That and the medical industry as stated above.
JB99, one of the arguments against universal health care is that everyone who stubs their toe would want an immediate appointment. Do you find that there is a long waiting period before an appointment, or in the waiting room?
And I am curious as to what country you live in.
Thanks!
Why are you so concerned that he/she is concerned?
Either come up with a rebuttal or piss off.
They’re not concerned about America’s health system; they’re concerned about the widespread levels of abject fucking stupidity - the same kind of stupidity that allows them to reject policies that are clearly in their collective self interest that also allows them to vote for a fucking moron who is going to tear the global economic and political system to shreds. The first doesn’t concern them; the last concerns them a lot.
It’s the stupidity they’re having a hard time grasping.
Hope that addresses YOUR concerns.
Our privacy hedge is coming along nicely:https://outabouter.com/2017/01/18/concerned-canada-quietly-plants-privacy-hedge-along-entire-u-s-border/
As to why I give a shit about the disaster that the US healthcare system is? I have friends in the US. They cannot access the health care they need, or are offered substandard options as their insurer wants to save money. That makes me angry and sad on their behalf.
For the same reason (some) US citizens are concerned about human rights abuses in other countries, you Trump-worshipped cretin.
I can give you my experience, from Canada, while waiting for JB99 to come back. But I can tell you, the wait room at a clinic or the ER is not like a social club, where people go to hang out for fun. 
I have my regular doctor at a clinic. It’s about 10 blocks from where I live. The clinic offers both appointments and walk-in services.
If I want to see my regular doctor (whom I’ve been seeing for a couple of decades), I phone and make an appointment. I can usually get an appointment within a few days, unless he’s on vacation, or it’s holiday season, like Christmas week. When I arrive for my appointment, I usually get to see him within 15 minutes of the time of the appointment; maybe 30 minutes if he’s really busy. That includes wait time in the reception area, and in the little attendance room.
It’s a bit different if I need to see a doctor right away (miserable head cold and I want DRUGS, dammit!) I just go to the clinic as a walk-in, and get slotted to see whichever doctor is doing the walk-ins that day. I wait in the reception area, and that usually takes at least 20 minutes; longest I’ve waited there is an hour. It depends largely on the time of day and how many other people are there. Once I’m taken to the attendance room, the doctor on call normally comes within 10 minutes.
If it’s a real emergency, there’s the ER at the hospital. If I go there, there’s a bit of a wait to check in at the desk. They do triage there - ask what you’re coming in for, if you’re in pain, and so on. Then you wait in the waiting area. That can take a long time, if you’ve got something that needs ER, but isn’t a real medical crisis. ER takes everything, so if someone comes in bleeding, they get faster attention than someone with a badly sprained ankle. (A friend of mine was in the ER checking in, and over the loud-speaker there was an announcement: “Code Blue in the ER”. She said to the receptionist, "That’s not good for me, is it? (meaning wait time). The receptionist said, “no, but it’s worse for the Code Blue patient”, which neatly summed up the triage process. She heard later that the Code Blue patient died.)
I think the longest we’ve waited in ER was about two hours, when the Cub had fallen on the stairs and gashed his chin. We were worried he would need stitches, so took him to the ER. It wasn’t a major crisis, so we had a long wait, but eventually the doctor looked at him, agreed we had done the right thing in bringing him in, and super-glued the gash - no needles or stitches, which was a very good thing!
carnivorousplant, you might find this thread interesting, from several years ago:
“Get this thing off my back!” A Canuck Doper Universal Health Care case study
And here’s another: I am a big fan of the Saskatchewan Health Line! Triage by phone spares trip to the ER!
Thanks, Piper.
The wait times are about what I experience in the USA.
Have there been any surveys done of Americans who have had a major health issue, asking about their satisfaction level?
Because one of the issues that I keep seeing in articles about US health insurance is that it’s only after people have a major health issue that they find out just how good their insurance is. I’m curious if any research has been done on that more specific question.
It’s not that simple.
91.2% of Americans have health insurance in some form, and many have more than just the basic, bare-minimum type.
So for most people, and a huge chunk of the part of the electorate that actually votes, it’s just not a huge issue.
Most of the arguments and hand wringing and what-not are more around the edges- where people have no health insurance or lame insurance and large bills.
And the perception by a lot of people is that UHC is going to cost them more money, give them less services, and all to the end of providing services to a bunch of people who they don’t like anyway, who they also feel engage in unhealthy behaviors and who don’t foot any of their own bill for these things.
The other point about comparing wait times is one that’s been made in various ways, including by a Canadian doctor who was testifying in the US Congress: how do you compare systems where one system has a wait time that can be infinite?
That is, in Canada, everyone has the same health care and is subject to the same wait times.
But in the US, you have at least 10% of the population who have no insurance. They can go to the ER for some things, but for chronic matters, their wait time is infinite: they won’t get to see a doctor.
Statistically, how do you compare a system like the Canadian one, where 100% are covered and get the same wait times, with a US one, where the wait times depend on your coverage, and for 10% is an infinite wait time?
There are lies, there are damned lies, and there are statistics.
The prime reason for the difference is that the medical lobby wants to make money.
But the thing is, it actually is an issue, whether they think about it or not. Even among those who are insured, there are most likely gaps in coverage, and issues such as whether or not you’re being taken in an ambulance that’s covered, and whether the hospital and physicians who treat you are part of your network. It’s an issue, just not one they think about much. It speaks of a Pollyannish attitude and ignorance that abounds in our society.
And I disagree that it’s not simple; it’s simple if people are curious enough to do some research and thinking on their own. It’s not like we don’t know the health system is seriously flawed; the perception that plagues our system is the assumption that there is nothing that can be done to fix it. The system is what it is and we just have to accept it. “It don’t matter what Canada and France do because they ain’t got no immigration and they ain’t gotta deal with terrorists.” Lobbyists have poured a lot of money into the political system to help us reach that conclusion.
In America people with gold star health insurance are accustomed to accessing what they want, on demand. Say an MRI. They can because of two main factors, I think. Firstly, their access is about their wallet. They can can get an MRI because they want one, and have coverage. Secondly, access is about availability. That machine is sitting idle in order for them to get instant access, by necessity. That’s an really expensive condition when you think about it.
Getting them to give that perk up, just to get triaged access based not on their insurance quality, but instead medical need, could see them in line behind some undeserving poor person.
(In Canada you can’t get an MRI by asking for one, even though you have coverage. Only your Dr can order an MRI, as he determines actual need. MRI machines are not sitting unused in Canada, instead they are in constant steady use. Consider the cost efficiencies THAT provides. Your place in the queue is based entirely upon your medical need. Triaged like emergency rooms. 2mins, 2hrs, 2 day’s, 2 months?)
I don’t know of anyone who can get access to an MRI on demand, and have insurance pay. It might be possible to get an MRI done at an imaging center, and pay out-of-pocket ($$$$), but if one is planning on having the scan paid by their insurance, a doctor is going to have to ordered the scan, and then you will wait until there is machine time.
Is this true? I can go to my doctor and demand an MRI and my insurance will just pay for it, no questions asked?
My American friends have lead me to believe if you’ve got great coverage, the Dr will be nothing but cooperative, for any test you fancy, probably get in that day! (They have executive level insurance, I believe.)
It’s one of the things they brag on about their system. Perhaps I am misinformed. If so, I’m happy to hear it.
And more than once it has made the local news when an American tourist, in some sort of accident, lands in hospital, and demands lots of tests the Drs don’t deem needed. Ugly outrage usually ensues. Perhaps this is not representative. If so, again, I’m very happy to hear it, and sincerely thank you for setting me straight.
Yes, healthcare is especially difficult to afford for those with mental disabilities in the US.