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I'm someone who's actually lived there & knows what he's talking about.
But your stories and anecdotes dont square with official statistics from highly reputable sources. You also push hard for a privatized health care system so its clear that you have an agenda.
My sister in law broke her arm while in Thailand slipping out of the shower. She was immediately rushed to the local emergency room and had a cast placed on. The next day they had to call the 'top specialist' in the area to come take a look at her and her xray; based on her fracture, he recommended that she get a 'top of the line' cast for her fracture. They had to triple check with her because it was going to be 'expensive'. The grand total for a visit to the ER, x-ray, specialist, specialized cast, and pain killers: $279.
Now how much would that have cost in the US, even when you normalize the prices to account for PPP? The US has advanced medicine, but access and affordability sucks. Period. Stop with the excuses. The US health care system flat out blows.
1) Insurance provided by employers or paid for out of pocket
2) Medicare - Medicaid
3) No insurance at all
A two-tiered system would be an improvement.
However, I think universal health care would be a better option all the way around. Offer everyone Medicare. If folks want to pay for something better, they have that option.
Bullbleep.
"Offer everyone Medicare?" It's not offered, it's earned--by virtue of one's having worked for it.
This Medicare for all crapulence will be the death of Medicare as it exists for current beneficiaries. And it will end up being Obamacare for seniors, too.
My sister in law broke her arm while in Thailand slipping out of the shower. She was immediately rushed to the local emergency room and had a cast placed on. The next day they had to call the 'top specialist' in the area to come take a look at her and her xray; based on her fracture, he recommended that she get a 'top of the line' cast for her fracture. They had to triple check with her because it was going to be 'expensive'. The grand total for a visit to the ER, x-ray, specialist, specialized cast, and pain killers: $279.
Now how much would that have cost in the US, even when you normalize the prices to account for PPP? The US has advanced medicine, but access and affordability sucks. Period. Stop with the excuses. The US health care system flat out blows.
I'm sure things are cheap down there using the U.S. dollar down there as a tourist.
$1 U.S. Dollar= 32.54 Thai Bhat
$279= 9,078.52 Thai Bhat........How many regular Thai people afford a 9,078.52 thai bhat medical bill when most of the country lives in extreme poverty?
what will happen in the U.S. if our currency falls to the level of Thailand? if the U.S. dollar loses 32 times it's worth in the market. You won't need a cast for your arm, you would need a bullet to blow your brains off.
and then comeback talking that our system "flat out blows"
I'm sure things are cheap down there using the U.S. dollar down there as a tourist.
$1 U.S. Dollar= 32.54 Thai Bhat
$279= 9,078.52 Thai Bhat........How many regular Thai people afford a 9,078.52 thai bhat medical bill when most of the country lives in extreme poverty?
what will happen in the U.S. if our currency falls to the level of Thailand? if the U.S. dollar loses 32 times it's worth in the market. You won't need a cast for your arm, you would need a bullet to blow your brains off.
and then comeback talking that our system "flat out blows"
lol, epic economic knowledge there. The nominal value of the currency has nothing to do with this. Some currencies are in the thousands to the dollar and the wages are also in the millions per month. Typical wage in Thailand is 20 000 Bhat after taxes.
This is a third world developing country. It shouldnt even be comparable to America, but it is. How many weeks' income would such a procedure cost for a typical worker here?
"Generally, especially compared to the worldwide statistics, American babies have good survival rates in their first few weeks of life. It is only after they reach one month of age that differences between the United States and other developed countries start to widen."
To reiterate there is some very big issue with these raw statistics and they can be very misleading. There is multiple variables involved with this and right off the top of the list is many pregnancies that would be terminated elsewhere are not in the US.
lol, epic economic knowledge there. The nominal value of the currency has nothing to do with this. Some currencies are in the thousands to the dollar and the wages are also in the millions per month. Typical wage in Thailand is 20 000 Bhat after taxes.
the value of a country's currency is determined by the strength of its economy.
Economy and the quality of healthcare access go hand and hand. Thailand purchasing power is 80% lower than the U.S. You think the doctors and nurses work for free and the money falls out of the sky?
Quote:
This is a third world developing country. It shouldnt even be comparable to America, but it is
you are correct it shouldn't but some ignorantly do.
In Thailand the rice is way cheaper than the U.S., that doesn't mean their access to food and purchasing power is better than the U.S.
If you go to Cuba and Venezuela, healthcare is "free" or very cheap.......good luck making that argument.
Last edited by Hellion1999; 12-30-2017 at 09:08 AM..
You kept pushing the idea that Costa Rica is mostly privatized health care and it is why its so great, when the reality is that Costa Rica's health care spending is more public and less private than Canada. Dont you see why I should question your assertions? Costa Rica has more than twice the murder rate of America as well. Another favorite excuse by right wingers as a reason for our poor life expectancy. Wake up, we are doing worse in some respects than third world countries! Stop glorifying privatized health care when its a major source of price gouging and corruption.
Costa Rica's healthcare is pretty good if you don't mind the wait, but virtually anyone middle class or above is using private insurance and private hospitals, just as they do with private schools.
Costa Rica is small, homogenous and they have an almost Scandinavian approach in their work ethic and civic pride. They also have no military so they have plenty of extra money to spend on their social programs. I believe socialism can work in a population that size. I'm from Minnesota, I'm sure it would work here as we have the same characteristics.
The downside to having to military is they've been overrun with illegal immigrants, most of whom are not good for Costa Rica. The country has a Colombian problem is that Costa Rica lies North of Columbia, along the 'Cocaine Highway' to the cartels in Mexico. That leads to a lot of the violence. Assassinations have become common. The victims are almost always Colombian. There are seemingly Colombian hitmen galore in Costa Rica. FARC, the Colombian guerrilla army has a presence in Costa Rica. The Colombians bring the narcotics trade & extreme violence.
The immigration problem that has dragged down Costa Rican healthcare and education are the Nicaraguans. They do the work the Costa Ricans don't want to do. They mow lawns, work as maids, do construction, etc. They also have tons of unemployable kids who end up joining gangs and committing incredible street crime. The law is the law of the old homogenous Costa Rica and the criminals are absolutely abusing it. The penalty for a street mugging, so long as it's under a few hundred dollars is a ticket. If there's a cop around. If the criminals aren't armed, because often time the cops aren't, which means they never engage them. The solution for the upper middle class and wealthy are bodyguards, gated communities, 12' walls topped by razor wire around their homes, conceal & carry permits.
Costa Rica had a really great thing going, but the Nicaraguans and Colombians have screwed it up to a large degree. The health care system is pretty good, but segregated, has extremely slow care times & if you ever need a life saving surgery, pray you have private health insurance.
Last edited by Mason3000; 12-30-2017 at 05:46 PM..
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