I've pursued this line of thinking before, but now that I think about, it falls flat on it's face. I mean...Christ, I still have to convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade.
I think you may be missing some information on how a single payer system like Canada’s works. Your GP would refer you to a specialist, and if he doesn’t think you need one you can seek a second opinion from another doctor. If you can’t find a doctor who thinks you need to see a specialist I believe that you can see one anyway, but you have to pay it, or you have to have some kind of supplementary insurance that pays for it. There are private MRI clinics in Calgary, for example, and they offer both public and private services. If your doctor thinks you need an MRI then he will order one and he depending on availability he may send you to a private clinic to have it done, but since he deemed it medically necessary it would be paid for by Alberta Health. If he doesn’t think you need one but you still want one you can go to the same clinic and pay out of your pocket to have one done, or if you have supplementary health insurance it might cover the cost. http://www.canadadiagnostics.ca/index.php https://www.ab.bluecross.ca/index.html
Right, so you have a lot of primary care physicians who will diagnose something as x because they don't have the tools to even have a clue. And that's why it wasn't until i got on a PPO plan it was taken care of.
People don't miss what they don't know. The best health care in the world for middle class folks are insurance plans like Guardian. There is no referring physician or deductible or out-of-network because practically every doctor takes Guardian. They are dumb not too. What you don't know can hurt you. I refuse to be on a system like in Europe or Canada. The problem with dems is their proposal is going to raise health care for the poor which is great and I am all for, but they will lessen the quality for care for those at the other end. And that's not right. They are giving wealthier people less care to subsidize the poor. Hey - i call foul. You want to cover the poor - fine. Do with with sin taxes like Soda, fruit juicies, cigarettes, candy, and McDonalds, and potato chips.
The problem is just not about quality of health but health care costs. When you have single large healthcare system you can tell doctors and pharm companies to screw off because they would have no choice but to follow your demands. I call this the walmart effect. Other countries effectively do this. If doctors here complain about it then let doctors from other countries in. Otherwise health care as a % of GDP will keep going up as people get older. The American Liability sheet will keep getting bigger. The govt needs to be able to control costs.
I’m not following. Are you saying that you didn’t see a GP first? I’m sure that pretty well everywhere you’re going to see a GP first, and in Canada that GP has access to almost every service and specialist in that region, and every one in Canada if need be. That’s one of the benefits of the single payer system.
...if you can afford it. And, if you're insured, in most cases you won't be able to see a specialist first because you'll have to be referred by a GP.
I have gone to GP's many times...and sometimes they are helpful, but most of the time they are not. If you have an infection of the throat - a GP is great. If you have a bad cut - go see a GP. Check your BP and basic blood work - a GP. They are generalists - but know little beyond that. I have had a GP tell me I was on the verge of kidney failure and wanted me to go on some medication and come in daily and maybe hospitalize me. I went to a Specialist and we realized it was because I was sore from a workout that caused some elevation in something called "Creatinane" but that it wasn't anything that was off too much concern. I had the tennis elbow thing. And a GP who wanted me to see a guy to take out my belly button! They aren't great. The point is, I have a really good feel for my body. I knew the tennis elbow thing was wrong. I knew it came from inside the elbow and not from a liagment. But the GP refused to refer me to a specialist. I simply refuse to use a GP for anything but threating colds and cuts.
So I should forgive the best health care in the world so I can help bring down costs????????? No way. Just because giving great health care to everyone isn't feasible, doesn't mean you have to give everyone the same care as a gov't mandate. I really think everyone should get the care at a basic level as a guarantee. No matter what....having a social security number should entitle you to seeing a GP. For everything else, people can buy indpendently or through their company. Thus,the gov't plan is optional, it's opt-in, and it gives the basic care at a low cost you are advocating. But having private plans still gives others the choice to ensure they not only get basic care, but also get the best health care in the world.
If your posts about your experiences with a GP are true (and they very well may not be, given your history on the BBS) - how can you simultaneously argue that you are getting "the best health care in the world"?
My whole point what that when I was younger and had an HMO, my health care sucked. I finally got to a place where i had great health care, and you never want to go back. I don't understand why you guys want to force socialized medicine on everyone.
but that's what a single payer system effectively is. it takes out the profit incentive for insurance companies.
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