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Why are the majority of americans against a free health care system? .
I mean if it would be anything like over here, then if you don't like not having to pay for anything you can always still go private. I dunno, to me it seems like its another Media influenced hatestorm funded by the insurance companies.
It would not be like over there though. There would be no (or very little) private medicine. Here are the cons as I see them, in no particular order.
-The waiting list for vital surgeries and transplants would quadruple in length, and the majority of people would never actually get the procedures
-Doctors would be getting paid significantly less, while the cost of their schooling still increases
-Because of this, the quality of our medical professionals will drop
-The patient would not be allowed to choose their doctor, they would be assigned one (this is linked to the above point about poorer-quality doctors)
-As it is now, a doctor is someone you trust (obviously, since they end up touching you more and more inappropriately as you age), and often times is considered a friend. But if you are assigned a random doctor each time you go, you never build that bond, and thus trust your doctors less, making hospital visits much more uncomfortable than they are now... which is saying something.
-Those who DO have insurance will not be given any advantageous treatment for it (in other words, if you're currently under contract with an insurance company, and we switch health care systems, you'd still have to pay the insurance, even though you'd be getting nothing out of it)
Those are just some things that pop into my head at first glance, I'm sure I could think of more, given time. Oh, and just a fun fact, 80% of Canadian Imigrants (Canadians who move to the US) come here because of the Open market health care system. If the free health care is so great, why do the Canadians come here to get away from it?
Not trying to offend anyone, hope I've helped to answer your question, Mal.
Ah good old fashioned debates. Anyways Xeko. Counter points ho!
Waiting Lists: The majority of time spend on waiting lists is spent waiting on medicines to actually come into the system from countries that produce it like America.Then mass producing them. Waiting lists arnt as harsh as American media likes to point out. It works, not on a first come first serve basis, but rather on a who needs it the most basis. If your life is at stake, you will recieve immediate treatment.
Quality Of Medical Professionals: Pay grade really doesn't have anything to do with skill, rather its a personal choice on the doctors part either to do it for cold hard cash, or to help people. For those who watch Scrubs, think a choice between Dr Cox and Dr Kelso.
No Advantages to those on Contracts: Insurance companies refuse americans treatments every day of the year. The upside of having a free medical care system would be rather than falling back and cracking your head open. You'll have a safety mat to fall onto.
Random Doctors?: Dunno where you got this info from dude but we are registered with Doctors, its not just some random person who gets assigned to you. Chances are if a doctors seen you as a child over here, they'll see you through adulthood as well.
Its not that we DONT want it, its more that it just wont happen.
He made alot of good points. and i agree with most of them.
In truth, its not as cut and dry as you would think over here Mal. The waiting list thing is very true here...
If you go to the ER room for a broken arm, they will take the guy wit the flu first if he was there first... its no really fair, but that is how it is done over here.
I have waited over 8 and a half hours just to go back to see a nurse when i had lost complete use if my voice and my throat was swollen and i could barley breathe. The guys with minor colds went before me.
I would also like to point out that "DR. Cox" like docters are very very rare... and most of the doctors ( more then half i would say) get into it because of the pay.
Ok, here's my two cents as written by a guy with a degree in Poli-Sci.
The current fears with American universal heath care is that the current bill to establish it is awash with vague information, unclear rules and regulations, knee-jerk reactions, poorly worded contexts, and has been so butchered that it actually gives insurance companies more power to do what benefits them and not the patient. As Xeko has pointed out, those are the fears that the American population has about the system that would be put into place and honestly, he is correct in some of his statements. This system will be nothing like the Canadian and British system.
As he said with waiting lists, we already have very long wait times at ERs due to illegal immigration and that some people will go to the hospital over a runny nose. With the current bill in place, we can expect to see less doctors as many are and have already moved onto cosmetic medicine as that will be unregulated by the current reform bill. In essence we will have less doctors and surgeons to perform regular medicine, this inversely will increase wait times on essential surgeries. Already, in the US, you are actually placed on a first come first serve for organ transplants. If you're lucky, an organ that is a match will pop up before the others on the list and if the ones ahead of you can't use it, you get it. This will be made an even longer process with limited doctors. There is also believed to be a subsection in place (though because the public has been denied access to read the bill, this is speculation built upon by lines taken out of context) that if you have certain pre-existing conditions or certain life-habits, you may be denied vital surgery or transplants until the healthier/younger people or those who don't smoke/drink/eat get their surgeries and transplants first - even if you are 'healthy' otherwise.
As for the quality of the doctors and pay, that is a moot point honestly. It is still unclear what their pay will be and I won't argue about this.
The Insurance company question, that's the real kicker. The insurance companies under the current reform bill would be given more ley-way to regulate themselves as long as they obey the very poorly worded regulations outlined in the bill. All Americans will be required to buy insurance under threat of fine or jail-time (though you are still not "forced" to buy a plan if you're willing to pay the fines, or just sneak under the radar) as well as pay into a 'pot' for those that are not under insurance or their coverage doesn't cover their medical needs. The only real change is that insurance companies cannot deny you coverage or drop you because of pre-existing conditions anymore, though you can be denied treatment because of them. Basically you'll be covered but your plan will not cover any medical expenses that are a direct result of your pre-existing conditions. Also, because of the reform bill, even if you have the money to cover the needed medical expense, the hospital/doctors/etc... won't be able to perform the procedure without threat of loosing their license because all procedures have to go through the insurance companies first as well as a believed medical review board. There's a boat load of other problems as well that I just don't have time to get into.
The doctors would be random for family/clinic medicine, you will be assigned a doctor based on your location and their availability, that being if your closest doctor or your original doctor has too many patients under them, you'll be assigned another one - the fear being that in some situations this could mean you'd have to travel to another town or city to visit the doctor. This is ontop of the fact that you won't be able to choose your doctor or change your doctor till the government or insurance company changes it for you. So, if you get a crappy overworked doctor who doesn't give a damn, then well you get a crappy overworked doctor who doesn't give a damn. Also, the guy who graduates last in his med class is still called "Doctor", so hopefully you won't get that guy either.
The real problem the US has with the system is that the current reform bill that will give us universal health care or "free" health care is neither universal nor free. You'd still be required to buy into a plan based on your current need and income level, as well as pay for it in taxes (double trouble). Not exactly free when the private sector and public sector demands your money for healthcare. The reform is also being denied public viewing and what little has come out is terribly poorly written and written obviously by insurance companies and politicians who won't even have to worry about it because they will be exempt with their own, very nice, current medical plan. There's speak of health review panels that are believed to hold the choice to allow procedures and medicines to be dished out to patients - and where they can deny you based on any number of reasons including age, lifestyle, genetics, income level, etc... Think a form of soft Eugenics.
Therefore Mal, the US plan will not even be comparable to the British or Canadian system. It's a plan developed for the benefit of government regulators and insurance companies - not patients.
"Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to look out for."
Which is why someone from Canada / the UK should come over and say 'STOP FUCKING IT UP' and show them how to actually make it work. Clive hit the nail on the head repeatedly. I -used- to be for the HCR bill, until I further investigated what they did 'release'. Though the media DOES inflame the situation, by blowing some parts of the bill out of proportion, it doesn't matter - just because they're making it look worse than it is doesn't mean it isn't a bad bill.
The thing is your healthcare system is already horrible... Why do american's stand for it? I mean sheesh here If anything happens to me that cuases him serious harm I'll get taken to hospital and tended to quickly, hell I've never waited 8 hours for anything in a hospital, longest I've waited is half an hour becuase I was in for a check up when someone else was in for something alot more serious.
Makes me glad I'm british -_-' even if the government is crap at funding the NHS and then asks it for insanely high targets
Some of the best healthcare in the world, yet the worst in access to that care. Lovely that I could be cured of cancer, but only if I had the best insurance money can buy or millions of dollars laying around.
"Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to look out for."
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