More Socialism???/

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2008
More Socialism???/
77
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 11:50am

I usually don't agree with the National Review - but this seems to be a

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 2:21pm

<<No, really I don't...otherwise Obama would just say "let's do that.">>


There are similarities to some models in Obama's plan which would include/keep private insurance (as well as choice)

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 2:24pm

<<Understand that most here have been fed a whole lot of propaganda about your country's health care system.>>


That's very true....and I'm not even advocating that this is the system that would work best for the US (although the administration aspects of our system, which is very effective, streamlined and incredibly inexpenisve, bear some looking into).

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 2:48pm

Thanks...I was going to say that but you beat me to it.


Also, if it's a matter of matching horror stories tit for tat, I can dig up some pretty horrible ones of my own that have taken place in the United States till the cows come home and we can go back and forth all day. However, as I said, I'm not advocating that our entire system as it stands would be the answer for the US.


At any rate, we too are looking into the way other nations are running their healthcare systems as well with an eye for adapting or changing some parts of our own....as we realize that we some problems to address.


One thing I'd like to add however, is that over the past 15-20 years or so, Canada's governments have been consciously reducing our deficit and we are now the only G8 country that has been running with a long standing surplus (and have had one for 15 years if I'm not mistaken). This may change with the current economic crisis of course....But some of the effects that are now being felt with our system is not so much the system itself....but due tremendous government cuts across the board (in everything) since the late 80s and 90s which paid off a huge deficit and created the surplus we now have. We have been paying much less in taxes over the years for our healthcare than the people in the US have for theirs and one of the reasons

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 2:56pm

<<Sounds great, I'm sure they're top notch bunion-fixers too...when the world heads to Canada for the best medical care give me a call. >>



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_tourism


<<Canada has entered the medical tourism field. In comparison to US health costs, medical tourism patients can save 30 to 60 percent on health costs in Canada. Canada's quality of healthcare is cited by the World Health Organization as equal to if not better than that of the US in most categories.>>


-----------------snip


< The availability of advanced medical technology and sophisticated training of physicians are cited as driving motivators for growth in foreigners traveling to the U.S. for medical care. Also, it has been noted that the decline in value of the U.S. dollar is offering additional incentive for foreign travel to the U.S. However, costs differences between the US and many locations in Asia and India far outweight any currency fluctuations.


Several major medical centers and teaching hospitals offer international patient centers that cater to patients from foreign countries who seek medical treatment in the U.S. Many of these organizations offer service coordinators to assist international patients with arrangements for medical care, accommodations, finances and transportation including air ambulance services.


It should be noted that many locations in the US that offer medical care comparable in price to foreign medical facilities are not Joint Commission Accredited.>>

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 2:59pm

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/JK07Dk01.html


Medical tourism causes complications
By Christina L Madden

Forty-five million Americans are currently uninsured and health expenditures in the United States are rising faster than wages and inflation. Despite spending more on health care than any other industrialized nation, the United States in 2000 ranked 37th in the World Health Organization's evaluation of health care systems around the globe. Reforming domestic health care was a big issue in the US presidential campaign, yet a growing number of Americans and insurance providers are turning to international solutions.

About 750,000 Americans traveled overseas for medical treatment

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2008
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 4:19pm

Your posts today on health care have been excellent, and I completely agree with your assessment.



Full length fiction: worlds undone

"You have no power over my body..." ~ Anne Hutchinson

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 5:09pm

Thank-you, but I'm sure (when not preaching to the choir ;o)....that it will fall on deaf ears.


iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2008
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 5:25pm

>>> People most certainly run afoul of private insurers as well.

No doubt...but you can change a private insurer.

>>> When you criticise what the government did that put people's lives at risk, please keep in mind that a programme like UI is set in law, and as such, the law is followed. When you see an injustice, the problem isn't the programme itself, or the people who work there... it is the legislature. Contact them and suggest what needs to change.

I'm not sure that call would have helped the family get food or kept the kid in daycare so the mother could finish her education...ALL of which were jeopardized by the "snafu."

>>> Errors you mention would be fixed pronto if brought to our attention, it would be a priority, and me and the other 400 I work with would be all over getting it done.

Not the case in my experience...which, as I said, spans many years and many people.

Again, the point is not to disparage you or your fellows, but rather to shine a light on the problems we're likely to face with socialized medicine.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2008
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 5:37pm

< Apparently they don't do it very well...and their system doesn't sound appealing.

>>> You keep saying this, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Look at it another way... their health care system covers everyone - and is healthier than our system is.

I provided several articles discussing chronic problems with the Canadian system. If you can dispute their substance then please feel free to do so, otherwise we'll have to let the veracity of their allegations stand. As for "covers everyone"...yes, but apparently with long wait times that endanger patients and at a cost that is slowly crippling the Canadian economy. We could also afford to "cover everybody" as well if we stopped providing free health care to 12 million illegals. I also disagree that their system is "healthier" than ours is...many, many factors must be considered before making that kind of assessment.

>>> And you mention 'systems proven ineffective elsewhere.' First, there is no evidence it is more ineffective than ours, and in fact, we lose on the basis of one in six not being covered, period.

Liberal propaganda. As has been explained many times, the majority of people who are "not covered" are not covered either out of choice or because they're transitioning between jobs. There there's always the aforementioned illegals to consider. Wait times in the US are better and the standard of care in the US is better...go USA.

>>> Secondly, I have stated many times our choices are not limited to government vs what we have now.

Unless you get elected President, I'm afraid they are.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2008
Sat, 11-15-2008 - 5:38pm

Why is it you have no problems with our military? A HUGE government organisation...


seems to work pretty well to me.


Government is nowhere near as inefficient as people think, because it is popular to disparage government workers and programmes. Keep in mind these programmes are a reflection of the people we elected to represent us - that is where the rules are set, that is where budgets are set.


I know our organisation, and it is a good one... keep in mind unemployment compensation is not an entitlement, you have to meet eligibility requirements, and the intent is to get a person from job A to job B in the shortest possible time.

Full length fiction: http://llhaesa.org/ (pronounced la.hay.ess.sa)



Full length fiction: worlds undone

"You have no power over my body..." ~ Anne Hutchinson

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