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Question for the Aus, UK, French & Canadians (pg. 5)
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| tubby |
| quote: | Originally posted by Moral Hazard
The Canadian system is pretty fantastic. It has some problems; particularly with regard to wait times for non-priority procedures; |
are you talking in emergency rooms or in months of lead time for non-urgent operations?
part of the problems we have is so many idiots turn up to emergency for stupid things (like colds) and complain they have to wait. and now everyone thinks a cold is swine flu it's even worse. |
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| Leon |
| quote: | Originally posted by tubby
are you talking in emergency rooms or in months of lead time for non-urgent operations?
part of the problems we have is so many idiots turn up to emergency for stupid things (like colds) and complain they have to wait. and now everyone thinks a cold is swine flu it's even worse. |
yep, I know of a couple who waited about 18 months for cancer treatment... the biggest downside to healthcare for everybody is the everybody part, cause there are people that abuse the system and mud it up for people who could really use it |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Domesticated
I have private health insurance too, I think it just sucks.
I wouldn't stay in a public hospital if I could afford not to. |
the only difference between the two systems is the relative privacy, comfort and waiting lists for elective surgery or the emergency room. the medical care is exactly the same, as most doctors and many nurses work in both private and public hospitals. |
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| astroboy |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
the only difference between the two systems is the relative privacy, comfort and waiting lists for elective surgery or the emergency room. the medical care is exactly the same, as most doctors and many nurses work in both private and public hospitals. |
also If you're in a private hospital for a fairly routine surgery and something goes terribly wrong that requires specialist care + equipment you'll probably end up getting transferred to a big public hospital. |
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| DOOMBOT |
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-new...90603-buqh.html
| quote: | Medicare may collapse in five years: NSW
June 3, 2009
There's limited time to reform the nation's health system amid fears Medicare could collapse within five years, the NSW government says.
NSW Health director-general Deborah Picone has given a dire prognosis for the current system, saying Australia is heading towards US-style user pays.
Prof Picone says cost escalations mean universal health care could collapse within five years.
She is pushing for a system where funding from the commonwealth and states is pooled and then redistributed.
NSW Health Minister John Della Bosca backs her claims.
"Prof Picone and many, many commentators in the medical system ... are telling me that we have a limited window of opportunity to preserve the great public hospital system that we have," he told reporters.
"To make the decisions, the changes and confront the problems and make sure we hand on this great hospital system onto the next generation.
"I'm taking up that challenge."
Mr Della Bosca said he believed talk of the commonwealth taking over the health system was not a threat but proof Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wanted to fix it.
"We've got the opportunity for a new collaborative partnership with the Rudd government ... to come to grips with the immediate problems in the hospital system," he said.
However, federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has rubbished Prof Picone's claims.
"I think that is a nonsense for us to say that public and free health care is dead," she told reporters in Canberra.
"The commonwealth is absolutely committed to ensuring that people can have access to high quality care whether it is through their GPs or whether it is in public hospitals."
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
googling for random stories to support your myopic view and understanding of mixed economies = fail.
all that article really says is that medicare needs reform. welcome to the mid 90s. |
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| DOOMBOT |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
googling for random stories to support your myopic view and understanding of mixed economies = fail.
all that article really says is that medicare needs reform. welcome to the mid 90s. |
Interesting how you would hold in high regard what someone like Bernanke or some other US official would have to say but when someone from the NSW Department of Health says something, it doesn't matter.
:stongue:
The article I posted is from June 3rd, by the way. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by DOOMBOT
Interesting how you would hold in high regard what someone like Bernanke or some other US official would have to say but when someone from the NSW Department of Health says something, it doesn't matter.
:stongue: |
bernanke is an ECONOMIST, and a highly-respected one at that, who achieved his position by being an EXPERT in his field.
The NSW minister is a STATE politician who probably wouldn’t know if their arse was on fire. The minister's view was contradicted in that very article by the FEDERAL health minister, so its interesting you would choose to believe the minister that agreed with you, rather than the minister whose portfolio actually deals with medicare. Learn something about australian politics before you try and argue with me.
The fact that medicare has problems is an example of nothing other than an aging population and increasing costs, and the way in which it is funded. There is no reason to assume this model cannot evolve and be improved, which is exactly what the FEDERAL government is looking into. |
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| DOOMBOT |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
bernanke is an ECONOMIST, and a highly-respected one at that, who achieved his position by being an EXPERT in his field. |
So was Greenspan. Oops!
| quote: | The NSW minister is a STATE politician who probably wouldn’t know if their arse was on fire. The minister's view was contradicted in that very article by the FEDERAL health minister, so its interesting you would choose to believe the minister that agreed with you, rather than the minister whose portfolio actually deals with medicare. Learn something about australian politics before you try and argue with me.
The fact that medicare has problems is an example of nothing other than an aging population and increasing costs, and the way in which it is funded. There is no reason to assume this model cannot evolve and be improved, which is exactly what the FEDERAL government is looking into. |
etc. etc... See the other thread. I'm finished debating. Have a good night! |
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| astroboy |
| Well as people have said an aging population and the specifics of the economy mean the medicare system is straining. So there's a chance that there will be an overhaul in terms of the way commonwealth/state funding is allocated.. no biggie, a bit more bureaucracy at the higher levels maybe. Either way no one is going to let it change to a US style system. The fact that she even cites it as a scare tactic shows how much better the current system is and how scared to death the general public is of the idea of a US style system. There's no way anyone here would support that.. and any politician that did would be committing political suicide. |
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| fbgdavidson |
I'm a British expat living in the US so have experience of both systems to some extent. My family had private care back in the UK but we had close friends and family that have plenty of dealings with the NHS.
The US system absolutely blows and for one real reason. It is run like a business over and above anything else, including care for the patient. If you want to see a specialist you need to get a referral from your PCP who knows jack about what the specialist deals with, endless red tape, f'in kills me...
My wife was involved in a life threatening car accident a few years back (was in a coma for a week, intensive car for three etc) and whilst the care itself was top notch once the insurance company (and by all accounts she had a pretty decent policy) decided her time was up that was it. She was shipped out of the care ward and back home to me and her mother. Insurance paid for some subsequent physical, occupational therapy and that kind of thing for a month or so but not nearly enough. Once she showed signs of recovery it was up to us to start chipping in. From speaking to other people it seems that's par for the course. My wife was out of work for some time after her accident and it seemed to be a full time job trying to understand all the BS.
The UK system (NHS) isn't great but it is a hell of a lot better than the bureaucratic nightmare that the US system seems to be. |
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