Happy with your healthcare system?

[Coralis]

Dude, the reason the majority of those folks are in the emergency room is that they dont have insurance and cant pay for the care they are about to receive and that the hospital is forced to see them whether they can pay or not .

[Eagle]

Dude, the reason the majority of those folks are in the emergency room is that they dont have insurance and cant pay for the care they are about to receive and that the hospital is forced to see them whether they can pay or not .

Yeah, then the people go into debt. Been there, done that.

[angrysasquatch]

lol.

If mcdonalds started handiing out cheeseburgers Everyone would get one. Even if they were not hungry they would say "hey its free. Why not?". I am afraid that if we get "free" health care we will get the same response. It is bad enough weight at the emergency room as it is. Imagine if they quit charging people.

So you're saying people who are not actually hurt go to Canadian hospitals, just because it's free? I haven't gone to a hospital for 4 years, and when I did go, it was a "just in case" after a bad accident. I didn't go just because it was free, but rather because in the type of accident I was in (barely moving, hit by a 80ish kph car in the front-right), it quite often results in permanent back injuries which aren't felt at the time, but become much more serious if not treated quickly. Now, if it were the American health system, and my back were messed up, I probably would've saved the cash and had to pay a much larger amount of cash due to an undiagnosed problem. I'd say the Canadian system prevailed in this situation.

I think you Americans would have a lot less unrest and violence if you didn't crap on the poor people at every turn. If you look at it in a purely financial perspective, you'd probably save money with a few more programs to help the poor get by. I'm sure a large amount of money is spent on police officers inspecting crime scenes and whatnot. Not to mention the lives saved.

Oh, and while you're at it, handguns and assault weapons aren't needed in anybody's hands except the police and army. You guys have got way too many guns meant solely for killing people.

Wow, that went way off topic...

And just for the record, I'm half-American

[robnix]

So you're saying people who are not actually hurt go to Canadian hospitals, just because it's free? I haven't gone to a hospital for 4 years, and when I did go, it was a "just in case" after a bad accident. I didn't go just because it was free, but rather because in the type of accident I was in (barely moving, hit by a 80ish kph car in the front-right), it quite often results in permanent back injuries which aren't felt at the time, but become much more serious if not treated quickly. Now, if it were the American health system, and my back were messed up, I probably would've saved the cash and had to pay a much larger amount of cash due to an undiagnosed problem. I'd say the Canadian system prevailed in this situation.

You don't know this and shouldn't speculate. You can get free/charge later emergency care anywhere in this country. Years ago when I didn't have insurance, I've went to the ER a few times thanks to some medical issues and workplace injuries. I was always treated effectively, and in a timely manner for the issue.

I think you Americans would have a lot less unrest and violence if you didn't crap on the poor people at every turn. If you look at it in a purely financial perspective, you'd probably save money with a few more programs to help the poor get by. I'm sure a large amount of money is spent on police officers inspecting crime scenes and whatnot. Not to mention the lives saved.

30% of Washington State's general fund expenditures are for Social and Health Care services. 40% is for K-12 education, and 10% is for higher education. Only 5% goes to corrections/law enforcement. I can go into more detail if you're like, and it's just one state, but to say we crap on the poor and spend more on cops than we do on social services is just wrong.

[Army]

Sarah's broken arm and required surgery cost me $10 co-pay.....that's it.

Sarah's birth cost me $200 co-pay...that's it.

No arguments from me

BTW; if only the police and military should be trusted with guns, then why take then away from those same people after they get out of the service? Are they suddenly no longer trustworthy or sane? I've been in twenty years, two combat tours, NOW it's too dangerous for me?

As has been shown over the many years, those populations with private arms, are safer and have less crime. That's real proof, not some special interest lies and distortion.

[angrysasquatch]

Sarah's broken arm and required surgery cost me $10 co-pay.....that's it.

Sarah's birth cost me $200 co-pay...that's it.

No arguments from me

BTW; if only the police and military should be trusted with guns, then why take then away from those same people after they get out of the service? Are they suddenly no longer trustworthy or sane? I've been in twenty years, two combat tours, NOW it's too dangerous for me?

As has been shown over the many years, those populations with private arms, are safer and have less crime. That's real proof, not some special interest lies and distortion.

No, in the army, there is a use for guns. It's not a thing of trustworthiness, but rather that part of the job of the army is to kill. Guns allow the user to do that quite well. In your house, is it a warzone? It it very unlikely that you will have to defend yourself against somebody with the sole intent to kill you (I dunno, you might piss off a lot of people ). Now, the likelyhood of somebody having the intent to steal your gun and use it for evil is much higher. If the general population is not allowed to have guns, then there's nothing to steal.

[MANN]

Oh, and while you're at it, handguns and assault weapons aren't needed in anybody's hands except the police and army. You guys have got way too many guns meant solely for killing people.

True story:

I was sitting in my dining room studing Thermodynamics one night. It was at least midnight. I am cranking through problems when all of the sudden the door opens. I am ~ 10 ft from a stranger that opened my door (it was my back door). This guy didnt knock. Just opened. I darted to my bedroom ~ 25' run, and grab my Springfield XD9. As I come back through the hallway, kitchen and into the dining room the guy is INSIDE my house. He politely asked if he could bum a few dollars from me that his car broke down with his kids, blah, blah, blah. I immeadeatly told him no, and to get the heck off my property. I told him to never come back. The guy was higher than a kite, and had problems walking. He wasnt there to hurt anyone, but I didnt know that. Thank God that he didnt do anything because lord knows I didnt want to shoot anyone in my house, but crap happens. I called the police, and they arrived ~ 20 min later. They picked up the guy, and took him to jail.

Now think if he had had a gun. This story would have had a complete different outcome. "Bad guys" will always have guns. The same way that they will always use drugs, steal, etc. Just because it is against the law doesn't stop anything. Simple fact of the matter is that the police are not everywhere, and I know here they always find a way to take their good ole time unless they are writing you a speeding ticket.

End rant on gun control.

As for healthcare.....IMO the current system works fine. I am very close to the "poverty" class, and seem to do pretty good. It is not my fault that "poor America" spends more money on their cell phone service than their healthcare... Some people need to prioritize and work, and quit complaining....

[angrysasquatch]

You don't know this and shouldn't speculate. You can get free/charge later emergency care anywhere in this country. Years ago when I didn't have insurance, I've went to the ER a few times thanks to some medical issues and workplace injuries. I was always treated effectively, and in a timely manner for the issue.

Are you saying I don't know that back injuries often come from the crash I was in? I am not a doctor and don't try to be, but the cop who came suggested it.

30% of Washington State's general fund expenditures are for Social and Health Care services. 40% is for K-12 education, and 10% is for higher education. Only 5% goes to corrections/law enforcement. I can go into more detail if you're like, and it's just one state, but to say we crap on the poor and spend more on cops than we do on social services is just wrong.

I'm not saying that you spend more on cops, but that it might be better-spent on social programs. I haven't done a study on this, and I would imagine it would require one to prove either side. I do know that America has lots of people per capita in prison (a quick wiki shows the highest in the world). I probably went too far by saying that you (Americans) crap on poor people, but I believe it is true to an extent.

[MANN]

Let me explain the problem with americia. We are too nice, and let anyone into our country. These people then commit crimes, and we have to lock them up. Everyone says it is too "cruel" to not treat hurt people so we end up with the short end of the stick. If there is a downfall to Americia it is that we are too "nice".

[angrysasquatch]

Let me explain the problem with americia. We are too nice, and let anyone into our country. These people then commit crimes, and we have to lock them up. Everyone says it is too "cruel" to not treat hurt people so we end up with the short end of the stick. If there is a downfall to Americia it is that we are too "nice".

Canada is even nicer. Yet something keeps our immigrants from committing crimes at the rate you see in America. Maybe it's better education, maybe it's better opportunities for the lower class.

[Mechanic79]

What health care? I haven't had health care for going on 5 years. Partly due to waiting for grace periods, and partly due to company's not offering it, and partly due to not being able to afford the monthly premiums.

Besides, what health care? it's more like sick care.

[MANN]

Canada is even nicer. Yet something keeps our immigrants from committing crimes at the rate you see in America. Maybe it's better education, maybe it's better opportunities for the lower class.

maybe it is your neighbors. We separate you from immigrants. IMO all of your neighbors are good. You dont have to worry about that much immigration.

[robnix]

Are you saying I don't know that back injuries often come from the crash I was in? I am not a doctor and don't try to be, but the cop who came suggested it.

No, I was responding to this part:

Now, if it were the American health system, and my back were messed up, I probably would've saved the cash and had to pay a much larger amount of cash due to an undiagnosed problem. I'd say the Canadian system prevailed in this situation.

I'm not saying that you spend more on cops, but that it might be better-spent on social programs. I haven't done a study on this, and I would imagine it would require one to prove either side. I do know that America has lots of people per capita in prison (a quick wiki shows the highest in the world). I probably went too far by saying that you (Americans) crap on poor people, but I believe it is true to an extent.

80% of the general fund in the state that I live in goes to either schools, health care, or social programs, only 5% goes to state law enforcement and corrections. Out of that 5% we spend, which part should we divert to add on to the 80% that we already spend on programs that directly benefit the poor? The problem with our prison system isn't our treatment of the poor in this country, our justice system is simply broken and needs a big overhaul.

[robnix]

Canada is even nicer. Yet something keeps our immigrants from committing crimes at the rate you see in America. Maybe it's better education, maybe it's better opportunities for the lower class.

No, you're a lot stricter on who you let in, I had a DUI over then years ago and can't even cross the border for a daytrip to Vancouver without contacting your embassy and applying for an exemption.

[bornl33t]

Canada is even nicer. Yet something keeps our immigrants from committing crimes at the rate you see in America. Maybe it's better education, maybe it's better opportunities for the lower class.

You clearly have no clue what you are talking about or else you would have made a point by now and stood for it instead of touching on about 6 different talking points.