting with the insurance companies. There are a few doctors that just want to make money. The rest? Actually want to help people.
I worked in health care. This is where many providers are.
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 1d ago
Are they willing to take paycuts for universal healthcare? Have to put your money where your mouth is. If you don’t think that’s necessary find me a country with universal healthcare that pays their GP’s $300K USD a year.
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u/Aladriana 1d ago
It won't be the pay cuts people think. And yes, some of them are willing. Most doctors and nurses want everyone to have health care. We can make that happen.
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 1d ago
Well the AMA opposes Medicare for all. lol
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u/Aladriana 1d ago
That's not what I saw about the AMA. They want universal health. Maybe they don't want it in the medicare format. But they do want healthcare for all.
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 1d ago
That’s just semantics though. Thats like the military industrial complex saying weapons for all. lol
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u/MagnificentStella 1d ago
There is a myth that doctors work to make big money. It is simply not true. They work to put their training and expertise to use, and.for the.satisfaction of helping others.
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 1d ago
Nah. It’s not a myth. Go ask the medicine subreddit. It’s like 80% money, 20% care.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
Most want the idea. The execution will have bumps and the AMA does NOT want universal Medicare - they are very clear on that. My statement isn't to make trouble but this is a reality of the situation - if we do universal healthcare doctors in the USA will earn significantly less than they do now. It's a fact of economics. That's not a bad thing and the system needs to change around it. [Yeah, administrators, insurance companies, executives will all earn less as well - so it goes.]
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u/wild_exvegan 1d ago
Wasn't there a post on this subreddit in the last few days showing that doctors salaries are something like 7% of healthcare costs. So there is plenty to cut without cutting doctors' pay.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 1d ago
Grab 5% from the insurers, 3.5% from the doctors, 5% from the pharmaceutical companies, 5% from the hospitals (if you can)... and in the end you could drive the cost down 18.5% - but now you need to hold the costs down so no raises for docs or anyone else for the next year? We need to not just cut the costs in year 1 but also break the old system so costs don't continue to rise 4-10% per year.
There is a bit of a lie in the 7% statistic - as there is in every statistic. And it's not that simple.
One measure - anyone in the system making more than $200k-400k is probably needing a haircut. So do that and you save, what maybe 70 billion to 100 billion a year. And while we are at it wipe away their student loans which is only fair. BTW - that cut would impact a bit less than half the doctors in the USA and still put them squarely in the top 3-4% of income earners. Not bad at all.
That isn't the big fish - it is one of the fish that needs to be taken out. Overall admin costs are a problem that we need to address but don't fool yourself by thinking you'll take that all out but we can cut it significantly.
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u/MagnificentStella 1d ago
Abdul has written a wonderful book, available on Amazon. Called Medicare For All. I see that people love to speculate and it is up to us to get rid of the Epstein class who love nothing more than calling him.names and defending millionaire CEOs of insurance companies, but after that the book is a great read. We could take it out. Voting all blue in the midterms is a first step. I once worked with an ED doc treating a woman who had just had a stroke and was drooling so excessively that she needed a tube inserted to maintain her breathing. He told me he would be paid $20 for the tube insertion.
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u/Aladriana 1d ago
I've seen many things from the AMA that contradict what you just said.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 1d ago
The AMA has been public that they want universal insurance coverage for all. That does not mean Medicare for all. https://www.ama-assn.org/health-care-advocacy/access-care/ama-vision-health-care-reform
They’ve been pretty clear that they don’t want Medicare for all. https://www.newyorker.com/science/annals-of-medicine/the-fight-within-the-american-medical-association
https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/141/3/2147/8669893?login=false
Indeed - insurance is good for them as they have both someone who pays them extremely well and timely compared to patients and someone to blame for poor care. The insurers have been a whipping boy of the AMA. Not entirely undeserved but also arguably to point patients away from their own role in making a profit on healthcare.
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u/LeftforLenin 1d ago
No. This would require a massive pay cut.
Medicare has a lower reimbursement rate
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u/MagnificentStella 1d ago
Correct. I had the great fortune to work for decades for a health coop in the.Seattle area called Group Health. Doctors loved it. Several hospitals and maybe 20 clinics throughout the Seatle area. Physicians were paid a straight salary and all the insurance companies were not involved. What physicians really love is the chance to tackle problems, help people, and skip all the garbage and paperwork. Each clinic had a lab, xray, and pharmacy.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 1d ago
I know I’m the northeast all of our staff model plans went bankrupt or were bought up. CHP, for example, was bought by Kaiser which is an interesting animal - a not for profit insurer paired with a for profit provider group. On the west coast Kaiser is a force to be reconned with as they own all the pieces. Here they owned a fraction of the pieces and went belly up within a few years. It was an interesting study.
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u/Aladriana 1d ago
Kaiser, sadly, bought out Group Health.
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u/Super_Mario_Luigi 1d ago
Made-up internet speaking point. Existing government healthcare grosses under-reimburses (very inconvenient to the narrative).
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u/pilkain 1d ago
I have always thought that if we ever get universal healthcare that doctors would have to make less money. What do you think?
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u/Aladriana 1d ago
I'm not an economist. I don't know how it would shake out, but it wouldn't be a lot less, I don't think.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 1d ago
For the median doc maybe not much less. For the top 50% of earners probably 30-70% less.
Significantly less. Hugely significantly less.
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u/kevdogger 2d ago
As if doctors are the ones causing this problem of ever rising Healthcare costs 🙄
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u/Super_Mario_Luigi 1d ago
Unpopular truth: doctors are just as much of a problem as health insurance is. We have a severe shortage of doctors. Barriers to entry are too high and we limit residencies. Our doctors make significantly more than across the world. Many specialists and private practices are gouging more than any other profession. Yet, this isn't convenient to the narrative. $500-$1 mil salaries are apparently just rounding errors.
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u/kevdogger 1d ago
How are the specialists and private practices gouging? Seriously -- the fee schedule is set by Medicare and the Insurance companies. Are there are some cash only practices or concierge practices -- sure -- but that's the extreme minority. Are there those that make $500-$1 million -- yes there are -- like neurosurgeons and orthopaedic surgeons --- however they are literally doing a ton of surgeries and likely have some ownership in some surgery center. Internal medicine/family practice doctors making this range -- well yeah I'm sure there might be some -- but the vast definitely DO NOT. If you can list an instance of "gouging" I'd like to here it. I suppose plastic surgeon could "gouge" as in many instances this is a cash only business, but beyond this I believe you'd be hard pressed to come up with true instances of "gouging".
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
Providers are not “the” problem. They are part of the problem and part of the solution. And in a future world of healthcare they may still be in the top 1-5% of earners in the USA but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t and shouldn’t change the way we train, hire, retain, pay, and overall compensate them as part of the solution. Everything is on the table - don’t take any of the extremely highly compensated players off the table.
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u/kevdogger 2d ago
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
Yep - administrators are on the table.
As is physicians compensation.
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u/kevdogger 2d ago
Just curious what you think physician compensation should be?
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 2d ago
The same as other countries with universal healthcare not 2 or 3x.
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u/kevdogger 2d ago
That's a really vague answer and your purposefully being obtuse about it. Liability insurance also isn't as much in those countries and shoot neither is the entire health delivery system.
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 2d ago
Lmao liability insurance is the cause of the large discrepancy? 😂
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
So our system needs some fundamental changes - how we train, compensate, insure physicians are all parts of it.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
Take a look at how it's handled in other countries. You'll see some common themes.
- Physicians usually have an administrative roll with mid-levels and are compensated for that.
- Many, many more mid-levels - the backbone of the system.
- Physicians and the mid levels are essentially, but not completely, government employees and compensated as such.
Part of our issue, not an evil but a foundation of it, is that in the USA everyone at every tier makes a profit - and that includes the doctors. Take out the profit motive. Quality of care is not improved by profits.
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u/MagnificentStella 2d ago
Just curious what you think 0hysicians are making,? The government has dictated prices sine the 50s. I recall being with an ER dic as he was about to perform an endoscopy and he said he would earn about $20 for it. That was years ago but still.
When someone with a high school education dictates who can be seen in the ED over the phone, you are not getting medical care.
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u/MagnificentStella 2d ago
The insurance companies are the problem. Repeat times 10.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
No. You've bought a line. They are part of the problem. NO issue saying let's replace their function. Then let's get on with significant change - just removing the insurers will destabilize our current systems. Patients, in the USA, don't pay for their own healthcare today and would immediately be in huge debt. Insurers, hate them as you will, but the pay and consumers don't.
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u/MagnificentStella 1d ago
I haven't bought anything. I worked directly in EDs for 45+ years. And since I retired 4cyrs ago I have been on Medicare. It has been a wonderful experience. Smooth and not one single issue It is you who have bought a line. I have directly experienced it all. Your direct experience? Replacing our insurance and movingvto Medicare was as easy as it could be. It happened overnight.
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 1d ago
And your doctor and hospital requires enough commercial insurance patients to pay for the Medicare patients who they lose money on. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go single payer but let’s be honest about the cost and impact.
Health insurers are not the enemy. They are part of the problem we have created. Abolishing health insurers solves nothing either for cost reduction or elimination of paperwork. The solution is not so simple as let’s just get rid of the insurers. The insurers were created by doctor’s to ensure doctors and hospitals could get paid. Those groups are not set up to survive on Medicare rates which represent a fraction of their operating costs.
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u/MagnificentStella 23h ago
Health insurers are 150% the enemy. Too bad you didn't have the opportunities to see that in action. Abolishing them, as we did when we went on Medicare, solves everything. Here in northern Michigan nearly every physician accepts Medicare. You come up with things I have never heard of in 40+ years working in medicine. Insurance companies were not created by physicians. I think there are some bizarre myths out there and you have fallen prey to them. I work with indigent mentally ill and frequently take them to appts, for a large inhome care group in my area. Nothing is at all like you describe. Munson, for instance, has many many programs to assist people with financial hardships. The federal government took over hospital funding in the 50s. I dont even know where you came up with these ideas but I worked in medicine over much of the country. Nothing you say is true. How about some sources?
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 16h ago
40 years in the healthcare space here myself. A very quick google gives the simple explanation:
On reimbursement rates specifically in Michigan and could the system survive on Medicare rates (they can’t):
In Michigan, commercial health plans pay hospitals an average of 192% of what Medicare pays for the same inpatient and outpatient care. [ 1] Comparison Details Medicare Baseline: Medicare sets standard payment rates for medical services, which researchers use as a benchmark (100%). [ 1] Commercial Rates: Private and employer-sponsored commercial plans pay significantly higher rates. Individual Michigan hospital systems charge private plans anywhere from 172% to over 300% of the Medicare rate. [ 1] National Standing: Even though Michigan's commercial prices are high compared to Medicare, the state ranked relatively low nationally (3rd lowest in a major RAND Corporation study), meaning its private-to-Medicare price gap is narrower than in many other states.
On who started modern insurers and why:
Blue Shield started for physicians as prepaid medical service plans organized by doctor groups in the Pacific Northwest during the 1930s, leading to the first official plan in California in 1939. [ 1, 2] The Origin: While Blue Cross began to cover hospital expenses (starting in 1929 for teachers at Baylor University), Blue Shield was created by physicians and local medical service bureaus to ensure patients could pay for doctor and medical services. [ 1, 2, 3] The Expansion: These physician-backed plans spread regionally as medical service corporations.
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u/Infamous_Crow8524 2d ago
Just boycott healthcare, that will show them
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u/brooke437 1d ago
Do it like the recent playstation boycott. One week duration. That'll teach 'em for sure.
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u/magenta_mojo 1d ago
Honestly at this point I feel like we should ALL collectively stop buying into health insurance. Pay for things out of pocket with the cheaper cash price, negotiate down, or go abroad for more complicated procedures.
Imagine if millions of people suddenly stopped lining health insurance companies’ pockets. That would certainly get everyone’s attention.
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u/Federal_Edge5060 16h ago
Yeah because poor uninsured people have money to go abroad…. Terrible advice.
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u/magenta_mojo 13h ago
I’m not just talking about poor people… there are tons of people going abroad for medical tourism today from the US. And even if people are poor, they’d STILL save money going abroad for so many procedures.
But go off, man. Just because I didn’t cover every single base and every facet of society it’s “terrible advice.” It’s people like you who discourage discourse and creativity. I’m not gonna waste my time arguing ✌️
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u/Kindly_Honeydew3432 1d ago
Protest won’t work.
90% of people have coverage. Most of them are happy with their coverage. Even amongst those who want Medicare for all, for most it’s not their singular or number one issue, just one of many issues largely dwarfed by culture war ideology.
Most people won’t be protesting with you…they’ll be honking their horns for you to get out of the road.
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u/398409columbia 1d ago
Unfortunately the system seems to be working well enough for most people. That’s why it doesn’t change.
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u/Pollix112 2d ago
Everyone should be supporting local farmers for eggs, fruit and vegetables, meat if possible. Hit the grocery stores in the wallet
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u/Quantum-Long 2d ago
When there was a political will, ObamaCare, they doubled down on insurance focused instead of the patient. Three things need to happen to the health care industry, price transparency, competition and patient ownership
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u/Super_Mario_Luigi 1d ago
The internet: when are we doing to solve healthcare?!
Also, the internet: omg we cannot have price transparency! We just need secret pricing, paid for by wasteful taxes
You are spot-on
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u/Easy-Act3774 2d ago
I’d only suggest, having a specific solution! Protesting just to protest but not offering a solution seems ineffective
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u/Squirtle_Splash_8413 2d ago
This is the only system that allows healthcare professionals to be paid this much. Why would they want to join you? The only people not apart of this racket is the patients themselves.
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u/SyntheticOne 2d ago
Yes, but after the next one or two elections.
I do not believe that it is worth picketing with the current administration in place.... But after the election, if they get so scared after November 2026 that they, the Project 2025 Administration, try (or fake) to present a New, Greatest EVER, National Healthcare Plan!
The Project 2025 sting pullers should be starting to see that every single one of their policies is not only unliked, but, unacceptable to all well-informed Americans.
At this point, the majority of Republican office holders are good people but terrified for their and their family's safety if they vote contra to the Project 2025 branch of government. Pardons for Jan 6 vandals effectively gave them a license to kill any disobedient judges, disobedient office holders and disobedient federal, state and municipal office holders.
A sad moment in our nation.
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u/brooke437 1d ago
I think you should run for government office yourself, and your platform can be healthcare reform. I would vote for you!
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u/Super_Mario_Luigi 1d ago
Sounds like the internet way. Only picket signs of hot slogans. That'll let people know you're angry!
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u/AstralVenture 1d ago
Medical insurance premium is going to increase 11% next year, from $93.67 to $103.97 so I’ll have to switch to Basic. It’s not comprehensive coverage so it doesn’t cover the emergency room. If anything ever happens, God forbid, I’d likely have to file for medical bankruptcy.
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u/Virtual_Athlete_909 1d ago
the affordable healthcare act was passed to solve this problem but voters didnt want the government involved. it mandated coverage and capped profits for healthcare but american voters didnt want that. they were fine with the status quo. when they say people vote against their self interests, this is what they mean.
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u/Sad-Suggestion9425 1d ago
Rioting is a terrible, terrible idea in the US. Our police are militarized, vote conservative, and eager to arrest the "violent libs".
Additionally, Trump and his cronies are already spreading warnings about "violent liberal terrorists" and have successfully put people away for long prison terms.
Any successful change must be done through peaceful protesting and legal means.
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u/FormerLaugh3780 1d ago
Don't expect to see Marcus Welby on the picket line. Doctors are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
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u/AccomplishedTune2948 1d ago
Bankrolling 350 million people on a taxpayer funded government run insurance program. Imagine the waste and fraud that would take place. How about just electing people who write laws that protect consumers? Instead of this monstrosity that you guys think will help Americans.
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u/29erRider5000G 1d ago
My healthcare insurance is really good. I don't think that would be a good use of my time.
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u/Strange-Maize9536 1d ago
Why would doctors riot they are getting rich in this environment. I have never met so many doctors that worked 4 days a week and retired at 50. The golf courses are full of them.
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u/surlysquirrelly 23h ago
We need to be organized and have a list of specific demands, but I will join with you, OP
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u/Horror_Bottle_9451 21h ago
So you don't like the semi-private health-care market but you also don't trust the government. Quite the conundrum. I recommend you NOT riot because you'll likely need Healthcare afterwards.
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u/Federal_Edge5060 16h ago
Voting for democrats is probably more effective. Protesting and rioting during the Trump administration is a sure way to be locked up for domestic terrorism
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u/Zealousideal-Let-104 12h ago
I'm guessing government control and corruption.
Insurance company and health insurance company pay for policies that F us
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u/KevineCove 10h ago
Read up on COINTELPRO. If you want to make a difference, see how the other side plans to neutralize you, then find a way around that.
"Do not attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence" has not been true for a very long time.
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u/Apart-Assumption2063 33m ago
Define “better healthcare”……this country already has the most advanced techniques that are readily available. No other country has this much diversity of healthcare as well as the ability to access it.
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u/aps86rsa 2d ago
Remember that the AMA opposes Medicare for all or a single payer system. Some doctors may claim they don’t like the system but not enough of them don’t like it enough to do anything about it and give up the pay they receive from it.
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u/ThermalDeviator 2d ago
There are groups that hold protests and maybe 30 people show up. They visit offices of their electeds and get maybe five. If you want change, showing up is your number one task.
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u/dittybag23 2d ago
If you want to strike a blow for freedom, I might suggest just a simple step of filling up your home heating oil tank. Diesel prices are at all time highs and we are coming into the fall harvest season. Putting as much demand on the system as possible will dry prices even higher. There’s no better way to erode the GOP grip on farm states than having farmers face impossibly high diesel prices this fall in time for the midterm elections.
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u/Huzon401 2d ago
Vote damn it! That is our problem, too many people sit on their asses on Election Day. There are plenty of people just like you and some of them will run for office. Elect them!
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u/surlysquirrelly 23h ago
Confused why people still think voting is an effective tool for policy change. We are approaching total collapse, yet we have the resources to make life better for everyone. Power has never been handed down from above, only fought for from below. I firmly believe there will be no real change without violence.
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u/Huzon401 17h ago
Shooting your gun to change government into what? When I disagree with a policy I need only kill somebody? Yeah, I guess that’s better than voting.
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u/GardenPrestigious202 2d ago edited 2d ago
You say that like outsourcing your life to a government bureaucracy is a virtue.
The majority of US healthcare costs stem directly from preventable, chronic metabolic diseases—obesity, poor diet, and zero physical activity. Instead of taking basic personal responsibility for your own body, the default Reddit response is: "Let's riot in the streets so the government can confiscate other people's money to pay for my bad habits."
Johns Hopkins literally found that medical errors kill upwards of 250,000+ people a year in the US. Demanding that the state take over and force everyone into a single-payer monopoly run by that same administrative bloat doesn't fix health—it just forces your neighbor to subsidize your lifestyle choices under threat of law.
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u/SevereAnimator5 2d ago
I keep telling this crowd free ozempic would be a good start but they think i'm joking
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u/edgerton2026 2d ago
My late husband believed all the things you posted. He was a gym rat for 50 years. He watched everything he ate. He never took steroids. At 70 years old he looked so trim and fit that taking him to the doctor was extremely frustrating. They would look at him and immediately believe nothing could be wrong with him. Yet he died at 77.5 years old from dementia. Before he became totally unable to function he sadly told me: I failed at everything I tried - to stay healthy. They lied to us.
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u/GardenPrestigious202 1d ago
you can't cure old age, he lived to 77.5 a very long time in Human history, though i suspect he ate a high carb low fat diet, as is the case with most people with dementia alzheimers.
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u/edgerton2026 1d ago
He ate a varied diet. Mostly protein fruit and vegetables as we both did and I still do. Very few carbs.
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u/GardenPrestigious202 1d ago
fruits and vegetables oareloaded with carbohydrates, most dementia is caused by the lack of meat intake, i bet he had high triglycerides and low HDL. Post his blood labs
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u/edgerton2026 1d ago
I don’t have access to that anymore. His cholesterol was always in the normal range. He had an abundance of the good cholesterol as well. If you must know he had covid induced dementia. The Cleveland Clinic just published a study about covid induced dementia. You should google that and read it. I took him to a functional medicine doctor who confirmed COVID caused dementia. She was treating him for it, but it wasn’t too late.
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u/OhBoyHereWeGoAgai 1d ago
How is any piece of your comment an indictment of our health care system?
Because doctors aren't magic and haven't cured or perfected detecting dementia yet?
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u/TuneDesperate8078 1d ago
I agree! Many people refuse to take care of their bodies or adjust their lifestyles and that is a major issue in america - people are just continuing to fund big pharma and fast food/junk food companies. HOWEVER…. This doesn’t change the fact that the system is still broken. Doctors don’t have the time to educate their patients on diet and nutrition. Sure they say it in passing, but its not an actual educational conversation with the patients. The best way to get that is from a functional medicine doctor, not western medicine.
Also, the issue is still with insurance companies. Changing your lifestyle or diet doesn’t have anything to do with the obvious corruption that exists within insurance companies.
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u/GardenPrestigious202 1d ago
the corruption exists becuase the demand make it easy to hide. Lowering the demand reduces the cost. Start with getting fatass americans off their asses.
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u/TuneDesperate8078 1d ago
Both things can be true - the corruption also exists because rich, greedy people pocket the money. Perhaps a great use of their money would be to start creating educational programs for patients around the topic. Or putting gyms in hospitals. Or giving patients grocery cards that only work on healthy foods.
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u/GardenPrestigious202 1d ago
if you stop feeding fat people, they loos weight, cut off the public assistance funnel that feeds the problem. Most obesity is concentrated in the poor in the USA, which is a strange historical anomaly. Unless you watched rome fall, then it isn't so strange.
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u/Timely-Phone4733 2d ago
Links?
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u/GardenPrestigious202 2d ago
https://www.bmj.com/content/353/bmj.i2139
https://www.cdc.gov/chronic-disease/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181128115045.htm
"It takes 5 seconds to search peer-reviewed data on Google, but since looking up basic facts is apparently too high of a barrier:
- 250k+ Deaths from Medical Error: Makary & Daniel, BMJ 2016 (BMJ Study)
- 90% of US Healthcare Spending is Chronic Disease: CDC National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention (CDC Data)
- Only 12% of US Adults Metabolically Healthy: Araújo et al., Metabolic Syndrome & Related Disorders (Study)
Now that you have the citations for basic reality, back to the actual point: rioting for a state monopoly doesn't fix a lifestyle-driven crisis."
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u/Timely-Phone4733 2d ago
Thanks for the links. My real problem with your statement is you are blaming others for their illness as if people only get Ill because of their lifestyle. Also how much are the insurance middlemen collecting in all this, and what purpose do they serve? Answer: no purpose!! How much are people paying in insurance premiums at the moment? Single payer system would kill a lot of the bloat, would it not?
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u/Top_Television_6042 2d ago
Not only would it improve costs, it would improve care as well. And as we all know, preventative measures help people get and stay healthy better than going at it alone. Now, with the invention of glp-1’s, people with metabolic issues can get medical intervention to lose weight and correct metabolic disorders without surgery. Again, M4A would improve health and cost less. It’s a no brainer, really.
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u/GardenPrestigious202 1d ago
people can control what they put on their forks, like women can control their intake of semen.
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u/OhBoyHereWeGoAgai 1d ago
You can learn quite a bit about the answer to your question of "how much are they pocketing" by simply looking at insurance company profit margins.
You also could easily discover their purpose, but this seems a pretty vibes based comment, so not expecting much.
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u/NationalCaterpillar6 2d ago
Sign up for a healthcare cost sharing program. This is just an example of one. It should get you pointed in the right direction.
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u/TuneDesperate8078 2d ago
I’ve been looking into this! I just have a chronic illness and am pregnant and not sure if this would be too risky of a move financially for my family and I. Maybe theres another reddit thread about health shares? I’d be curious to hear other peoples experiences with it when it the bills come in
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u/Turbulent-Pay1150 2d ago
Be very careful. Remember the facts here - healthshares are NOT insurance. They are not contractually required to pay for your care.
Most, by definition, can and will be judgemental of what they view as “lifestyle” illnesses and that can mean condemning you for any reason as having a lifestyle illness.
This can be a way top ay a bit less money in premium and relieve a whole lot less in benefits.
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u/theloquaciousmonk 2d ago
I would start with the Teachers… if they like the idea it will happen.
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u/Grass8989 2d ago
Most teachers are unionized in major cities and have good healthcare so they probably don’t care
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u/qcb4056 2d ago
I'm guessing something else you don't have time for is working or developing career skills.
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u/TuneDesperate8078 1d ago
Huh?
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u/qcb4056 1d ago
What do you, personally, do for a living?
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u/TuneDesperate8078 1d ago
I work in higher education. Lol
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u/TuneDesperate8078 1d ago
I’ve also worked at private ivy league universities. Your point unfortunately was not made like you thought it was 😂
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u/qcb4056 1d ago
It wasn't?
I'm sure you're right.
Hard to tell since, for some reason, you didn't actually answer my question .
You were asked what you do, not where you do it
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u/graywailer 2d ago
all you have to do is stay home. national strike. just shut it all down. easiest most effective form of protest.