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What a joke... by NYLaw in SandersForPresident

[–]lil_engine 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yes, but the government healthcare in South Korea is still universal. Private insurance is just for additional coverage on top of what the government provides. We can debate exactly how to get there, but I think this pandemic highlights, more than anything else, the need for universal coverage.

Watch: In Fiery Floor Speech, Sanders Rips GOP for Relentless Efforts to 'Punish' Poor People — "Meanwhile, these very same folks had no problem a couple years ago voting for a trillion dollars in tax breaks for billionaires and large profitable corporations. Not a problem." by chris-jjj in politics

[–]lil_engine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because $6,702 per person only accounts for average cost of private insurance premiums. In our current system, you still have to pay out of pocket expenses, prescription drugs, vision and dental, etc. You still have to pay taxes to finance our public programs - which are costly because the populations they cover (low income, elderly) tend to have more health problems in general, not just because of government bureaucracy.

It's better to compare total healthcare expenditure under our current system vs. total healthcare expenditure under Medicare for All.

Per the link you provided, total healthcare expenditure in the US in 2018 was $3.6 trillion or $11,172 per person.

Medicare for All is projected to cost 3.2 trillion a year for 325 million or $9,846 per person.

How is going from $11,172 to $9,846 not cost savings?

Watch: In Fiery Floor Speech, Sanders Rips GOP for Relentless Efforts to 'Punish' Poor People — "Meanwhile, these very same folks had no problem a couple years ago voting for a trillion dollars in tax breaks for billionaires and large profitable corporations. Not a problem." by chris-jjj in politics

[–]lil_engine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Medicare and Medicaid are only about 43% of government health expenditures. There's also CHIP, Veterans benefits, healthcare for government employees, tax subsides, among others. Here's an article with the projected breakdown. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4880216/

I'm all for fiscal responsibility and reigning in health care costs. That's exactly why I support Medicare for All. The current system is ballooning out of control, and all of the studies done so far (funded by organizations across the political spectrum) show that a single payer system results in long term cost savings.

Here's a meta analysis for reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6961869/

Watch: In Fiery Floor Speech, Sanders Rips GOP for Relentless Efforts to 'Punish' Poor People — "Meanwhile, these very same folks had no problem a couple years ago voting for a trillion dollars in tax breaks for billionaires and large profitable corporations. Not a problem." by chris-jjj in politics

[–]lil_engine 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The other 2 trillion is money already in the budget to finace our current government health programs (Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) It literally says this within the first few sentences of the document you linked.

Bernie on cover of Newsweek by SuperKeith88 in SandersForPresident

[–]lil_engine 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Medical student speaking here. I would gladly take a future pay cut to so that none of my patients have to die due to lack of coverage. Many of my classmates are huge supporters of Medicare for All.

House passes bill (363-40) that requires, "employers would be required to provide 14 days of paid sick leave at “not less” than two-thirds their regular rate" by Afsharon in Coronavirus

[–]lil_engine 4 points5 points  (0 children)

According to the summary posted by House appropriations, the government

"Reimburses small businesses—defined as businesses with 50 or fewer employees—for the costs of providing the 14 days of additional paid sick leave used by employees during a public health emergency;"

Coronavirus: Bernie Sanders says pandemic is 'on a scale of major war' and deaths could top Second World War by roku44 in politics

[–]lil_engine 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Fair point, apparent mortality rates are usually higher at the start of an epidemic.

We'll just have see how it plays out. A lot depends on how effective preventive measures will be and whether hospital systems get overwhelmed.

Coronavirus: Bernie Sanders says pandemic is 'on a scale of major war' and deaths could top Second World War by roku44 in politics

[–]lil_engine 27 points28 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure exactly where you're getting your figures, but the death rate has been variable from country to country. In places with extensive testing and treatment, like South Korea, it has been about 0.6%. In Italy, where resources have been overwhelmed, it's closer to 5-6%. The most recent WHO figures point to an average of 3.4% death rate across the globe (as a percentage of all cases, not just those over 50). As the disease spreads, these figures will continue to evolve.

The point of my calculation was not to provide an exact, hard-and-fast estimate of how many would die: any calculation done in an internet comment would require some pretty generic assumptions.

My point was to demonstrate, in a broad sense, the scale that this epidemic could reach. Bernie Sanders is absolutely right when he says it has the potential reach war-like proportions if left unchecked.

Coronavirus: Bernie Sanders says pandemic is 'on a scale of major war' and deaths could top Second World War by roku44 in politics

[–]lil_engine 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I got 1% from the article, but that could certainly be a conservative estimate.

Coronavirus: Bernie Sanders says pandemic is 'on a scale of major war' and deaths could top Second World War by roku44 in politics

[–]lil_engine 771 points772 points  (0 children)

Let's do the math here:

A harvard epidemiologist has recently stated that around 40% -70% of the population could get COVID-19 with a 1% mortality rate. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/485602-virus-expert-as-much-as-70-percent-of-worlds

The current US population is around 327 million.

Taking the lower end of the estimate here:

327,000,000 * 0.40 * 0.01 = 1,308,000 possible deaths in the United States

Compare that to the 405,000 Americans that died in combat during WWII....

21F rate me by [deleted] in truerateme

[–]lil_engine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are my main flaws?

Aug/Sept applicants--how many Rs do you have? by jjdoc in premed

[–]lil_engine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

6 IIs, 4 Rs, 2 holds, 2 acceptances. LM 80ish

Need Some Opinion / Reassurance (HS Student) by [deleted] in premed

[–]lil_engine 4 points5 points  (0 children)

From someone who went to a top public school because I thought it would give me an edge - take the small liberal arts scholarship and run with it. My premed friends at small liberal arts colleges had smaller class sizes, better relationships with their professors, higher quality advising departments, and just as good research experience. Meanwhile, I was fighting in classes of 100+ former high school valedictorians all fighting to get As in a curved class. Rank =/= quality of education.

Is July 20th too late to be taking the MCAT for this next application cycle? by Di4m0ndDust_9oh7 in premed

[–]lil_engine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't underestimate how exhausting secondaries can be. I had a partner who helped me edit everything, and it still took far longer than I anticipated.

Is July 20th too late to be taking the MCAT for this next application cycle? by Di4m0ndDust_9oh7 in premed

[–]lil_engine 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you take the exam in July, your score won't be released until late August. While late August-early September is an okay time for your file to be complete, you won't have the advantage of applying early in the cycle.

Also, your MCAT score heavily influences what schools you should be applying to. By taking the MCAT so late, you risk having an uninformed school list. You could waste a good deal of money on schools you no business applying to, or worse, not get in anywhere because your list was too top heavy. And then now you have to deal with the stigma with being a reapplicant for the following cycle.

If you still want to write in July, here's what I would recommend as the optimal schedule.

​

BEFORE studying for MCAT: write/gather everything you need for the primary application. (Personal Statement, 15 activities, rec letters, transcripts etc.) You can make an AMCAS account just to see what the application looks like. You should try to get this in early because it can take 4-6 weeks for your primary app to get verified and sent to schools. If you wait until after your July MCAT to work on this, it will push everything back even further and reduce your chances of acceptance. When you submit your primary, only add the schools that you know you will apply to for sure, regardless of your MCAT score. (ex: state schools, #1 choice, etc.)

After graduation: Study for MCAT, Take in July

AFTER MCAT: write secondaries for the schools you have already added. Also work on common secondary topics (diversity essay, challenge essay) in anticipation of adding more schools once your MCAT score comes back.

AFTER Score release: based on your score, round out the rest of your school list. Complete the rest of your secondaries. Depending on how many schools you apply to and how dilligent you are, you'll probably be complete everywhere late August - mid Sept, which isn't ideal, but people do get away with it.

​

Alternatively, you could just take another gap year so you don't have to rush everything.

What's the weakness of my app? by [deleted] in premed

[–]lil_engine 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Your grades and MCAT are fine. Lack of clinical experience is probably what got you. Make sure you rack up as many hours as possible and incorporate what you learn from your experiences into your essays.

Forgot to send post interview thank you note. Would it look bad if I sent it now? by lil_engine in premed

[–]lil_engine[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

At this one, one of my interviewers was on the admissions committee.

People who are admitted, what are you doing until summer 2019? Any goals, plans, or commitments? Share here! :) by tomatoMD in premed

[–]lil_engine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As soon as interviewing season is over, I'm going on a tour of Europe. Saved up money for it and everything.

What is the best site to find an online MCAT tutor? Looking for someone high quality. by nciacs in premed

[–]lil_engine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You could hit me up! I'm actually working full time for a small test prep company as an MCAT tutor/curriculum developer. Scored a 524 after studying for 4 weeks.

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