Why cant we get socialized medicine in the USA??

Question

omg, Steve, you are WAY OFF! Why do you think i POSED the question to BEGIN with??? Not for Canadians, but because i was with my ENGLISH man for years, ....my bestest friend in the world!....When his Momma died, we rushed to her side, but we didnt have to worry about PAYING one red cent....i DO KNOW ABOUT it.....way more than you do, apparently! :)

Funny ... in my country (Belgium), we consider New Zealand as our best example. Every politician is suddenly talking about 'adopting the New Zealand model', even though many foreigners consider the Belgian system among the top in the world (but it's also very expensive for the government, so they're trying to change a few details).

Note that everyone (even the pharmaceutical industry !) is using both the USA and the UK as the worst examples of something we absolutely shouldn't do :-)

They're talking about the negotion tactics of Pharmac, where only the cheapest supplier is allowed to be subsidized. In some cases, this results in a medicine that is more than a hundred times cheaper in NZ than in Belgium (Zantac for instance).

Article by David Lynch ......http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/roc/archives/2005/05/socialized_medi.html continue 2007/07/10

thats interesting......even though posted a couple years back about the USA and UK.....I was amazed at how "Mum" got free quality care and even got her home paid for after she reached a certain age.....~!!! She lived in Newberry Banks, England....near London

Answer 1

That is a very good question. I am from Canada and I can not tell you how grateful I am to never ever see a hospital or doctor's bill. I had to go to the ER two days in a row and I was treated within 6 hours (not life threatening). My taxes pay for my universal medical coverage. It is not perfect. But I know that if I ever had a brain tumor I would not lose my house. I have heard horror stories from disadvantaged persons who went bankrupt paying for cancer treatment in the U.S.A. I can not imagine having to go through treatment and on top of that having to worry about paying th bills. It is simply unimaginable to me. My mother has terminal cancer. She takes a drug twice a day to keep her going. It costs CAD$ 1092.00 a week and my mother does not pay a dime thanks to our universal health plan.

So to answer your question, the poor who can not afford health insurance are not the majority in the U.S.A. Yes they make up a large group but numbers speak. Hilary Clinton was hired by your former president, her husband Bill to organize a universal health coverage and we all know what happened. If you want to know what happened see the movie Sicko by Michael Moore. It will give you your answer.

Answer 2

The short answer is most Americans don't want it. Maybe not for the same reasons, but they don't. Everyone likes the idea of "free healthcare" but it's not free. No one wants to pay higher taxes and that's what would have to happen. There's also the issue of who pays how much for what. If there is a "universal healthcare" plan introduced, will people still have access outside of that system? Will people who can afford and are willing to pay more for better care still be able to receive it? Will there be any mandatory pieces (check-ups, etc.)?
I for one believe the government has no place in the health care business. People should be able to make those decisions on their own. The government on every level in the US has it's hands in healthcare too much as it is. In MA you are COMPELLED by the government to have health insurance. Most states won't allow insurance policies from out of state companies even if the rates are lower for the same coverage.
Here are a few more considerations. How many of the uninsured are that way out of choice? If someone can afford a new BMW or Hummer, then healthcare is obviously not their biggest concern.
How many hospital visits in the US are virtually given away at the hospitals' and/or taxpayer expense?
And last, the countries mentioned with socialized medicine are at most less than half the population of the US. California has as many people as Canada, there are more people in NYC than there are in NZ. These are very unfair comparisons.
The only ones who would do well under a "universal health" scheme would be the politicians who rode that gravy train to the bank.
I am by no means endorsing the current system in the US as it is. There definately needs to be reform (mostly the removal of government mandates and more fraud investigation and prosecution among many other things) but I don't believe a national health system is the answer.

Answer 3

Perhaps because you call it socialized medicine. Michael Moore said on Oprah that it should be called Christian care, because the Bible says to care for one another.

What you really mean is Universal Health Care. That's what we have in Canada. The people of Canada have decided that among the things we believe in as a people is that one shouldn't have to worry about getting sick. If you're ill, you should be able to focus on getting well. It shouldn't ruin you financially.

We pay for this through consumption taxes. I know Americans hate the idea of taxes, but are you happier paying such high health insurance premiums? If you can get them...

There are a lot of myths in America about the kind of medical care we have in Canada. First off, we can pick our own doctors. The government doesn't assign them to us. The big focus in Canada is on wellness - we try to get people to live healthy so that reduces sickness.

Because we don't have to pay for doctor's appointments, our health care costs are lower because when we don't feel well, we see the doctor. Two decades ago the Rockefeller Commission said if America spent $3 billion on pre-natal care, it would cut $10 billion in costs for caring for preemie and other ill babies in the USA.

We have issues with our health care system, but Canadians are always bitching, always chasing after perfection. Two years ago my mother had a medical emergency. I rushed her to the emergency room. She was immediately seen by a doctor who called in a specialist, an x-ray technician and ordered a Cat-scan. They kept her in overnight, stablized her and then the next morning sent her by ambulance to the largest hospital in our province to be seen by the top specialist in the region. She stayed two days in hospital and was then sent home while undergoing other tests in prep for surgery. Two weeks later she had the surgery and spent three nights in a semi-private room. There was a follow-up appointment with the specialist. And then end we walked out of the hospital - no bill.

We didn't have to worry about whether this would break us financially. I didn't have to wonder can I afford to keep my mother alive. That is what a first world country does.

Answer 4

Perhaps if you had a taste of it you wouldn't be in such a hurry to get it. Ask the people in England who have to wait months to get to see a Dr. And then it's a Dr. you are told to see, not your pick. People need to wake up before it's too late!