At 05:02 PM 3/21/2010, Laurence Cuffe wrote:
>I watched Sicko by Micheal Moore on German TV a week or so ago, it
>was a deeply depressing experience. It is polemic and partisan, but
>it is also a documentary describing real cases, and interviewing
real people.
>
>I hope some form of universal heath care gets through for the USA, as
>I think its a good piece of governance technology and it seems to
work
>ok for the countries that adopt it.
>
>I find it depressing to note that most of the voices I hear speaking
>out against it, have coverage either through their work or through
>veterans benefit.
>
> I spent two years in the states buying private cover, and I was not
>impressed by the limitations on cover even though I was paying over
>$1000 a month for coverage. My private health insurance premium over
>here for my family is about that much a year, and is used to
>supplement the basic level of care provided by the state. This
>generally means that you will get a private room if available.
>
>What is this system like in practice?
>This time last year, here in Ireland, my son started walking with a
>limp and this proved to be an bone infection in his foot which
>required myself and himself spending a week in a children's hospital.
>We had X-Rays, MRI scans, and lots of medication. I think I paid out
>about $75 in total.
>
>Our medical system over here is not without its critics, but it costs
>only half as much on a per capita basis than the American system, and
>life expectancy is much the same. This is based on WHO figures.
>
>I think you can make an argument in favor of universal health care
>based on value for money, however I think the arguments should be
made
>along the lines of "Its the kind of fundamental service that any
>country that can afford it should provide for its citizens, just like
>a police force, a judiciary and an army". Thor has this right.
Michael Moore is a sicko, and that piece of garbage he produced
does not even rise to the level of a polemic: it is one huge and
false piece of garbage.
Most of the folks I know who are self-insured want to remain self-
insured. I do not know a single person who is not covered by
insurance who claims that it is the obligation of the government to
provide that for them.
I have no idea why you were paying that much for insurance when you
lived in the States. My health insurance costs $240 a year, and my
wife's costs $600 a year, though her employer picks up 95% of
that. And I also get free care at the Veterans Administration and
at Fort Lee.
Any USian who wishes to have decent health care ony has to serve
two years in the military. Where's the beef? Lazy and cheap folks
suck hind titty. Such is the way of the world. The Gummit has no
business taking care of such people other than to keep them from
being TOO revolting! (Alexander Hamilton, one of our Founidng
Fathers, and the creator of the National Debt, stated, "beware the
people, sir: they are a turbulent and troublesome lot!")
Ireland is a matter of genes. There have been multiple studies all
of which have shown that the Irish people have grand longevity
genes. And there have been a number of studies of twins showing
that the lack of stress in Irish society also aids Irish
longevity. Irish health-care costs are lower than those in the US
for multiple reasons, including the lower salaries paid to Irish
doctors and support staff, the much shorter time needed to qualify
(in the US, it takes four years of undergraduate study, four years
of medical school, and four years of residency to qualify as a
family practitioner, while, in Ireland, I believe it is three years
of medical school and two years of residency to reach the same
level. Irish and British MD's are not permitted to practice in the
US, incidentally, though they can do the "Ottawa Turnabout" for $CN
1,0000 and earn US recognition. Go figure!)
If I need to see a doctor, I have multiple choices and I can get in
to see a physician with a couple of hours waiting. This is NOT at
the Emergency Room, though I have had to use that on several
occasions -- CAMERA RELATED WARNING! I once fell down a cliff
while carrying a Rollei 2.8F and a Leica M4. I cradled the cameras
and sprained my ankle. That was on a Sunday, so, yes, I went to
the Emergency Room. It was the LEFT foot I sprained, and I did
have a deuce of a time driving my standard-drive car. But, if I
note a need to see a doctor, I can make a telephone call at 9 AM
tomorrow morning and see one by noon. And if I need tests, I will
get those the same day or a day or a two later.
We in the US keep hearing horror stories about the British National
Health System, and long waits for a first appointment, long waits
for tests, if they are available, and the refusal to provide
expensive meds which are routinely prescribed here in the US. I
recognize that the NHS has become the "third rail" in British
politics but I suspect that is because the British electorate just
knows no better. I have never met a Brit who had lived in the US
for any length of time who had anything but contempt for the NHS.
This might not be the case in Ireland, given the vastly greater
percentage of Irish nationals who spend time in the US -- the
Irish, incidentally, are the second-largest group of illegal
immigrants into the US, right after the Hispanics, and well ahead
of Orientals.
Take a look at the availability of x-ray, MRI, and Cat-Scans in the
US. Several years back, the US had a THOUSAND times as many MRI
machines as were in the UK. I am not criticizing high-end UK
health care -- the best is as good as we can get over here. But
the average care is no where near as available or inexpensive.
Now, due to the reasonable standards for qualification, the UK
subject probably enjoys more decent care for minor ailments such as
a cold or a sprained ankle than in available in the US. Compare
and contrast with health care in the Russian Federation, where
primary care is normally the function of what we in the US would
call a Physican's Assistant.
Marc
msmall@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Cha robh bàs fir gun ghràs fir!
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