OT Ever see the doccumentary Sicko?

[repenttokyo]

. We in the US can go to any hospital anywhere besides here, including France and Cuba and get as good of or better care than here...without insurance and not even being a citizen there and not walk out with a single bill...unless you count the 5¢ breather the lady needed that cost 120 here. King George can kiss my ass.

That's not true...if you don't have a medicare card in canada (ie, you are not a citizen) it's a minimum of 100 dollars up front before anyone will even register you in emergency, and you will be billed for the entire cost of your visit and for any tests that were performed, etc. We don't give away free healthcare to non-citizens. Even Canadian citizens who don't present a valid health card are in the same boat.

[indierthanthou]

no kidding. i have to pay for my own insurance now, so i cant even go to a doctor or hospital unless i get hit by a bus or something, because i pay everything up to i think 3000 bucks.

[bsell]

In Australia it isn't free as such, every taxpayer pays 3% extra and then some are encouraged (by way of paying more when there income goes beyond 50k?) to have private coverage as well. I am not sure of the figures, well I don't get that kind of money!
Oh and about the movie MM is a lying fat f**k.

Yes, Moore did cherry pick his story pieces. Of course, any health care system will have its horror stories, unfortunately. But he did several apples to oranges comparisons to make his case stronger.

Having spent the last 16 years in the US military medical system (gotta love vitaman M for everything), I am in no hurry for 'universal' health care. There ain't nothing like getting prescribed a bottle of 800mg Motrin (100 tabs) for the same problem two days in a row. Even after telling the 'doc' that I can't take the pills without them eating a hole in my gut. Even after telling him I would flush all 198 pills down the toilet because I had to get the perscription filled or face 'not following doctor's orders.' Luckily doc three on the third day had a clue and gave me some hot-rod Alleve which took care of the problem. I have other horror stories (how about almost getting a below-the-knee amputation for a basketball injury?) from the military 'health' care system but I ask you to trust that bad things can happen no matter who is running the show. The difference in a competitive system is the quacks get run out of business eventually.

Brian

[Ferret]

no kidding. i have to pay for my own insurance now, so i cant even go to a doctor or hospital unless i get hit by a bus or something, because i pay everything up to i think 3000 bucks.

In the UK, the NHS is berated a lot because it's generally craptacular... however after reading this, I'm glad that it exists.

Everyone's entitled to be healthy and go and visit their GP for any reason, no matter how small it is. Having an 'excess' on that would drive me with fear about having to visit a doctor etc.

EDIT: Having said that we do pay a second 'tax' to fund it called National Health Insurance. Everyone pays this as tax on their income regardless, upto a certain maximum amount. It's not a huge amount, but it's probably comparable to most private health plans.

[pgrindstaff]

I have not seen the documentary but do know that Michael Moore conveniently forgot to mention all of the cases where people come to the US for treatment because of long waiting lists on surgeries that could mean the difference between life and death if not taken care of immediately.

I think people should also look at the idea of UHC from the standpoint of how well the government as spent all of the other money set aside such as Social Security, which is basically bankrupt now. There are many other areas in which money has been mismanaged that pretty much removes all trust I have in the government to give me whatever healthcare I need when I need it.

Call me a selfish SOB if you like, but I'd rather pay for my own personal health care instead of contributing to everyone's healthcare, particularly those who do not contribute to it. Anyway, thats my 2 cents

[J.DeFeo]

I have not seen the documentary but do know that Michael Moore conveniently forgot to mention all of the cases where people come to the US for treatment because of long waiting lists on surgeries that could mean the difference between life and death if not taken care of immediately.

I think people should also look at the idea of UHC from the standpoint of how well the government as spent all of the other money set aside such as Social Security, which is basically bankrupt now. There are many other areas in which money has been mismanaged that pretty much removes all trust I have in the government to give me whatever healthcare I need when I need it.

Call me a selfish SOB if you like, but I'd rather pay for my own personal health care instead of contributing to everyone's healthcare, particularly those who do not contribute to it. Anyway, thats my 2 cents

He STILL lies about the wait for medical procedures in Canadian hospitals. He swears up and down that there is no wait, whereas if you ask any Canadian they'll laugh at you for suggesting it. He's a lying fat sack of crap and this nation simply can't afford nationalized healthcare, at least not while the War On Terror is still in full swing.

[Zeuk in Oz]

In Australia it isn't free as such, every taxpayer pays 3% extra and then some are encouraged (by way of paying more when there income goes beyond 50k?) to have private coverage as well. I am not sure of the figures, well I don't get that kind of money!
Oh and about the movie MM is a lying fat f**k.

I never suggested that Medicare was free in Oz.

Everyone over a certain income pays a levy, but lower income earners and pensioners do not.

Private insurance is encouraged in various ways including flat rates with ageing, however the beauty of the system is that even though I have private health insurance I can be admitted to a hospital as a public patient if I so choose.

In other words, the patient is in control and has a choice. This is its advantage, in my opinion.

[repenttokyo]

Call me a selfish SOB if you like, but I'd rather pay for my own personal health care instead of contributing to everyone's healthcare, particularly those who do not contribute to it. Anyway, thats my 2 cents

this is one of the largest fundamental differences between canadians and americans.

[repenttokyo]

He STILL lies about the wait for medical procedures in Canadian hospitals. He swears up and down that there is no wait, whereas if you ask any Canadian they'll laugh at you for suggesting it. He's a lying fat sack of crap and this nation simply can't afford nationalized healthcare, at least not while the War On Terror is still in full swing.

ummm, it really depends on the procedure, many procedures have extremely small wait times. I'm a Canadian, btw. Don't know if you are.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

he should move to one of those full coverage countries.