Democrat jumps into 7th District race with ‘Medicare for all’ pledge (Atlanta: low income, house)

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

I agree. Among countries that are considered developed, the U.S. has among the highest if not the highest health care costs.

In the US, healthcare costs are some 25% higher than the next closest developed country, and some 75%-125% higher than most others. People can claim it's because of our superior service, but is our service that much better? Nothing backs that up.

Moving towards a universal system would be more cost effective. Wow! $15,000...crazy. I was abroad and had an injury. The amount of money I'd have had to spend would easily have gone over $1000 here in Atlanta. I ended up spending no more than $100 and that was for private care.

When we were in Australia, my wife got an urgent call from her OBGYN (she was pregnant at the time) telling her she needed to go immediately and see someone due to something found in one of her tests. We were across the globe. She was able to find a doctor, get in within the hour, get seen/tested, get her prescription, and back to work in about 90 minutes. Her cost, which the doctor's office apologized for being so expensive due to her not being a citizen, was something like $30.

For real! I haven't seen a doctor in years. The last time I went I think I had to pay $200 (or maybe more I don't remember) for the visit and blood work and that doctor was actually very affordable. People worry about the cost of getting sick here versus actually being sick. We may have the best health care but so many can't afford it.

I have my first appointment in four years or so, this Thursday!

[markjames68]

Putting things back on topic, I welcome any Georgia candidate bringing universal healthcare to the table for discussion.

But it needs to have some math behind it, and an understanding of the negative impact as well (loss of administration jobs).

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by samiwas1

In the US, healthcare costs are some 25% higher than the next closest developed country, and some 75%-125% higher than most others. People can claim it's because of our superior service, but is our service that much better? Nothing backs that up.



When we were in Australia, my wife got an urgent call from her OBGYN (she was pregnant at the time) telling her she needed to go immediately and see someone due to something found in one of her tests. We were across the globe. She was able to find a doctor, get in within the hour, get seen/tested, get her prescription, and back to work in about 90 minutes. Her cost, which the doctor's office apologized for being so expensive due to her not being a citizen, was something like $30.



I have my first appointment in four years or so, this Thursday!

Originally Posted by markjames68

Putting things back on topic, I welcome any Georgia candidate bringing universal healthcare to the table for discussion.

But it needs to have some math behind it, and an understanding of the negative impact as well (loss of administration jobs).

SamiWas, you beat me (4 years)! LOL.



I'm pretty sure that this would also greatly help people in rural Georgia. I notice that with medicare for all in GA, some people don't even consider this population.



MarkJames, this is essential because medically, it is holding us back. I read an article that said because our health care is so decentralized (you have admin, insurance companies, lawyers, etc.), whenever the best treatments become known and implemented in other countries, it takes a while to be implemented here because it has to go through so many hoops.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

SamiWas, you beat me (4 years)! LOL.



I'm pretty sure that this would also greatly help people in rural Georgia. I notice that with medicare for all in GA, some people don't even consider this population.



MarkJames, this is essential because medically, it is holding us back. I read an article that said because our health care is so decentralized (you have admin, insurance companies, lawyers, etc.), whenever the best treatments become known and implemented in other countries, it takes a while to be implemented here because it has to go through so many hoops.

It might be true, but I’d argue the reverse.

In the US, as there is a profit motive, any cutting edge techique or treatment will be seen as a competitive differentiator and put into place more quickly. For people who pay, it’s available right away. Yes, there then is a delay for insurers, etc.

In a place like Canada, it has more regulatory red tape to go through up front, including determining which hospital(s) are then allowed to implement it. Not every hospital will be allowed to do every procedure or treatment. Once approved, the back end happens more quickly.

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Putting things back on topic, I welcome any Georgia candidate bringing universal healthcare to the table for discussion.

But it needs to have some math behind it, and an understanding of the negative impact as well (loss of administration jobs).

I would also welcome that. But, you are correct...they would need to explain the math, because many people are just simply too dumb or set in their ways to figure it out. You tell a lot of people "We'll make this new tax" and they freak out. They never look at the fact that instead of paying $10,000 a year in insurance payments, plus an additional $2,000 a year in other fees and copays, yhey may have to pay only $9,000 in tax (Yes, these numbers are made up). But, then they also have to look at the fact that they are not responsible for any payments no matter what happens. They don't have to spend every day wondering whether they'll lose their house over a medical bill.

But, this is America, where it's been drilled into our brains that you must work hard for everything, and you don't deserve anything you can't pay for. It's a tough road to change minds.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by markjames68

It might be true, but I’d argue the reverse.

In the US, as there is a profit motive, any cutting edge techique or treatment will be seen as a competitive differentiator and put into place more quickly. For people who pay, it’s available right away. Yes, there then is a delay for insurers, etc.

In a place like Canada, it has more regulatory red tape to go through up front, including determining which hospital(s) are then allowed to implement it. Not every hospital will be allowed to do every procedure or treatment. Once approved, the back end happens more quickly.

The U.S. leads the world in medical technology and treatment and its not even close. The issue here is cost and access. People from around the world come here for treatment.

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by bu2

The U.S. leads the world in medical technology and treatment and its not even close. The issue here is cost and access. People from around the world come here for treatment.

Our medical prowess is not predicated on the fact that we charge an arm and a leg for insurance and healthcare. I believe it is because we have some of the best schools, we have the best hospitals, and we have some of the brightest minds. The argument that if companies can no longer make insane profit margins means they will not discover new medical cures or continue research is ridiculous. Are all of America's top teaching hospitals just going to give up? Are all of America's doctors just going to start treating their patients poorly?

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by bu2

The U.S. leads the world in medical technology and treatment and its not even close. The issue here is cost and access. People from around the world come here for treatment.

And people leave here, too, for treatment. More than a million Americans per year. How good your treatment is, is irrelevant if your citizenry cannot afford it or even afford basic visits.

[-thomass]

Originally Posted by samiwas1

And people leave here, too, for treatment. More than a million Americans per year. How good your treatment is, is irrelevant if your citizenry cannot afford it or even afford basic visits.

I’m always curious about people going to Costa Rica. Why wouldn’t insurance cover things like hip replacements? I’m assuming that most going must not have insurance

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by markjames68

It might be true, but I’d argue the reverse.

In the US, as there is a profit motive, any cutting edge techique or treatment will be seen as a competitive differentiator and put into place more quickly. For people who pay, it’s available right away. Yes, there then is a delay for insurers, etc.

In a place like Canada, it has more regulatory red tape to go through up front, including determining which hospital(s) are then allowed to implement it. Not every hospital will be allowed to do every procedure or treatment. Once approved, the back end happens more quickly.

Not ignoring your post. I just couldn't find the article. For the first paragraph, I would have to ask if this applies more to private clinics/private hospitals. I wish I could have found the article because it explains things a lot better than I can lol.



In Atlanta, I don't think I've ever had to wait long (I define this as more than two weeks...if even that) for a doctor's appointment. The only problem I saw with Canada is that for routine things, there's a long wait. I didn't hear anything about red tape but the long wait thing was a problem. With that being said, most Canadians approve of their health care system. The same can't be said of here. I'm not going to get into Cuba but I feel they often get ignored when talks come up concerning great health care.