A question for Candadians and UK folks and the Universal Healthcare

[Hillsvale]

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I think you'd find on the cultural scale that perhaps Toronto, Ottawa and perhaps Montreal would be fairly close from a cultural standpoint but I doubt there are many canadians out there would ...

 

[PineappleMama]

^ That's it precisely Hills... and a lot more concisely.

I don't know the WHY involved, but Dr L who delivered both mine, and my Sis's first two has since quit delivering... still does the GYN portion, just not the OB. There are other docs in her practice that still do and one of them is who delivered my nephew in December... goofy fella, not real thrilled with his performance (won't go into detail) ... he is no Dr L to say the least... She was awesome, great bedside manner. But she just up and quit delivering... years of pictures of her with newborns... even one of DS holding his new sister and Dr L... really she's great... and just quit. I'm hoping very much that it was just her choice, stress or more time off or wanting a more normal schedule or something and no a case of premiums, but it's not like they'd talk about it if it was... but when you see a great doc quit... bums me out. But at least here there's three others just in her office that can take up the slack. In rural areas, small towns, or when it comes to specialists the same thing could be a disaster.

And Bees... definitely a contributor as well... but at the same time if there's a cap on verdicts... well, what is a million dollar fine mean to a company like Monsanto for instance? They blow that much in legal fees just in one case against a farmer. Wouldn't even qualify as a slap on the wrist... more like someone tousling their hair. Of course, if citizens weren't so sue happy those lawyers wouldn't have anything to do... just because a hammer is used to kill smash an egg doesn't make it a bad hammer, just makes the person smashing the eggs a meanie. So also a consideration to me.

 

[birdsNbeesNseeds]

Those are only major cities. Major cities are like major cities...... like comparing Toronto to New York to London.

Once you get out into the countryside a good bit (although NOT all) seems similar- not the same though.

But yeah, you couldn't compare California to Maine the exact same way, but it sure is more alike than say....... Japan.

OK, Canadians........... feel free to flame me for comparing you guys (except for Quebec) to the US. I still like visiting if you'll have me.

 

[Hillsvale]

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Toronto compared to NY or London....

, OK flaming done! And of course we would still have you but I still don't think any canadians would agree on the comparison.

 

[birdsNbeesNseeds]

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I used to live in a state that was known for "lawsuit lottery" so I know what you mean there; everyone was looking to get rich. I knew for awhile they tried to pass caps on suits since quite a few businesses were leaving. Very sad. I don't know if it ever passed.

Edit: Oh - these were SMALL local businesses, not big multi national businesses, by the way.

 

[BlackBart]

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Ours come in rusty freighters, we don't turn them away and then they file for protection under our immigration act. Tamils, I think they call themselves.
We house them, feed them, give them temporary financial help, they jump the Que for medical, then we give them temporary immigration papers.
The promise to show up for the hearing but disappear into thin air.

Not many stories of people suing Doctors here. I know of maybe three.......??

 

[Dunkopf]

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The payment part has not phased in yet and isn't scheduled for another 2 or 3 years. So it's premature to talk about having to pay for insurance if you don't want it. Remember the Pubs will probably take over the House anyway in November. Their first order of business is to try to scrap the health reform. It's in their pledge to America. I'll stop at that point.

 

[PineappleMama]

Pubs?... ohhhh Republicans... DUH, geez that took me way too long. Brain is NOT firing on all cylinders.

I hadn't even thought about that part, so many things have been passed and then rather than just repealing it they just add more gobbletygook to it that that is immediately what came to mind.... just this ongoing battle of tweaking and in the end not a whole lot gets done. Still trying to figure out how the devil that stuff helps anyone... except maybe them, keeps them in office and on a nice fat salary/benefits. *sigh* One more reason I think a third voice, enough to make a difference, being in the mix is a good thing... this red vs blue battle... one says yes, one says no and there's no one around to break the tie... if that makes any sense? Maybe someday.

Those in Canada, and I'm sorry if I missed it if already posted... and I realize it varies by province... but what kind of percentages are you paying for what you've got... all told, income, health, roads, the whole enchilada? Already did the math (if right) for us being on the UK tax system and what being on that system covers... why not take a gander at y'alls too? Do you feel you are you paying more %wise, but getting less awesome services... or are you paying less and getting less or is it the same and you get less... or do you feel your system grants you more than the UK's... and is the % you pay totally worth that awesomeness or not.

 

[newfoundland]

Medical malpractice suits are very rare in UK. When people sue they sue the local Health Authourity. I'm assuming Health Authorities do have some sort of insurance for their employees. An investigation is carried out and if negligence is proved the patient/family are compensated and of course the member of staff responsible is disciplined. Occasionally this leads to a doctor/nurse being struck off the register to practice. It is in the best interests of the Health Authority to see that 'accidents' do not occur and this has implications for their recruitment, staffing, equipment, and accommodation policies. If the Health Authority is accountable it improves the training, supervision and staffing levels.

I think local Health Authorities are a very good idea because different populations, in different regions often have different health needs. For example, where I used to live, in north west London, there was high high immigrant population from the Indian sub continent. It was discovered that in middle age this population was about twice as likely to suffer from diabetes and heart problems than the indigenous population. This information enabled the local Health Authority to put more money into resourcing this area. Where I live now in a sparsely populated and very rural area, it is essentially an aging, indigenous population. The health needs are more along the lines of strokes, arthritis, etc. with a few serious agricultural accidents thrown in for good measure. This means our little local hospital has an A and E department to deal with emergencies, various clinics for diabetes, heart problems etc. but has a heavy emphasis on long term nursing of stroke patients and a big rehabilitation department. I think any hospital must serve the needs of it's population and having separate Health Authorities gives them the autonomy to do this.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Much of this thread has been very informative! I thank those of you who live outside the US for sharing your thoughts, experiences, and ideas about your respective countries' healthcare systems. It's refreshing to hear from everyday citizens of those countries what the medical care is like there. Much less skewed than hearing it secondhand from politicians here, who all have their agendas.

Due to corporate interests and wealthy people controlling a certain major political party here, unfortunately I think it will be a long time before the US implements any national health care systems here. I personally think this is a shame, as I'm on the side of health care being a right for everyone within a society, not some commodity to be handed out only to those with money and resources. We can treat our fellow humans as if life is some Darwinian resource-hoarding competition where those who are down on their luck are the losers, or we can choose to care about and help others and have a security net for ourselves and our relatives as well. Certainly it would be a struggle to implement a successful national health system in the US, but I think the end results of that struggle are worth the difficulty of the beginning stages. That said, realistically I just do not see it happening for a long time. So much in the US is controlled by big business, it's rather sickening at times. It becomes very difficult for the average person or even large groups of average people to fight giant corporations because of the power they hold.

I'm twenty-two years old and a college student (albeit currently taking a semester off for mental health reasons), and I must confess the costs of health care here in the US are a big concern to me. I guess it's just because of the current awful state of the economy, but to me it seems like even if I have a good-paying job in the future, I feel like I will still struggle financially my whole life. I want only to have good, available health care that doesn't break the bank (and I must say the costs of health insurance seem unreasonably, ridiculously high), to be able to buy a medium house someday with some property and not have to freak out about paying the mortgage every month, to afford a working car, some animals, food and other essentials, and still have a little money left over to spend on hobbies and the occasional vacation and whatnot. (I do not want children so that is not a factor in my hopes for the future.) Somehow I feel like the older I get, the more hopeless such a modest dream seems--at least in the US. Maybe it's just because I live in California and living costs are high here, and because I see my parents struggling with their mortgages despite both making decent paychecks, and because I see my friends graduating from college with debts to pay off, and spending months if not longer hunting and hunting for jobs with little success. Anyway, that's kind of off-topic but I just had to say it.