the suggestion was universal healthcare for pregnancy only
If we give UHC for pregnancy, then we have to give UHC unconditionally.
but right now i'm paying just as much for insurance as i am paying for rent
This would be roughly the same with UHC as the profit margin from insurance companies is between 3-10%; the alternative is a bunch of buerocratic waste (usually more than 10%).
so, it seems reasonable to me that if we implemented universal healthcare, my TOTAL EXPENDITURE would be at least flat if not DECREASE
Usually, the reason people say this is they use the following premise/conclusion argument:
P1: Europe has better health outcomes (defined as the sum of cheaper health costs and higher life expectancy) than the US.
P2: Europe does UHC and America doesn’t.
C1: Therefore, UHC produces better health outcomes.
There are omitted variables as to why P1 is correct. Europe is built for people; America is built for cars. Europeans get way more walking done (aka exercise) than Americans do simply because they have to. I would assume the reason Europe has better health outcomes than America is simply because Europeans have to get way more exercise than Americans do on average; their cities are significantly more walkable.