I just watched a feature by Michael Moore on the ugliness of the healthcare system in America. There are many Americans with health insurance but because the insurance companies want to have their own share of profits, they normally scrutinize the policies and reject a client's claims when those people really need the cash to survive.
Not to mention the exorbitant sums pharmacists charge. And hospitals throw you out if you are not able to pay your bill. As a result, some went bankrupt trying to keep up with healthcare and there are some who actually passed away.
Americans have been fighting against universal healthcare. To them they are running a business. But that should not be the case, is it not?
If a life is at stake, is making profits and money more important? I always feel if one is in the healthcare industry, people's lives come first. No one's life should be compromised because they cannot afford to pay the bill.
Michael Moore compared the system in England, France, Canada and Cuba. England and France have universal healthcare. People can seek treatment and give birth in a hospital and walk out without paying. And with a doctor's letter, the patient can even take a few months off to recover with full pay - 35% by the employer, the rest by the government.
Their policy is if one gets sick, one gets sick. There should not be a limit to the number of days one can get sick. And one should not pay for sickness, hence the doctors and hospitals treat you for free.
Furthermore the doctors are pretty well paid. This doctor that was interviewed drives a fancy car and stays in a fancy place. He earns big bonuses. Who pays him? The government. The incentive for doctors to perform is the more patients who get well, the less number of repeated patients, the more bonus they get.
Sounds impressive! With England and France having universal healthcare and America shunning it all their lives, yet the latter has a higher infant mortality and overall death rate than the former two. Really food for thought here.
Michael Moore then went on to Canada. Apparently the healthcare is also free, or at least that is what was shown. Anyone with a Canadian citizenship or married to one can step into a clinic and out of it without paying.
Then the scene shifted to Cuba, where the hardcore prisoners like terrorists were kept in an American naval base. The healthcare facilities at the prison are even better than what some citizens have seen!
So the people who killed hundreds of innocents have better healthcare than the people who helped dig up the rubble during 911, and contracted serious respiratory problems as a result but they were not recognized and given welfare simply because they were not employed by any organisation but volunteered their services?!
Where is the logic to that? Is the government trying to bring across a message, that it is okay to bomb them as we will be well-treated but we should not volunteer in times of disaster as we do not even get the same kind of priviledges as those who tried to bomb us in the first place?!
So Michael Moore rounded up a few patients and set off to Cuba. Guess what? For a supposed third world country, even Cuba has a better and more compassionate healthcare system than America!
It does not matter even if you are considered an enemy, the doctors still treat you and the pharmacists still dish out medicine. The only difference is they really give you the right kind of treatment and medicine, and not just ask you to get so many different kinds of medicine just for profits.
That should be what the healthcare industry do! Treat a patient rightly so he / she can recover, instead of charging an exorbitant sum, giving the most expensive treatment which may not even benefit the patient!
Think I really want to move to England or France now!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Not to mention the exorbitant sums pharmacists charge. And hospitals throw you out if you are not able to pay your bill. As a result, some went bankrupt trying to keep up with healthcare and there are some who actually passed away.
Americans have been fighting against universal healthcare. To them they are running a business. But that should not be the case, is it not?
If a life is at stake, is making profits and money more important? I always feel if one is in the healthcare industry, people's lives come first. No one's life should be compromised because they cannot afford to pay the bill.
Michael Moore compared the system in England, France, Canada and Cuba. England and France have universal healthcare. People can seek treatment and give birth in a hospital and walk out without paying. And with a doctor's letter, the patient can even take a few months off to recover with full pay - 35% by the employer, the rest by the government.
Their policy is if one gets sick, one gets sick. There should not be a limit to the number of days one can get sick. And one should not pay for sickness, hence the doctors and hospitals treat you for free.
Furthermore the doctors are pretty well paid. This doctor that was interviewed drives a fancy car and stays in a fancy place. He earns big bonuses. Who pays him? The government. The incentive for doctors to perform is the more patients who get well, the less number of repeated patients, the more bonus they get.
Sounds impressive! With England and France having universal healthcare and America shunning it all their lives, yet the latter has a higher infant mortality and overall death rate than the former two. Really food for thought here.
Michael Moore then went on to Canada. Apparently the healthcare is also free, or at least that is what was shown. Anyone with a Canadian citizenship or married to one can step into a clinic and out of it without paying.
Then the scene shifted to Cuba, where the hardcore prisoners like terrorists were kept in an American naval base. The healthcare facilities at the prison are even better than what some citizens have seen!
So the people who killed hundreds of innocents have better healthcare than the people who helped dig up the rubble during 911, and contracted serious respiratory problems as a result but they were not recognized and given welfare simply because they were not employed by any organisation but volunteered their services?!
Where is the logic to that? Is the government trying to bring across a message, that it is okay to bomb them as we will be well-treated but we should not volunteer in times of disaster as we do not even get the same kind of priviledges as those who tried to bomb us in the first place?!
So Michael Moore rounded up a few patients and set off to Cuba. Guess what? For a supposed third world country, even Cuba has a better and more compassionate healthcare system than America!
It does not matter even if you are considered an enemy, the doctors still treat you and the pharmacists still dish out medicine. The only difference is they really give you the right kind of treatment and medicine, and not just ask you to get so many different kinds of medicine just for profits.
That should be what the healthcare industry do! Treat a patient rightly so he / she can recover, instead of charging an exorbitant sum, giving the most expensive treatment which may not even benefit the patient!
Think I really want to move to England or France now!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
2 comments:
Correction.
*Some* Americans are fighting against universal healthcare. Most notably, those who feel that their pockets are going to be majorly hit by any improvement to the current system.
And the Republicans. Because they have decided to vote "No" to any Democrat initiative, regardless of merit.
Ok, correction. *Some* Americans are fighting against universal healthcare. Still, despite all the high cost of everything they charge, they are still one of the earlier ones to get a deficit. Wonder if something really went wrong somewhere.
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