If we had universal health care in this country do you think Covid 19 test kits for the home

[turbinetree]

would be easier to access, instead of going through a health insurer provider....for repayment?

[area51]

1. Yes, but I don't see us ever getting to universal healthcare

as our govt. isn't showing an interest in keeping its citizens alive.

[Celerity]

4. Too many trillions of dollars in profits at stake to have it happen.

I was either laughed at or scolded by some (most of them doing so have shit predictive records, so there is that) when I said that any actually real form of the public option pushed by almost all Dem POTUS (including Biden) candidates was a pipe dream for the foreseeable future. That worked out well for the scolds...... NOT.

[Demsrule86]

5. Really, I think Biden wants to keep us alive...you know that ship sailed in 2016 as we lost

our chance for serious policy...with the courts and divided government, it won't happen. Thank God we got the ACA through which we were on this year...worked very well for us.

[applegrove]

2. We have public health care in Canada and drugs are not paid for necessarily.

We have to order the kits and pay for them in Ontario. In Quebec meds are covered. It varies by provincial government health system. Don't know if test kits are covered in Quebec.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Other countries have figured out how to make free covid tests accessible. It's ridiculous that

this country refuses to. Psaki's response to a legitimate question about free tests was a bad look tbh.

[Demsrule86]

8. Really, I mean I am sure that Joe Biden could snap his fingers and make Covid tests free if he

wanted to... oh wait my husband and I have paid nothing for our Covid tests...don't know what you all are talking about. In fact, my vaccinated husband has Covid at the moment and is doing well. Thank God President Biden got vaccines to the people as clearly, Trump wouldn't have...there was no stockpile. My husband would be in the hospital on a ventilator if it wasn't for Biden most likely. Oh and If you don't have insurance, you still get a test and you don't pay for it here in Ohio. The vaccine is also free. And I could be wrong but I think this is the case in most if not all the states.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. In the UK, every person can get two boxes of seven tests each, for free, every day, on demand from

the pharmacy. For me to get tested, I have four options:

* I make an appointment at my local clinic. I'm lucky if it's same-day, but I know it probably won't be. If I know I've been exposed or have symptoms, I have to stay at home until I get the test, missing work and possibly losing pay. I have health insurance, so it's covered.

* I request an at-home test through Vault, which is contracting with my state to provide free tests. The platform is buggy and doesn't recognize my previous log-ins. I wait until the test comes to the house, and then I have to drive into the town 30 miles down the road to a UPS dropoff to send the test back to the lab. I get results within 24-48 hours.

* I make an appointment at the free testing site in the town 30 miles down the road. Again, the appointment is not necessarily same-day. I have to drive down there to get the test, and wait 24-48 hours for results. Vault runs this testing site, and the hassle to login is the same.

* I drive 30 miles down the road and buy tests from a big-box retailer for around $30 for 2. I suppose I could also buy tests online. If my insurance reimburses for that cost, I have to submit paperwork to make that happen and hope the insurance company doesn't find a way to deny it. That's assuming that the Biden administration comes up with a plan to make it happen.

There are better ways.

[MissMillie]

6. one would hope so, but the pessimist in me says

someone, somewhere will find a way to make sure they make a profit off of anything dealing with health care.

Far too few people view health care as a human right--even in pandemic times.

[Wounded Bear]

7. Testing has never been handled properly in the US...

of course, the one time when it really would have helped a ton was back in early 2020, when trump was afraid the numbers would be too high and make him look bad.

Since then, it hasn't improved much. But the fact is, unless we test our asses off the epidemiologists are always working with incomplete data. trump made sure the pandemic would be bungled.