By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The American public faces a significant affordability crisis, compounded by rising electricity and grocery costs, as well as potential healthcare premium increases. The expiration of ACA tax credits could lead to a doubling of average premiums, potentially plunging millions into medical debt, with a majority of medical debt reports containing errors. This surge in debt will disproportionately impact families, pushing them towards financial hardship. The situation is further exacerbated by potential healthcare cuts and policies that could benefit large corporations, and could be detrimental to working families.
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The U.S. already has a medical debt crisis. Republicans are making it worse. It’s a simple fact, really. Before the Affordable Care Act, a shocking number of bankruptcies were directly linked to medical bills, even for people who *did* have health insurance. While the ACA made strides in expanding coverage, it wasn’t a silver bullet. The fundamental problem, in my view, lies in the market-based approach, the one championed by the conservative Heritage Foundation and adopted in Massachusetts under Mitt Romney. This model was seemingly designed to garner Republican support, but alas, the party often seems determined to reject any solution, even those of its own making.
The real solution, the one that truly addresses both healthcare delivery and the crushing weight of medical debt, is a universal single-payer system. Imagine a world where every citizen is covered, where the billions currently siphoned off by insurance company salaries, lavish corporate events, and redundant administrative roles are redirected towards actual patient care. It’s absolutely maddening that other wealthy nations manage this, yet the U.S. struggles. We should be leading the way! The people need to demand this change, because the current system has failed, and propping it up only prolongs the suffering. I see those TV ads too, the ones where the parent’s tears of relief are brought on by a charity covering the cost of their child’s care. You don’t see those ads in countries with universal healthcare.
The core of the problem lies in the GOP’s relentless pursuit of policies that prioritize profits above people. This isn’t a new phenomenon; it’s a long-standing pattern. Republicans helped create the healthcare industry as we know it, with Nixon at the helm. And now, they’re actively working to dismantle the ACA, all while families face the constant threat of financial ruin from a single ER visit. Criminalizing the inability to pay medical debt seems to be another potential “solution” they may push.
One of the biggest questions is why premiums are so high to begin with. The focus seems to be on extending ACA subsidies, which is important, but why are we even in this situation? Is subsidizing these high costs not just shifting money around on a different balance sheet? Are we really helping people if we are just moving the debt around? Why do we allow insurance companies to inflate prices and raise premiums with little to no oversight? It’s a financial feeding frenzy. Insurance companies are now dominating the Fortune 500, a massive shift in the past fifteen years. And who benefits? Certainly not the average American.
The consequences of this are devastating. Medical debt can destroy families, as many of us have seen firsthand. I understand that the goal of the subsidies is to force the Republican’s to help extend the ACA subsidies, but let’s talk about the premiums! People need to eat, live, and have a good life. Republicans do a really great job making sure that doesn’t happen for the average person.
The Republican platform seems to be “let’s make everything worse.” They seem to have no solutions. Everything is just getting worse. It’s a pattern, a cycle of neglect and exploitation. The modern GOP’s policy is to hurt as many people as possible.
The core of the issue is that it is not one party’s fault. We need to remember that! But one thing is for sure, these people are going to make life difficult. Medical debt shouldn’t be a death sentence, but for many, it is.
The sad part is that we already have examples of the types of care we could be providing. People want to help each other, they want to provide care. Unfortunately, not everyone seems to agree, and we are paying the price.
The U.S. medical system is in shambles. We can start by looking at ER visits. Two-thirds of ER visits are avoidable visits from people with private insurance. This is a massive problem. But these people are used to getting everything that they want and they don’t want to wait. But that does not mean that there are no solutions.
This problem is bigger than we think it is, there are a lot of problems in our healthcare system. The US could and should become the global standard, but the question is, what will it take?