America is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world yet you guys have to pay for medical treatment. I dont understand this. I live in australia and we dont pay a cent unless we decide to join a private health fund and then we do that only so we can go to one of the few private hospitals ,96% or so are government run.
2007-09-09 01:14:03 · 11 answers · asked by ? 4 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Injuries
its true that our taxes pay for our healthcare but I would rather that than not being able to go and get medical help when I need or want it.
We can choose our own GP or Specialist but in a public hospital you have their own drs who are all top notch.
Between me and my hubby we have had 7 hospital stays, and countless GP, emergency room and specialist visits and thats not counting the 4 kids. One of my sons was in hospital for 16 weeks!! We never once had a problem or paid any cash out front.
2007-09-09 12:49:07 · update #1
because medical care over here is BIG BUSINESS that makes BIG BUCKS. our government needs to check out how the Austrailan government makes it work with the health care system there. Medical care should not cost us what it does here and if the people who can afford it want private coverage...let them go for it. NO ONE should be denied medical care....but our government doesn't give a damn because they have GREAT MEDICAL BENFITS.
2007-09-09 01:22:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's because of competition. Doctors who go to "better" schools, and work at "better" hospitals feel they need to get paid more. If the government paid for it then all doctors would make the same amount of money and so there would be no competition. Same with Insurance companies. They want you to sign up and pay for their super expensive programs based on the fear that you might not be able to pay your hospital bill. It is pretty terrible.
On a personal note... I luckily work for a good company that gives me good health insurance. But even at that I still have to pay a small amount when I have to go to the doctor. And that doesn't cover my eyes, or teeth. My fiance has many medical problems and insurance companies don't want to cover her. So we have to pay a ton of money every month to cover her doctor visits and medications. Hopefully when we get married my insurance will cover her as well, but even at that I'm sure we will still be paying a lot. Seems like if they really put thought into it they could come up with a way to make a universal health plan for the US. But will they? Probably not. As long as people in this country stay so greedy and competitive it will never change.
2007-09-09 01:23:44 · answer #2 · answered by recovermesoon21 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Its simple medical care in this country is big business. Not really a good thing, but it has its points. Untill things change here, it will always be that way. It will be slow to change if it ever does because you get better care in general in non government facilities. Even with private hospitals and insurance it isn't always easy to get the treatments you need. You hear all the time about people who die because their insurance will not pay for a treatment that will save their life and said treatment will cost hundreds of thousands so they dont get the treatment. The government insurance is even worse. You have non medical people reviewing request for treatment in both private and government insurance cases.
2007-09-09 01:28:21 · answer #3 · answered by pbowersrn 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For all ignorants people, (I don't want to offend , but I mean those who don't know). Let me say this: "Cruz RoJa Mexicana", gives anyone, first aids with no cost. You can call an ambulance with no cost! They work with the FREE help of Paramedics and Medics. I said FREE, (no charges, no costs, no hiding charges on your telephone bills, no persecution of payment through continue calls, nothing, nothing like that!!!!!)....... They don't charge anything!!!!!!. ZERO PESOS. After you are attended you can cooperate with any amount you want ( not the "obligatory cooperations" american style), and every year they get an annual collect to continue working..... All people are proud of cooperating with the Mexican Red Cross every year. If patients need more medical attention or any medical surgery, they are transfered to a hospital where he/she has rights. If he/she has not social security, he/she can be attended by a low cost hospital. There are many, almost free. America Red Cross doesn't send any free ambulance. That's what I know. And all those "free" hospital services are charged twice to those with not social security number, make them almost impossible to pay. They always get a license # of some relative and they charge it. Good service, but rarely free. ....and all this is true!!!!... You can do your own investigation.
2016-05-20 03:02:17 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do pay a cent. What is your tax rate? I bet it is higher than the US's. Nothing is free.
Look at Canada they are taxed at very high rate (20 or 30% I believe) on every purchase or service they receive in their daily life to pay for their free health care. And where do many go for surgeries and doctors? The US. Why? Because you don't have to wait months for an appointment/surgery, just days. Also in Canada you don't get to see the doctor you want, but the one available. Inconsistant healthcare like that is not desirable.
The bigggest fear in healthcare is government run health care. Look to Medicaid and Medicare, those are 2 government programs that are very abused by providers and receipents. The government is the best target for criminals to target. They just pay whatever bill they are presented with and don't question anything. They over pay billions every year. What a great systems, your taxes dollars making criminal rich.
2007-09-09 02:09:03 · answer #5 · answered by Roberta P 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
We pay because we don't have government run medicine, for which I am very glad. Most people have health insurance which pays a portion of the doctor's visit or for the medicine, and we end up paying a copay of normally $20. It varies by company, but it's the same theory for most every insurance.
But I am glad that we don't have a system like yours because I have heard horror stories of it taking months to do a life saving surgery when it needed to be done in a matter of days. And then losing the patient among the system. It can happen anywhere, but it seems to happen more among government run hospitals and such.
2007-09-09 01:41:32 · answer #6 · answered by dancerhelen2006 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
yes that is true we do pay but we also have the best health care in the world. when its free people will abuse it and it will take a long time to get some test done due to abuse. gov will not pay docs enough to practice jst the min. here int he us the gov. pay the doc just a couple dollars over what the cost is for pt being brought back. that is why if you have gov. ins its hard to get good appointment. they only allow so many slots or docs would lose money.
2007-09-09 01:27:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is ashame! There were so many times I have had to NOT go because I didn't have the money to go to the docs. Even now, I need to see a dentist. But I can't. You'd think we could come up with something better than what we have now. But, the government doesn't listen to the poor folks like me, only the rich.
2007-09-09 01:22:21 · answer #8 · answered by shari 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
this is a great question..........
There are millions of Americans that can not afford to pay for healthcare, so many are put on payment plans, or have medicaid, this is help from the government,, they have free care, but not really, it comes out of our tax payers pockets.
i am a nurse, and i know from experience,people not being able to pay, and its sad...... because some people don't qualify for medicaid, because of income being too high....
so i don't think america will ever be like australia, that's awesome, i never heard of that!!! good point.
2007-09-09 14:08:08 · answer #9 · answered by Bullmastiff_Boxer_lover 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
who knows .. it would be nice to get treatment at a reduced or even free rate.. I'm pregnant and with "Baby love" medicaid I cant even get treatment for my gallstones cause thats not related to pregnancy.. America is a money hungry country thats for sure!!
2007-09-09 01:20:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋