I am sorry that your relatives have had bad results. I submit that the system we have here in the US has its fair share of bad results as well. There are inept doctors in every style of health care system and in most every locality. The people who administer the programs just put words in the doctor’s contract to the effect that the doctor will not be incompetent. The doctor signs and all is well.
The Death Panel idea is an intentional misrepresentation which has worked to confuse the public much better than I would have expected. (Repeat a lie often enough, and it often seems to become truth.) EVERY system has to have limits as to what it covers and what it doesn’t. There will always be someone who will make the decision as to what treatments will be paid for and which will not. If that’s a death panel, it is unavoidable, regardless of what system it is in. I will say, though, that human nature suggests that more treatments and doctor consultations will be denied in a system wherein people are monetarily rewarded for finding ways to deny coverage (the current for-profit insurance system) than in a system where this behavior is not encouraged. This is not to say that there shouldn’t be someone watching for fraud and improper billing. I’m talking about the cases where the insurance company says, ‘We aren’t saying the patient shouldn’t have this treatment. We’re just saying we ain’t paying for it."
We get similar results in this country at a much higher cost.
I am willing to admit that, despite my 30+ years as a doctor, I might be wrong about the best health care plan. Feel free to come up with a better one and I’ll jump on your bandwagon, but in my experience the system that Obamacare replaces is on the verge of final collapse. Obamacare will buy us time to come up with a better one, because it will collapse, as well, with time. Of all the systems I have researched, and I have done plenty, single payer has the best chance of providing good care at reasonable cost for the most people. It also forces everyone to pull their weight, eliminating the “I don’t want to have to pay care of lazy bums” meme that is so popular these days.
I am sorry that your relatives have had bad results. I submit that the system we have here in the US has its fair share of bad results as well. There are inept doctors in every style of health care system and in most every locality. The people who administer the programs just put words in the doctor’s contract to the effect that the doctor will not be incompetent. The doctor signs and all is well.
The Death Panel idea is an intentional misrepresentation which has worked to confuse the public much better than I would have expected. (Repeat a lie often enough, and it often seems to become truth.) EVERY system has to have limits as to what it covers and what it doesn’t. There will always be someone who will make the decision as to what treatments will be paid for and which will not. If that’s a death panel, it is unavoidable, regardless of what system it is in. I will say, though, that human nature suggests that more treatments and doctor consultations will be denied in a system wherein people are monetarily rewarded for finding ways to deny coverage (the current for-profit insurance system) than in a system where this behavior is not encouraged. This is not to say that there shouldn’t be someone watching for fraud and improper billing. I’m talking about the cases where the insurance company says, ‘We aren’t saying the patient shouldn’t have this treatment. We’re just saying we ain’t paying for it."
We get similar results in this country at a much higher cost.
I am willing to admit that, despite my 30+ years as a doctor, I might be wrong about the best health care plan. Feel free to come up with a better one and I’ll jump on your bandwagon, but in my experience the system that Obamacare replaces is on the verge of final collapse. Obamacare will buy us time to come up with a better one, because it will collapse, as well, with time. Of all the systems I have researched, and I have done plenty, single payer has the best chance of providing good care at reasonable cost for the most people. It also forces everyone to pull their weight, eliminating the “I don’t want to have to pay care of lazy bums” meme that is so popular these days.