This doesn't take into account the money saved when the public is healthier, when we have a more educated work force that can increase GDP, safer infrastructure that reduced accidents and avoids constant repair costs. This is also over 10 years, not per year.
A simple example - if someone doesn't have access to health insurance, they are likely also poor, and unable to pay for healthcare costs out of pocket. They might wait until an infection, a UTI, for example, that could have been easily treated with a course of antibiotics is out of control, and they end up in the hospital. This will cost approximately $10,000, vs less that $300 for the dr visit, lab tests, and medicine. If the patient can't pay this, then taxpayers will end up taking up the bill anyways, or the person will file bankruptcy which will ruin their credit score, make their earning potential even lower, and likely decrease their ability to work because they may no longer have a car/steady address, etc.
The original reason why they are poor most likely has to do with lack of access to decent education from a young age, inability to afford or get into college (due to poor education and other circumstances), and inability to get other training for a better paying job. This person is also more likely to have a child young, not be able to afford to care for the child properly, and will need to rely on government assistance to feed the child through EBT programs and the school lunch program. This child is more likely to also go through this same exact cycle again, if they are not able to access decent education/training, a living wage, or affordable healthcare. This same child is also more likely to eat poorly, because the the school lunch program and is underfunded and feeds kids crap like pizza and fries, which, along with the types of food that are affordable on the average EBT allowance, aren't healthy and lead to expensive diseases like diabetes.
SOMEONE does have to pay for it, not matter what. Republicans love to say that churches should be doing these types of things, but they DON'T. We should start investing in our citizens, and not corporations. We could pay for free college tuition if we stopped giving subsidies to fortune 500 companies . We could fund a free jobs program if we stopped paying out subsidies to "farmers" who simply owned land that was farmed in the 80s and may not even farm at all. The US population would eat a hell of a lot better and therefor be healthier (and reduce health costs) if we stopped subsidizing the corn, meat, and dairy industries, and maybe started putting that money into crops like healthy starches/proteins (beans, potatoes, etc.), fruits, and vegetables. This would conveniently also save states like CA a ton of water each year.
We spend tons of money, but it mostly goes to making that big business is being kept healthy and happy, and that everyone else is just getting by so they won't pay attention to how screwed up everything is. There are plenty of places the government can cut spending, but that would require some balls on the part of congress to stand up to big business and stand up for the interest of the vast majority of people in this country.
germansingergirl
ellievsbear
2087
vaporwave
