Comments on: A Question About Healthcare, And My Answer

By: Danielle

Danielle — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:37:09 +0000

Nathan,
#1 – dehydration does not = lack of water. It is actually an electrolyte imbalance which may or may not be improved by fluid intake. Fluid defecit is a lack of fluids – please learn the difference prior to making comments such as yours. Secondly, if in fact your friend had been given water and then required surgery, he/she would have had to wait another 8 hours without water (or anything else by mouth) prior to receiving any anesthesia or surgery. Thirdly, if people who did not have to pay for their healthcare and receive it free of charge (courtesy of you, me and other hard-working, tax-paying citizens of this country you mock so freely) didn’t bog down Emergency Rooms with sore throats, stuffy noses and other nonsense, maybe those of us actually in need of medical attention could get it in a more timely manner. If they were required to work or pay for their healthcare, perhaps they would go to a PCP for non-emergent issues and your friend wouldn’t have to wait so long to be seen in the ED. In any case, 8 hours in the ED waiting room is certainly better than 8 months waiting to see a PCP under socialized healthcare. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

By: peteD3

peteD3 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:11:54 +0000

i live in the USA and it usually only takes me a few days to see my GP. emergency room waiting times can be a bitch tho…depending on the day/hospital

By: starbadger

starbadger — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:21:08 +0000

There are a number of sectors we spend too much on – war and medicare are the top two.

Things where we spend too little – education and the care of children.

By: Alyssa H

Alyssa H — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:04:11 +0000

I’ve alwasy had health insurance here in the USA, and shit gets weird. They sort of pick and chose, oddly, when and what they will help pay for. Every three months I have a birth control injection, and now and then I’ll get a bill, or I won’t, for the $10 injection fee.

I had the flu so bad a few years back that I went to the ER. I waited for four hours and decided that if I was going to die it would be at home. That’s usually how it goes. Another time I couldn’t talk because of strep, and the triage nurse wouldn’t allow my own mother to give him my information because it had to come from me. It’s all very stupid.

Last month my grandparents went to Canada on vacation, and mt grandfather had a nasty fall. They were in, taken care of, and out of your Canadian ER in under an hour.

By: Twwly

Twwly — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:21:16 +0000

I’m actually one of the luckier ones, since I actually have a GP. There are thousands of “orphan” patients, Scott included. That is a REAL mess.

Getting Maggie treated for her pneumonia this spring was totally nuts. The only reason I managed to get her in to see my GP was because I actually staged a sit in at the nurses station. As in, ‘I am not leaving here until you see my sick baby.” Our appointments then with our GP were on his LUNCH BREAK. (And I have been with my GP since I was a little girl).

Most people don’t do that, aren’t that aggressive and don’t want to face the 6+ hour emerg waits. (I have gone in with the kids to see EVERY chair full and just turned around and walked out). In some ways, maybe it’s good, less kids and people on ABX, getting resistant, etc. But there will be a lot of conditions going untreated that DO require care. And that’s pathetic.

I still really want to contribute to your dirtydocs site, I just haven’t had the time to start composing. I don’t know where to start, there’s been so many horrible experiences!

By: Shannon

Shannon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:35:26 +0000

Twwly, that’s BRUTAL. I needed to see my doctor yesterday, and I got an appointment 30 minutes later, and that’s fairly typical if I ask for it…

By: Scienkoptic

Scienkoptic — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:28:46 +0000

The American health care sucks in part because of the legal system here.
Open up a Yellow Pages book. What are there more of? Lawyers or Doctors? As long as the potential of legalized extortion exists in America, Health Insurance will continue to be an unattainable mirage.
Cost of health care here is in part driven up by our(US) litigious nature.

That coupled with the gaming of the public health care system here by medical device and supply companies. Ever seen the guy selling the crappy mobility scooters on TV? He’ll give you one for free if Medicare or Medicaid doesn’t pay 100% of it’s cost.

By: Em

Em — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 06:19:58 +0000

I think for me, more troublesome than the issue of money just to afford healthcare is the way insurance companies weasel out of providing support for healthcare, whether by claiming it to be a pre-existing condition or not in the coverage plan, etc. it’s a nightmare that happens all too often for people who can afford insurance and pay their premiums.

idunno, I’m in Japan now with Japanese national heath care and it’s awful. My monthly premiums are slightly more expensive than what I was paying in the states, the co-pay is about the same and the care is far, far worse. While it covers dental (good), it does not cover routine check-ups, teeth cleaning, or pregnancy, which goes I think more to explaining the low birth rate here than anything.

However, everyone is covered as a requirement and fees work on a sliding scale based on wages earned. It`s not the greatest care, but if you`re seriously hurt you will be taken care of.

And if anyone reading wants to rebut with anything about why the Japanese are so healthy: they are hypochondriacs. They go to the doctor if they have a cold, if that says anything.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:39:29 +0000

Living in the US, I can only offer a small slice of alternative perspective. I took a friend with a history of liver issues (fat metabolism problems) in for what appeared to be extreme dehydration. We were subsequently forced to wait over 8 hours in the tiny waiting room, and he was directed to not drink anything at all even though he had not even been glanced at by a doctor (or nurse). The reception girl just said that “if whatever is wrong with him requires surgery, he can’t have drank nothin.” When I explained that he appeared to be dehydrated, she said, “I’m sorry sir, there is nothing that I can do.” 8 hours later, they hooked him up to a saline drip or something and then sent him home with the advice of “try to drink lots of water.” God bless the USA.

By: Twwly

Twwly — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:42:51 +0000

It takes 3-6 months for us to get an appointment with a GP here. Everyone is referred to emerg, where waits are OBSCENE.

Many rural areas are suffering from similar doctor shortages and the incentive packages that towns put together to lure new doctors are pretty… crazy. It’s a battle of big business, big bucks in some places.

Our system is pretty messed up out here.

By: Predator

Predator — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:54:33 +0000

The Danish health care system is very similar to the Canadian model, and I think that’s what all countries should be offering their citizens – although I have never needed to go to the hospital myself.

Btw, nice of them not to cut through your tattoo haha!

By: Edurus_Fas

Edurus_Fas — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:10:48 +0000

The thing that puts a flag up for me about the U.S. healthcare, is that the senate is exempt from inclusion with the health care. I feel the old addage “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander” is appropriate.

I hope your leg heals up very quickly, and they can find an easy, simple, way to repair your condition.