I had to check the byline on this one to make sure it was printed recently, and not, say, four months and twenty seven days ago. From CNN:
We have it indeed. If you have any medical problems–any at all!–just go to the emergency room. Never mind that it’s for emergencies; that’s just an inconsequential detail. Problem solved, mission accomplished.
(Note the update at the end of the article, that McCain’s campaign does not consider Goodman to be an official campaign adviser. If so, why is he speaking for the campaign to CNN?)
Well, semantics abound. Technically, everyone in Canada is covered - even though there is such a severe shortage of family doctors up there that five million people just don’t have one - even though they would be covered if they did.
I think this statement was a little loopy - but no more so than those people that pretend Canadians and others have “universal” coverage. Probably it would be better if we all rejected these little fictions and just accepted that whatever system we put in place will have some trade-offs. The Canadian system has some, the UK has some, and we have a ton.
That wouldn’t make for very fun sound bites, though, so we won’t see much of it on what passes for the news here.
Yeah, folks, the emergency room is it–need chemotherapy? Kidney dialysis? Well baby checkup? Routine immunizations? PAP smear or mammogram? Mole check? Refill on a prescription? Wound care? Yup, the emergency room is just waiting to help you out–don’t even need to make an appointment, just drop right in and they’ll be glad to fix that right up for you. :rolleyes:
Somebody needs to shoot that guy. Preferably while he’s in a third world country. Take his passport, ID and money away while you’re at it, that ought to give him a pretty good idea of what kind of health care is available in this country for the uninsured and poor. Assfucker.
There’s a difference between an imperfect system that can’t be adequately summarized in a soundbite and a really, incredibly, genuinely stupid idea that can be summarized in a soundbite. This is not the former.
I first saw this posted on another website, and I immediately looked at the bottom of the article for a link to The Onion. I was certain that it had to be a parody.
It’s difficult to tell what message to take away from your cite.
Saying that 5 million people don’t have a family physician doesn’t necessarily mean that all 5 million lack a GP because there’s a shortage. A lot of people don’t have a GP, even insured people in the U.S. They never bother to set up a relationship with one doctor. Instead, if they get sick, they go to whoever is available. That surely accounts for some proportion of those 5 million, although it’s hard to say how many.
Also, the article says in one place that more GP training positions need to be made available, but then it says that the problem is caused by medical students not wanting to become GPs.
Sheridan: Fine, uh, fine! Status quo. Uh, we have had some problems with the lurkers, but nothing… Musante: Lurkers? Sheridan: It’s our version of the homeless. In many ways, we have the same problem Earth does. Musante: Mm. Earth doesn’t have homeless. Sheridan: Excuse me? Musante: We don’t have the problem. Yes, there are some, um, displaced people — here and there — but, um, they’ve chosen to be in that position! They’re either lazy or they’re criminal or they’re mentally unstable. Sheridan: They can’t get a job. Musante: Earthgov has promised a job to anyone that wants one. So, if someone doesn’t have a job, they must not want one! Sheridan: Poverty? Musante: Mm — It’s the same. Sheridan: Crime? Musante: Yes, there is some, but it’s all caused by the mentally unstable. And we’ve just instituted correctional centers to filter them out at an early age. Sheridan: Prejudice? Musante: Hm? No, we’re just — one happy planet!
[Sheridan looks skeptical.]
Well, all right, there’s the Marsies! But that won’t change until they stop fighting the Earth rule. Sheridan: And when exactly did all this happen? Musante: When we rewrote the dictionary. Captain, you’re a good man. You’re a fine soldier. A leader. You understand that sometimes, before you can deal with a problem, you have to redefine it. Sheridan: But you can’t deal with the problems by pretending they don’t exist. Musante: There’s no need to embarrass our leaders by pointing out the flaws in our society that they’re aware of and dealing with in their own way! Some people just enjoy finding fault with our leaders! They’re anarchists! They’re troublemakers! Or they’re simply just unpatriotic!
–Babylon 5, “Voices of Authority”
That idiot obviously has never set foot in an emergency room in large hospital that has an overload of business on a slow day. With his solution the 5 hour wait will turn into a 5 month wait. Who’s going to feed all of those people while they are starving to death so they don’t lose their place in line?
It should be noted that “without a family doctor” =/= “without access to health care.”
I was without a family doctor for about eight years – just got treatment on an ad hoc basis, by walking into one of those ubiquitous clinics. On-the-spot prescriptions, referrals for surgury, whatever.
I can’t say that I ever actually looked for a family doctor until recently. (Starting a family, trying to be more diligent about that sort of thing.)
I personally didn’t have any trouble finding a family practitioner that was accepting new patients, and didn’t find it inconvenient to be without one, or I would have sought one out earlier. (I do see the value in having a doctor that knows your history, of course.)
Anyway - I think I would have found being uninsured a hell of a lot more inconvenient than not having a family doctor when I needed surgery. (Especially as my income was about half what it is now.)
I don’t have a family doctor, and I guarantee you that I can see a GP in under two hours from this moment, probably under one. That includes my driving time.
That’s not to say that there isn’t an issue here, but it’s extremely silly to equate not having a family doctor here with being uninsured there.
Nice try at sneaking “and othera” in while citing information only on the Canadian system. My one experience with the French system was mind-bogglingly simple, efficient and inexpensive. And certainly the Danes are pleased with their health care system.
What countries are you talking about that don’t have Universal coverage while “those people” pretend that they do?
Why is it that I just don’t hear complaints from other countries, including Canada, the way I do from Americans? Could it be that we are the only Western country that has a problem?
My sister has to take shots that cost several thousand dollars each. And she takes them several times a year. No hospital is just going to give them to her. And I hate to think of the older people that still can’t afford their medications. That’s the last of the G.I. generation.