Healthcare in the USA

[jumpguy]

Interesting debate breaking out in the USA over their healthcare at the moment. Obama is trying to bring in universal healthcare so rich or poor will be treated equally. However, this has caused a huge debate because Americans who can afford to shell out for lavish health insurance policies get priority and get treated pretty much immediately. In universal health systems, everyone gets treated, but there's a queue. They're worried that it's evil Obama turning the US communist, which is a no-no in the free land of the US.

Health insurance is vital in the US, in Ireland if you get sudden appendisitis, the first thing they'll do is yank out your appendix, in the US, the first thing they'll do is check you'll have health insurance.

Just wondering what people are thinking of this. I'm shocked tbh, America never seemed so foreign. Especially watching the debates on TV, Christ I just want to beat some of them with a smelly fish. How can anyone with any bit of a soul want to neglect 45 million people so they'd have priority? Full power to Obama, great man.

Want to hear boardsies opinions on this... Not sure if this is the best forum, mods move it to politics or somewhere else if better suited.

[AlmightyCushion]

If you want I can move it somewhere where there will be a much better chance of mature discussion. No guarantee that will happen here but it does happen from time to time.

[phasers]

tbh I'm not surprised, America has always struck me as a country where everybody is looking out for number one.

[brummytom]

It's late so I'm going to copy my facebook status :

I don't get why the Americans are freaking out so much about having an NHS.. the bull**** being spread about our country is ridiculous, 'death panels' and highest death rates and all this rubbish. They should just admit their selfish tossers who only care about their own health and can't be arsed with people less well off than them.

[Overheal]

Originally Posted by jumpguy

Interesting debate breaking out in the USA over their healthcare at the moment. Obama is trying to bring in universal healthcare so rich or poor will be treated equally. However, this has caused a huge debate because Americans who can afford to shell out for lavish health insurance policies get priority and get treated pretty much immediately. In universal health systems, everyone gets treated, but there's a queue. They're worried that it's evil Obama turning the US communist, which is a no-no in the free land of the US.

Health insurance is vital in the US, in Ireland if you get sudden appendisitis, the first thing they'll do is yank out your appendix, in the US, the first thing they'll do is check you'll have health insurance.

Just wondering what people are thinking of this. I'm shocked tbh, America never seemed so foreign. Especially watching the debates on TV, Christ I just want to beat some of them with a smelly fish. How can anyone with any bit of a soul want to neglect 45 million people so they'd have priority? Full power to Obama, great man.

Want to hear boardsies opinions on this... Not sure if this is the best forum, mods move it to politics or somewhere else if better suited.

Interesting mention here:

Americans who can afford to shell out for lavish health insurance policies get priority and get treated pretty much immediately.

In direct conflict with this in a recent article:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/arc..._08/019432.php

The U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) basically figures out who deserves treatment by using a cost-utility analysis based on the "quality adjusted life year."
One year in perfect health gets you one point. Deductions are taken for blindness, for being in a wheelchair and so on.
The more points you have, the more your life is considered worth saving, and the likelier you are to get care.
People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.

The 2 quoted examples are both Active (1 being the US and 1 being the UK), and yet both fundamentally flawed Health Care Systems. Just for varying reasons.

[jumpguy]

Originally Posted by Overheal

Interesting mention here:



In direct conflict with this in a recent article:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/arc..._08/019432.php



The 2 quoted examples are both Active (1 being the US and 1 being the UK), and yet both fundamentally flawed Health Care Systems. Just for varying reasons.

I'm not sure if I understand you're post, what I said was referring to the US healthcare system's speed yet you say it's in direct conflict with a exerpt from an article talking about the UK's health care system. In relation to that article, it's completely retarded, even Stephen Hawking himself came out and denounced it. Everyone who is featured in these Republican ads denouncing the NHS have come out and denounced the republican campaign.

It's sickening, the greed in the world makes me sick sometimes.



Almightycushion, I was hoping for a mature discussion...see how it goes?

[AlmightyCushion]

Originally Posted by jumpguy

Almightycushion, I was hoping for a mature discussion...see how it goes?

Sounds good. It's started off well so should stay that way.

[kickoutthejams]

The internet seems filled with quotes and equivocations on the matter.


my favourite was when Steven Hawkin was brought into it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...r-welovethenhs

[dlofnep]

America is probably the most capitalist, selfish country in the world. They care only about #1. I'm quite happy to pay taxes, or to wait a little for hospital if it means that everyone has a fair shot at healthcare.

Obama is spot on.

[Sierra Oscar]

Yeah, things are getting heated alright! . . . .



"TWO OF YOU GUYS ATTACKED THAT GUY, WHY DID YOU ATTACK HIM ???

--- HE ATTACKED AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[ascanbe]

Originally Posted by jumpguy

Interesting debate breaking out in the USA over their healthcare at the moment. Obama is trying to bring in universal healthcare so rich or poor will be treated equally. However, this has caused a huge debate because Americans who can afford to shell out for lavish health insurance policies get priority and get treated pretty much immediately. In universal health systems, everyone gets treated, but there's a queue. They're worried that it's evil Obama turning the US communist, which is a no-no in the free land of the US.

Health insurance is vital in the US, in Ireland if you get sudden appendisitis, the first thing they'll do is yank out your appendix, in the US, the first thing they'll do is check you'll have health insurance.

Just wondering what people are thinking of this. I'm shocked tbh, America never seemed so foreign. Especially watching the debates on TV, Christ I just want to beat some of them with a smelly fish. How can anyone with any bit of a soul want to neglect 45 million people so they'd have priority? Full power to Obama, great man.

Want to hear boardsies opinions on this... Not sure if this is the best forum, mods move it to politics or somewhere else if better suited.

Obama isn't trying to introduce universal healthcare in the way you have stated.
Those, with the money to do so, will still be able to avail of private healthcare, if they so choose.
He is merely trying to insure that people of modest means aren't screwed by private interests and left up **** creek.
It's a socialist construsct; much like anti - trust laws or bank bail outs are socialism.
You don't see so called 'free market' capitalists over there complaining about these things, as it works out in their favour.
The ironic thing is that certain sections of the media with the interests of these 'free market' capitalists at heart are using red herrings in order to get many of the very people who would benifit from Obama's plan up in arms.
Which i guess is smart; they are scumbags and it suits their agenda.
And perhaps the people who fall for it deserve what they get, if it's de-railed.
Which it may well be.
Kinda sad, i suppose.

[rossie1977]

its a daft situation, on one hand you have americans saying no to universal healthcare because of the evils of socialism blah blah blah and then praising the government financed military, police force, schools, firefighters etc in the next sentence

the american government already spends more taxpayer money per capita on healthcare than the governments of the uk, canada, france and germany do, i can see why americans are worried, they see abuse of the systems by illegals, they see underpaid doctors moving away (yeah right come to ireland, the irish consultants are living in poverty ) but why would a universal health care system in the states be like the nhs, why not like italy or frances which are vastly superior the uks

[netwhizkid]

I open heartedly invite the US Republican and Democratic legislators to Ireland to view our Universal Healthcare and I can guarantee the Republicans will go home happier.

Irish healthcare should be privatised and why should I pay tax for gastric bypass surgery for some fat social welfare scrounger to lose weight when they should be f'd out to work like the rest of society.

[MoonDancer]

I had both of my kids in America,
The first I had insurance, then I lost it after I left my job because I became a stay at home mother
When I was pregnant with my 2nd one, I had some complications and my Doctor wouldn't even see me because I had no health insurance, so I had to go to the ER & pay over $1000 just to be seen by a doctor!
Health care is very expensive over there if you have no insurance.

[dlofnep]

Originally Posted by netwhizkid

Irish healthcare should be privatised and why should I pay tax for gastric bypass surgery for some fat social welfare scrounger to lose weight when they should be f'd out to work like the rest of society.

Disgusting.