Quote:
Originally Posted by Madness Fades
Oh my god the American Health system is just so so so wrong. Why do you people put up with that. 
How can you let insurance companies decide wether or not you can have your operation or medical treatment.
Its unfair for the people on minimum wage or even no wage - who will look after them. Surely that is not living the american dream.
Over here if your sick you go to the doctor he treats you or else he admits you to hospital. No money ever crosses hands. It is completely free.
What we pay is called National Insurance and its a very small percentage of your earnnigs every month. If we need a prescription its about £6 = $12 for what ever medication we may need
I just couldnt believe what I was seeing.
How do you as americans feel about this system.
I feel the American Government has lost its grip and yous are heading for very
dark ages again if something isnt done. |
Well, not to sound like some kind of jingoistic flag-waving American, I think some things should be clarified.
The healthcare system in the U.S. is far from perfect, as it is far from perfect elsewhere in the world. My feeling is that you probably get what you pay for. Most countries' nationalized healthcare is funded via a value added tax (VAT) on purchases that, from what I can remember, can be as high as 10-15%. I think it is a good system (since it is somewhat progressive), but that is still a lot of money to be paying over time. At least it means that everyone, including illegal immigrants and people being paid off-the-books are paying their fair share.
In countries with nationalized medicine, costs are controlled across the board in terms of salaries, the cost of drugs, the cost of devices, diagnostic equipment, etc. But the biggest advantage of the system is the fact that there is little or no overhead for administrative costs like billing, insurance claims, medical coding, etc. However, the downside is that, by controlling costs so strictly, the system essentially destroys any incentive to innovate and to create newer, better, more effective medical interventions. So guess where the vast majority of new drugs and lifesaving medical technology are developed? Yep, the U.S. Guess where the most talented physicians and scientists and opinion leaders are located? Yep, the U.S.
In my opinion it is a pretty unfair system for Americans. Drugs and medical procedures are extremely expensive. Why? Because somebody has to pay for the years of research, trials and regulatory hurdles to bring these innovations to market. And it surely isn't the rest of the world- it's all on the backs of the U.S. consumer. In a nutshell, Americans are essentially paying the bill for new treatments that the rest of the world gets to enjoy for minimal cost. I think it's only fair that the rest of the world start paying for their fair share; it's no accident that every major biotechnology company has their corporate headquarters within the U.S.
I do feel bad that healthcare is not universal in the U.S. And, again, I do think there are a lot of inequities in the system. And although we hear that St. Obama or Hillary will come along on their white steeds and give healthcare to everyone, I think it's a crock of bull*****. There is no way that a single president, in one or two terms, is going to completely change the way healthcare is administered in this country. There is intense financial and political pressure to keep it privatized- from insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and especially from working people who don't want to pay additional taxes, etc. And once you snuff out the financial incentive to innovate new medical technology in the U.S., the rest of the world will suffer too. So before non-Americans start casting aspersions at the American system, I think they need to understand why things are the way they are.
As for "Sicko," I thought it was very interesting, but very unbalanced. I think it would have been interesting for him to find out how much these countries were paying for their drugs and equipments vs. the U.S.