# Man robs bank for $1 just so he can get health care in jail ! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 22, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412 "2011-06-22T12:28:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412/121 "2011-06-25T21:59:45Z")
How much would the average American worker’s taxes go up–and insurannce rates go down–if we established one of various European-style health care systems? ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412/122 "2011-06-26T03:38:19Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > How much would the average American worker’s taxes go up–and insurannce rates go down–if we established one of various European-style health care systems? My opinion is that for “average American worker” it would be a wash. Their taxes would go up by the amount that they currently pay for a group based plan, plus out of pocket medical expenses. When I first moved to the US I spent a lot of time trying to compare my taxes to relatives in Canada, and what I concluded was that the difference in taxation was about the same as what I’d pay in medical premiums plus out of pocket expenses. But then I’d round up a bit for various problems. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412/123 "2011-06-27T04:12:14Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > My opinion is that for “average American worker” it would be a wash. Their taxes would go up by the amount that they currently pay for a group based plan, plus out of pocket medical expenses. > > When I first moved to the US I spent a lot of time trying to compare my taxes to relatives in Canada, and what I concluded was that the difference in taxation was about the same as what I’d pay in medical premiums plus out of pocket expenses. > > But then I’d round up a bit for various problems. They would probably go down. We spend [twice as much, with worse results](http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/23/us-usa-healthcare-last-idUSTRE65M0SU20100623). If you took the for-profit insurance companies out of the loop and went to a single-payer system, at a very minimum, you reduce costs by the profit margin. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412/124 "2011-06-27T20:48:08Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > They would probably go down. We spend [twice as much, with worse results](http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/23/us-usa-healthcare-last-idUSTRE65M0SU20100623). If you took the for-profit insurance companies out of the loop and went to a single-payer system, at a very minimum, you reduce costs by the profit margin. In any other country you’d be right, because in all the other countries with UHC the government (as the single largest buyer) negotiates prices. Since right now Medicare isn’t allowed to negotiate, it’s pretty unlikely a larger system would be any better. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412/125 "2011-06-27T23:35:00Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > In any other country you’d be right, because in all the other countries with UHC the government (as the single largest buyer) negotiates prices. Since right now Medicare isn’t allowed to negotiate, it’s pretty unlikely a larger system would be any better. In the unlikely event that most politicians stop being bought and paid for whores of the insurance industry and allow single-payer health care, they would probably also rationalize the laws and allow Medicare to negotiate. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412/126 "2011-06-28T23:08:17Z")
This guy Verone could be the star of one of the Pit’s many “Christ, my brother-in-law/cousin/ex-roommate is a total fucking loser” threads. But since we know nothing firsthand about him, suddenly he’s the poster child for healthcare reform. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-robs-bank-for-1-just-so-he-can-get-health-care-in-jail/586412.md?page=6)