Medical Care the the USA!

enjoynz

Lady Enjoynz
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I watched a doco last night about the Health care in the States and issues around it.
Sorry guys..we have some lengthy waiting list for help in the public hospital...but I'd rather have that, than what you have any day!!!!

Watching people drive hundreds of miles and wait most of the night in a car park...just to get a number for a free consultation at a large Gym in Kentucky.
Reminded me of the long lines of people in Africa at the Red Cross tents! In other words... Third world standards.

I had no idea of the power, the Drug and Health Insurance companies have a hold over you.
Also no subsidy's for drugs! What are they thinking...argh.... let me guess...the almighty $$$$. Plus the fact they use it to buy of members of Government, is even worse!
Shame on them...I don't care how much goes into research...at the end of the day,
if you have people dying because they can't afford to buy the drugs to save them....all the research in the world is just a waste!

I know for one....we could not afford to live and pay the subsidy for Health insurance in the States.
So I'd be sitting in the freezing cold with my family, waiting for my number in the queue in Kentucky too, if I was to live there!

I hope they do do something fast for the sake of your people!
Cheers Enjoynz
 

phabib

Forum Lieutenant
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Well over here as soon as you say "expand health coverage" a certain side of the aisle will slap you with "wasteful spending." People are fine being ripped off by insurance companies as long as they don't have to pay more taxes. They just ignore the fact that per capita, people pay less in countries with universal healthcare.

Some people would rather see others die sick than even think they are paying for their healthcare.
 

Ridryder911

EMS Guru
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Here's the deal. If we cut off paying for third world and even promotion of pharmaceuticals research and allowed other countries to pay.. Guess what? Our premiums would be near neal. The only reason your medications are cheap is because we fund the pharmaceutical corporation for research and product developments and medical research. If we cut off the private funding, see how much your tax base would go up.

Are you sure you want your country to pay and foot the bill for the research? Yes, our medications and treatments are higher in comparison, someone has to pay for it.

Yeah, let's cut off all aid and start taking care ourselves. See what that will do for those with Governmental health programs.
 
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enjoynz

enjoynz

Lady Enjoynz
734
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Here's the deal. If we cut off paying for third world and even promotion of pharmaceuticals research and allowed other countries to pay.. Guess what? Our premiums would be near neal. The only reason your medications are cheap is because we fund the pharmaceutical corporation for research and product developments and medical research. If we cut off the private funding, see how much your tax base would go up.

Are you sure you want your country to pay and foot the bill for the research? Yes, our medications and treatments are higher in comparison, someone has to pay for it.

Yeah, let's cut off all aid and start taking care ourselves. See what that will do for those with Governmental health programs.

Rid you can't tell me the the USA is the only place that does medical research to benefit the world (I think we have been down this track before)...
I know New Zealand has come up with breakthroughs in Medicine, as has a percentage of many other countries. Our taxes help pay for our own research and medical care!

I'm sure every American would be more than happy to pay more in taxes instead of a Health insurance bill of $12.000 per year, which was a figure they quoted on this doco.
How much of it goings into research, and how much is going into companies pockets? I don't think there is on Medical insurance or drug company in the States that is renting a small office in the back streets...I bet most of their buildings are worth millions and as well as their company directors houses!
I haven't seem one case yet of your Government having to bail either of those types of companies out...like they have with others in recent times!

We can argue until the cows come home....unless you are willing to give a new Health system a go, you'll never know!

Cheers Enjoynz
 

Sasha

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People are fine being ripped off by insurance companies as long as they don't have to pay more taxes.

It's saddening that so many people who can't afford insurance will sacrifice their health so they don't have to pay anymore taxes. In reality, who foots the bill when someone gets admitted but can't pay it back? Hospital cannot refuse treatment.

True, socializing health care will take away jobs from those who were in the health insurance industry, but would it not also create jobs? If people can go to the doctor, they will go see a doctor creating the need for more nurses, PAs, NPs, MAs, CNAs, even EMTs and Paramedics employed clinically.

Perhaps stubborn old goats wont hesitate to call 911 for their chest pain, not having to worry about medicare paying for treatment, and perhaps people won't flock to the ER for the sniffles when given the opprotunity to be seen in a doctor's office with out having to pay some outlandish out of pocket fee.

Maybe I'm far too optomistic, but the U.S remains one of the few western countries to not have a social health care system.
 

medic417

The Truth Provider
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Hospital cannot refuse treatment.

Actually they can and do. They only have to provide emergency services and actually only have to stabilize not correct. For example if you have a hernia that keeps you from working but is not immediatly endangering your life they send you home and advise against lifting. No surgery no repair until you can pay a large part of cash up front and make a financial contract for balance.
 

karaya

EMS Paparazzi
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I watched a doco last night about the Health care in the States and issues around it.

Just curious; what was the name of the documentary?
 

medic417

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firecoins

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Rid you can't tell me the the USA is the only place that does medical research to benefit the world (I think we have been down this track before)...
The pharmeceutical companies do their own research which is factored into the price of the drugs they sell. The price is not factored evenly to everyone who buys the drug. US customers carry the burden more than other customers worldwide.

I am sure other organization worldwide do research.
 

Katie

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Rid you can't tell me the the USA is the only place that does medical research to benefit the world
We can argue until the cows come home....unless you are willing to give a new Health system a go, you'll never know!

the U.S remains one of the few western countries to not have a social health care system.

I think it's important for people to realize that socialized medicine is far from what it is cracked up to be. Yes, both systems have their good and bad points ... But overall look at the quality of care across the board. People wait months in socialized medicine for procedures and tests that could be done much more efficiently. There is more say in the kind of health care that we get. Do we need health care for lower income families? Yes. But general socialized health care is as far as I'm concerned isn't the best way to go. I'm NOT saying that those countries that have socialized medicine have bad health care. I'm saying it's a choice between better and best. From personal and family experience I'd rather have private health care.
 
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Sasha

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Did you film a documentary?

Maybe he'd like to watch it?

Maybe it's different here than where you are, but I have never seen someone come to an ER and been told "No, go away." That's what I was getting at. You take that hernia to the ER, they will still evaluate it, they're not simply going to turn you away. You present with the sniffles and no insurance, they don't send you walking, they evaluate, and assess. While you wont get rhinoplasty to fix your deviated septum, you may get a prescription for whatever is making you sick. Filling them is an entirely different story.
 

Sasha

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From personal and family experience I'd rather have private health care.

From purely family experience, i.e watching my mother with Hep C and diabetes get sicker and sicker because she can't afford to see a doctor nor fill her prescriptions, I'd rather social health care.
 
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VentMedic

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The pharmeceutical companies do their own research which is factored into the price of the drugs they sell. The price is not factored evenly to everyone who buys the drug. US customers carry the burden more than other customers worldwide.

Many of the drugs and technology used in the U.S. are not manufactured in this country. Nor is the initial research for the development funded by the U.S. It is when the U.S. conducts its own research later that the meds and technology becomes expensive. It is also when brokers, private industry, insurance and regulatory agencies get involved that there are enormous markups at each step.

European countries have many meds and so much more advanced technology that even the best research/teaching medical centers in this country drool over and do petition for expensive grants to meet the requirements that allow approval in this country.
 

medic417

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Maybe he'd like to watch it?

Maybe it's different here than where you are, but I have never seen someone come to an ER and been told "No, go away." That's what I was getting at. You take that hernia to the ER, they will still evaluate it, they're not simply going to turn you away. You present with the sniffles and no insurance, they don't send you walking, they evaluate, and assess. While you wont get rhinoplasty to fix your deviated septum, you may get a prescription for whatever is making you sick. Filling them is an entirely different story.


Thanks for clarification. Guess you are guilty of posting the basic point w/o enough details for us all to follow, like I'm accused of doing lately.
 

Sasha

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Thanks for clarification. Guess you are guilty of posting the basic point w/o enough details for us all to follow, like I'm accused of doing lately.

Ah...well.. sorry. Didn't mean to.
 
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enjoynz

enjoynz

Lady Enjoynz
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Just curious; what was the name of the documentary?

The Doco was an article on a show called 'Sunday' which is sceened by TVNZ.
It's sort of like the 20/20 show, I assume you have that show there?
I'm not sure where they sourced the article from, but the lady reporter was American.
This is the part of the report that was presented at the start of the show.

Nasty Little Secret
Each year 23,000 Americans die for the lack of basic healthcare; they can't afford health insurance. That's why hundreds of people are turning up in the freezing cold at a Kentucky football stadium carpark for a lottery & and the prize is a free appointment with a doctor or a dentist provided by a third-world charity whose priority is now at home. SUNDAY meets America's new

It ended on new...so I don't know who that was..I can clicK on it when they show the rerun online. I can't foward the link as TVNZ do not screen international...I've tried to post they link before on here and it didn't work.


Cheers Enjoynz
 

karaya

EMS Paparazzi
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Many of the drugs and technology used in the U.S. are not manufactured in this country. Nor is the initial research for the development funded by the U.S. It is when the U.S. conducts its own research later that the meds and technology becomes expensive. It is also when brokers, private industry, insurance and regulatory agencies get involved that there are enormous markups at each step.

European countries have many meds and so much more advanced technology that even the best research/teaching medical centers in this country drool over and do petition for expensive grants to meet the requirements that allow approval in this country.


But as Rid pointed out, we do lead the world in R&D for healthcare including pharmaceuticals. We do pay for this research which is passed along to outside the United States at a lower cost.

Here is an excerpt from the RAND Corporation Europe report:

The United States is the world leader in health research in terms of total investment, as well as investment in proportion to overall health spending. In the decade leading up to 2003, investment almost doubled to $94.3 billion (0.86% of GDP 2), representing 5.6 percent of total health spending. The country hosts a range of world-class public and nonprofit research institutions that attract international talent and recognition. At the same time, it is a hub for industrial R&D in pharmacology, biotechnology, and medical devices: in 2003, 70 percent of the global drug development pipeline belonged to companies headquartered in the United States. Health R&D has traditionally benefited from support from both leading political parties.
 

VentMedic

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But as Rid pointed out, we do lead the world in R&D for healthcare including pharmaceuticals. We do pay for this research which is passed along to outside the United States at a lower cost.

Here is an excerpt from the RAND Corporation Europe report:

The United States is the world leader in health research in terms of total investment, as well as investment in proportion to overall health spending. In the decade leading up to 2003, investment almost doubled to $94.3 billion (0.86% of GDP 2), representing 5.6 percent of total health spending. The country hosts a range of world-class public and nonprofit research institutions that attract international talent and recognition. At the same time, it is a hub for industrial R&D in pharmacology, biotechnology, and medical devices: in 2003, 70 percent of the global drug development pipeline belonged to companies headquartered in the United States. Health R&D has traditionally benefited from support from both leading political parties.

Then we are paying double for the research. The R&D benefits other countries long before it reaches the U.S. Maybe the U.S. should consider looking at the overall efficiency in the European medical R&D methods.
 
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JeffDHMC

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The R&D benefits other countries long before it reaches the U.S. Maybe the U.S. should consider looking at the overall efficiency in the European medical R&D methods.

Amen, IRB and FDA could learn a bit there. Though they are both very much needed, I think maybe everyone might benefit from an onverhaul.
 
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enjoynz

enjoynz

Lady Enjoynz
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I see a Australian member has got on the band wagon and started another Thread in EMS talk
....guess the news is making it's way around the globe! lol.

I was reading this link this morning and thought I'd post it,
so you can see what New Zealand gets in the way of Health Care for the Tax Payer's Dollar.

http://www.wellington.govt.nz/move/health-housing/publichealthcare.html

Has anything even been drawn up as to what the new system is going to offer you yet?
Or is it still in the 'Well it's going to happen, but we don't have a clue how' stage?

Cheers Enjoynz
 
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