Why are we the only industrialized country without universal health care?

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: Syringer
?

Because universal healthcare has its own set of problems as well.

You need a combination. Here you can wait for hours and hours in the emergency, and months to get an operation.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: zantac

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: ScottyB
Because a certain group of people that have power don't have hearts.

<Adam Sandler> Errrrr...The price is wrong, biy 🙂 ATCHOO

More like this is a capital society that believes you have to work for what is yours. I don't want to have to pay for those lazy fvcks that don't work to get free healthcare. The current welfare system as it stands now is an absolute joke. I would not mind funding programs that help out of work people retrain in a different skillset or find jobs, but I don't have a heart to any of those that expect to get a handout and are content to do nothing but leach off society. Heck, I believe anyone on welfare should have to work for the state or federal government, be it ditch digging or toilet bowl cleaning.

the thing is, you allready do pay for it you just dont get anything for it. 14% of the GNP goes to healthcare

which is 10% too much, take that 10% and put it into education and work training programs. That is the problem with today's America, people don't take accountability for their own behavior and assumes that their country owes them and will always provide for them. This is why we don't save sh!t, in dire need of welfare reform, alot of elderly on medicaid and living off social security checks only. Where were their 401k's and IRA's? Why we always sue when we don't get our way or do something that only a retard would do and they did not have a warning label for retards on the product. The way we are planning it is having a couple of mill saved up when my wife and I retire. We are not banking on social security or federal intervention on our behalf. FDR opened an ugly can of worms and now it needs to be closed.

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country."

AKA Get off your lazy unaccountable faultless ass get a job, get benefits and stop wasting your country's money

<--climbs down off the soap box

 

[Haircut]

I would just like to point out something about the UK health system.

Everyone saying that you have to wait for months to get surgery or wait for weeks just to see a Doctor isn't entirely right. Yes, it's true if you want to go on the NHS.
We do have, however, a fully functioning health insurance and direct pay system. If you book an appointment through the NHS and there is a 2 month waiting list to see a specialist you can always pay and see them within a couple of days.

Medical insurance is available to everyone in Britain, should they choose and can afford to have it.
Ideally, I would like to see the NHS scaled back a bit and more people encouraged to get private medical insurance, possibly through tax breaks. I think currently only around 11% of people in Britain choose to have medical insurance.

Given the state that the NHS is in at the moment and the fact that it is relatively affordable (at least compared with US medical insurance rates) I'm surprised more people don't use that option.

 

[Stark]

we do have free healthcare.

go down to USC medical center in LA with any (major) problem and they'll fix it if you can't pay. You don't even need to be a citizen. I think that's the case in just about every major city. Of course, you get what you pay for.

I agree that healthcare in the US needs to be overhauled, but I don't think making the rich/middle class pay for better healthcare for the poor through higher taxes is the way to go.