Socialized Medicine...

How well does it work for the common citizen in YOUR country?

This is an ongoing issue of debate here in the USA... many see the word "socialized" as a reflection of communist principles. I maintain a country as great as ours should be able to provide for it's citizens... at least better than it has done up to now.
Others would argue that when the governent is in charge of health-care ALL the citizenry will suffer. It's saidby some theat the health-care in the USA is the best in the world, and the socialized programs of Canada--for instance--has never worked as it should.
Your thoughts?

Tim

 

I believe that in a free economy, those who benefit from a public service, should be the ones who pay for it. The government should be thought of as an insurance - everyone pays according to risk, only with risk replaced with potential benefit.

This could, for example, mean that industries whose employees are known to have physically straining jobs (such as garbage men) either has to pay a higher tax rate than other industries, or set up a private, full-time healthcare scheme for their emplyees (calculated so that the expense for the company will be the same, regardless of the solution). This way, end end result will be that there will be no real difference between public or private healthcare, because the same amount of money will be available for treatment of each citizen, whether private or public.

Of course, money could have to set aside for the healthcare of those who are unemployed, for some reason or another. This should, however, be fairly minimal, when distributed amongst the entire population.

Obviously, those people haven't been outside the US, ever.

 

I think we should keep it. Private healthcare is good, asterous, if your upper middle class-upper class. If your poor you better hope it isn't serious.

The only rpblem I've heard about private healthcare is wait times. That seems to be the persistent nagging argument. That can be fixed if the government ran it better. We only put like 6% of GNP in it. sheesshh :roll:

 

Christian:
I'm not convinced either.
I am lucky and have a "good" health insurance plan where I am employed, but God forbid I would have a catastrophic illness. I would worry mysllf to death in the hospital wondering how I would pay all the bills and dodge bankruptcy.

Some argue that a privatized system such as ours allows you to go to the best specialist in any given field and seek superior care where you can find it. True to a degree... if the HMO or insurance administrator approves the added costs of seeing the BEST. The rich can always afford the best... the working poor need good insurance.

The American Medical Association says socialized health care in Canada does not work. I suspect they like the US system just as it is.

Tim

 

It works. It's just not perfect.

 

I agree, in substance if not in exact detail.

That is usually said in regard to the most sophisticated and advanced medicine and medical research in the world rather than the best health care system in the world.

 

Private health care is a substantial component of the Canadian healthcare system. Most everyone needs supplemental private health insurance since dental , optical and prescription drugs arent' covered plus a healthcare premium is charge in several provinces (in addition to taxes of course) for basic healthcare.

 

The big thing to be careful of is politicians.

A National Health Service can be an organisation dedicated to caring for the population, or it can be a political football used to try and gain popularity for politicians.

Our NHS is sliding from the former to the latter.

 

The government usually screws up everything they get involved in.

 

The USA pays nearly twice as much as anyone else for its health service's per person, yet according to the World Health Organisation its ranked 37th.

 

Yeah, I have to pay for dental. The cheap stuff isnt free, but the more expensive things such as actual medical procedures are free. This was set up primarily to keep people from going into financial ruin.

Our biggest problem is lack of government funding and high medication costs, which are still our responsibility, allthough most workplaces have to have a plan of some sort I think.

 

..a bumper sticker in the usa ...IF YOU THINK HEALTH CARE IS EXPENSIVE NOW ,JUST WAIT AND SEE WHAT IT COSTS WHEN ITS 'free"
ie ..a rule of thumb ....anything run by the US federal govt costs three times what it can be done for in the private sector . and CSP you have it backwards , the waiting period complaint is one attached to socialized medicine , not private sector medicine , which is why so many canadians of means opt for a trip across the border to get treated in a timely manner...BTW i agree that health care in the usa is ridiculously expensive and a remedy must be found ...i am loathe to let the feds to stick their noses under this tent or any other as they tend to make things a costly bureaucratic snafu where ever they tread...

 

Somehow, this doesn't sound right... private healthcare has long waiting times? :-?

 

I meant public, sorry

 

That's a completely unfounded and generalizing statement. Why do you think the government exists, other than for the specific and unprivatizable purpose of governing the country? Does it screw that up as well? Would you rather have a private company run the country, aimed at making a profit out of it?

There's plenty of examples - they've been listed on this forum before - of sectors that were privatized in European countries, after which they went into a disastrous spiral of decay and loss of quality until even the governments that cast them off began speaking of retaking control. Examples of this include the Dutch railroads and power supply.

As for healthcare, it's a really complicated question, but I'd say there should be one general premise on which to build the argument - healthcare should never be about making money, it should be about curing people. Whichever system is best at achieving this goal should be adopted.

 

Roel, I think he was referring specifically to the US government, which has a less than stellar track record.

 

That still doesn't mean it is uncapable of managing anything, unless you're willing to argue that the US is currently in an effective state of anarchy.

 

No, just that our government is notorious for taking a good idea, and screwing it all up.

 

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Orstralia got a social medicine base for everybody with a private cherry on top for the wealthy
we have restricted prices for medicines .
There is a Simpson episode where Homer is in need of an heart operation
he goes to some length to get the 20.000$ to cover the cost , there was no surprise to have to pay to stay alive

Here this came out as incredible , operations are free ,as is most care

the U.S. government is deemed sufficiently competent to order planes and aircraft carriers , and inject 100 billions dollars in emergency rescue of brain dead speculators , what about hospitals ? or bridges for that matter ,
you have been blessed with the right to bear arms , use it to the full


.

 

Medical care is not free. Not in Oz nor anywhere else. It just seems that way because you aren't aware of the details of how you are paying for it.
But paying for it you are.

ps-The Simpson's might not be the best place to get your information regarding the US healthcare system (or anything else for that matter)