How does your countries health care compare to the US?

[Expendable Grunt]

Originally Posted by Tartantyco

'nuff said.

I used to want to go to Norway, but I get the vibe you're all domestic animals to the government...pervasive governments annoy me.

[markonymous]

we basically have the same healthcare as in norway. Its awesome but it costs. If i got to choose between the system we have now and the system in the us i wouldn't hesitate one second. I would definitely keep ours.

on this picture you will see that sweden ranks as second highest in standard of living.


also if there is someone doubting that the free medical care works i can tell you it foes. My dad got a acute hernia and got operated on the very same day and got leave from work with 100% pay for 3 weeks to recover.

I used to want to go to Norway, but I get the vibe you're all domestic animals to the government...pervasive governments annoy me.

IMO thats what americans are... no offence.

[Expendable Grunt]

Yes, because the Government panders to our every need.

The idea of a "standard of living" is skewed IMO; you could easily say Norway is behind some even higher standard.

[PFunk]

Originally Posted by Expendable Grunt

The idea of a "standard of living" is skewed IMO; you could easily say Norway is behind some even higher standard.

What is that meant to imply? The best is the best and everyone else is irrelevant? I don't get what your denunciation of standards is about.

Also I believe I heard read and saw in many sources that the most common reason for filing bankruptcy in the US is because of medical bills.

EDIT.
Quick google found this link. Link

Exerpt

In 2001, 1.458 million American families filed for bankruptcy. To investigate medical contributors to bankruptcy, we surveyed 1,771 personal bankruptcy filers in five federal courts and subsequently completed in-depth interviews with 931 of them. About half cited medical causes, which indicates that 1.9–2.2 million Americans (filers plus dependents) experienced medical bankruptcy. Among those whose illnesses led to bankruptcy, out-of-pocket costs averaged $11,854 since the start of illness; 75.7 percent had insurance at the onset of illness. Medical debtors were 42 percent more likely than other debtors to experience lapses in coverage. Even middle-class insured families often fall prey to financial catastrophe when sick.

Nobody seems to be questioning the quality of American health care but you gotta ask if its fair that in fact you must choose between healthy poverty or terminal affluence.

[Expendable Grunt]

PFunk, you could say that the best is the only, and all else is fail. That's the problem with assigning a standard of living. I wonder if it would be better if it where binary, based on mortality rates; 1 is high standard, < 1 is a failing standard. But then that gets into a whole other thing that nobody here is qualified to talk about.

Health care costs shouldn't be the thing of the government. I lived my early life on government health care, and I still don't like it. It should either be private, in the hands of individual health insurance companies or through your place of work.

[SethLive!]

Originally Posted by Leo

As much as I hate to agree with Fox News, SickO is a blatant piece of propaganda. Personally, I know someone that has been waiting 3 or 4 years for a surgery needed 6 or 7 years ago, in Canada.

i also know a Canadian who had to wait seven months for lung surgery. his lungs were filled with fluid and his condition became much worse because of the long wait.

private hearth care is far better than regulated government because there is actually accountability with doctors and they work much faster.

after seeing how poorly the government runs everything else (DMV, USPS, ect.) i would rather pay money for good service than be taxed for terrible service.

also, if i take good care of my body, why should i have to pay for people who smoke, get drunk, and are addicted to drugs?

if i want to donate money to help people in need, then i can do so as i wish. the government should not regulate where my money goes.

[Expendable Grunt]

Agreed. I absolutely refuse to pay for health care for others who drink, smoke, do drugs (including caffine, etc) or work in hazardous conditions under their own choosing (including carpel tunnel, which college has so lovingly given me).

[Garabaldi]

Fair enough, but the privatized system isn't flawless - everybody should have access (and in the U.S this means having the money) to healthcare. Neither system is ideal to be honest.

[ir0n_ma1den]

I always thought a country is suppose to work together, to help each other out, right? A government should not let it's citizens die because they didn't have enough money. All you people that complain about government run things don't see that it helps not hurts. Ex. Police, Army, Fire fighters, mail system, school, etc. With out social service that foster our basic necessities, we would collapse. I don't see why we cannot add another fundamental system to our list.

I have a feeling this would not work in the US because of their culture. In countries where free health care does work, people care for each other regardless of their background etc. I think in the US, we have a more 'fend for yourself' attitude that we have grown up with.

[V3N0N_br]

IMO, not the whole health system, but the pharmaceutics industry is mercenary.
For example: lots of people die in Brazil because of "mal de chagas", which is a disease that causes your heart to oversize, obstructing the blood and causing death. It exists ever since the Portuguese got here.
But no one ever ever cared about researching a cure for it. That's because 90% of the population that gets infected with it can't afford paying any kind of treatment.

conclusion: I think my health system sucks, since it gives priority for those that can actually pay for a decent treatment.
Well, some things do work. If you don't die before they set your appointment. There are just more sick people (with hard diseases, like those where you must make a liver transplant) than our system can handle. And the priority goes for whoever pays the most.