U.S. healthcare once again lags behind other developed nations in quality

[valkyrie]

As usual, statistics on healthcare only tell the tale they want told. americans pay huge health costs ..... for medical care when and where they need it. Canadians have to go cap in hand begging for permission for the treatments they need...provided there's a doctor handy to provide it and he hasn't already charged too many hours this week. The american health industry (not service, industry) generates what percentage of the annual total of new treatments and cures? Odd that that number never appears in anyone stats, isn't it?


Spike, once again I repeat .....your country was based on the idea that you get what you pay for. You have freedoms NONE of the other countries you list give their public. We got medicare ... and all the punishments that go with it. Sure, we'll treat anyone's cancer who's a resident.... if you can get to a doctor before it kills you. Good luck with that. You can walk into a doctor's office and seek treatment TODAY.


Feb 2010, The premier of NFLD traveled to Miami for heart surgery.
June 2007 Belinda Stronach... went to US for breast cancer treatment
Robert bourassa...To the Us for treatment of multiple melanoma.


Odd that people with all the pull necessary to line hop ... still chose to leave the country and pay of of pocket for treatment.

My bro is an vet with a medical discharge. He went from high school to the Army to medical discharge to student with a part-time job. (She worked full time but she never finished high school in the former communist country she came from.) He, his wife and 2 kids live in the US. His wife developed a lump in her breast. They had no health insurance and did not have the massive stack of cash needed to be a private patient at an oncologist's office to have it tested. They went from free clinic to free clinic looking for someone to test the lump for cancer and could not get a single clinic to even see her.

Eventually they borrowed money to pay a private family doctor and found that it was a cyst and not cancer and she was treated with antibiotics. That was a harrowing year for them. They didn't know if she was dying.

America does not have the best system in the world for health care if those that need it have no way of getting it. Likewise, Canada does not have the best system in the world either if you have to wait past the point of death to get proper treatment. All of my Canadian relatives pay for private doctors.

 

[Gonz]

They went from free clinic to free clinic looking for someone to test the lump for cancer and could not get a single clinic to even see her.

Welcome to public healthcare. Put the government in charge & it'll only get worse.

 

[spike]

Welcome to public healthcare. Put the government in charge & it'll only get worse.

Woooosh!

With a government run system she wouldn't have had the lack of insurance problem.

Also, the government run systems are ranking better not worse.

 

[valkyrie]

Welcome to public healthcare. Put the government in charge & it'll only get worse.

They tried private charities mostly, as well as local government health clinics. If you don't have health insurance in this country you are fucked if you really need health care. That's just the way it is right now.

 

[Cerise]

Did your bro hit up his sis for the loan?

 

[Gonz]

They tried private charities mostly, as well as local government health clinics. If you don't have health insurance in this country you are fucked if you really need health care. That's just the way it is right now.

If there are a number of independent insurers out there, one has a chance to purchase insurance. If the government is in control, there are no options.

 

[spike]

If there are a number of independent insurers out there, one has a chance to purchase insurance. If the government is in control, there are no options.

Completely untrue. Many countries offer a mix of public and private options.

I see you're trying to use fear mongering as a debate tactic. This is ineffective unless you use it on those who are weak minded and easily scared.

It would be cool if we could just stick to fact based arguments.

 

[Professur]

If Obama's so concerned about health care .... what's this gem doing in his legislation?
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/gold-coin-dealers-decry-tax-law/story?id=11211611

What do gold coin transactions have to do with li'l johnny's sniffles?

Just another vehicle to slip legislation past you while you're all bickering over presumed issues.

 

[MrBishop]

As usual, statistics on healthcare only tell the tale they want told. americans pay huge health costs ..... for medical care when and where they need it.

There are two things which drive health care costs in the USA.
1) Research - medical and pharma research done by hospitals whose costs are lumped into the total amount spent on health care.
2) CYOA - hopsitals face lawsuits if something goes wrong with a patient and if every available test (relevant or not) has not been administered to the patient. Everything from simple blood tests and BP all the way to CT scans and the like.
Your average Doctor face-time in the USA is minimal... a few minutes at most and then the patient is off for tests or offloaded to a specialist who administers more tests. Having the hottest, newest and often most expensive diagnostic machines on the market IN the hospital and in large numbers is the way to go. CYOA costs MONEY... big mullah.

Actual treatment costs (the bill the hospital sees as opposed to the one the insurance company/end user sees) are comparable to those found in Britain, France and Canada.

 

[valkyrie]

Prof, the add in gold law is stupid. But then I think riders on bills should have something to do with the original concept of the fucking bill. But what do I know? I'm just Joan Taxpayer.