Only in America, the world's greatest country...

[Trade]

I've come to the conclusion that we made a huge mistake by fighting the revolutionary war to get freedom from England. Canada on the other hand gained their independence though a peaceful process. And look where we are. Canada and England both have universal healthcare and here we are stuck with this predatory for profit system.

 

[Warrigal]

Whats the wait for a hip or knee replacement in UK or Australia?

How long is a piece of string?

In Australia, a lot depends on where you live (city v regional or rural) and whether you have medical insurance. I had 6 joint replacements during my seventies (I'm 83 now) and had top level hospital cover. My wait time in Sydney for a private hospital was minimal and I could avail myself of a 2 week stay in a post operation respite facility with the services of nurses, doctors and physios, all at no cost. I had been paying for top hospital cover plus extras and did not have to pay anything beyond about $20 for internet access. Even today I still pay for hospital cover plus extras but have dropped the level down a notch by eliminating unnecessary conditions such as joint replacements, IVF and pregnancy.

The surgeons, assistants and anaesthetists were partly covered by Medicare and insurance, but there were some out of pocket expenses.

This link is more current and gives general information about waiting times for public and private patients.

Understanding Orthopaedic Surgery Wait Times in Australia

 

[spectratg]

I was actually thinking of,as long as you think it's funny, then anyone else is a bonus.

The first rule of humor is to maintain a sense of humor about the aging process itself, often summarized as: "It's better to grow old with a sense of humor than to grow old with no sense at all".

 

[Irishdude]

Someone could just take their profits and invest it in medicare for all, including ears, and teeth. Sure, someone would probably keep it for themselves, but on the off chance ....

Well, Medicare for all is estimated to cost $2.5 trillion per year. If you subtract the $75 billion in insurance company profits you only have to come up with $2.425 trillion.

Our national debt is $40 trillion and we are running a deficit of about $1.5 trillion every year.

Nobody likes health insurers, but the whole system is broken and waste, fraud and abuse are rampant.

 

[IrishEyes]

Being as we in the States have what we have and many are getting free care (so we hear, who knows). The abuse of it
is deep and all consuming so ; it makes me wonder if it was like Canada and UK would we still have people and powers
that be abusing the system? Would that really make a difference?
Not being snarky, I just really wonder because so many just have to find a way to skim money somehow no matter
where you are it seems.
I have a sister who lived in Canada for 25 (duel citizenship) years and when she got bad health wise, she came moving back to the States
to get health care as she wanted. Now mind you she is a con artist so maybe Canada got wise to her and cut off things she
wanted or told her no. Maybe finding shady Doctors here is easier?

 

[gruntlabor]

I've come to the conclusion that we made a huge mistake by fighting the revolutionary war to get freedom from England. Canada on the other hand gained their independence though a peaceful process. And look where we are. Canada and England both have universal healthcare and here we are stuck with this predatory for profit system.

The world is stuck with rampant immorality and law breaking --found today in all political philosophy, not just capitalism.

 

[Trade]

The world is stuck with rampant immorality and law breaking --found today in all political philosophy, not just capitalism.

I don't ask for much do I gruntlabor? Health care. Like they have in Canada and the UK. That's all. Is that too much to ask?

 

[Knight]

I don't ask for much do I gruntlabor? Health care. Like they have in Canada and the UK. That's all. Is that too much to ask?

It's not perfect everywhere.

Let’s talk solutions
To stop Canadians from feeling like they have no option but to go to the U.S. for care, Canada needs to address the health access problems in the country by, for example:

Cutting down on wait times for surgeries: About 20% of Canadians are waiting over a year for elective surgery. While not life-threatening, waiting a very long time for surgery is frustrating, especially if it’s affecting your quality of life.

Increasing hospital capacity: Across the country, provincial governments (who are responsible for the health care system) are pledging to add much-needed hospital beds, build hospitals and hire professionals. More beds, hospitals and workers will mean more patients who can be seen in a timely manner. Using existing capacity during evenings and weekends can also help to reduce procedure backlogs and wait times.

Improving access to doctors and ensuring that every Canadian has a primary care provider: 6.5 million Canadians don’t have a family doctor and have to rely on visiting overcrowded emergency departments or walk-in clinics with no continuation of care and less knowledge about their health.

Implementing proven solutions for streamlining access to services, such as single-entry queues rather than allowing individual doctors to maintain their own wait lists.
Measures such as these should increase satisfaction with our own health care system and will keep Canadians seeking health care at home.

Where’d we get this information?
Travelling outside Canada to receive medical care — Government of Canada
Comparisons of Health Care Systems in the United States, Germany and Canada — Materia Socio-Medica

https://www.cma.ca/healthcare-for-real/how-many-canadians-go-us-health-care

 

[StarSong]

just a little comment re your ''same doctors' campus''.... my doctor is 50 yeards from the hospital... I want to know why it takes 10 days for a blood test reult to get to the doctor from the hospital... or any reports to reach my GP from the hospital... none less than 10 days

That's ridiculous, HD. Our blood results as outpatients are very quick, usually within 24 hours, and are available on the website portals. Hospital blood tests are even faster.

 

[gruntlabor]

I don't ask for much do I gruntlabor? Health care. Like they have in Canada and the UK. That's all. Is that too much to ask?

I understand. We've paid dearly for it. The quality and cost to the taxpayer of our health care is criminal.
But the question is, 'Is health care a human right?' As soon as government gets its fingers in the pie it's corrupted.
And now the internet is being called a 'human right'.

 

[StarSong]

First surgery was over $300,000, which includes the surgeon’s fees.
Second second surgery, I was under anesthesia longer, about 4 1/2 hours the final costs were just shy of $500,000. I don’t know how they justify these costs. I don’t pay anything because of my insurances, but come on, these costs are ridiculous.

American hospital's billing numbers are meaningless. Medicare and insurance companies pay a small fraction of those numbers, as do cash patients.

Nevertheless, it's true that costs for good medical care has skyrocketed, as has the amount of medical waste.

So much of what is used in medical care, including scissors for cutting bandages, is used once and sent to a landfill.

Humans are very slow learners.