I know it was over simplistic but I used the HMO term in a generic sense, in error obviously.onthebottom said:
Healthcare is rationed in America
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I get to jump to the head of the line when I yell 'christ my hand hurts' then pull it out of the paper bag and throw it onto the nurses desk in triage. That works every time here in Canada.kupall said:
I also thank my stars I live here in Toronto and not some small hamlet in Northern Ontario. Any procedures I've had done in the States or in a few exotic location have been paid for by me up front (faster) and later reimbursed to some degree back home in Ontario. Kind of like giving blood here in Canada gives your credit elsewhere, for the number of pints you done, should you have to pay for it normally; like in the US.
You keep saying you block him, but you still chirp on about him almost every time, so I for one don't buy your noise.Mrbig1949 said:
sorry I missed this question, it slipped by me. i would duck a question like some do.onthebottom said:
I only asked one of them that question and he said simply a change of scenery and people in the rural parts of Pennsylvania make him really welcomed. I think he had family connection to the state.
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I would think a Dr. in any rural region (North or South of the border) would get a warm welcome.blackrock13 said:
OTB
Yup. After we've spent thirty years teaching her how almighty is the buck; it's a rare MD that would choose to live in a place that limited both the making and spending of a for-profit doctor's full potential income. 'Specially if the rural folks found insurance for farmers—a high risk, cash-poor occupation—more than they could afford.
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OnTheWayOut
Not true ..... here in Ottawa many wealthy pop over to QC and pay for procedures they would wait for in ON. And since 80% of Canada's population is within 100 miles of the US border they can go there ...... and many do. Of course that would not be getting it in Canada ......themexi said:
Heard a great rant on ESPN radio of all places today. Colin Cowherd said that if the Canadian and European health care systems that BO wants to model his on are so great, why do patients from those nations go to the US to get premium heathcare treatments? Instead of waiting forever for what in the US is considered to be fairly basic procedures (ie MRI, etc)?
Having lived under both systems give me the current US healthcare any day over Canada's crap.
Most Physicans graduate with HUGE student debts! Oldjones, recient medical graduates I know seem to be driven far more by debt service than some desire to "live lifestyles of the rich, and famous."oldjones said:
Just surfing for some stuff to aid in another thread and found this tidbit, from a favorite of MB, our resident ...... (you fill in your favourite descriptor). An interesting read and from what I can glean, not agenda driven. It's a little long read for some but the last 5 paragraphs, section 7, are a good place to start to get the drift and see if you'd like to get into it.
Paul Krugman's take on the US health system. You decide.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18802
Paul Krugman's take on the US health system. You decide.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18802
And if the US syatem is so great why are their infant mortality, childbirth and other deathrates so bad? Worse than ours, Europe's and most industrialized countries, not to mention a poor place 90 miles from Florida.slurp said:
All this bullshit about people crossing borders, or single-payers and details of this or that system obscures the only significant factor: Americans pay way more than anyone else in the world and get crappy results. If US healtcare was a car, it would be like GM, Lemon would be its name and only suckers would buy it.
Fact is: For what they spend now, Americans could pick from any of dozens of national healthcare sytems, give everyone a sizeble rebate and get better results.
And the rich will always go somewhere else to pay more to get better.
For what we pay now in Medicare/aid we could cover everyone with lesser care.... it's just no one want's to wait in lines.oldjones said:
OTB
Some of those line are self imposed. It's known at least here in Canada that 80% of those people waiting in the Emergency don't really need to be there. They are because their scared, lazy, or programed; perhaps oversimplified and harsh words, but they can get over most of their aches and pains with patience and basic remedies, think of a walk-in or community health clinic.onthebottom said:
Mind you, the longest I or any member of my immediate family has ever waited for treatment in an Emergency Room is approximately 30 minutes. Most often it's nada. I guess it's all how you use it. I've waited 45 mins or more in a MDs office, with an appointment and that something that gets me but that's why I ask for 'am' appointments for my annuals.
I agree we can do with a few more MRI machines. The good news is my knees are great. My present SO tells me that often.onthebottom said:
In Canada, quite often it's not a shortage of machines, it's a shortage of technicians. They don't have enough techs to run them 24/7 or even close to that.
I have yet to see some one who really needed treatment not moved to the head of the line when it was required.kupall said:
So if someone chooses to spend their money on optional treatements that's their choice -- but if they say it's necessary - I don't believe it.
You are correct , although MRI's are fairly easy to pay for privately here now. Knee, hip surgery, yes there is a line up.onthebottom said:
The fault lies not in the basic premise sometimes but in the execution. Othopedics somehow missed out when the priorities were being determined.
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OnTheWayOut
I don't buy this drivel without some sort of proof. You can't get the quality healthcare available in the US anywhere in Canada. If Canada had a good doctor they'd move to the US to make decent money. AS CC said in his rant, when Canadians and Euros want primo care, they go pay for it in the US.oldjones said:
You prove the point that when you are Rich and Have the MONEY you can go and 'cherry pick' and get the best care!slurp said:
The rest and vast majority NOT being wealthy don't have this luxury....
Well all I can say to that is think again because on 2 occasions I've been an inpatient at hospitals in Canada and met people from other parts of this world, including the USA and I've done enough work for hospitals and seen many people in the flesh and documented who come to Toronto AND Montreal specifically for the expertise that we offer. Yes they probably could get it in the states but they probably saw the sticker price and swallowed their collective tongues.slurp said:
Ever seen a helicopter land at a Canadian hospital with US markings and unload a patient, I have.
Sorry.
