healthcare reform...

[Deleted User]

Sarah I have never heard of county health either. In my I have had top of the line insurance, ok insurance, no insurance, shiitty insurance I paid $180 per month, NHS (free in the UK) and now NHS and private insurance. If I had a choice I would go with the private top of the line care I had before I was 21. However the deal I have now is pretty good and love it compared to ok, crap insurance or no insurance. I go to the NHS dr, hospitals etc, get very cheap prescriptions, and when something goes wrong I use the private insurance to "jump the queue." I was very sick last fall, in the hospital, spent several weeks going to the GP 3 times a week. Finally she asked if I had private insurance, I did so I saw a specialist in 3 days, had a CT the next day and then was on my way to recovery. Worked well. My insurance is quite cheap as most things I go to the NHS for not insurance. I have top of the line, I added on every extra and pay about $85 per month. I have used that payment for sure in the last year. I was even given 100 pounds per night that I spent in an NHS hospital.

[Deleted User]

* In my life

ricksang

anyway... I've experienced socialized medicine first hand. i lived in england for a year and yeah it's nice to not have to pay for care, but what kind of care are you getting? my mom got hit by a car outside the british museum while visiting, she was knocked unconscious and fractured some bones. we were taken to a "public hospital" meaning government run. the care was apathetic and the emergency room dirty to say the least. they didn't check her for internal bleeding, they didn't even x-ray her for 3 hours. she need to go to the restroom but couldn't walk and I couldn't get anyone to help me for 2 hours and and only then because I threatened a nurse that i was going to let her pee on the floor if someone didn't help us. they only wanted to drug her up so much that she could leave with the absolute minimum of tests, which they did and we did 8 hours later. i couldn't wait to get her back to her HMO. the fact is, i just don't trust the government to actually want to pay for adequate care. my 2 cents.That is really good to know. I just think the reform in its current form would be a nightmare.

wadingmoose

You'd think if that story was true and common, more people in Britain would have an issue with the situation, wouldn't you?People always love to tell their "my second cousin's best friend's aunt had this happen!" stories, but they're typically urban legends.I've also experienced socialized health care for my entire life and I can tell you that in over 30 years, I've never, ever seen that.

kkchisholm

for. we are the only industrialized country in the entire world with out univeral health care. we, as the united states,  spend 50 percent of the world money spent on health care, yet we have among the unhealiest citizens for developed countries. the distrubution of power and resourses is directly related with poor health. The only way our country will have universal health care(Which we should), is if the greedy stop being greedy.there are 47 million people in the US with out healthcare. Oh- and there can be universal health care AND still have private providers and insurers.

ricksang

Our population is pretty dame big compared to Canada's and the UK's.

agk0125

^ This is very much how I feel about it. Well put.

kkchisholm

I hate the idea of private companies making life or death decisions for people when at the end of the day all they really want to do is turn a profit. How is it fair for people to have to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket just for some company to say "nah, we don't want to cover your problem." At least if the government was regulating them they would have someone to answer to.^^^Yayy!!! someone else gets it!

saschaduran

Private health care is great if you can afford it and are in good enough health to get it. My mom would probably be alive today if she had insurance. She worked for the state of Michigan for almost 20 years, then started to have severe health problems, mental problems and drug abuse. She paid COBRA for her insurance for the maximum amount of time, then lost it She tried to buy health insurance but was uninsurable and turned down from every insurance company for preexisting conditions like a complete disintegration of knee cartilege, hepatitus, cirrosis of the liver, mental disorder, high blood pressure, etc. She tried to get on Medicaid but they would not accept her because she was a homeowner and had an IRA. I could have cashed in the IRA and spent it (at a limited amount monthly as allowed) but that was her only source of income for her retirement and I was too afraid to leave her with nothing. She was too young for Medicare. So she laid bedridden for about a year and a half while we tried to jump through hoops for her knee replacement surgery. She became in greater and greater pain as she went on. She ended up with bedsores that became badly infected. I took her to ER 4 times and was not able to get her admitted, except once for 3 days for morphine. A few weeks later she slipped in a coma at home and died 10 days later. She had massive staph infection and e coli in her bedsores which caused her organs to shut down. The hospital admitted her for her final 10 days in intensive care for $100,000. Then the Medicaid worker pushed her case through so I would not have to pay the bill for it. It would have been nice to know she could have pushed it through while she was alive. Granted she was in very poor health and had a drug history but all she needed was a knee replacement so she could walk and not be in a wheelchair. If she had insurance she may have made it. So if people think the poor and sick do not deserve medical care because they are too lazy or cheap to get it, you are sorely wrong in some cases. I would rather have every citizen in this country receive mediocre care, than only the lucky insured getting it. Not to mention, even the insured get poor medical care half the time.

agk0125

My ^ was pointing to holm. Darn you Ricks your post got in the way.

agk0125

So if people think the poor and sick do not deserve medical care because they are too lazy or cheap to get it, you are sorely wrong in some cases. I would rather have every citizen in this country receive mediocre care, than only the lucky insured getting it. Not to mention, even the insured get poor medical care half the time. Exactly.

kkchisholm

agk- you a social worker by any chance? haha to the other poster- the uk and canada arent the only countries with healthcare- there is so many- japan, sweeden, germany, norway, france, china, etc many more.

ricksang

Americans are some of the unhealthiest because of our eating habits and the way we treat our bodies. You can dish out all the free healthcare you'd like, but you can't make the person receiving the health change his/her habits if they don't want to.

ricksang

to the other poster- the uk and canada arent the only countries with healthcare- there is so many- japan, sweeden, germany, norway, france, china, etc many more.I know this.

kkchisholm

 I would rather have every citizen in this country receive mediocre care, than only the lucky insured getting it Amen!I would love to chat about this for hours and hours because I could. This is one of my real true passions, and I know it will happen some day:) If everyone had healthcare it would create good in so many other areas. Buuttt I have to go rock climbing! adios.ps- social justice for all!

tlv204

I would rather have every citizen in this country receive mediocre care, than only the lucky insured getting it.Sascha, I 100% agree absolutely, and am terrified my mom will end up in the exact same situation.  I'm very sorry about your mom.

pinkiemo

not to say my story is common, it probably isn't, but it was my experience and it made me distrust government run or regulated healthcare.  they won't be any more likely to want to pay out for procedures and tests than private companies, IMO less likely even.  again, not saying everyone has had a bad experience in britain or canada with national healthcare, but i did. and it wasn't my aunt's cousin's brother's ex-girlfriend's co-worker's daugher-in-law.  it was my mom.  hit by a car in front of my face.

agk0125

agk- you a social worker by any chance? hahaNo. I just can't stand how this country handles health care. I'm actually embarrassed by it. We think we're so rich and great and people literally die everyday over the fact that some companies don't see their condition as profitable.Having the chance to be healthy shouldn't be something you have to buy.

kkchisholm

people eat what they can afford. what your saing is SO not true. I have read uncoutntable amount of articles proving that the distribution of WEALTH AND RESOURCES AND HEALTH are the cause of many inquities, which cause poor environments and situations which create a huge gap between the healthy and sick. if your a working mom, with children, and you live without healthcare, but work enough not to be covered by the state, sometimes, the dollar menue, mac and cheese and ramen  noodes is all you can afford to feed your children.

kkchisholm

ps the u.s. mortality rate for children under tha ge of 1 is number 30, which is worse than cuba, china, and other developing countries...

pinkiemo

saschaduran, i'm so sorry about you mom.  i'm glad every day my mother wasn't hurt any worse than she was, i can't imagine what it's like to have to go through that.  i believe in reform, we need it badly, i just think there has to be a better way.

ootmother2

agk, can you email me?ootmother@yahoo.com

agk0125

they won't be any more likely to want to pay out for procedures and tests than private companies, IMO less likely even.But instead they can change the system so that doctors make more money preventing major issues in the first place. Right now the big bucks come from major procedures and lots of health plans don't even COVER prevention because it keeps them from making all that money off of major surgeries. It's more than just not wanting to spend the money, it's changing how the money is used to help save in the long run.

melissainabq

Healthcare reform has to happen. The system is flawed and needs to be repaired. But our government taking it over is not the solution. Look at the mess that medicare has become. If you have insurance, Obama's plan is not good news. You'll have higher taxes, less overall coverage and no protection if you lose that insurance because of a change in job. One helpful change that could be made right away is fixing the COBRA system so that people who lose their insurance because of a job change are not deterred by the cost of continuing their previous coverage. I suggest a look at some of the great research out there, such as:[url] http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm [/url] 

agk0125

oot you've got mail.

ricksang

if your a working mom, with children, and you live without healthcare, but work enough not to be covered by the state, sometimes, the dollar menue, mac and cheese and ramen noodes is all you can afford to feed your children.I am not only talking about just food, but there are other things you can choose to eat besides the dollar menu when you have a lower income.  How are we going to pay for this reform? Tax the wealthy? Tax the sh!t out of the middle class? How are we going to handle such a large amount of people? How is the government going to handle the healthcare system well, when it can't even handle any of the other welfare programs fairly? "Well every other country does it" doesn't answer how America will handle UHC. Look, I am all for reform. Our healthcare system sucks. I worry that we are trying to pass a reform (that might be a nightmare) too quickly.

tlv204

Melissa- what do you suggest for people who have not had insurance for a long time? Who already have  a job and work very hard but the job doesn't provide benefits?  I'm genuinely curious, because my mom needs insurance ASAP, and I honestly don't know what options to tell her.  She works almost full time and honestly cannot afford health insurance.

saschaduran

Tlv, thank you:) The story I wrote was a very short version. The reality was much much worse. Pink...sorry but no sympathy for you. I have waited in ER rooms for many hours and I have insurance. Good insurance. And I bet there are fewer horror stories coming from UK and Canada than there are here in the US. I watched my mom slowly die over a 18 month period. I heard her lay awake all night long screaming in horrible pain. I saw her internal infection attack her brain to the point where she couldn't remember how to call me and called random numbers begging them to call 911 because she fell out of bed on the floor and couldn't get up. I also screamed and cried in hospital waiting rooms begging them to help me. The only time she got admitted is when I refused to take her with me and left her there so they could help. I couldn't even afford to get her home care, which is ridiculously expensive, and she was too heavy for me to carry up and down the stairs, so every time I had to take her to a hospital or doctor I had to call the fire department to help me carry her out of the house. Sure public health care may not be better than private, but at least it is something.

ricksang

One helpful change that could be made right away is fixing the COBRA system so that people who lose their insurance because of a job change are not deterred by the cost of continuing their previous coverage. I like this idea.

saschaduran

Pink...you wrote me while I was writing. I dont mean to sound harsh. I have sympathy for your mother and I am sorry that happened but your situation didn't sound that bad compared to what I have seen go on many times at hospitals here in the US with people who DO have insurance. So just imagine what it is like for the uninsured. Your mother would have received worse treatment than that if that happened to her here in the US and she had no insurance.