John Oliver's Last Week Tonight

Because we're all either gonna be depressed or pissed or manic or whatever range of emotions comes Democalypse 2020, to lift our hearts and spirits, John's season finale segment (which was last week) is basically Shinjo-kun and Chiijon flying out to New York to find John.

Edited by terumokou on Nov 24th 2019 at 8:39:53 AM

Because SantaCon is still a thing. I love John Oliver so much. Platonically, but still, it's love.

I thought last week was the last one of the season?

This was a short Web Exclusive.

The last to air on TV, this one is Youtube-only.

Edit:

Edit 2: So I just got around to watch that and by God.

Usonians wouldn't last an hour during Brazilian Carnival.

Edited by HailMuffins on Dec 8th 2019 at 2:37:13 PM

Well, Trump sure has provided Oliver a lot of material for next year.

He's still out til February so here's a web exclusive on push notifications and how they're basically supposed to be a notification about what's happening and less click baity. Although the latter makes for a decent distraction from something uncomfortable.

BTW, I prefer butter lettuce. Romaine can drop off a cliff.

John Oliver has finally become a US citizen, and talks about the experience with Stephen Colbert:

Whoever thinks becoming a US citizen is too easy should really take a better look at the process. This guy was a white Brit with a successful career as a comedian, and still it took him 15 years or so to become a citizen. Some people have to wait twice as long.

Also, John Oliver's first crush was Eeyore, apparently.

Edited by Redmess on Feb 11th 2020 at 2:33:36 PM

Medicare for all.

The issue, and he covers most of it, is that we are talking about a huge spiderweb of interconnected factors that has made medical insurance in the US such a problem.

• Medical costs in the US are extremely high, but the tradeoff is being among the most innovative in terms of medical and drug research. It's generally really good medical care... if you're rich. It's one of those myths that other countries have superior quality medicine AND it's free; basic supply/demand and cost/ratio theories means that there will be a tradeoff and the poor reputation of US healthcare is almost exclusively the high costs.
  • Related, part of the reason medicines are so inexpensive in other countries is because Americans are footing the bill for that medical research (it's sort of like getting generic brand drugs with the same label). The danger of stifling innovation by removing financial viability of drug research will have a worldwide impact.
• Wait times are an issue in countries with single payer healthcare. Americans may hold off on medical treatment due to cost, elsewhere people will just have to wait 6 months for a standard physical. I have a cousin living in France and she was expressing on Facebook her personal frustration with getting her kids in. Logically, pushing out "non-emergency" visits like that will reduce the amount of existing conditions they are able to identify early.
• Another part of the reason the costs have skyrocketed is because of both insurance companies demanding discounts (which makes hospitals raise prices so that their "discount" is closer to the actual cost value) and lateral administrative bloat. True Medicare For All would result in both insurance and hospital administration fields to be absolutely gutted and 1.8 million will lose their jobs overnight.
  • A hybrid system like Obamacare where the government offers a universal alternative competing with the other insurance companies won't have the problems with dismantling the insurance system entirely, but administration bloat is especially common when the government gets involved like that. A friend's dad was let go from his job, and three months later was fined $5,000 by Obamacare for being uninsured. Unemployed AND fined for being unemployed... that's one hell of a "kick them while they're down."
• There is some benefits to eliminating the issue of medical debt and ensuing bankruptcy with Medicare for All, but the guaranteed higher taxes and other issues will definitely have a massive impact on the economy at large. There is a chance that total medical spending will decrease but also a chance that it will be much higher, only added to the national spending rather than the individual.

The main issue I see across the board is that there is little agreement on the best course of action on how to transition from the current system into single payer healthcare. I personally think the best option is targeting the source of the high costs, insurance premiums and administrative costs. How, exactly, I'm not sure because this all varies state to state, county to county and the interactions on that level only make it more complicated.

Edited by KJMackley on Feb 17th 2020 at 2:03:10 AM

What about drug companies cranking up prices because they want to make huge profits? Tackling that sounds like a good start. Maybe the government should set prices on medication so that doesn't happen.

And it's not like that profit goes to research. It just lines the pockets of shareholders and owners.

The idea that medical innovation only occurs in the U.S. is just plain false. It's a myth sold by the Fox News Kids Club.

And sustained by the broader myth that all scientific innovation comes from America.

Everyone is of course doing their own research, but in terms of raw spending the US is only outdone by China (and only recently), while the US still vastly leads in clinical trials and shared studies.

I should also point out that I have never had to wait more than a few days to see my GP.

I often have trouble with appointments in the UK, but that’s a recent thing due to the Conservatives slashing the NHS budget and forcing doctors to take on a ton of administrative work that used to be done by their staff, leaving them less time for appointments.

I certainly don't have to worry about picking the wrong doctor, either. That is some crazy system, and I don't understand why anyone would put up with it, Democrat or Republican.

Why are the Reps putting up with it, by the way? Don't their voters like better healthcare?

Insurance industry are big donors/lobbyists plus the f*** the poor attitude.

But aren't a lot of Reps poor working class and farmers?

Sure but they think that anything other than the current system would destroy America, also many of them are very opposed the minorities getting free healthcare and would rather go without than let black people get healthcare.

Remember what bought down the first attempt at a national American healthcare system was the fact that hospitals would have to be desegregated, which was a non-starter for Reps and senators from the South.

Man, the US is so fucked up...

Most insurance coverage has caveats for out-of-network services; your co-pay might double, you may have to argue with the staff and file extra paperwork but you won't have to pay full price. Most hospitals in fact are happy to give massive discounts to uninsured or under-insured because they don't want to deal with the insurance companies either and would rather charge the customer something they can afford to pay off rather than money they will never get. Predatory collection agencies buy medical debt for pennies on the dollar for that reason, hospitals sell it so they get something for their services, and this was covered in a prior LWT episode.

He doesn't bring it up much in the piece, but the reason rich people from around the world to use American medical care isn't because it's the best, it's because the US is one of the only places that has an industry of on-call private doctors who will do basically whatever you want if you pay them enough.

Right, that's the main reason. When you have the cash, you can pay an American doctor to basically do any procedure you please. European regulations are more restrictive on what you can do.