What's wrong with socialized healthcare?

[-Carnifex-]

Wouldn't it be a good thing?

We could do away with social security, medicare, and wellfare, then institute some sort of workfare.

I'm sure the gov't could figure out a way to keep competition so we aren't stuck with inept doctors.

Am I missing something huge?

[Miscue]

Urm... a buttload of tax.

[-Carnifex-]

Would it really be that much more if we got rid of the other systems I mentioned?

[NJPaint]

I'm for it. The arguement I've heard is:

"But there will be no incentive for doctors to work as hard as they do to go through school and beyond if they don't make the money that they do now."

[-Carnifex-]

Yeah, that was one of the only arguments I could think of.

[Butterfingers]

Socialized healthcare its the worst idea ever... Doctors pay enough for malpractice insurance. Years of school and massive responsibility and accountability.

It happened in Canada...

Once all the costs of insurance, overhead ect... is factored in doctors will be needing to find a second job at mc donalds.

Im all for helping people and the community but I would also like to make a living wage.

[mcveighr]

I don't see why everyone thinks Canada's health care is the worst thing ever.

I mean the doctors are nowhere near poor. I know one with 4 kids and three BMW's. And its not really a poor system. I'd rather wait a bit longer then pay a few hundred/thousand dollars.

[Butterfingers]

But it depends on how successful you are, if you specialize... If your patients are willing to pay for procedures not covered... your mileage may vary GREATLY.

[govnamac]

The problem is waiting lists. Unless there is an emergency, you wait. My family is in England. My uncle had to wait almost 18 months for hernia surgery. The up side is you don't have to worry about medical costs. The down side is getting access to medical attention. Those that can afford it also get private insurance. Those people get seen a lot sooner.

[Flamebo]

The issue isn't tax, as we're already taxed to hell and back. The issue is the disgusting amounts of wasteful spending of that which is essentially your and more importantly, my money.

If something could be done to crack down on this, US social programs would be incredible and taxes could be reduced...

But nothing will, so get used to it.

[bornl33t]

europe is mostly suffering from sociolized medicine. And I do mean suffering. MY parents still live in Frankfurt. Just this week they had visited a friend in the hospital in frankfurt. He was flown in fron romania because of some issues they couldn't resolve there. Anyway, he was in the hospital for the better part of 3 days before a doc finally saw him. That's NUTZ. He was flown in from Romania because it was an emergency and was urgent and the earliest anyone could see him was 3 days laters? We Americans would have walked out the door and gone to the next place.
Another insident from my childhood. We had these neighbors and over the weekend they were involved in a car accident. He survived with minor injuries. She was rushed to the hospital only to bleed to death internally while she waited 8 hours on a roller bed in the hall waiting for the next doctor to punch in. After closer examination they realized the injuries would NOT have been fatal if treated earlier.

If those aren't good enough examples why NOT to have socialized medicine then nothing will be good enough.

[Albinonewt]

the BIG problem with socialized medicine, aside from the months of pain you're in while you wait, is that there's very very little research in countries with socialized medicine. Only in the private market is the most substantial research done, especially towards medicines. Nearly all medicines, procedures, and equipment are invented and made in the United States. Is it because we're smarter? No. Is it because we care more about medicine? Certainly not. Its because this is the only place where the research and subsequent sales pay off.

Think about Canada. One of the reasons their system sort of works (but not really) is generic drugs and discount rates from name brand companies (because Canada is so small comparativly). The problem with cheap generic medicines is someone has to invent the name brand first, which is expensive. The only place that name brand is invented (save a few exceptions) is here.

That's the failure of socialized medicine. The ironic part is that its us who prop up the system by continueing to invent everything.

[Rooster]

If you pay more, you get a better car. If you pay more, you get a better house. If you can pay more, you deserve to see a better doctor.

[1stdeadeye]

Socialized medicine works fine for normal people with a cold or other minor ailments. It is the specialized cases that make it unworkable.

One of my best friends daughter's family lives in London. His son in law is a broker on the London Exchange. Their oldest son has a very rare blood disease. The English Health Care system almost killed him. At that point, they flew him back home to CHIPs (Children's Hospital in Philadelphia). He was diagnosed PROPERLY and began treatments within a week.

But because of the British healthcare system, they were forced to do this to save hteir sons life. They also had to pay out of their own pocket for all of his medical expenses here as the British System that he was paying 1/2 of his income into did not pay a dime.

Sounds like a great system to me!

[Thordic]

The Canadian medical system might as well have killed my uncle. He had cancer, and they actually managed to catch it in time to do something about it.

But, of course, they DIDN'T do anything about it for something like eighteen months, by which time it was far too late to do anything, and he ended up dying about 6 months later.

I find it ridiculous that people who are in need of emergency treatment are put on "waiting lists".

Plus, like someone said, the good doctors simply leave the country or go into private practice. When your system doesn't properly reward skill, then the skill will leave your system.