Quote (thundercock @ May 20 2016 11:45pm)

You want to save the people who can benefit society the most. Would you save the neurosurgeon or the drug dealer? Would you save a child or the person who is 95 years old? To me, these are easy choices to make. At the end of the day, we do not have the resources to treat every single person for every disease out there. That's why you have lines in socialist countries. As I said, I'm not opposed to universal healthcare, but we have to be realistic about who we can treat. I'm perfectly ok with the so-called "death panels" which are doctors who try to figure out if you're worth treating.

I would allow the rich to "cut in line" because it's effectively a tax increase on them. If they are putting more into the system, they should get certain benefits (such as being bumped up on the organ transplant list).

Quote (Skinned @ May 20 2016 09:16pm)

So by your ethic a diseased rich person is more valuable than a young person full of potentiality?

Quote (thundercock @ May 21 2016 12:22am)

I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that. It depends on the disease, how rich they are, how much potential the young person has, etc. Life insurance companies and their actuaries already do these sort evaluations on a daily basis. You can come up with a set amount of cash necessary to move up. Maybe it's 3 million dollars to become next on the heart transplant list. Maybe it's 100 million. Some monetary value exists though.

Quote (Skinned @ May 20 2016 09:27pm)

We should go ahead and make all interactions legal...just laissez faire...that way poor people can sell their organs to the rich to ensure the successful future of their family in their absence.

Quote (Skinned @ May 21 2016 06:27am)

We should go ahead and make all interactions legal...just laissez faire...that way poor people can sell their organs to the rich to ensure the successful future of their family in their absence.

Quote (thundercock @ May 21 2016 05:22am)

I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that. It depends on the disease, how rich they are, how much potential the young person has, etc. Life insurance companies and their actuaries already do these sort evaluations on a daily basis. You can come up with a set amount of cash necessary to move up. Maybe it's 3 million dollars to become next on the heart transplant list. Maybe it's 100 million. Some monetary value exists though.

Quote

"Two-thirds of bankruptcies in the US are linked to medical bills-and most patients could not really know in advance how far these bills would rise."

Quote (balrog66 @ May 21 2016 12:43am)

Most rich people that don't like to wait just visit another country for their healthcare. Certain countries have expensive clinics that provide the same quality of care but just at shorter notice. Of course the rich people would still be paying into the universal healthcare system, they still have that option open.

I really don't like rich people being able to buy their way ahead in the public system. It has the implied danger of doctors having to ignore the rules of triage.