Thread: British fear 'American-style' healthcare system

Personally I'd be a lot happier if I had Swiss, Dutch, German, or even Japanese-style options living in the States, rather than the Canadian or British systems, but any of the above would be a hell of a lot better than the "system" the US has now. The problem in the States is that a significant number of people get satisfactory coverage through their government or private sector employer, and the poor get coverage from the government. Those two groups basically don't give a shit about working people who have to manage for themselves, and are either apathetic about change or actually fear it due to disinformation from the insurance company/medical industrial complex/right-wing propaganda machine.

Originally Posted by Carnwadrick

Originally Posted by foreigner

your age or financial situation is denied treatment in the USA that is a f'n lie the ER is not designed to treat chronic conditions .. the door says emergency .. not health care. ulcers, infections, or any chronic conditions are not ER treatable. & suggesting that private hospitals treat the indigent at the er .. not expecting payment .. is an amoral republican position. more & more hospitals are eliminating the ER because of payment issues. if your statement were: " if you are in the back of an ambulance, rich or poor, you will get life saving care" I'd agree. although that essential service is provided by private companies who will often not get paid. kidney, cardiac, endocrine medical care is not emergency care .. actually it will be if if left untreated. the State or hospital will pick up the tab .. another f'n lie: the republicans are cutting medicaid (health care for the poor) by incredible amounts. while guaranteeing pharmaceutical companys huge profits .. along with cutting meals for poor children attending school medicare has extremely low income as a requirement .. requirements vary state by state. part time at walmart make to much .. that is where the untreated masses are .. the $10 - $15 per hour bunch. extreme poor get excellent & unlimited health carer. the truth: A man in Fairfax County (RICH), Virginia, can expect to live 15 years longer than one in Holmes County, Mississippi,(POOR) according to a study released today that illuminates health disparities across the U.S. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...-in-study.html qualified and intelligent American doctor treat it is not the doc getting rich is is the pharmaceutical companies, lab / imaging companies, health care companies. the cost of the doc is minor. therapy $175 per hour (PTs & OTs make $50k - $75k = less than $40 per hour& often it is a $15 'therapy assistant' putting on the heat pack or doing ultra sound.), diagnostics 5x - 10x (same mri machine in us or bumrungrad, w/ us interpretation often done in asia by a non-us non-white doc), meds 2x - 3x for the same meds from my post yesterday: That's what happened to Rita Moore when she took her prescription for a medication to treat kidney cancer to her local drugstore. She was stunned when the pharmacist told her a month's supply of the pills would cost $2,400, more than she makes. About 1 in 6 beneficiaries are not filling their prescriptions, according to recent research that suggests a worrisome trend. Moore, 65, was operated on in February for an advanced form of kidney cancer. The Associated Press: Seniors face Medicare cost barrier for cancer meds + a bush era law denies them the right to legally purchase meds from canada, at 1/3 to 1/2, via mail.. 1/6 of americans on medicare do not have the $s to get their meds! Last edited by foreigner : 15-06-2011 at 04:12 PM.

Your whole post is total BS, you obviously haven't a clue what you are talking about or never experienced medical treatment in the USA V UK or any other country for that matter...I'm only going to respond to two of your remarks: 1st anybody on Medicare without the means to pay the deductible or prescription can apply for Medicaid to cover everything 100% and that also goes for younger people without insurance or the means to pay. 2nd have you ever been to the emergency room? there are lines of "poor" people waiting for treatment for everything from colds to hangnails and getting the treatment at no costs, yes and that is why private hospitals are closing their ERs

I was a vietnam era medic have a RN license.

I have been assistant medical director at two long term care facilities owned by 2 different large corporations.
I refused salary = no overtime & this limited my advancement opportunities. In both long term facilities I took home much more than the salaried director.
In texas as part of my job I completed medicaid / medicare reimbursement forms. (I am certified texas to complete the medicaid form 1352)
i my youth i worked in the er ,, not my cup of tea .. nor is ICU or floor

Currently I contract with insurance companies as a 3rd party consultant on difficult / high $ files.

as a 3rd party self employed consultant I can maintain my integrity ..personal integrity that corporations denied me.
I have refused to work files handled by amoral adjusters more than once = turned down $50 per hour + expenses so I can hold my head high.

the er provides emergency treatment
present with a tooth ache & pain meds are provided but no treatment offered.
present with gall stone pain.. opiate meds provided with a recommendation to see your treating physician for treatment.
no treatment is offered. only emergency pain relief provided.

hang nails & colds being treated by private company, with little chance of re-reimbursement, demonstrates the lack of health care options.

I agree with you that I never seen a cold treated in the ER .. i guess you would expect antibiotics.. ?
a cold / hang nail in the er is totally inappropriate.
ERs are required by law to treat all those that present.
a woman in labor that presents to the er is admitted .. the fact that she usually has had no pre natal care is a major complication.
she would not be admitted / treated through the business office without insurance or the demonstrated ability to pay.

conditions that require medical treatment other than life saving & require return appointments are not ER treatments.
If you are suggesting that the doc in the er schedules return appointments in the er you are 100% wrong .. in your case 110% wrong.
a $100 office visit is billed at 10x the cost of an office visit & that cost is absorbed by a private for profit corporation & it's stock holders.

1st anybody on Medicare without the means to pay the deductible or prescription can apply for Medicaid.
key caveat: can apply for Medicaid.
medicaid has extremely low income requirements.
family of 4 making over $400 gross per week will not qualify in most states.
as i stated in my post: the extreme poor get excellent care, probably better than private insurance.
and that also goes for younger people without insurance or the means to pay .. age is not a medicaid criteria

as a self employed sorta guy I have received medical care almost exclusively in Thailand since '98.
(fairly obvious I have a hard time working for / complying with most people!)
the savings on 1 mri pays for a 2 week hedonistic adventure.
1 crown pays for a 2 week hedonistic adventure.
2 crowns & a bridge savings offers the Peninsula Hotel option

I have never seen better health care than what is offered at Bumrungrad!

pay cash & eliminate the adjuster!
adjusters do not get promoted because they are compassionate. they get promoted by denying care.

I'm a U.S. citizen that is self employed and has not had any health insurance since graduating from College in 1975. Fortunately, I've only had to see a doctor twice in that time; once for partially tearing a disk in my back (which healed itself without surgery) and for a long period of constipation after one of my visits to Mexico. Neither cost much money. I either have 2.5 years until Obamacare or 7 years to medicare and have no intention of getting insurance before 2014. All I see on Television or radio are ads by hospitals, telling about the latest equipment they have bought or the state of the art facilities at the hospital. I've never seen an ad comparing the cost of a proceedure versus other hospitals, except for non insured proceedures, like lasik or plastic surgery. When I start seeing ads about prices, I'll believe that health care policy in the U.S. has changed for the better.

Man Holds Up Bank For $1 In Attempt To Get Medical Treatment In Prison

Man Holds Up Bank For $1 In Attempt To Get Medical Treatment In Prison

Richard James Verone, 59, unemployed, who apparently has a chest growth, two ruptured disks and a problem with his left foot, tried to rob a bank of $1 so he could be treated free as a prisoner. Verone, of North Carolina, USA, walked into an RBC Bank branch and handed over a note to a female worker demanding one dollar.

In the note he had written that he was armed.

Verone said he is hoping for a three-year sentence, the time he estimates his medical needs will take.

After handing over the note he is said to have sat down on a chair.

The bank teller dialed 911 and said on the phone "He's sitting on the sofa as you walk in the front door."


The police were called and arrested him; he had no weapon.

In a telephone interview from prison in Gaston County, North Carolina, Verone said that he is a logical person, and holding up a bank for one dollar was the only logic he could come up with.

Verone added:

"If it is called manipulation, then out of necessity because I need medical care, then I guess I am manipulating the courts to get medical care."

As he was unarmed he will not be jailed for armed robbery. Larceny, which means theft, would probably only result in a one-year jail term.





http://bcove.me/4yv0kzja

Originally Posted by robuzo

The problem in the States is that a significant number of people get satisfactory coverage through their government or private sector employer, and the poor get coverage from the government. Those two groups basically don't give a shit about working people who have to manage for themselves, and are either apathetic about change or actually fear it due to disinformation from the insurance company/medical industrial complex/right-wing propaganda machine.

That's precisely why you can't have private schemes running alongside a public health care system. The Canadian system is the best IMO (no private system allowed) - though it will need updating as the population ages and the ratio of working-versus-older people changes. Pesonally, if it were me running their health care system, I'd impose a $40 per visit flat-rate charge to see a GP/MD.

That would stop the British-style run-to-the-doctor-when-I-have-a-cold bullshit.

The good thing about the Canadian system (vs the UK one) is that RX are NOT covered - though they are cheaper than the in the U.S.

I think the Canadian system can weather the changes - though they now have a conservative majority government that will be courted at every opportunity by the medical associations, drug companies and insurance industry to break it all down and open the door to private hospitals and private practices.