Shame on us

  • Thread starter Thread starter Texan77
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
What do you mean specifically by socialized health care. I notice that people suggested Italy, Ireland, and Brazil, all of which have universal health care of one kind or another.
I guess I was referring to a government-run health care system where any citizen can get treatment without going through a private insurance company or going to the ER and having to go into bankruptcy because they can’t pay the bill.
 
I guess I was referring to a government-run health care system where any citizen can get treatment without going through a private insurance company or going to the ER and having to go into bankruptcy because they can’t pay the bill.
In which case they all (Italy, Ireland, Brazil) do have the kind of health care you are speaking of, and I really can’t think of a Catholic country that doesn’t, including some pretty poor ones.

Many also have private options as well.
 
Are there any Catholic countries (meaning where the population is predominantly Catholic) that do not have socialized health care? I’m not asking to provoke, just curious. I can’t think of any off of the top of my head.
A better question would be are there any countries that have socialized health care and have better treatment outcomes than the USA?
 
A better question would be are there any countries that have socialized health care and have better treatment outcomes than the USA?
Do you mean for all citizens, or for a few?

It is actually a very difficult thing to talk about, because comparing outcomes is so complex. What is the exact cause of a particular difference in outcomes?

The WHO used to produce a list, the most recent was for 2000. They have stopped because it was considered to be too difficult to make such a wide-reaching comparison, and the list was always rather controversial.

But FWIW, here is the ranking for 2000, up to the US spot. Most of them have some form of socialized health care:

1 France
2 Italy
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7 Spain
8 Oman
9 Austria
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
13 Monaco
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24 Cyprus
25 Germany
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29 Morocco
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35 Dominica
36 Costa Rica
37 United States of America

Now, one very interesting note is that if you look at a list of per capita spending on health care, the US spends among the highest. So for example compared to Canada, where we spend just under $4000 per capita in 2006, the US spend just under $8000 per person.

The area I am most familiar with is maternity care, where the US has a terrible record. Their stats are among the worst in the developed world, however they also spend the most money.
 
That is fine and it seems that our American laws are in line - for if anyone who needs emergency care in this country - whether citizen or not - whether covered by insurance or not… by law must be treated. We also provide medicaid for those who cannot afford health insurance and or cannot be covered by a traditional health care insurance plan…

So I do not understand the debate - if the Church continues to push for health care reform through the current house and senate - private health insurance would come to an end as we know it - the majority of our citizens who have taken a job for benefits over salaries would lose one of the biggest benefits which they have - health insurance benefits …
You are correct in that if you show up to the emergency room whether or not you have insurance, you’ll be treated. Its the law. And yes, medicaid for those who have no money and cannot afford health insurance.

Herein lies the problem; over 47 million Americans have no health coverage. An overwhelming majority of them are employed and either their employers offer no coverage or if they do offer it, they cannot afford the premiums as many of them have to decide whether to eat or not and keep a roof over their heads.

As such, they don’t go to the doctor for preventative issues. Over time as an example, Joe American has an undetected high cholesterol condtition which unbeknownst to him is slowly but surely clogging his arteries. At some point the clogging is so servre that one day joe suddenly drops over of a heart attack; so they take him to the hospital and one of two things occurs. Joe unfortunately is dead or if he’s lucky, he survives, but needs all kinds of medical treatment (rehab, heart by-pass, angioplasty, etc) Since Joe has no insurance, the state picks up the cost (hundreds of thousands of dollars when all is said and done) or in a worse-case senario, Joe lives, but is in a vegatative state and must be institutionalized at cost to the state at untold hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions if Joe is young enough.

That being said, if the government provides medical benefits for all, I do not believe we will see the end of insurance companies as we see them today; Do you honestly think they’d put up the “out-of-business” sign and go home?? Of course not. They’ll simply evolve as do all businesses who undergo a fundamental structure change. They’ll shift into providing insurance coverage into other areas, even with a reduced need for medical coverage they’ll do just fine irrespective of what they are claiming now. Think about it; right now they’ve got a good thing going and they don’t want it to change. Can you blame them? They are making a small fortune on the backs of Americans. If I was one of the corporate executives, you bet I’d be on a soapbox telling Americans of all the evils of Government provided healthcare.

I just think that government provided healthcare makes common sense.
 
You are correct in that if you show up to the emergency room whether or not you have insurance, you’ll be treated. Its the law. And yes, medicaid for those who have no money and cannot afford health insurance.

Herein lies the problem; over 47 million Americans have no health coverage. An overwhelming majority of them are employed and either their employers offer no coverage or if they do offer it, they cannot afford the premiums as many of them have to decide whether to eat or not and keep a roof over their heads…
There are not 47 million americans with no health insurance coverage. Many are not Americans at all and many choose to not purchase health care because they feel it is cheeper to pay as they go. The actual number is really around 10 million Americans who can not get health coverage and many of those can’t because they are not working to their ability.
As such, they don’t go to the doctor for preventative issues. Over time as an example, Joe American has an undetected high cholesterol condtition which unbeknownst to him is slowly but surely clogging his arteries. At some point the clogging is so servre that one day joe suddenly drops over of a heart attack; so they take him to the hospital and one of two things occurs. Joe unfortunately is dead or if he’s lucky, he survives, but needs all kinds of medical treatment (rehab, heart by-pass, angioplasty, etc) Since Joe has no insurance, the state picks up the cost (hundreds of thousands of dollars when all is said and done) or in a worse-case senario, Joe lives, but is in a vegatative state and must be institutionalized at cost to the state at untold hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions if Joe is young enough…
The question is why wasn’t Joe paying for his heath care in the first place?

I have met too many people who have blown their income on luxury or other wastefull items and then complain they can’t afford health care. I have also seen many people putting in the minimum effort to just get by and then complaining they can’t afford health care.
That being said, if the government provides medical benefits for all, I do not believe we will see the end of insurance companies as we see them today; Do you honestly think they’d put up the “out-of-business” sign and go home?? Of course not. They’ll simply evolve as do all businesses who undergo a fundamental structure change. They’ll shift into providing insurance coverage into other areas, even with a reduced need for medical coverage they’ll do just fine irrespective of what they are claiming now. Think about it; right now they’ve got a good thing going and they don’t want it to change. Can you blame them? They are making a small fortune on the backs of Americans. If I was one of the corporate executives, you bet I’d be on a soapbox telling Americans of all the evils of Government provided healthcare.
It is not that we are worried about the insurance companies per se, we are worried about the loss of access to the plans that they offer. The government tends to over spec stuff and drive costs up. The private plans can be tailored to the customer and offered at a lower price. The Government wants to eliminate the private companies ability to tailor coverage.
I just think that government provided healthcare makes common sense.
A Monopoly can typically opperate more efficiently than multiple companies. That is why many utilities opperate as government endorsed monopolies. However your electric bill is typically more tied to your usage than your income. If they were to change this, and made people pay base on income alone, you would see people being more wastefull causing costs to soar and those in the higher brackets to want to opt out of the system. However, with the government run medical care you will no longer have the option to opt out even if the cost far exceeds the forseen benefit.
 
The question is why wasn’t Joe paying for his heath care in the first place?

I have met too many people who have blown their income on luxury or other wastefull items and then complain they can’t afford health care. I have also seen many people putting in the minimum effort to just get by and then complaining they can’t afford health care.

.
In the name of knowing exactly what you are talking about , please give us specific example of what you are talking about here. This seems to be your excuse overly much. Too bad there is no such thing as a time machine. You would feel right at home in ancient Sparta!
 
In the name of knowing exactly what you are talking about , please give us specific example of what you are talking about here. This seems to be your excuse overly much. Too bad there is no such thing as a time machine. You would feel right at home in ancient Sparta!
Older couple nearing retirement debating whether to retire or keep working they realize health care will be paid by someone else so they quit working and decide to partially live off others.

Young single person works part time job but only needs x hours to pay for appartment, car, and beer money. If person works more hours they will have to pay for medical insurance also so they do not work the hours that will push them over that threshold.

Older couple (different couple) retired and considering long term care insurance. They realize that if they don’t have insurance the government will pay for their long term care so they cancel insurance and enjoy the money.

Young single person quits college to work as waitress complains about no opportunity but does not continue with education even though it would be paid for.

College educated person surfs net living off welfare instead of getting job.

Recently laid off person treats unemployment like extended vacation hoping to be recalled but not looking for other opportunities. Goes on internet discussion boards and complains about being bored.
 
Older couple nearing retirement debating whether to retire or keep working they realize health care will be paid by someone else so they quit working and decide to partially live off others.

Young single person works part time job but only needs x hours to pay for appartment, car, and beer money. If person works more hours they will have to pay for medical insurance also so they do not work the hours that will push them over that threshold.

Older couple (different couple) retired and considering long term care insurance. They realize that if they don’t have insurance the government will pay for their long term care so they cancel insurance and enjoy the money.

Young single person quits college to work as waitress complains about no opportunity but does not continue with education even though it would be paid for.

College educated person surfs net living off welfare instead of getting job.

Recently laid off person treats unemployment like extended vacation hoping to be recalled but not looking for other opportunities. Goes on internet discussion boards and complains about being bored.
Thats explains about 2/3rds of what I was looking for in an answer. The other 1/3 is wastefull spending moneywise. What is the spending that is wastefull to you?
 
Older couple nearing retirement debating whether to retire or keep working they realize health care will be paid by someone else so they quit working and decide to partially live off others. .
These examples are very far from reality. I am 65 and still working, I will have medicare when I retire, but I can’t afford that and my house payments so will not retire in the foreseeable future. Medicare has no cap on the co-payments – a serious illness would bankrupt us.
Young single person works part time job but only needs x hours to pay for apartment, car, and beer money. If person works more hours they will have to pay for medical insurance also so they do not work the hours that will push them over that threshold…
All the young people I know are desperately looking for enough work to make ends meet. Many employers don’t offer insurance no matter how many hours you work.
Older couple (different couple) retired and considering long term care insurance. They realize that if they don’t have insurance the government will pay for their long term care so they cancel insurance and enjoy the money. …
The government does not pay for long term care for anyone. If you lose everything, pay down your assets, you can get welfare. Your spouse can keep the house and car. Yippee.
Young single person quits college to work as waitress complains about no opportunity but does not continue with education even though it would be paid for. …
Who’s paying for this education? I’d love to know for my kids. Maybe you mean her parents would pay for it? I know very few people who don’t try to better their situation if the opportunity exists.
College educated person surfs net living off welfare instead of getting job. …
You cannot qualify for welfare unless you have a dependent child, and even then you have to look for work weekly and turn in reports.
Recently laid off person treats unemployment like extended vacation hoping to be recalled but not looking for other opportunities. Goes on internet discussion boards and complains about being bored.
Yeah, right. And pays his bills with Monopoly money. While living in a state of barely concealed panic at what the future holds.
I suggest you get out more and meet some real people.
 
Thats explains about 2/3rds of what I was looking for in an answer. The other 1/3 is wastefull spending moneywise. What is the spending that is wastefull to you?
Beer, cable tv, fishing boat, vacations, ATVs, general partying expenditures.
 
Beer, cable tv, fishing boat, vacations, ATVs, general partying expenditures.
partially agreed.as in 2/3rds agreed. Depends on what kids of vacation. @ weekend nights at a 10 dollar campsight doesnt connstitue extravance when done once a year.
 
There are not 47 million americans with no health insurance coverage. Many are not Americans at all and many choose to not purchase health care because they feel it is cheeper to pay as they go. The actual number is really around 10 million Americans who can not get health coverage and many of those can’t because they are not working to their ability.

The question is why wasn’t Joe paying for his heath care in the first place?

I have met too many people who have blown their income on luxury or other wastefull items and then complain they can’t afford health care. I have also seen many people putting in the minimum effort to just get by and then complaining they can’t afford health care.

It is not that we are worried about the insurance companies per se, we are worried about the loss of access to the plans that they offer. The government tends to over spec stuff and drive costs up. The private plans can be tailored to the customer and offered at a lower price. The Government wants to eliminate the private companies ability to tailor coverage.

A Monopoly can typically opperate more efficiently than multiple companies. That is why many utilities opperate as government endorsed monopolies. However your electric bill is typically more tied to your usage than your income. If they were to change this, and made people pay base on income alone, you would see people being more wastefull causing costs to soar and those in the higher brackets to want to opt out of the system. However, with the government run medical care you will no longer have the option to opt out even if the cost far exceeds the forseen benefit.
Royal,

I honestly think you simply skimmed over the entire post without really reading. Please re-read it; i think then you’ll see the rationale in it.
 
Do you mean for all citizens, or for a few?

It is actually a very difficult thing to talk about, because comparing outcomes is so complex. What is the exact cause of a particular difference in outcomes?

The WHO used to produce a list, the most recent was for 2000. They have stopped because it was considered to be too difficult to make such a wide-reaching comparison, and the list was always rather controversial.

But FWIW, here is the ranking for 2000, up to the US spot. Most of them have some form of socialized health care:

1 France
2 Italy
3 San Marino
4 Andorra
5 Malta
6 Singapore
7 Spain
8 Oman
9 Austria
10 Japan
11 Norway
12 Portugal
13 Monaco
14 Greece
15 Iceland
16 Luxembourg
17 Netherlands
18 United Kingdom
19 Ireland
20 Switzerland
21 Belgium
22 Colombia
23 Sweden
24 Cyprus
25 Germany
26 Saudi Arabia
27 United Arab Emirates
28 Israel
29 Morocco
30 Canada
31 Finland
32 Australia
33 Chile
34 Denmark
35 Dominica
36 Costa Rica
37 United States of America

Now, one very interesting note is that if you look at a list of per capita spending on health care, the US spends among the highest. So for example compared to Canada, where we spend just under $4000 per capita in 2006, the US spend just under $8000 per person.

The area I am most familiar with is maternity care, where the US has a terrible record. Their stats are among the worst in the developed world, however they also spend the most money.
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Wow! rarely on this site have I seen such lies. My word you are bold.

No countryt in the has beeter medical outcomes than the USA. Those that sclaim otherswise are doing nothing less than altering datal, whcih is another way of saying they are lying. Period. For pprrof of thlis, look at outcomes for breast cancer, colon cancer and heart disease and prostate cancer. Claims cuch as this are based on nothing but LIES. Those who believe LIARS such as this are either LIARS are or poorly infoemd. I am not sure which category this poster such false claims falls into.

There is a reason why well healed people come to the USA, and not France, Italy, San Marino, Andorra, Malta, Singaporeg. In fact, people from those countries come to the USA for treatment. To claim otherwise is simply false.
 
These are real people and real cases of people I know doing things that get my blood preasure up.
These examples are very far from reality. I am 65 and still working, I will have medicare when I retire, but I can’t afford that and my house payments so will not retire in the foreseeable future. Medicare has no cap on the co-payments – a serious illness would bankrupt us.
You are not in the state the other people are in who have paid off their house, got their kids moved off and are just calculating how much they need to live on for the rest of their lives and realized that by retiring early they could qualifiy for more programs.
All the young people I know are desperately looking for enough work to make ends meet. Many employers don’t offer insurance no matter how many hours you work.
All of them??? you need to get out more.
The government does not pay for long term care for anyone. If you lose everything, pay down your assets, you can get welfare. Your spouse can keep the house and car. Yippee.
Nursing home care and I am not sure if it was the government that would have to pick up the bill or someone else but bottom line is they are taking advantage of the loop hole that allows you to get the nursing home care for free if you can’t pay. So they decided they didn’t have to worry about that expense.
Who’s paying for this education? I’d love to know for my kids. Maybe you mean her parents would pay for it? I know very few people who don’t try to better their situation if the opportunity exists.
Their parrent. And this person is having a hard time seeing more than 8 days ahead of themselves.
You cannot qualify for welfare unless you have a dependent child, and even then you have to look for work weekly and turn in reports.
I was conducting an interview where someone came in and said they did not want the job but had to apply for three jobs a week to keep their bennefits. Not only should they be looking for wokr but the governmetn should appoint someone to find them a job and if they refuse the job they don’t get anything.
Yeah, right. And pays his bills with Monopoly money. While living in a state of barely concealed panic at what the future holds.
Aside from a sarcastic remak I am not sure where you are going here.
I suggest you get out more and meet some real people.
I know many people not represented by these who work hard and live by the rules and are doing fine. But these examples are of the problems.
 
Royal,

I honestly think you simply skimmed over the entire post without really reading. Please re-read it; i think then you’ll see the rationale in it.
Ok, reread it and still not seeing anything that makes me want to change my post. I see I may have responded and changed the topic in a new angle in some cases but other than that, I’m not sure of what you thinkI mis-read.
 
Ok, reread it and still not seeing anything that makes me want to change my post. I see I may have responded and changed the topic in a new angle in some cases but other than that, I’m not sure of what you thinkI mis-read.
Well, I’m not sure how to make the point any plainer so why don’t we just leave it at that.
 
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Wow! rarely on this site have I seen such lies. My word you are bold.

No countryt in the has beeter medical outcomes than the USA. Those that sclaim otherswise are doing nothing less than altering datal, whcih is another way of saying they are lying. Period. For [pprrof of thlis, look at outcomes for breast cancer, colon cancer and heart disease and prostate cancer. Claims cuch as this are based on nothing but LIES. Those who believe LIARS such as this are either LIARS are or poorly infoemd. I am not sure which category this poster such false claims falls into.

There is a reason why well healed people come to the USA, and not France, Italy, San Marino, Andorra, Malta, Singaporeg. In fact, people from those countries come to the USA for treatment. To claim otherwise is simply false.
Oh, goodness gracious. If you want to be silly, you can have your bad healthcare, it’s just too bad the rest of the country has to be subjected to it as well.
[/quote]
 
Oh, goodness gracious. If you want to be silly, you can have your bad healthcare, it’s just too bad the rest of the country has to be subjected to it as well.
debating which health care system is better is like debating which car is better. Instead of trying to create a one size fits all aproach, it is better to allow choice. Some prefer the health care system in America while others may see it as lesser but also see that our society offers other advantages which far outweigh any perceived flaws with the health care system. Over 300 Million people have choosen to be here with the current system. All Americans who are not satisfied can go to other countries.
 
debating which health care system is better is like debating which car is better. Instead of trying to create a one size fits all aproach, it is better to allow choice. Some prefer the health care system in America while others may see it as lesser but also see that our society offers other advantages which far outweigh any perceived flaws with the health care system. Over 300 Million people have choosen to be here with the current system. All Americans who are not satisfied can go to other countries.
Well, that isn’t really true. Emigration is out of reach of a great many, especially those who are most likely to suffer from lack of health care. You either need a skill that is in short supply in the place you want to go, or a whole lot of cash, or family already there. And then you may need some luck too. And that assumes there are no other ties.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top