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Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 10:17 am
by kubandalum

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:43 am
by Mjl
I didn't meet a single person when living there who was against the NHS.

There's a reason no notable politicians there take a stance of getting rid of it.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:13 pm
by DCHawk1
Mjl wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:43 am
There's a reason no notable politicians there take a stance of getting rid of it.
Cuz...entitlements are third rail-ish?


Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. It's a terrible way to run a social safety net, especially as demographics change. Do you hear people on the street bitching about it? Do you see politicians lining up to change it?

None of that is proof of anything, other than that "entitlements" are things to which people feel entitled.

Go figure.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:27 pm
by ousdahl
My friends are traveling the world right meow. One of them woke up with trouble breathing and felt like something was in his throat. Turns out it was a throat infection. Walk-in trip to the emergency room plus a few weeks worth of meds set him back $68 bucks.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:28 pm
by DCHawk1
What if he'd needed an MRI? Or surgery?

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:34 pm
by Geezer
How long does it take for either of those services here?

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:36 pm
by DCHawk1
I dunno.

My wife needed a CT and a PET scan last summer. She had 'em both done in 3 days -- and the PET had to wait until AFTER the results from the CT.

So...

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:37 pm
by DCHawk1
Of course, given that you're on Medicare, I'd imagine your experiences differ.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:47 pm
by Geezer
By a lot.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 1:35 pm
by DCHawk1
Which is kinda the point.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 2:52 pm
by kubandalum
ousdahl wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:27 pm My friends are traveling the world right meow. One of them woke up with trouble breathing and felt like something was in his throat. Turns out it was a throat infection. Walk-in trip to the emergency room plus a few weeks worth of meds set him back $68 bucks.
Seems like you’re describing something easily and quickly diagnosable and easily treatable. The stories above were about people in extended hospital stays.

MRI wait times in Britain:

https://www.healthimaging.com/topics/im ... ic-imaging

“... almost a quarter of patients wait more than six weeks for key diagnostic tests such as MRI and CT scans, the BBC reported...”



Wait times in Canada:

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies ... anada-2016

MRI 11.1 weeks, CT 3.7 weeks, ultrasound 4.0 weeks.

Take a look at what that article says about wait times from referral by a GP to consultation with a specialist to finally getting treatment in Canada. Yikes! Imagine waiting in pain for 20-38 weeks with an ACL tear.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:01 pm
by Leawood
My niece in Europe was born 7 weeks premature and needed weeks in neonatal ICU. $248.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 3:49 pm
by Mjl
How would a poor person here get those services? Medicaid? Doesn't that also involve waits?

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 4:08 pm
by Deleted User 104
I think it's fair to say NHS has a lot of problems. But I think it's also accurate to say, the US health system is far worse.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:34 pm
by Mjl
DCHawk1 wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:13 pm
Mjl wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:43 am
There's a reason no notable politicians there take a stance of getting rid of it.
Cuz...entitlements are third rail-ish?


Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. It's a terrible way to run a social safety net, especially as demographics change. Do you hear people on the street bitching about it? Do you see politicians lining up to change it?

None of that is proof of anything, other than that "entitlements" are things to which people feel entitled.

Go figure.
If we were to throw political viability aside, what do you think would be an ideal substitute? Complete elimination? Privatization? Other?

I ask because I think everything is way more politically viable than political junkies think.

Re: Tales for Halloween - Part 1

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:22 pm
by seahawk
Mjl wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 7:34 pm
DCHawk1 wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:13 pm
Mjl wrote: Sat Oct 20, 2018 11:43 am
There's a reason no notable politicians there take a stance of getting rid of it.
Cuz...entitlements are third rail-ish?


Social Security is a Ponzi scheme. It's a terrible way to run a social safety net, especially as demographics change. Do you hear people on the street bitching about it? Do you see politicians lining up to change it?

None of that is proof of anything, other than that "entitlements" are things to which people feel entitled.

Go figure.
If we were to throw political viability aside, what do you think would be an ideal substitute? Complete elimination? Privatization? Other?

I ask because I think everything is way more politically viable than political junkies think.
I notice that lots of people are starting to talk about Universal Healthcare, as there are other European systems that seem to work well and are liked by the citizenry in Germany, Belgium, Holland, France. Just because Bernie Sanders hates the U.S. and wants to punish its citizens by inflicting a system that would cause great consternation upon them, like the British National Health, doesn't mean that's the only system that Americans can look to.