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– I agree that US healthcare needs reform, but I don’t think any country has it right.
– I think that insurance should and can be made much cheaper and better, most likely be cutting down on non-essential coverage and abolishingng pre-approvals for essential procedures. Agree on the need for malpractice reform (similar thing was done for plane manufacturers, can be done for medical issues). Also cutting waste / overhead and possibly different regulation.
– I don’t see why the state should pay for universal coverage though, especially for stuff like the prescription drug benefit for all (incl wealthy) seniors.
– Medicare and Medicaid already seem highly inefficient. Does not make me feel better about greater government control.
– The amount of spending entailed by the Obama plan is massive, scary and probably counter-productive. Think there is a huge amount of pork potential in there.
General observation – Americans are a nation of malingerers who overuse medical staff and facilities for minor ailments.
Dave, prices at Bumrungrad have gone up considerably in the last few years, about 30%. It is still cheaper than U.S., but no longer dirt cheap. One problem is that they have found a new market in the Middle East. All the sheiks and their families who used to go to U.S. hospitals for treatment started going to bangkok instead after 9/11. The waiting rooms there are awash in burkas and oil money.
“foreign interloper”- well, that makes him one in about 306 million of us. Just ask any Native American. And I think a look at the influence of “foreign interlopers” in the Bush administration will bring up some very interesting people, including the Saudi royal family.
Biff,
That doctor who threw you out was guilty of patient abandonment. He had no cause to go nuts over an insurance plan change. The professional thing to do would have been to complete the exam and re-educate the staff on being more mindful of these insurance issues.
I can’t tell you how many thousands of dollars I’ve eaten because insurances have found ways to deny claims. Although frustrating, I wouldn’t take it out on a patient. I would calmly explain to them that I will no longer be accepting that insurance because of the overburdening restrictions they place on my practice.
The Times puts the troops in danger? How about the senator who tweeted from Iraq and gave away a secret location (a Republican senator)? How about the government who put troops in Iraq in the first place? How about the same government that cut back on their vet benefits, and decided to go cheap so that there wasn’t enough body armor or armored vehicles? No responsibility there? But the NY Times? Please.
Abu Gharaib- not for nothing but if we are going to act like terrorists, what will separate from them? The Times wasn’t the only paper to cover this. As for eavesdropping- what makes you think the Times did this? They were talking about how we track our enemies for years- in nearly every paper, too after 9-11. Yes- those are security leaks- why not blame the government loudmouth who gave them the information. Those guys are the traitors- not the Times.
Legion, why did the Heritage Foundation misrepresent the poverty level by doubling it? $40k is approx. the median income in the U.S. for a family of 4, not the poverty level.
Sixyears – one consequence is that a very small number of the brilliant students go into scientific research. Go to any Ivy League and count the US citizen postgrads – very small. Why get paid $40K as a PhD to research a cure for prostate cancer when you can get paid $400K as an MD to apply treatemtns others discovered (no disrespect to the minority of MDs that perform and publish research).
– I agree that US healthcare needs reform, but I don’t think any country has it right.
– I think that insurance should and can be made much cheaper and better, most likely be cutting down on non-essential coverage and abolishingng pre-approvals for essential procedures. Agree on the need for malpractice reform (similar thing was done for plane manufacturers, can be done for medical issues). Also cutting waste / overhead and possibly different regulation.
– I don’t see why the state should pay for universal coverage though, especially for stuff like the prescription drug benefit for all (incl wealthy) seniors.
– Medicare and Medicaid already seem highly inefficient. Does not make me feel better about greater government control.
– The amount of spending entailed by the Obama plan is massive, scary and probably counter-productive. Think there is a huge amount of pork potential in there.
General observation – Americans are a nation of malingerers who overuse medical staff and facilities for minor ailments.
Dave, prices at Bumrungrad have gone up considerably in the last few years, about 30%. It is still cheaper than U.S., but no longer dirt cheap. One problem is that they have found a new market in the Middle East. All the sheiks and their families who used to go to U.S. hospitals for treatment started going to bangkok instead after 9/11. The waiting rooms there are awash in burkas and oil money.
Ditto – I had no idea that people actually doing the research made such little money!
“foreign interloper”- well, that makes him one in about 306 million of us. Just ask any Native American. And I think a look at the influence of “foreign interlopers” in the Bush administration will bring up some very interesting people, including the Saudi royal family.
As I said yesterday, cut the Defense budget (the secret one) and you’ll be able to fund an American NHS.
Biff,
That doctor who threw you out was guilty of patient abandonment. He had no cause to go nuts over an insurance plan change. The professional thing to do would have been to complete the exam and re-educate the staff on being more mindful of these insurance issues.
I can’t tell you how many thousands of dollars I’ve eaten because insurances have found ways to deny claims. Although frustrating, I wouldn’t take it out on a patient. I would calmly explain to them that I will no longer be accepting that insurance because of the overburdening restrictions they place on my practice.
The Times puts the troops in danger? How about the senator who tweeted from Iraq and gave away a secret location (a Republican senator)? How about the government who put troops in Iraq in the first place? How about the same government that cut back on their vet benefits, and decided to go cheap so that there wasn’t enough body armor or armored vehicles? No responsibility there? But the NY Times? Please.
Abu Gharaib- not for nothing but if we are going to act like terrorists, what will separate from them? The Times wasn’t the only paper to cover this. As for eavesdropping- what makes you think the Times did this? They were talking about how we track our enemies for years- in nearly every paper, too after 9-11. Yes- those are security leaks- why not blame the government loudmouth who gave them the information. Those guys are the traitors- not the Times.
Legion, why did the Heritage Foundation misrepresent the poverty level by doubling it? $40k is approx. the median income in the U.S. for a family of 4, not the poverty level.
Sixyears – one consequence is that a very small number of the brilliant students go into scientific research. Go to any Ivy League and count the US citizen postgrads – very small. Why get paid $40K as a PhD to research a cure for prostate cancer when you can get paid $400K as an MD to apply treatemtns others discovered (no disrespect to the minority of MDs that perform and publish research).