The depth of disgust towards health ins companies is THE biggest takeway & Dems should respond to this void in the

[themaguffin]

coming days, months and in trump's term - few moments like this expose real emotion across the spectrum.

We've seen what is in reality - a lot of trump voters acknowledge their hatred and disgust over insurance and our health system.

This is exactly why the GOP always, always, always deflects away to bullshit contrived social wars or cries "sOcIaLiSm" 24/7 when not crying DEI or "wOkE" etc.

The reaction was and is real. There is real opportunity for Democrats to call out the GOP (constantly!) and propose real solutions to move forward in 2026 and 2028.

[malaise]

1. Precisely

Rec

[lame54]

2. Where was this passion on election day?...

Fight back against the thieving rich
Instead we handed them the keys

[leftstreet]

3. Unless it results in policy, it'll just be campaign fodder

For both parties

People are tired of politicians who only "propose" solutions every campaign season

[themaguffin]

8. Yes, but Dems are not in power. I'm essentially referring to Dems to both call out the Rs, while also proposing...

...practical policies to win elections and then yeah, they better work to get things passed, but one step at a time.

[flying_wahini]

4. If the press was doing its job we wouldn't have to.

But there you go.

[BannonsLiver]

15. That's been our fundamental mistake for years

Expecting the for profit mass media to referee.

[dgauss]

5. I would hope that this outpouring of anger towards health ins companies

would at least make it more difficult for republicans to attempt to dismantle the affordable care act.

[Skittles]

20. um, no

they will fuck with ACA, Social Security, Medicare, ANYTHING that helps people

[Quakerfriend]

6. Exactly! Bernie seems to be the only one whoever

mentions the need for universal healthcare.

Looking at the XRays of his back post-op, I was horrified. He must be in chronic pain & that kind of pain can make anyone insane. Our medical system does not have great methods for treating chronic pain & the despair that often accompanies it.

[Lulu KC]

14. My back looks just like that

And it is fine. I had the chronic pain before the surgery and it was fixed, and I spoke to many other people before I had it who were very relieved. But things can definitely go wrong. I don't know his full story, of course.

I can see that it looks scary if you haven't done it, believe me! I resisted the surgery until I'd talked to many people and read a lot about it.

[Skittles]

21. OK that's a new one

he's IN PAIN and INSANE

[Silent Type]

7. They darn sure need to do something besides respond to it. While GOPers are an obstacle, Democrats have failed too.

Did you hear Bidden or Harris even mention major healthcare reform?* I get why they didn't, but avoiding the problem because they don't think voters will buy it is not a solution.

While Sanders' yelling about it is laudable, no one has come up with a detailed plan that voters will like.

Running up to 2020 election, Warren was doing pretty good pushing universal healthcare until she had some experts looks at the cost. Up to that point, Warren said it wouldn't cost any more than we were currently spending ($3.5 Trillion). After the study, she had to say it was $5.2 T. I think that was one reason she started faultering in primaries.

I wish we could lock Congress up in the Capitol until they come out with a plan, with whatever compromises are needed. Feed them Spam and bread until they produce their best effort. If it ain't good enough, primary them.

*Biden deserves credit for the cap on out-of-pocket drug costs were huge.

[themaguffin]

9. My point is that the universal reaction shows how much contempt there is for health ins & system. This reaction is...

...not something that we have universally seen. I think it opens a political door. It should have to be this way, but it is.

Democrats can't do policy change now, but they can be vocal and use the next 2-4 years to lay the groundwork.

[Silent Type]

13. Agree. Most of us hate car dealers, home insurers, banks, internet providers, etc. Just life with big companies. But,

healthcare is is different because it's necessary for a fulfilling life.

CMS has authority over private insurers in ACA and Medicare Advantage.

To my knowledge they've done very little in monitoring them. We can't even get legislation that requires private insurers -- and Medicare for that matter -- to keep records of denials that could be audited for appropirateness.

[Evolve Dammit]

10. And most of us have REAL experiences and family/friends who have been denied benefits or gone into debt. This

problem is only getting worse and Repukes have no intention of making it better. Hell, most don't even know what "Obamacare" is. Pathetic.

[LymphocyteLover]

11. Agreed-- but then some stupid consultants will worry that Dems are sending the wrong message and so we dial back and

don't take advantage of the moment and again let the GOP soak up the populist anger.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

12. Stupid Question.

Didn't the ACA prevent the kind of abuse people abhor? Is there a loophole that insurers use to prevent them covering costly care?

[Meowmee]

24. No it did not but it did get more people covered and it stopped

the pre-xisting conditions issue. It is not really that affordable either unless you have the crappiest plan possible or are very low income and then you can get help paying for it. It still pretty much let insurers and pharma have the same monopolies etc. and control over pretty much everything.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

25. This is where union coverage saved us.

My husband passed in July. When we married in 1990 he had just qualified (become vested) in SAG, which covered both of us as a married couple. I was so relieved that my coverage continued. But because of the Covid lock down, thousands of SAG members were booted from SAG's Producers Health Plan. They provided a service to find plans suited to our needs. David would up with Blue Shield of CA and I'm with.... United Healthcare, Medicare Advantage. I'm pretty anxious.

[Meowmee]

27. Can you switch it?

Prolly not until the next open enrollment. My brother just got uhc medicare supplement, but someone here said if it is not an advantage plan it’s ok. If you have regular medicare they will cover a lot but they also do deny some things like medications etc. A d have hoops to jump through etc. Like delayed treatment for my father’s stage 4 pressure sore caused by the hospital and extended care place and home nurses etc.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

29. Timing is everything.

I will look into switching next year. Ever heard of "Lets Get Checked"? My doctor's office hadn't. I'm on hold to find out why they have me in their system. They sent a urine test kit. I assumed it was from my doctor and mailed it in.

Ah! the exasperation of growing old....

[Meowmee]

31. Urine test would not be for diabetes

Unless you have ketones. Then there are more accurate ketone strips. 🤗 don’t give up

[SleeplessinSoCal]

30. The test kit was sent by United Healthcare

My Metformin dosage went up. I suspect that's the reason for the test kit. They're clearly trying to prevent costly care going forward. I haven't cared about longevity since I lost my David. They should love me.

[Meowmee]

32. Fight it

Metformin is cheap🤗

[SleeplessinSoCal]

35. I pay $000 for Merformin.

The plan i have is very affordable as a healthy person. But if my blood sugar continues going up, I think I'll need to look elsewhere for coverage.

[Meowmee]

37. That is good

The other drugs and insulin are expensive.

[Nanjeanne]

16. Absolutely agree - strong response and bold plan to address is needed and now is the time.

[MarcoZandrini]

17. Just saw my...

…internal medicine doctor. He said the United Healthcare is the absolute worst health insurance company. Almost every request for authorization for a procedure or test is denied. The doctor then has to spend time telling this insurer why the request is necessary. Fukkkum.

[Initech]

18. This could be an opportunity for real policy change.

We're all tired, angry, and pissed off at the health insurance industry. Their shareholders and executives are making money hand over fist while we go broke paying our medical bills and we get denied claims and surgery. It's insane that it came to this. But look at what country we live in.

[thebigidea]

28. huh? in what universe? Republicans would never, ever go for it

we'd need strong majorities in both houses and the Presidency to do anything

[JI7]

22. People get more angry over social issues

People claim they support health care for all but they then vie against it if they think some minority will benefit.

The right wing will run ads saying lgbt can use it to get support for mental health issues due to bullying and right wing will claim it will be used to get gender reassignment surgery on kids at school.

[Meowmee]

23. It would be great if it could be leveraged in some way

The pharm and ins companies and hc lobbys have such a strangle hold on so many in government, including d, that I would be amazed if it lead anywhere.

[JohnSJ]

26. Really? Is there that much disgust? Then how come they voted for the sociopath, and gave control in congress to the

cult.

The issues were never more clear this election, but 10 million less people voted this election than in 2020.

Young men overwhelmingly vote for the sociopath.

Labor split the vote.

The uncommitted didn't bother.

and the turnout by women was far less than anticipated.

I say people are getting just what they asked for.

[Elessar Zappa]

33. One thing.

Young men didn’t vote overwhelmingly for Trump. Exit polls show different things with some showing they went barely for Harris or barely for Trump. But either way, it wasn’t overwhelming.

[JohnSJ]

34. Thanks, I will need to check that.

[AntiFascist]

36. I wonder...

why are corporations (not including health insurance companies) opposed to universal health coverage? Wouldn't it save them money?