r/HealthInsurance • u/pandapower63 • Apr 14 '24

Plan Choice Suggestions What can regular Americans who are fed up with their health insurance do about it?

I’ve written my elected officials in government. What else can we do? It’s depressing and it’s wrong. That people can’t get healthcare easily and affordably. People are dying early because they don’t get the care they need.

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u/GroinFlutter Apr 14 '24

Voting works if everyone actually votes in their local elections, not just the big ones. These politicians start locally.

It’s not going to be fast or quick. But it has to start somewhere

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u/PinkWetFish68 Apr 14 '24

Definitely agree. It’s not the one guy every four years, it’s the 435 voted in every two years and the 100 up every 6 years that matter most!

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

It's state and local elections that matter. The federal government is corrupt beyond repair. Most of the time there isn't even a decent option running for a particular House or Senate seat.

Using the direct ballot initiative process available in 26 states, we could get a state level universal system in place within the next decade.

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u/swellfog Apr 14 '24

Actually, voting hasn’t been working which is why you see such anger and disengagement.

Politicians on all sides no longer respond to voters. They respond to donors and those who can give them and their kids well paying jobs, and consulting gigs when they get out of office. One of the biggest issues is the revolving door between Tech, Wall Street and Corporate America and DC.

DC (yes, both parties) literally has disdain for voters, they see them as an annoyance they have to deal with during election season.

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u/i-VII-VI Apr 15 '24

Yes, Say it louder for the ones in back!

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u/i-VII-VI Apr 14 '24

The only time my vote has actually improved my life is in my local elections so I always vote but federally I don’t have any reason to hope.

I was exited when I thought California might enact universal healthcare and that could start happening state by state, but like every other time it was just talk and profit won.

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u/GroinFlutter Apr 14 '24

Even the big general elections have a lot of local measures and state laws that are on the ballot.

If you don’t feel comfortable voting for a president or any of the other major ones, you can leave those blank and vote on the others.

That’s what my partner does. Just refuses to vote for a president, but votes for everything else.

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

That’s what my partner does. Just refuses to vote for a president, but votes for everything else.

That's what I do. I leave federal elections blank unless a candidate is super compelling, which is rare. Meanwhile, I vote in EVERY state and local election on my ballot.

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u/i-VII-VI Apr 14 '24

I always vote, I’ve gone third party left things blank when I didn’t have a good candidate. I do it and recognize it’s important but federally it’s the same bs it’s always been. Some politician who is taking money and orders from the right people and doesn’t do a damn thing for me or any other working class person. Dems do at least maintain the suffering and don’t exasperate it but don’t actually do anything.

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u/cottercutie Apr 15 '24

HAVE to start at the local level! If you start voting out local and state politicians in Red states who will not expand Medicaid, or who are trying to undo expansion in states where it does exist, then it will filter up. Start there. Then we continue to move forward towards a public option that isn't tied to employment

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u/CTRL_ALT_DELIGHT Apr 14 '24

Voting does not work. The two parties share a consensus on these (and most) matters. Things change through direct action, not through the ballot box.

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u/GroinFlutter Apr 14 '24

Okay. What direct action do you suggest that would work best without harming patients or doctors or their livelihoods?

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u/CTRL_ALT_DELIGHT Apr 15 '24 edited Apr 16 '24

Literally anything is more effective than pretending you can vote your way into a better future. Write a letter or phone bank, join a community mutual aid group, go to a protest. I wonder if I am wasting my breath reading your weird equivocation about harm.

Edit: comments are locked now, but it's hilarious you think that having a masters in health administration is a flex. You're the problem. You, the MBAs, and the insurance companies are the vampires sucking our healthcare system dry.

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u/GroinFlutter Apr 15 '24

Literally, no. Writing letters doesn’t work. Joining community groups won’t work. Going to protests won’t work. Healthcare is a whole other beast in the US. There’s too many people indifferent towards it and there’s many more benefiting from it.

I have an MHA, so sure. You are quite literally wasting your breath.

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

There’s too many people indifferent towards it

Where are these people? I've never met anyone with a positive opinion of their health insurance. If they are all hiding out in gated communities, they sure aren't close to a majority.

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u/GroinFlutter Apr 15 '24

those with good (low patient responsibility) employer coverage and those on Medicare. People on Medicare sure don’t want anything changing with their coverage

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

Sometimes short term loss is required for long term gain.

What is less bad: having severely shitty healthcare for a couple of years followed by a universal system on par with those of other wealthy countries, or continuing with this awful healthcare system indefinitely?

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u/HystericalSail Apr 15 '24

This is why my wife registered as a Republican. So she can have some input as to who gets through the primary, ever so slightly lower odds of a choice between a far right social conservative sellout vs neolib sellout when it comes time to elect one of two assclowns.

I admit she has a point. Thinking of following her lead, but on the D side. Both of us were/are registered as independent, neither one of us voted party line in the past.

But my goal is getting back to a more centrist policy. Those with a vested interest in far right or far left don't need to consider this approach.

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '24

It’s not going to be fast or quick. But it has to start somewhere

You need to realize that people who don't have access to healthcare don't have some unlimited amount of time to wait for neo-libs and neo-cons to get their head out of their asses. We need direct ballot initiatives for state level universal healthcare in multiple states. Once we can get a system passed in at least one state, it will act as a catalyst for others to follow.

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u/GroinFlutter Apr 15 '24

Voting for allat in CA whenever I can 🤷🏽‍♀️