Science US Healthcare: officially crap

[riverman]

I have no complaints about my medical coverage. The VA has been very good to me and my heart doctors as well. I had an EKG on Friday and this morning the heart technician called me and changed my prescription over the phone and ordered my new to be mailed to me. I think like education, medicine is a game of finding the right team and talented medical professionals. I will say we need TORT reform because doctors and medical staff have their hands tied as far as layman advice, etc. I watched my heart on the monitor Friday and asked the tech is my heart chamber was larger than normal...she said, I can tell you you have a pulse and a heart but nothing else due to legal constraints....that's something I'd like to see changed. All and all I've had a lot of medical stuff throughout my life and don't have any medical malpractice horror stories or disappointments with care I've received. America is a huge diverse melting pot of people from all over the globe...we have a complicated society compared to some countries. I had dental work done in Taiwan once and had to have it removed and redone as they didn't have drills long enough to do a root canal on Caucasian teeth...apparently Asian teeth have smaller roots.. they special ordered new drills and fixed it but we both learned something...this was in a small village, not the big city. Everything can improve. Also the older a country is, the longer people have adapted and built up resistance to their environment. If you grow up and work in Northern Minnesota and your job sends you to Alabama for the summer...your body is going to deal with stress from the heat and humidity for example. Someone who spends their life in London is probably never going to deal with adapting...it's either raining or just rained.

 

[Phatguysrule]

I have no complaints about my medical coverage. The VA has been very good to me and my heart doctors as well. I had an EKG on Friday and this morning the heart technician called me and changed my prescription over the phone and ordered my new to be mailed to me. I think like education, medicine is a game of finding the right team and talented medical professionals. I will say we need TORT reform because doctors and medical staff have their hands tied as far as layman advice, etc. I watched my heart on the monitor Friday and asked the tech is my heart chamber was larger than normal...she said, I can tell you you have a pulse and a heart but nothing else due to legal constraints....that's something I'd like to see changed. All and all I've had a lot of medical stuff throughout my life and don't have any medical malpractice horror stories or disappointments with care I've received. America is a huge diverse melting pot of people from all over the globe...we have a complicated society compared to some countries. I had dental work done in Taiwan once and had to have it removed and redone as they didn't have drills long enough to do a root canal on Caucasian teeth...apparently Asian teeth have smaller roots.. they special ordered new drills and fixed it but we both learned something...this was in a small village, not the big city. Everything can improve. Also the older a country is, the longer people have adapted and built up resistance to their environment. If you grow up and work in Northern Minnesota and your job sends you to Alabama for the summer...your body is going to deal with stress from the heat and humidity for example. Someone who spends their life in London is probably never going to deal with adapting...it's either raining or just rained.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Just pointing out, for people who don't know. The VA is socialized healthcare. Everyone works for the government. And it's some of the best care you can get in the US.

A lot of other very well off vets who qualify choose the VA over private sector.

 

[e_blazer]

Medicare Advantage companies overcharge and commit outright fraud that costs taxpayers millions.

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/medicare-advantage-privatization-inequity-fraud/tnamp/

 

[riverman]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Just pointing out, for people who don't know. The VA is socialized healthcare. Everyone works for the government. And it's some of the best care you can get in the US.

A lot of other very well off vets who qualify choose the VA over private sector.

To clarify, my primary doctor is with the VA but my heart doctors are not...they are paid by the VA if the VA approves the procedure. Most surgeries are farmed out from the VA clinic..some are not. I believe medical care should be a civil right and no person should be turned away from treatment due to financial constraints...the hospital I use has very generous financial aid applications. If my neighbor is healthy, it's better for my health.

 

[riverman]

Medicare Advantage companies overcharge and commit outright fraud that costs taxpayers millions.

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/medicare-advantage-privatization-inequity-fraud/tnamp/

I signed up for that program once and never again...it is a scam. I really don't need Medicare but keep it as a backup...it's not cheap either. Next year I may just use their dental and opt out of their primary care program as the VA is mine.

 

[jlprk]

My granddaughter is getting ready for med school in Texas and she can have it paid for completely, if she chooses to practice in a low income area for 5 years. She still get paid but they take care of the med school cost. She's senior at Baylor.

Nothing about war, police, or spies...I wonder which party got that legislation passed!

 

[PCmor7]

Nothing about war, police, or spies...I wonder which party got that legislation passed!

It either was the Whigs or the Bullmoose Party.

 

[Hoopguru]

Nothing about war, police, or spies...I wonder which party got that legislation passed!

The US Army does the same thing, they cover med school cost if you agree to work ion a VA for 5 years. I think it's a great program for those that dont have financial capabilities.

 

[Phatguysrule]

 

[PtldPlatypus]

 

[Phatguysrule]

Germany has a universal multi-payer health care system paid for by a combination of statutory health insurance.

That's universal healthcare. Obamacare isn't universal. So no, these aren't close.

The M4A that Bernie Sanders was talking about would have been the best healthcare in the world, and would have covered every single American. And it would have been no more expensive than our current system. But nobody claimed that's what the rest of the world has.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Germany has a universal multi-payer health care system paid for by a combination of statutory health insurance.

That's universal healthcare. Obamacare isn't universal. So no, these aren't close.

The M4A that Bernie Sanders was talking about would have been the best healthcare in the world, and would have covered every single American. And it would have been no more expensive than our current system. But nobody claimed that's what the rest of the world has.

I'm not going to try to comment on a healthcare system in a country in which I do not live. But it seemed like the German guy wasn't saying that Germany's system wasn't universal, but simply that it was more like Obamacare than like M4A.

 

[Phatguysrule]

I'm not going to try to comment on a healthcare system in a country in which I do not live. But it seemed like the German guy wasn't saying that Germany's system wasn't universal, but simply that it was more like Obamacare than like M4A.

I understand. My point was that if it's universal it's not like Obamacare.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I understand. My point was that if it's universal it's not like Obamacare.

And the other side of the coin is that if it's multi-payer, it's not like M4A.
So it's not "like" either, but also shares characteristics with both.
Thus, someone comparing the two could opine as to which system shares more similarities with the German system.
And the person who lives in Germany and experiences the German system says that that system is more like Obamacare than M4A.
I don't think your point very effectively contradicts his.

 

[Hoopguru]

You have been sold on a faulty bill of goods. The real cause of our broken health care system is the legal system in the USA. For several reasons.

The lawsuits against the medical profession are out of control. This also greatly increases insurance cost.

Also, the lawyers and politicans have created such a huge check system/bureaucracy, most doctors spend more time on paperwork than treating patients.

Also, More and more doctors are not taking Medicare only patients, because of the hassle.

 

[Phatguysrule]

And the other side of the coin is that if it's multi-payer, it's not like M4A.
So it's not "like" either, but also shares characteristics with both.
Thus, someone comparing the two could opine as to which system shares more similarities with the German system.
And the person who lives in Germany and experiences the German system says that that system is more like Obamacare than M4A.
I don't think your point very effectively contradicts his.

But the top comment for that thread, from what I can tell, was talking about universal health care. There was an edit later that seems to be including single payer with universal.

But the original comment was about universal healthcare. As long as single payer is universal I'm including it as universal. There are many kinds of universal healthcare. Almost all of them rate higher than what the US has. And all of them are a lot less expensive.

 

[tlongII]

Also, More and more doctors are not taking Medicare only patients, because of the hassle.

In my case my GP has added a $250 annual surcharge if you are over 65 to cover the cost of taking care of Medicare only patients. I think it's bullshit since I'm not on Medicare, but I also don't want to find a new GP.

 

[Phatguysrule]

Also, More and more doctors are not taking Medicare only patients, because of the hassle.

It's not because of the hassle. It's because they don't pay as much. Because of course they don't. The prices you have to charge insurance companies are quadruple or more what you would normally have to charge, just to wind up breaking even.

Medicare for all would have to solve that. It wouldn't have a choice. Those hassles go away because there is a set price.

 

[Hoopguru]

It's not because of the hassle. It's because they don't pay as much. Because of course they don't. The prices you have to charge insurance companies are quadruple or more what you would normally have to charge, just to wind up breaking even.

Medicare for all would have to solve that. It wouldn't have a choice. Those hassles go away because there is a set price.

Both..
What doctors wish patients knew about Medicare physician ...American Medical Associationhttps://www.ama-assn.org › ... › Medicare & Medicaid

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Also, More and more doctors are not taking Medicare only patients, because of the hassle.

Those same doctors likely also don't take uninsured patients, or patients whose insurance doesn't cover the procedure they require. The people who would benefit from an M4A system would be unimpacted by doctors like those who seek only to serve wealthy clients.

 

[Phatguysrule]

Both..
What doctors wish patients knew about Medicare physician ...American Medical Associationhttps://www.ama-assn.org › ... › Medicare & Medicaid

I really think that would get solved pretty quickly with M4A.

 

[Hoopguru]

I really think that would get solved pretty quickly with M4A.

agree, but it would need to be managed properly with regional consideration. Im a believer in efficiency by reducing the number of steps in a process without giving up productivity, out of control cost. Economic value added approach with incentives in meeting objectives.