Hospital fees rant
September 30th, 2019 at 11:05:36 PM permalink | |
Evenbob Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 146 Posts: 25011 |
What is 3 ring circusy about it. For instance, my brother was ordered to get a colonoscopy 2 weeks ago. He got it today, I had to wait while they did it. In Canada, the average wait time is 2 months, but it is often as much as 7 months. In England the average wait time is 3 months, with people literally dying while they wait. Who has the bigger 'circus', them or us. And if my brother had already showed signs in stool tests that he might have it, he could have been tested in the next 2 days. If you test positive in CA or England, you still wait months. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/11/nhs-patients-waiting-months-for-vital-bowel-cancer-tests-figures-show If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose. |
October 1st, 2019 at 12:17:14 AM permalink | |
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831 | FINLAND !!!!! Extensively documented medical records. Conditions diagnosed get investigated, if an earlier doctor missed it, patient gets compensated. Diet is healthy. Food quality is a legislative goal, no dough conditioners, no shelf-life extenders. No margarine, no Wonder bread, no additives in orange juice. |
October 1st, 2019 at 1:21:08 AM permalink | |
Fleastiff Member since: Oct 27, 2012 Threads: 62 Posts: 7831 | Bet they didn't let him swallow a sugar-cubed sized camera.
Equipment costs money so do operators. Those who pay high insurance rates in the USA buy a 'head of the line' pass, those who have bad insurance get denied or "scheduled". A few platelets and the procedure is unnecessary, but that would put a lot of technicians out of work. |
October 1st, 2019 at 3:02:20 AM permalink | |
odiousgambit Member since: Oct 28, 2012 Threads: 154 Posts: 5094 | On that we can all agree. I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me] |
October 1st, 2019 at 4:23:09 AM permalink | |
OnceDear Member since: Nov 21, 2017 Threads: 11 Posts: 1508 |
That was a 2017 article from one of our lower quality newspapers. In England, we can take the NHS service and wait in line. We now get to choose which hospitals treat us and if NHS hospital queues are too long, we can use private hospitals and they invoice the NHS. Medical practitioners have a lot of say in timescales which are now far more acceptable. But you might note that any Brit with the money can still buy private medical care or insurance based private care, which is not subject to long delays. I've done this sort of queue jumping myself. I pay into the NHS. I choose to pay extra to go private and jump the queue. The private hospital takes some of the pressure of the NHS hospital. SO. What I'm saying is that we have what you have by way of paid care with the underpinning of a socialist system which poor Americans don't have access to. How long does a financially poor, uninsured American have to wait for his colonoscopy and treatment? Or do they just crawl off and take their chances? |
October 1st, 2019 at 4:53:36 AM permalink | |
OnceDear Member since: Nov 21, 2017 Threads: 11 Posts: 1508 |
Just as a slightly tangential footnote. In January, my 90 year old mother in law had a chest pains at home. We called 999 ( your 911) and an ambulance arrived within 10 minutes. Paramedics carried out on-site ecg, confirmed heart attack and on the basis of that took her to the nearest hospital with specialist heart treatment facilities. Within a few hours she had been operated on (stent). Stayed in hospital for a week and then came home with us for some family care. Meanwhile social services fitted some assistance handrails at her home ( no charge) They also assessed her for dementia care needs. M-I-L was never wealthy and she and her husband had just paid into our NHS during their working lives ( him till 65 her till mid 50s ). Their were no invoices payable for any of this, nor for her follow up check-ups and medication. She's now a nimble 91 YO. Maybe your US health services can provide better care. But this was an example of the universal care that we get. No stressing about whether we can afford the ambulance or hospital stay. No enduring worries about how we'll pay for follow up medication. Acceptable quality at affordable cost. She could have maintained private health care insurance but the only difference in service would been a more private room at the hospital. |
October 1st, 2019 at 5:11:27 AM permalink | |
terapined Member since: Aug 6, 2014 Threads: 73 Posts: 11790 |
I like the system in the UK We should adopt that system Sometimes we live no particular way but our own - Grateful Dead "Eyes of the World" |
October 1st, 2019 at 5:54:56 AM permalink | |
OnceDear Member since: Nov 21, 2017 Threads: 11 Posts: 1508 | don't get me wrong. It has flaws. Our right wing governments have privatised and weakened bits of it. But none of our pols would dare to suggest dismantling it. Actually privatised aspects have improved efficiency of some parts. |
October 1st, 2019 at 7:11:25 AM permalink | |
odiousgambit Member since: Oct 28, 2012 Threads: 154 Posts: 5094 | Every country complains about aspects of its health care system as long as a country stays committed to not allowing people to die in the streets, so to speak , with 100% at least allowed the kind of treatment you get in an emergency room, there's only so much honesty attached to a die-hard opposition to furthering socialized medicine. Pols like Sanders and Warren with the notion that "what it costs be damned" do scare me, though. as far as the UK system goes, it has its inevitable detractors
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2018/10/01/u-k-s-healthcare-horror-stories-ought-to-curb-dems-enthusiasm-for-single-payer/#39d1b5c73099 I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me] |
October 1st, 2019 at 8:03:33 AM permalink | |
kenarman Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 14 Posts: 4491 | Canadian health care is good and very cheap compared to the US but takes a huge bite out of the government budgets. Federal health care spending runs 11.3% of GDP is rising. Most of this cost comes from transfer payments to the provinces who run the health care in their own province. The standards of care and what is included or not varies significantly by province. BC where I live spends about 35% of its total provincial budget on health care. As a retired couple we were paying $150 / month for our 'FREE' health care. In the last few years costs were cut, first in half and starting in 2020 the plan will be 'free' for most people. This is being primarily being financed by shifting the cost to the employers through a new health care tax. The system is always stressed. Large numbers of people don't have a 'family physician' since there is a shortage of doctors. Non life threatening surgeries have waits from months to a year or two for knee repair surgery. Waits for an Ultrasound or MRI are usually several weeks, other medical imaging is usually same day. If you have a life threatening medical emergency you typically get very fast, efficient and good treatment. Most people in major centres can get a 'stent' the same day if their condition requires it. Cancer clinics are accessible and waits will vary with the urgency of the patients condition. "but if you make yourselves sheep, the wolves will eat you." Benjamin Franklin |