I saw the movie Sicko and it's left one question firm in my mind. Should the United States continue on their path of privately owned medical insurance companies or should they follow the steps of countries like Britain, Canada, and France and go to a more universal health care system. Which system is better for the nation and which will ensure health care for more individuals?
Canada? Right! Health Care in Canada isn't as great as Michael Moore mikes it out to be in Sicko.
I popped my leg out of its socket and waited 6 hours to see a doctor at a hospital to find out what was wrong, what caused it. I popped it back in (and it hurt like hell) and went home before ever seeing a Doctor or Nurse.
People wait hours and hours for no reason. Last year, I heard people in Toronto were forced to wait in ambulances because the hospitals were so backed up. Health Care in Canada is a joke. And even that varies from province to province. The only good thing is you get basic medical and dental care covered (Meds/checkups). It's nothing to get excited about.
While there might be some problems with the Canadian health care system, such as you having to wait for six hours to get your knee checked out and even then not getting to see a doctor or nurse. However, delve a little deeper into it. You would have gotten health care no matter what. Granted, it would have taken quite a bit of time; however, you would have gotten it because that is what universal health care is. You are guaranteed health care even if it does take a long time. That is what is different in America.
In America, you need to go through application after application before you can even be given health care. Then, if you ever need it, you need to be approved. You need to get five doctors to say "this is actually necessary" before you can even get the health care. I know a person who needs to get a breast reduction. It was suggested she get one because it would be better for her back and it was causing physical pain; a medical reason to get the reduction. She needed like five different doctors all to say that she needed the surgery for her to get approved. That isn't how health care should be. Doctors should be there to do what they were trained to do: offer health care.
Whether the wait time is long or not, what must be taken into consideration is that if you needed a surgery, you are guaranteed to have it. Although the time at which it takes for the surgery might increase a little bit, at least you have the chance to get it. A lot of individuals in the United States don't even have that opportunity. They can't afford health care without insurance and the insurance companies don't want to give them health care because everything is about profits. Should a person's life be worth money? Should it have a monetary value?
was the figure 35 million? americans have no form of health insurance?
anyone who thinks this plan is working, is crazy, or is one of the fortunate ones who has the insurance...
in nz, we have both systems. everyone is entitled to care, which you get, at a reasonable quality and speed. But if you choose to get health insurance, incase of serious illness that you feel would require immdeiate care (no waiting list) then you can get insurance and get seen asap. but it will cost you.
Maternity care is free. Under 6's are free. accident care is free, and we have a government system of compensation if you are unable to work because of your injuries, and the treatment for the injuries is free.
I cant complain about that!
Universal. There are some things that all people should have access to. Do I care if one person is living in a shack while another person has five different mansions? No. But do I care that a person dies because they can't afford to go to the doctor or afford the treatments? Yes. We are not talking about comfort, hardships, and luxury here. We are talking about a person's life.
I don't see why people are against it, so long as everyone is paying an equal amount of taxes to support it. It's a nice concept really, "I'd do it for you, and you'd do it for me."
It's nothing to get excited about.
Yeah, except for the fact that you know you can afford to see a doctor whenever you need to no matter what happens and you will always have access to the medication you might need to keep you alive. And get this, my grandfather recently became very ill and he had to have an operation on his gallbladder. He violently sick and in a huge amount of pain, and did he call for an ambulance? No. Why? He didn't want to have to pay for the ride. So he drove himself and risked getting in an accident and killing/injuring either himself or someone else.
People wait hours and hours for no reason.
You think that people in America don't wait for hours and hours? I know I sure have. And I know that America has a shorter waiting time than Canada does, but there's a funny thing with that statistic. Of course you have a shorter waiting time. What happens to the people in America who can't afford to go see the doctor? What is their waiting time? Zero.
I'm sure Canada does have problems with their health insurance, but at least people there are not dying because they can't afford to pay to see the doctor or get their medication.
To anyone who does oppose this, well, I sure hope you never get seriously sick in a country with privitized medicine, unless you are a billionaire or something. Because chances are, you won't be able to afford it perhaps even after you make drastic spending changes.