They turned me into a newt.

....I got better....

I also know that I would personally prefer someone in government making the call in regards to whether I get treatment or not rather than a for profit company which has every reason to refuse me coverage.

I've never run into my insurance refusing my care/tests/procedures my Dr's have said I needed....

I'd definitely NOT want the govt deciding what I can and cannot have done.....I mean, I don't want the same type entities that run the local SS office or DMV, or anything having a deciding hand in my medical needs....

So is that a non-urgent treatment, or urgent? Because there's different wait lists for different categories, just like in the USA. Also if a GP in most countries says you need a scan then you get one, in the USA a HMO might just say that you don't get a scan. While charging everyone for the HMO's time

I've never had my insurance say I could not get an exam or test my Dr said I needed....

How is there "no real viable way we could afford that in the US" when other countries can afford it? Very clearly it's affordable given the number of countries currently using such systems.

Don't many of these socialized medicine countries also have tax rates for most people WELL north of 50%?

That's gonna be a key sticking point in the US, no one here will tolerate their taxes going up that much for the Feds....and don't forget that would be in addition to state and local taxes.

I'm quite happy with my insurance coverage and medical coverage I have....I recently had surgery, and it was done in a timely manner, and even my ER return for a PE that was a post surgical problem..was caught and treated. It didn't cost me that much outta pocket....and I was happy to have had the treatment and life saving care.

Granted, anecdotal story by one....but still, I've not experienced the nightmares others seem to be pushing as the common US narrative .....

Obesity is probably going to become rare in the next 10 years, now we have really effective medication for it. The biggest step change will be when the patents expire and generic versions become available for a small fraction of the price they want today.

The many potential side effects scare me off of the GLP-1 meds.....I mean, spontaneous irreversible blindness comes to mind.

I'd rather be fat that risk that.

Will several hundred dollar wrist watches be bought for everyone? My wife has a galaxy watch and it only took four years for the battery to wear out and hold less than a day of charge Not only is the battery replacement part $150 on its own, but there is no one within hours of me that can replace it. --

You might look into the Apple Watch series....my; first one I think version 2 worked for quite a long time...my currentl Apple Watch Ultra 2 is now about 2+ years old, going strong with multi-days on a charge....and it is easy to get a battery swap if you need at an Apple Store whether you have one near you or ship it to them.

I've been MORE than happy with their electronic watch offerings....and customer service.

Single payer healthcare.

The problem is....there's no real viable way we could afford that in the US.

i mean currently we cannot afford the single payer systems we DO currently have : Medicare, Medicaid and the VA system.....

How would you propose to fund such a system as you propose? We'd have to have basic tax rates on everyone well over 50% I'd estimate...likely higher and I don't think that would fly well here in the US.

What are your suggestions?

Hell, every new car on the market has TPMS now

What is TPMS? New term for me...

As it is, for decades I heard about nothing else but the cheap fuel in the US compared to the rest of the world... and that's gone REALLY quiet for the last few years

I wonder why it went quiet......gas prices are still quite low over here....especially compared to the rest of the world .

Because none of that stuff ever existed in Hollywood before conservatives starting crying about woke stuff, right?

Not to the extreme extent we're seeing these days...no.

Have you considered what you call "left" is more a reflection upon your biases and environment and limitations

I speak of "the left" as how the general political divide is in the US, since that is where I live and am a citizen of....

I'm sure the problems have nothing to do with ruining beloved characters...race and gender swapping, and more interested in promotion of "the message" rather than true to the cannon story telling.

The massive tax cut going through the US Senate right now

What tax cut?

They are merely making permanent the current tax levels we have NOW...otherwise eveyrone's taxes are going to jump way up....

As for the rest of your rant...wow, you sounds like a nervous nelly, how are you able to sleep at night being so frighten the sky is falling and that climate change will send us to the Stone Age in the next year or so....

I'm still always confused at your worry about the US and how we conduct our business here, since you are not living here and not an American.....?

What makes you say that? How much PBS News Hour have you watched recently?

I tend to flip through all the news shows/channels I can on almost a daily basis....

I"ll admit tt's likely been a month or so, last time I tuned into the news programs on PBS, but I find they like NPR are usually quite leftist slanted much of the time.

Candidate A: hardworking successful and respected prosecutor, Senator, and Vice President. Exemplary record of promoting health care, voting rights, and reducing gun violence and crime. Full understanding and adherence to the rule of law. Well educated. Articulate as a court officer should be.

LOL...good one,always start out with a joke.

Oh man...especially good is that "articulate" part at the end there..hehehe.

Thanks for the morning laugh my friend....