I've been reading a lot of stories lately about President Obama's health care reform plan. There's also been commercials on the news here in Texas urging people to fight it. Urging people to fight Obama's plan and let it fail, just as it failed during Clinton's administration. Hillary Clinton attempted to bring universal healthcare to America many years ago, but the giants of the healthcare industry bought her out.
Similar events are happening now. The healthcare industry will go to any length to avoid making universal healthcare a reality. It's really quite despicable. Healthcare is not something that should be "for profit." Healthcare should be a basic human right.
Having lived in different countries, and experiencing universal healthcare, I just don't understand why America can't adopt this policy? I took my daughter Sara to the emergency room in Taiwan when she fell down and snapped her fingernail off. I paid nothing. I took Sara to the emergency room here in the US when she had a high fever. They gave her some Motrin. Then I get a bill for SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. Is this right? Is this fair? Hell no. What is wrong with this country? When a hospital is charging a hundred dollars for a friggin' Ace Bandage, you know the system sucks.
I support what Obama is trying to do with the healthcare system here in America 100%. Sure, it's going to cost a lot. But this is something that should have been implemented decades ago. Universal healthcare is long overdue.
Similar events are happening now. The healthcare industry will go to any length to avoid making universal healthcare a reality. It's really quite despicable. Healthcare is not something that should be "for profit." Healthcare should be a basic human right.
Having lived in different countries, and experiencing universal healthcare, I just don't understand why America can't adopt this policy? I took my daughter Sara to the emergency room in Taiwan when she fell down and snapped her fingernail off. I paid nothing. I took Sara to the emergency room here in the US when she had a high fever. They gave her some Motrin. Then I get a bill for SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. Is this right? Is this fair? Hell no. What is wrong with this country? When a hospital is charging a hundred dollars for a friggin' Ace Bandage, you know the system sucks.
I support what Obama is trying to do with the healthcare system here in America 100%. Sure, it's going to cost a lot. But this is something that should have been implemented decades ago. Universal healthcare is long overdue.
Ken, you are working in a hospital now, right? How do you think any major changes would affect your job and the level of service offered at your hospital?
ReplyDeleteMaybe if Americans ate less junk food, exercised more, smoked fewer cigarettes, and drank less alcohol the overall need for 'healthcare' would drop TO 30 percent of its current level. If anyone lacks insurance and really gets in 'over their head' in medical bills, can't they just file for bankruptcy?
To me, these inflated hospital bills are just like the inflated charges that credit card companies try to 'screw' people for: $60 fees for being over the limit, then 29.9% interest charges ON the trumped up fees MONTH AFTER MONTH, and YEAR AFTER YEAR!
Back to healthcare, you've seen some of the 'popular' doctors in Taiwan. They are easily recognized because people are having to wait in line to see them! And most of them are over-prescribing antibiotics for simple colds anyway! If the Taiwanese people would get smart and just go to Watson's (like Walgreen's or CVS)for over-the-counter medicine for colds and allergies, then a whole lot of ENT doctors would be out of business.
Of course, people will always need emergency care, but as far as I know emergency rooms must offer services to whomever comes in--regardless of whether or not the person has insurance or any ability to pay.
Please let me know if I'm way off on any of the points I've made above. THANKS!!!
I so agree Ken. Healthcare should be a right, not a priviledge.
ReplyDeleteObama did get something through very quickly after he got into office and that is help with COBRA. It's not enough, but it's a huge help. It made our lives easier.
A family in Wichita about 13 years ago was financially ruined keeping one of their children alive. They both worked, but wound up living in a house with small holes in the walls. That's pretty harsh in Kansas, evem small holes in the walls.
We really need something done. But the powers that be are not going to take it lying down. Their opulent lifestyles are more important than anyone's health.
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteSo you are against universal healthcare? I couldn't really tell from your post, but it sounded like you were.
As for my working conditions at the hospital, things probably wouldn't change that much, althought I probably wouldn't hear so many complaints about bills.
What if you or your wife got sick and your insurance didn't cover enough of the bill, and you couldn't afford it? What if one of you needed an operation, and your insurance company said "No, that operation is experimental, you can't have it." Or some other BS excuse. Do you want to have to declare bankruptcy just to get the healthcare you deserve?
Christy and I already have an agreement that if either of us needs an operation, and our US insurance won't pay for it (or it's too expensive), we're moving back to Taiwan. Isn't it sad that we would have to resort to that?
Sure, Taiwanese doctors like to prescribe too many antibiotics. I remember taking 7 pills for a bad cold once. But Americans are not Taiwanese. Americans will still go to their local pharmacies instead of going to see a doctor, even if healthcare is cheap here. I honestly don't think the ER's are going to be flooded with people due to common colds.
Finally, yes, everyone is treated in the ER because of the "EMTALA" law passed a few years back. But it's just very basic treatment. If they need any additional services or follow-up, they won't get it. And even for basic services (like I received for Sara), they're still going to be stuck with a bill for hundreds of dollars. Hell, I have insurance now, but I still have to pay a $150 copay just to be seen in the ER.
Hi Ken: I'm not sure what the Obama administration is even proposing, but there must be greater clarity on ONE KEY ISSUE. Does the 'healthcare crisis' have more to do with HOSPITALS or INSURANCE COMPANIES ?
ReplyDeleteIn the past, it would have been easy to blame the Insurance companies. Now, the hospitals themselves can only survive if they keep getting the INFLATED prices that insurance companies (and ultimately all consumers) are paying for coverage.
I'm sure that there is plenty of greed to go around (doctors, insurance executives, drug dealers.... oh, I should say pharmaceutical sales reps!)
However, let me go back to my example of Credit cards. We can go around blaming Visa, Chase Bank, Best Buy, etc. However, only when people quit buying "crap they don't need, with money they don't have" will any significant changes occur in people's personal finances.
The same thing is true with health care. When I eat six cookies, I get a stomachache. That's my body's way of telling me to STOP!
In a country where over half of the population is overweight, we need to get back to basics in preventative health care.
You wouldn't necessarily need to move back to Taiwan for surgery. You could go to Thailand or India for an operation. The price is about 5-10% of what the going rate would be here in the US.
Nothing is 'free'... I personally saw Chelsea Clinton last year on a campaign stop here (for her Mom) in Arlington, Texas. Once she mentioned that Hillary's Health care plan REQUIRED everyone to pay about $200+ per month each, the MOOD in the entire room dropped about 5 levels.
Thanks for allowing us to post our views, Ken!
The $100 is not just for the bandage, but also to cover liability and indemnity. One reason health care is so expensive in the United States is because Americans are the most litigious people on the planet. Another is that hospitals are run by corporations.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was dragged kicking and screaming to a dirt shit clinic in Taiwan, I spent about an hour with a doctor and the ugliest nurse I have ever seen. They wanted to do a spinal tap (I adamantly refused, complete with colorful language) and they gave me a dozen pills. The bill: $0. (They said I had meningitis, but my ball and chain told me not to take any of the pills. My "meningitis" was gone in about a day. I guess I had that 24 hour meningitis.)
When I went to a comprehensive medical center in Taiwan for bronchitis, I spent about 30 minutes with a doctor and his really hot nurse. They gave me 4 pills and a shit-brown liquid with opium (I recommend it) and the creative name "Liquid Brown Mixture". I took 2 of the pills and the opium. The bill: $0 for the hospital visit, about $5 for the drugs. Another $5 for an opium refill. But I can quit any time, man.
The last time I spent the night in an American hospital, I spent about 5 minutes with the doctor, several hours with a male nurse, got 3 or 4 IVs and threw up a lot. The bill: If you've ever watched "ER" you've seen them order a CBC. That's $65 for a single test. All the other tests were about the same. $20 for each IV bag. Not the medicine. Just the bag. $15 for use of the emesis basin. I found out later I could have bought my own for less than $1. Over $600 for the doctor's 5 minutes. $800 or $900 for the room, which was just a curtained area of the emergency room. $2,000 for a 20 minute ambulance ride. The taxi ride home cost 100 times less.
This was 10 years ago. I am sure prices are much higher now.
Telling people who are financially ruined by corporate health care to just file for bankruptcy is almost as bad as telling a mother whose baby was just shot to have another one. No matter what anyone's political agenda, if they can rationalize $700 for Motrin they are fucked up.
I think JesuitMonkeyFan must conduct a rather intense and very interesting English class...
ReplyDeleteI too was given opium once for a sore throat, in a brown, nasty-looking liquid. It worked, and I felt pretty good that whole evening.
ReplyDelete