COVID-19 & US healthcare system

[hazard]

In the US, receiving a bill for $40,000 would be on the low end, with supposedly good insurance plans. Adding a 40% increase in premiums on top? A lot of people--those who can actually get insurance-- are going to start considering going without.

I think you are conflating several things here.

First, I was talking about the cost of a single day use of a hospital bed, and only the hospital bed without anything more than the standard check ups.

Second, you aren't noting the cost of the insurance premiums. It'd be useful for comparison.

Third, wait, 40 000 dollars? That's 2/3rd of the median income IIRC, and for the lower economic strata at least one year of income, when you already are in the situation where you have month left at the end of your wages. You aren't going to be able to pay that bill.

Unfortunately, there are some people who wring their hands about all the people who work in the insurance industry who'd probably lose their jobs if we had a single payer system. I just want to own that I care as much about their jobs as they care about my life.

My answer to the insurance industry falling over is 'good, then they may be employed in a more productive job'. Not to say that insurance isn't useful or without beneficial traits. But the manner in which it's organized? That's a massive burden on the man hour and financial efficiencies of the health care system. Also a sizable burden on other parts of the economy, but all those paper pushers do have to push all the paper the insurance system requires to be done.

There are at least parts of society where simplifying the insurance system simply by centralizing all coverage into a single entity and not having to deal with things like the costs of the massive marketing campaigns or fighting with insurance companies over the prices because the company wants to make the greatest profit it can instead of delivering its services for the lowest costs to the consumer possible is simply too useful not to.

Others say that is about "choice". In practice you don't have that. You either pay for a plan out of pocket, which a lot of people can't, what you can get thru your employer (if they offer one), or diddly squat.

Ah, the choice of getting screwed by your lack of insurance, or being screwed by your insurance company.