What keeps hitting me is how far the public conversation is from the lived reality of getting care. Switzerland is an incredible country in so many ways, and one thing they get right is transparency: you’re told the costs up front, the procedure details up front, and you walk in knowing exactly what’s happening and why. It’s calm, orderly, and human.
And then you look at the U.S., where the system feels almost engineered for confusion. You’re given minimal information, you’re rushed through the process, and then months…sometimes a year later, the bills start arriving from providers you didn’t even know were involved. It’s not just inefficient; it’s disorienting by design.
What’s wild is that I’ve had smoother, more humane care in places people don’t expect: Italy, the UK, even China. Staff weren’t burned out, facilities were calmer, and the whole experience felt less like navigating a financial trap and more like being treated by actual humans.
Which is why the “healthcare plan” discourse always feels detached. Until the system is built around clarity, access, and dignity (not opacity and extraction) the branding will keep changing while the experience stays the same.
Several years ago, the father of a friend of mine who was a physician was in Italy on vacation and suddenly became quite ill. The passage of time does not allow me to recall the exact medical emergency but that's not important. Upon his return to the US, the doctor reported that the lifesaving care he received was excellent.
When it comes to so many things (sane gun safety laws, universal healthcare, a federal government that is not committing suicide before our very eyes) we are an outlier nation. The lunatic in the WH doesn't give a rat's ass about anything that doesn't line his, his family's or his billionaire sycophant bros pockets. When oh when will we stop listening to the deranged carnival barker and see him for what he truly is: a rotting empty shell with not one ounce of decency or empathy.
I agree with you- a recent procedure resulted in statements from the facility where it was performed, the radiologist, the lab, the pharmacy (had to pay separately for meds used during the procedure), and my physician.
Health care is complicated and Trump and his billionaire buddies aren't invested in it because they know that they can afford A-grade health care with no stress at all on their personal budget.
So I can't say I'm surprised at all that he comes up with a 'plan' that not only fails to pay attention to details but seems unaware that of any detail or even major feature of the subect.
He has no clue nor intention to do the work involved in actually bringing a true healthcare plan to fruition because he has never had to worry about the cost of healthcare, of the toll it takes on families if just one member of the family has a serious health condition or a medical crisis. He thinks that we aren’t smart enough to know the difference between “concepts of a plan “ and an actual solution to our seriously broken system!
There's a reason people on Medicare don't want it taken away. It works, and it works better and far less expensively than any of the private plans. Republicans don't want Medicare for all because they know that once Americans younger than 65 know that fact, the insurance companies will go out of business.
Thank you, Mr. Waldman. It’s disheartening that on two very basic issues, healthcare and gun control, the answers are available but ignored by politicians. This is actually a huge argument which gets back to money in politics. (Thank you tony scalia.)
Well, apparently all we have from the lunatic in the WH and the MAGAts is yet another mere "concept of a plan." His idiotic statement that "Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated" would be laughable if it weren't so telling. I mean, the devil is in the details so Drumpf has the perfect resume to qualify for the job (him being a devil and all). The problem is that he has the attention span of a spoiled toddler and these pesky meetings keep eating into his naptime so he takes them DURING the meetings. Resting his eyes they say. Spare me.
After WW2, most of the countries of the world decided that providing universal healthcare for their citizens was a basic human right. The US was inching towards achieving that lofty goal but the efforts were derailed when the AMA and insurance companies came out against it plus health insurance became linked to employment for millions of Americans. The idea fizzled out.
All this talk about the miracle of the market solving the healthcare problem is a fantasy. That's what we've been pursuing for 80 years and it has produced a great system for those rich enough to pay for it. However, access and affordability (Drumph likes to make fun of the latter for some bizarre reason) is out of reach for millions.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict that the "concept of a plan" will not solve the healthcare problem. That would take a group of serious people working diligently to fix or reform the system and we sure as hell don't have that with these clowns.
What keeps hitting me is how far the public conversation is from the lived reality of getting care. Switzerland is an incredible country in so many ways, and one thing they get right is transparency: you’re told the costs up front, the procedure details up front, and you walk in knowing exactly what’s happening and why. It’s calm, orderly, and human.
And then you look at the U.S., where the system feels almost engineered for confusion. You’re given minimal information, you’re rushed through the process, and then months…sometimes a year later, the bills start arriving from providers you didn’t even know were involved. It’s not just inefficient; it’s disorienting by design.
What’s wild is that I’ve had smoother, more humane care in places people don’t expect: Italy, the UK, even China. Staff weren’t burned out, facilities were calmer, and the whole experience felt less like navigating a financial trap and more like being treated by actual humans.
Which is why the “healthcare plan” discourse always feels detached. Until the system is built around clarity, access, and dignity (not opacity and extraction) the branding will keep changing while the experience stays the same.
Several years ago, the father of a friend of mine who was a physician was in Italy on vacation and suddenly became quite ill. The passage of time does not allow me to recall the exact medical emergency but that's not important. Upon his return to the US, the doctor reported that the lifesaving care he received was excellent.
When it comes to so many things (sane gun safety laws, universal healthcare, a federal government that is not committing suicide before our very eyes) we are an outlier nation. The lunatic in the WH doesn't give a rat's ass about anything that doesn't line his, his family's or his billionaire sycophant bros pockets. When oh when will we stop listening to the deranged carnival barker and see him for what he truly is: a rotting empty shell with not one ounce of decency or empathy.
I agree with you- a recent procedure resulted in statements from the facility where it was performed, the radiologist, the lab, the pharmacy (had to pay separately for meds used during the procedure), and my physician.
Health care is complicated and Trump and his billionaire buddies aren't invested in it because they know that they can afford A-grade health care with no stress at all on their personal budget.
So I can't say I'm surprised at all that he comes up with a 'plan' that not only fails to pay attention to details but seems unaware that of any detail or even major feature of the subect.
He has no clue nor intention to do the work involved in actually bringing a true healthcare plan to fruition because he has never had to worry about the cost of healthcare, of the toll it takes on families if just one member of the family has a serious health condition or a medical crisis. He thinks that we aren’t smart enough to know the difference between “concepts of a plan “ and an actual solution to our seriously broken system!
You can bet it won't go anywhere like all his lie on top of lies .
How about this: give all Americans the same healthcare at the same cost that everyone in Congress receives?
There's a reason people on Medicare don't want it taken away. It works, and it works better and far less expensively than any of the private plans. Republicans don't want Medicare for all because they know that once Americans younger than 65 know that fact, the insurance companies will go out of business.
Thank you, Mr. Waldman. It’s disheartening that on two very basic issues, healthcare and gun control, the answers are available but ignored by politicians. This is actually a huge argument which gets back to money in politics. (Thank you tony scalia.)
Well, apparently all we have from the lunatic in the WH and the MAGAts is yet another mere "concept of a plan." His idiotic statement that "Nobody knew that healthcare could be so complicated" would be laughable if it weren't so telling. I mean, the devil is in the details so Drumpf has the perfect resume to qualify for the job (him being a devil and all). The problem is that he has the attention span of a spoiled toddler and these pesky meetings keep eating into his naptime so he takes them DURING the meetings. Resting his eyes they say. Spare me.
After WW2, most of the countries of the world decided that providing universal healthcare for their citizens was a basic human right. The US was inching towards achieving that lofty goal but the efforts were derailed when the AMA and insurance companies came out against it plus health insurance became linked to employment for millions of Americans. The idea fizzled out.
All this talk about the miracle of the market solving the healthcare problem is a fantasy. That's what we've been pursuing for 80 years and it has produced a great system for those rich enough to pay for it. However, access and affordability (Drumph likes to make fun of the latter for some bizarre reason) is out of reach for millions.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict that the "concept of a plan" will not solve the healthcare problem. That would take a group of serious people working diligently to fix or reform the system and we sure as hell don't have that with these clowns.