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Very strong comment. I work in healthcare, and your last paragraph is especially relevant and, at least anecdotally, accurate. Working with chronically mentally ill patients, I sometimes try and follow the paper trail to see how these services are getting paid for. Occasionally there is talk of Medicare or Medicaid when it comes to specific practices, but generally, no one bats an eye at giving a homeless man a full head CT. For the worst patients who need long term care, the eye-watering cost of a 6-month bed is rounded down to a zero because they simply cannot and could never pay. I respect individual doctors who want to do no harm, but systemically it's a baffling injustice that some folks go bankrupt trying to pay for things that are doled out like Halloween candy to the underclass under the pretense of the Hippocratic oath. I have some logistical concerns with single-payer, but it should be instituted for this reason alone: as you said, insurance doesn't work when more ships are sinking than should be.
Physicians can cry about it, they'll still be a well-paid and well respected profession even with a pay cut.
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