I had to pull out my own teeth, woman tells Blair

Most smart Brits go to France to be treated in fact.

They do? Where are the figures for that? Do the figures explain why they’d pay for travel to and treatment in France rather than pay for treatment at a local private dentist?

The UK spends much less per capita than France, and has more poor people, so what is spent goes to long term treatments rather than primary care. (For example the life expectancy in Manchester is 8 years lower than London).

King’s Fund 2001 figures via Google cache or PDF.

But these figures don’t tell the full story. French doctors want to know what really ails you. A visit to a GP in France will rarely take less than an hour. In England, you’re lucky if you get more than a couple of minutes and the doctor even looks up at you. He or she will be too busy writing the next patient’s prescription for Valium or Prozac.

To say that “NHS works well in most nations” is pure BS. It simply does NOT work. How in the heck is waiting for over two years to see a dentist “working”?! Have you ever had a toothache before? Have you ever needed a root canal? Have you ever had an impacted tooth?! Can you imagine waiting for over two years to get any of those fixed? That’s NOT working. And let’s not forget that all those taxes being paid for NHS are being wasted. You guys might as well start burning your tax dollars, at least you could get SOME advantage out of it, e.g., roasting hotdogs.

There are a lot of people in the US who think we should switch to socialized medicine. Luckily I love near the Canadian border so I know better. There are plenty of Canadians who come here to get medical care they simply cannot get in their own country.

And we take care of the poor in the US too. When I was a poor uninsured student I was involved in a huge accident. I racked up over $65,000 in medical bills. The government took care of all of it. I got immediate care and I didn’t have to pay a dime.

Life is too important to put on a waiting list.

Ima,

I am so glad that you loved near the Canadian border. To have loved anywhere is beautiful. For it is better to loved and lost then to have never loved at all. Sorry to hear of your loss. (I assume so because you now know better)

I lived in Canada for 45 years. The socialized medical care works well. It is not perfect though and one can always find some fault. But the benefits justify the program. I cannot remember the exact statistics though I know they are close.

Up to 35 % of private Health Insurance money in the US goes toward overhead. That is paying the office workers to answer the phone and say no, big fancy buildings, kickbacks, extremely high executive salaries, and lobbyists. Canadian Health Insurance is run by the Provincial Governments and pays less then 1% overhead. Doctors submit one bill and get paid about six weeks later. American Doctors submit many bills and wait months to find out if they will get paid.

Over 40 million people are uninsured here in the US. Sure they will get treatment, in a Hospital, when they get around to it. That is to discourage the uninsured from visiting THEIR Hospital because even though the law says they must get treated, no one will pay the Hospital.

Insured medical bills is the largest cause of personal bankruptcy in America. Even though the insurance is paying 80%, that last 20% can be a killer. I know of a lady in a car accident. After the at fault driver was cared for, there wasn’t enough of his insurance to pay for her treatment. Because she couldn’t work, she lost her insurance and is now bankrupt. She still needs more treatment. That wouldn’t have happened in Canada.

In Canada I lived in large cities and never had any problem finding any medical practitioner; Doctor, Dentist, or Chiropractor. Here I live in a town of 3,500. I drive 40 miles for my Dentist. Most of the Doctors are sub-standard.

My Doctor in Canada would take the time to look at whatever I saw him about. Here, the practice is in and out with a prescription. And don’t forget your $20 co-pay.

Infant mortality is much less in Canada then in the US. Because the Doctors are more interested in wellness and know that it is cheaper to spend a little more time up front then a lot afterwards. Male life expectancy is about 7 years more and female expectancy is about 9 years more then is the American expectancy.

About 15% of the US GNP goes to Health Care in the US. I believe the number in Canada is less then 9%. And Canada outspends ALL of Europe by GNP.

My parents, who are retired, spend $2 for each prescription. I had an elderly neighbor here that couldn’t get a prescription filled because she didn’t have the money. In Canada, we look at my parents and all of the older people and recognized that they are the ones that built the country. They went off to fight Hitler or worked in the war industries. Their labor built the economy after the war. They bore the children that now run the country. Now that they are retired, let us give something back to them. Here in the US, well, I’ll leave that one.

Many medical procedures in Canada have waiting lists. Too many and too many of those lists are too long. That is a problem that is recognized by all. The system has been efficiencied to the bone. That does need correction. In the US though, the Insurance companies like to play the waiting game. Without reason, they arbitrarily deny necessary medical procedures. Only after much fighting can they be made to pay. Then they will only pay a portion or for a set time that will not cover the full treatment. The Canadian and American problems are really the same thing, only different to the right wing ideologues thinking

The most efficient medical system in the US just happens to resemble the Canadian system. Guess what !!! The Federal Government owns it too. The Veterans Hospitals. The Doctors are fee based, they are salaried, so they are more wellness orientated. The VA buys drugs in bulk to save money. They provide after care. And most remarkable, they cater to the poorer, uninsured, elder population then do the private for profit hospitals.

Ima, don’t take this personal. I made a joke at your expense but the rest I firmly believe in. BTW. I am married to an American Nurse.

Just my two cents worth.

I’m unconvinced a government agency can be more efficient or more motivated to improve the customer experience than a for profit company. Well what if the company has a monopoly? Answer: a government is a monopoly already.

If people pay less, short cuts must be made. Less advanced technology, less trained doctors, no money for medical research, etc. The US has the best trained doctors, the most advanced tech, and produces more medical research than most other countries combined. Think about that.

Unfortunately health insurance is simply subsidization. Anyone with knowledge of economics 101 knows that subsidization only results in increased prices – hurting those who don’t have insurance.

I don’t purchase health insurance, and instead have ~$30k that I can easily liquidate come an emergency. I’m my own insurance company.