Healthcare

[Bill Musarra]

This says a lot:

President Obama Insults Medical Practitioners​

​

Washington, D.C. – Republican Study Committee Chairman Tom Price, M.D. (R-GA), who practiced medicine for over twenty years, issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s implication that doctors may be more interested in money than in helping patients.

“It’s obvious President Obama has absolutely no idea what motivates someone to enter the field of medicine,” said Chairman Price. “Medicine is about service and helping one’s fellow man. By insinuating that doctors make treatment decisions based on how much they will be paid, the President displays an astounding disregard for that service and insults every single medical practitioner.

“The only possible explanation for such a comment is his failure to understand the root problems and challenges of our health care system. If the President is sincerely interested in reducing unnecessary procedures, he should speak to his friends in the trial bar about medical malpractice reform. Instead, the President would rather attack those who are responsible for providing the highest quality healthcare in the world.”

NOTE: During his press conference last night, the President said, “So if they're looking and you come in and you've got a bad sore throat or your child has a bad sore throat or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, ‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out.’”

​

 

[Al Wohlstrom]

He's such a rude asshole!

 

R GA?

Enough said

IMSA

 

[Paolo-LoveGT40 Modelworks]

it is OUR care to show up to all foreigners turist how good could be our medical system.
In italy...first of all comes YOUR health, whatever u are and whatever country u are from, even if u are Riannah from Barbados or Bin laden from saudi arabia.
They will cure u, never mind about money and other bullshits.
FIRST of all cure..then..do what u can to have money.
It happens also when outlaws make crimes as robbery with fire fighting, they cure the criminal and AFTER they process him.

it is the true respect of "giuramento di ippocrate".
Life comes first, always.

 

[domtoni]

Paolo,

I hope I didn't offend you with my comments about the Italian Health care system. Yes, Italy takes care of those who are sick, injured or ill, just like the UK. Fortunetly, the Italian litigation system requires (or at least it did in 1993) the person bringing the suite to pay the full sum of his claim up front in a no interest bearing account for up to 7 years while the claim can be processed, and decided.

I had a second experience with the Italian NHS. I took a train from Calais to Milan. In Calais, I broke my foot, and could do nothing until I got to Milan. An ambulance picked me up, and took me to the clinic that does all the AC Milan and Inter Milan football stars. After they fixed my foot, I never got a bill.

Regarding my broken leg, I did get a bill from the hospitals in the three INHS units where service was provided me. It wasn't free.

 

[Neal]

‘You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid's tonsils out.’”

O'bummer at his best. Absolutely asinine comment. Perhaps he should read the Hippocratic Oath...

 

[Al Wohlstrom]

O'bummer at his best. Absolutely asinine comment. Perhaps he should read the Hippocratic Oath...

Take the teleprompter away and some truly ignorant drivel flows from his mouth!

 

[John Milmont]

I think the only people to benefit from Obama's healthcare "reform" are lawyers...

 

[Al Wohlstrom]

I think the only people to benefit from Obama's healthcare "reform" are lawyers...

They (politicians/lawyers) refuse to pass a bill to put a cap on outrageous court settlements because the lawyers heavily support the politicians monetarily. If settlements were more inline malpractice insurance wouldn't be so ridiculous and healthcare prices would drop. Which brings us back to getting rid of Doctors with multiple malpractice suits. They obviously haven't figured out how to do it correctly and should find another job!

 

[Mike Christian]

it is OUR care to show up to all foreigners turist how good could be our medical system.
In italy...first of all comes YOUR health, whatever u are and whatever country u are from, even if u are Riannah from Barbados or Bin laden from saudi arabia.
They will cure u, never mind about money and other bullshits.
FIRST of all cure..then..do what u can to have money.
It happens also when outlaws make crimes as robbery with fire fighting, they cure the criminal and AFTER they process him.

it is the true respect of "giuramento di ippocrate".
Life comes first, always.

I happen to love your country Paolo...one of my favorites spots on this wretched earth.

 

[Al Wohlstrom]

Is there anyone in the US who really needs healthcare that is unable to get it now? I don't know about other states but in AZ we have Access, a state run healthcare system for people who can't afford it. AZ isn't usually ahead of the curve with such things and I don't believe other states are without a similar plan. What do we need this very expensive government run healthcare plan for? It will dictate Doctors, services and limit expensive MRIs, ect. even when called for by the Doctor. When we get older there will be people that decide whether spending money on a hip replacement is worth the cost given the patient age. It seems like a step backwards with more government control and the government can't run anything efficiently to start with. They figure it will cost $1.3 trillion to start. "TRILLION" That means it will be more like $2.6 to $3 trillion.
Our children, grandchildren and great granchildren will never pay this off.
"Ya load 16 tons and what do ya get?"

 

[Mike Christian]

what do you think of the VA health care plan?

 

[Alex]

Speaking as a Canadian who's been through the wringer with our medical system, it is a COMPLETE joke.

If you have something that is VERY obvious, such as a broken leg, yes, you will get treatment in a prompt manner. If you have something that is insideous that takes a while to find/treat, such as an infection in your heart, cancer, lymphoma, or any number of bad things, you are screwed.

To give you an idea of wait times, I had a ct of my neck/chest. It took me 11weeks from the time it was booked until I had it. I also had an MRI of my abdomen - the wait time was, wait for it, 19months! (I ended up paying 1400 and having it done in 2days though)

The general saying up here is that Canada has the greatest healthcare system in the entire world, IF you don't need it. When you do, you're screwed.

Any Canadian who refutes the above either has incredibly low standards and doesn't mind sitting 14hrs in ER with a kidneystone, waiting to be seen, or hasn't suffered from a horrible illness like a life-threatening infection, critical heart problems, cancer, etc.....

The piss-poor state of our healthcare (only getting worst) is one of the many reasons I'm leaving this 'wonderful' country behind when my obligations are done here. :thumbsdown:

 

[Al Wohlstrom]

Speaking as a Canadian who's been through the wringer with our medical system, it is a COMPLETE joke.

If you have something that is VERY obvious, such as a broken leg, yes, you will get treatment in a prompt manner. If you have something that is insideous that takes a while to find/treat, such as an infection in your heart, cancer, lymphoma, or any number of bad things, you are screwed.

To give you an idea of wait times, I had a ct of my neck/chest. It took me 11weeks from the time it was booked until I had it. I also had an MRI of my abdomen - the wait time was, wait for it, 19months! (I ended up paying 1400 and having it done in 2days though)

The general saying up here is that Canada has the greatest healthcare system in the entire world, IF you don't need it. When you do, you're screwed.

Any Canadian who refutes the above either has incredibly low standards and doesn't mind sitting 14hrs in ER with a kidneystone, waiting to be seen, or hasn't suffered from a horrible illness like a life-threatening infection, critical heart problems, cancer, etc.....

The piss-poor state of our healthcare (only getting worst) is one of the many reasons I'm leaving this 'wonderful' country behind when my obligations are done here. :thumbsdown:

And that the basic pattern for ours. Thank you!

 

[Al Wohlstrom]

what do you think of the VA health care plan?

The VA hospitals I've been in are sufficient, not great! Don't for a second think that this healthcare plan will be on par with the VA, it's not going to happen! The VA is not run on cost evaluation for service, the healthcare plan will be!

 

[Alex]

And that the basic pattern for ours. Thank you!

I will say 1 positive thing for our system though - we don't have to worry about COBRAs and being in the proper medical network, and all those fancy terms i always read about. I can go to any doctor I want, and any hospital I want.

HOWEVER, I would gladly trade that ease and minimal paperwork away if it meant one could get prompt treatment.

Here's another example. My dad NEEDED to see a gastroenterologist. He had to wait 9months, in pain, before his appointment.

My understanding of your system, from my uncle, is that he could have seen a gastro within days in the US, as there's usually 4 or 5 in a building at once.


You want to know why our system sucks so much - because it's basically free, everybody is a pussy and runs to the doctor whenever they stub their toe. For example, in the ER, I can't begin to count how many people I've seen how come in and their eason for coming in - "I feel a bit under the weather. I'm not nauseas or tired, and I just ate a 2000calorie meal an hour ago, but I do feel a bit under the weather. i'd like to see a doctor to make certain i'm not getting sick".

 

[Terry Oxandale]

I keep hearing statements in the health care debate about litigation costs. From references I've seen, litigation adds about than 1% to the total health care cost (to the end user) overall. I've not found anything that disproves this as yet (at least not one that looks at partial pictures, or compare apples to oranges), but litigation costs (dollars) seem to be a popular drum to beat during this discussion. If this value is true, I'll willing pay an additonal 1% to any medical bill in order to have a legal system that helps incent the provider to measure three times before cutting.

 

[Al Wohlstrom]

I keep hearing statements in the health care debate about litigation costs. From references I've seen, litigation adds about than 1% to the total health care cost (to the end user) overall. I've not found anything that disproves this as yet (at least not one that looks at partial pictures, or compare apples to oranges), but litigation costs (dollars) seem to be a popular drum to beat during this discussion. If this value is true, I'll willing pay an additonal 1% to any medical bill in order to have a legal system that helps incent the provider to measure three times before cutting.

I don't think that the 1% for litigation (where did you find this) is the problem. And I don't think it brings the performance level higher. I believe that a lot of doctors are going to take early retirement (and cause a shortage) rather than taking a drastic cut in pay (still pay exorbitant malpracice insurance) and have to jump through government hoops. Socialism does not reward excellence, it stifles it! All the drones get the same pay, no incentive, how exciting!

 

[domtoni]

Terry,

If the U.S. total annual health care expense is $2.5 trillion, 1% is $25 billion (corrections if I am wrong). So how does health care becomes so expensive?
- poor paperwork handling
- doctors $250K mal-practice annual insurance bill
- excessive drug company profits (remember the U.S. pays to support poor companies to keep medicine costs down)

Yesterday Yahoo ran an article from (can't remember where) showing that the:
- UK spends 8% GDP on health care and costs $2992 per member of population with life expectancy at 79.1 years
- the U.S. spends 15% GDP on health care and costs $7450? per member of population at 78.1 years life expectancy
From that, it appears that the UK is a more cost effective place with better results.

All I know is:
Over my past 15 years here, my employers and I paid £200,000 into the NHS (including a small pension and unemployment benefits). So for $300,000, I probably consumed $15,000 for my health care needs.

And like EFNfast, I'll have to wait to get my hip replaced etc.

When I want something done quickly, I will use my private coverage, which costs me £700 per annum over and above my NHS contributions. That includes travel insurance so not all goes to local health. I used this once so far back about 10 years ago.

No problem there, except that the job may be done within days in an NHS hospital.

 

[Mike]

I had the privelage of using the Canadian health care system while in Quebec a number of years ago. Ended up in an emergency room with 15-20 others in beds just lined up. Everything from the splinter in the finger to the naked screaming mentally disturbed guy that was handcuffed to the bed and guarded by a guard. I was in there for two days. I wanted out of there as fast as could be. Then, while nearly everyone spoke great english, my employer was told that I wouldn't be released until they paid my doctors bills......in cash......immediately! They did, but then over the next two years I kept receiving more bills from that hospital. They wanted payment for the bed I was in, then another bill for the hospital services excluding the doctors fees. It was ridiculous. Again nothing ever came written in english and so I had to get another person to translate it for me. Even with them speaking fluent French they couldn't explain exactly what the bills were for. My companies insurance and my personal insurance ended up paying for it all, but it was not something I would do again. If I EVER have the choice to get back here to the US of A for treatment, in the system AS IS, I will do it. Total bill for two days, about $5600!!