Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutt
absolute BULLSHIT
healthcare in all socialized medicine countries is RATIONED, some people just don't know it. three people died in a middle class suburb of Toronto in the waiting room recently, strokes and heart attacks, with chances to survive BUT they received NO TREATMENT - the hospital was incapable of providing treatment at the time. that story is repeated over and over. Doctors know it - they don't want to be alarming their patients though - so when a newly diagnosed cancer patient is told it will be 6 weeks to wait for surgery or some other type of treatment they don't tell the patient it could affect their outcome. people die on waiting lists.
you can't offer top notch medical treatment to 33 million people for 'free' - you need to go through a medical crisis to see the major flaws in the system - system works great for women having babies, broken bones, and the rest of the garden variety of ailments people get - it's when you need the best medicine can give you or a loved one that you see things aren't right. it's like playing a roulette wheel - some people get great state of the art medical care, things align right for them, and their location has a big deal to do with it.
socialized healthcare works for the working poor, the unemployed, people with pre-existing conditions, young people - but if you're able to spend 3-4K on medical insurance a year you're going to get better medical care in the US system.
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A doctor in a country with what you'd call "socialised medicine" myself, I feel I have to step in.
Briefly, here, a very high standard of care is provided to everyone according to their individual needs. We have a relatively well-functioning GP system which safeguards access to the higher echelons of care for those that need it. Many countries with a "socialised" form of healthcare don't, resulting in cluttered-up accident & emergency rooms and outpatient clinics. When needed, we have the facilities, the money and the personnel to immediately treat a heart attack, when needed, and it is done as said indeed. Yes, someone who's up for elective surgery or a routine colonoscopy may have to wait for a few weeks, or months, in some instances, but so what? When needed, one can be seen, admitted and treated the same day.
As far as I'm concerned, people die in emergency rooms in phantom stories. Without having the evidence to prove my point, I dare say with great certainty that it happens here no more frequently than in the US.