US vs UK Healthcare

[james&olya 1,121]

So despite having free medical care they cannot afford a trip to the USA on the VWP? Seriously?

As to why? For the same reason Canadians do it. The same reason the Premier of Nova Scotia comes here for heart bypass surgery. The same reason that Vermont Radiology fills up with Quebec license plates every morning...they can actually get it done.

Canadian doctors say..."wait for an MRI for free or go to Vermont Radiology and get one today for $400. Bring me the CD"

Many people everywhere do not like to wait. For anything. Add to that the significant percentage of hypochondriacs who do nothing other than obsess over every little ache or pain and who actually enjoy getting told they have this syndrome or that, it is not the least bit surprising that the medical entrepreneurs you have there in Vermont are able to make some quick and fat profits off of those neurotic canadians! That is NOT the same as saying that there is anything systemically wrong with the health care they get under their socialized system of health insurance. We spend 18% of our GDP on health care and it continues to rise. If we continue indulging every patient and provider whim we will eventually get to 100%! Obamacare is a weak measure when it comes to reining in runaway spending. My guess is that far more will be needed to slay the monster that we have been creating. Nothing being proposed by the republicans has any chance of making significant headway in this. It is too bad that medicare-for-all cannot be voted on by the public as it would pass easily. Unfortunately our politicians of both parties are owned by the huge hospital and big pharma lobbies and they will not bite the hand that is feeding them. Maybe we have to wait for our entire economy to collapse under the growing weight of this burden before we can see substantial reform.

[Karee 4,190]

Many people everywhere do not like to wait. For anything. Add to that the significant percentage of hypochondriacs who do nothing other than obsess over every little ache or pain and who actually enjoy getting told they have this syndrome or that, it is not the least bit surprising that the medical entrepreneurs you have there in Vermont are able to make some quick and fat profits off of those neurotic canadians! That is NOT the same as saying that there is anything systemically wrong with the health care they get under their socialized system of health insurance. We spend 18% of our GDP on health care and it continues to rise. If we continue indulging every patient and provider whim we will eventually get to 100%! Obamacare is a weak measure when it comes to reining in runaway spending. My guess is that far more will be needed to slay the monster that we have been creating. Nothing being proposed by the republicans has any chance of making significant headway in this. It is too bad that medicare-for-all cannot be voted on by the public as it would pass easily. Unfortunately our politicians of both parties are owned by the huge hospital and big pharma lobbies and they will not bite the hand that is feeding them. Maybe we have to wait for our entire economy to collapse under the growing weight of this burden before we can see substantial reform.

Canada has an 84% debt to GDP ratio. The U.S. is 73.6%. All these programs cost money. Money the U.S. govt. (and apparently the Canadian govt.) doesn't have.

[james&olya 1,121]

Results.

Either that, or all the Canadians coming here are just stupid and we make hundreds of millions of dollars on them.

Whatd'ya think?

Not all. Most.

[james&olya 1,121]

What matters is that we are just below Canada. And the vast majority of Canadians live "just above" the USA. Drive a few minutes south and you get what you need... today. You can eat breakfast in Montreal, drive to Vermont Radiology and be back home with your MRI results by lunch.

So Canadians are healthier than US residents because of their proximity to ... the US?!!!

[james&olya 1,121]

Well of course it depends. Like anything else. You can wait a long time or not.

One of my welcome to America moments was about a cyclist friend of a friend who was in a crash and was insistent nobody called an ambulance despite being in a bad way. A friend of mine goes through the VA and he seems to have to wait a long time for basic care.

To suggest that there is quick access to a specialist for all US residents seems not to reflect what I have heard.

If you have the cash, lots of it, the care can be anything you want. Michael Jackson was a great example of this. He had the money. He got general anesthetic drugs nightly to deal with insomnia!

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

If you have the cash, lots of it, the care can be anything you want. Michael Jackson was a great example of this. He had the money. He got general anesthetic drugs nightly to deal with insomnia!

How did that superior medical care work out for old' Mike?

[james&olya 1,121]

How did that superior medical care work out for old' Mike?

Indeed!

Patients often do not choose what is best for them. Does this surprise anyone?

[Protocol417 161]

For the record, and I know I'm a few days behind in this, but I would NOT pay the $400, whether you're talking about getting an MRI sooner or jumping the K-1 line. I just don't have $400 laying around (especially with how much it costs to maintain a long-distance relationship and for all the fees associated with the K-1 process).

I don't mean to be rude, but there seems to be a deep divide in attitude between those who, shall we say, DO have $400 to throw at something and those who don't. One crowd seems to brush the whole thing off with "well, look at all these people coming to the US because they don't want to wait!" whereas those in the other crowd really don't care about that at all. When you can't afford an MRI in the first place, given the option to wait a bit longer and get it for free or at very little cost is a godsend. If you can afford it, good for you; feel free to exercise the freedom your money has given you. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater, though. As another commenter mentioned, there are private clinics in the UK if you don't want to wait through the public system and have the money to do it.

I agree that Obamacare isn't a perfect plan. It's a band-aid (plaster) at best. I didn't like it when Hilary Clinton was trying to sell it, and although I'm softer on the concept given recent news, I'm still not very happy with it. It actually scares me, because the mandate will be kicking in just as my husband-to-be will be arriving. After we're married, I can add him to my insurance plan through work... to the cost of $500 per month (on top of what I and my employer are already paying)! That's 2/3rds of my monthly rent for something we probably won't use, to put it in perspective, and keep in mind that we'll be living off of one income for about six months. There's no way we can afford that.

I'll wait and see what Obamacare brings us (the news out of California definitely gives me hope) but I still believe an NHS-style system would be far preferable.

An interesting side-note: I heard a statistical breakdown of the popularity of Obamacare a couple weeks ago. It's true that a majority of people do not approve of it, but if you look at the breakdown, 1/3rd of respondents said it was because it doesn't go far enough - they want national health care.

[BatmanUSA 105]

I think we should nationalize, Medicare... the system is already in place.... charge everyone a monthly premium, or do it yearly as we do our taxes... or create a national sales tax to pay for it...