Those with health insurance pay less for the actual services they receive than the uninsured. It is te responsibility if the forprofit hospitals to send folks to private NFPs or to public charity clinics. But the insurance companies negotiate the rates. They don't pay a dime more than they intend to pay. Hospitals write of 25-40 % of all charges. Medicare gold is a tiny portion of total medicare users. It is one of many plans. Your incentive is that you can get better more comprehensive insurance in the market. If you can afford insurance you are a fool to rely on medicare. Spoken like someone who has never looked a medical chart in his life. No. That is selfish. Healthcare is an absolute right in a free society, and notions otherwise or driven by greed and greed alone. I would love to see medicare and medicaid replaced by private NFP hospitals and clinics, but until this medical infastructure is in place we are stuck with government plans to care for the poor and elderly.
I agree in theory because I have not visited a hospital in every country, but while in the New Zealand my wife was having some trouble breathing, went to the hospital and she was treated immediately for free but was told she could not leave the country till she was treated. My son twisted his ankle while in Mexico, went to the ER, received x-rays, and was treated immediately and ahead of others while waiting. Cannot speak for the rest of the planet but with a few experiences abroad, your point is partially disputed.
I hear the wait is so long in countries with universal health care, but I hear it from Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and other right wing pundits, I'm gonna do so research and see what I can find, because I'd really like to know. Anybody have any info on this?
ive had many great friends from Canada and UK, and my wife is from Australia. all of these people have lived in the US for many years and experienced the health care system. all much prefer their home countries system. they acknowledge long waits for surgical procedures, but certainly if danger is imminent they are given care immediately. of course, all these people are relatively young--under 40. its nice with their systems that there is little to no wait for minor care, and no out of pocket, while here, every time me or my wife have had to call a doctor its 3 weeks to 3 months. id think the important stat is that the US spends the most but doesnt get anything for those extra $$$.---except rich doctors and the best damn place in the world to get the most difficult and rarely needed procedures done.
I'm not going to look up the information, but I believe it is a fact that America has shorter average waiting periods for most procedures than other countries with socialized medicine.
fwiw "SummaryWhat is clear from this analysis is that Canadian waiting listsare undoubtedly a problemfor many Canadians on certain elective procedures. What isnot clear, however, isthe magnitudeof the problem, and it is certainly not necessarily true that there is a Canadian "waiting list crisis."• The lack of quality data on waiting lists fromthe Canadian government, coupled with thelimitationsof surveys (e.g. differing methodologies), makes it very difficult to concludewith any certainty the size of thetrue waiting list problem.• The Canadian experience with waiting times will necessarily be uneven, as waiting timesvary by specialty, procedure, province, and region. That is, any given individualCanadian will have different experiences with waitingtimes. This may partly explain theexistence of anecdotal reportsof intolerable waits from certain individual Canadians(such stories often are dramatized in the media), juxtaposed withthe denial of theproblem from other Canadians.• The U.S. does not experience problems with waiting lists as much as Canada does,although the problem does exist for some Americans.• There is a small minority of Canadians who receive care inthe U.S., and even a smallerminority who specifically cometo the U.S. to receive care. The idea that hordes ofCanadians crossthe border to avoid waiting lists is a myth.[Note: For an exhaustive review of how certain countrieshave dealt with the problem of waitinglists, please see:Hurst J and Siciliani J. Tackling Excessive WaitingTimesfor Elective Surgery: A Comparisonof Policies in Twelve OECD Countries. Online at www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/32/5162353.pdf] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------." http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:YC_ag9J6Oc8J:www.amsa.org/studytours/WaitingTimes_primer.pdf+countries+waiting+time+medical+procedure&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
if you can believe data concerning waiting lists (many believe there are huge problems in compiling such data), there is a clear advantage for elective surgery in US. question is----is it worth the extra $$$ and the millions of uncovered? Table 2. Percentage of patients waiting for elective surgery more than 4 months Base: Those with elective surgery in the past 2 years (%) Year 1998 2001 Australia 17 23 Canada 12 27 New Zealand 22 26 United Kingdom 33 38 United States 1 5 Source: Blendon, et. al., 2002. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/32/5162353.pdf
