Things I Dislike About America: Health Care
[Moozik: Front 242 - Body To Body]
I have to say, the health care system in America is all a bit confusing to foreigners really. Confusing to those that are used to having some kind of nationalized health care system anyway. And therefore, confusing to me. At least, it was when I arrived here. And in some respects it still is.
In the 12 years I've been in the US I've come to grips with the fact that you need health insurance. Come to grips with the fact that just because you have health insurance doesn't mean you'll be covered. Come to grips with the fact that you will most certainly have to pay for things you shouldn't ever have to pay for. Come to grips with the fact that the current system is just a little bit crap and somewhat broken.
Firstly you have the "yes you have insurance, except for when you don't" approach to health care. I remember only being in the country for a month or two and talking to a lady at my new job. Her son was involved in a car accident and his injuries so severe and life threatening that he needed to be taken by medical helicopter to the hospital. But her medical insurance didn't cover the helicopter. So she received a bill in the mail for $11,000. Nice.
Then there's the "yes you have insurance, but you still have to pay a fee upfront" approach to health care. You go to an ER, sit in a room for a while, see various medical type people, and then you get to leave. Except you can't. For you still have to cough up some cash because your medical insurance policy makes you pay a "deductible" . Typically this is around a $100 fee for an ER visit. The first time this happened to me it boggled my mind. What do you mean I have to pay before I can leave the hospital? Nice.
Lastly there's the "yes you have insurance, paid your deductible, but you still owe us" approach to health care. This one is really quite familiar and happened this week in fact.
So thanks very much US health care system. I'm really glad I still owe $72.04. Granted it's not a lot of money but it's the bloody principle of the thing. Makes me nostalgic for the good old days when I lived in Blighty never having to pay a penny.
Now, the NHS is not perfect. Far from it. But it makes a little more sense than the somewhat bemusing system over here. At least to a foreigner like me.
"And did we tell you the name of the game, boy?
We call it Riding the Gravy Train."
I was born and raised in the States and I still don't understand our health care system or why insurance agents think they know better than doctors.
george... oh of course. And I understand why it's like it is. Insurance companies have to make as much money as is humanly possible after all ;-)
kapgar... I think that's the thing that has always boggled my mind. A bean counter sitting at a desk knows better than my doctor? Really? Totally messed up system.
We are too quick to criticise the NHS but both myself and my daughter have needed repeated day hospital treatment. We have both been seen quickly by specialists in their field........ absolutely free. If Obama manages to reform the system it could see him go down in history. It is hard to believe the most efficient free health service in the world is in Cuba, the polar opposite of the American dream. PS don't get me started on education Kev! Did you know literacy is 16% higher in Iraq than the USA?
simon... I really hope a reform of the health care system happens. So many insurance companies have politicians bought & paid that it's going to take a huge effort. I'm trying to be optimistic. Time will tell right?
Health care here in the US is so fuc**d up it's not funny. The ones that make me laugh are those that think the country will somehow collapse and be doomed if we have nationalized health care.
Oh, and how come some people on your comments section have little pictures of themselves? How can I get one?
jake... have a peek at Gravatar mate.
A good post, Kev - and on a topic very close to my heart! Blimey, I dont even want to get started it makes me so angry. I agree with everything you have said. This is the richest country in the world and should be able to provide better health care than it does. I assumed when I first got here that if it was private, it must be better than NHS. I quickly found that it isn't. The standards suck and everything is designed to extract as much money from you as it can and if insurance doesnt pay it, you do.
I went to one of the "Town Hall" meetings a few weeks ago. You wouldnt believe some of the people. They are rabidly scared of a NHS system! One man even said "I do not want the Govt coming between me and my Dr."
Now Im all fired up... I have to go now and kick the dog. Sorry. ;)
dave... it's really appalling when you think about it isn't it? As to those who are scared, they don't want Govt coming between them and their Dr but they're fine with insurance companies doing the same? Their whole argument doesn't even make sense. Oh, and, bless your poor dog mate ;-)
I have read post after post after post on this topic and I still don't understand. But, even with our issues up here, no one ever asks you for a dime when you to Emerg, or see a doctor...
It's all rather baffling, and the fact that so many people are opposed to universal coverage baffles me even more.
nat... the whole concept of having to pay for services was totally foreign to me when I first got here. I thought it was a joke at first. I don't know why so many people are opposed to universal health care. It's not like the current system of insurance companies calling the shots is working out that well. Boggles my mind.
As you mentioned, there's no perfect plan being proposed here in the states, but what we have now isn't working.
I know some that are against any sort of NHS say their job provides them coverage, but at some point, coverage will get questioned or denied or not be fully covered.
Before she died in 2006, my mom was covered by both Meidcare and HMO. There were several bills that found their way to her mailbox, denying something that the doctor felt that she needed.
I think a NHS is needed, if not this current proposal, then another that will be modeled after the ones that work in the UK, Canada and other countries.
marty... good points. Quite why people are ok with insurance companies denying something your doctor thinks is necessary is beyond me.
Sorry I'm late to the party, I'm a couple of weeks behind in my feed reader and trying to catch up.
One thing I read somewhere recently that may help shed some light on why so many people are against government-run health care or health insurance is that you have to consider the psyche of this country, more than just about any other country, is based on *distrust* of our own government. There are good historic reasons for this that I'll assume are obvious, but the result is that a large portion of the population doesn't really trust the government to do anything well, except perhaps fight wars. And clearly, a whole other segment doesn't think the government does that well.
In truth, while universal coverage would presumably address the nickel-and-dime aspect (pay a deductible, pay the excess not covered by insurance, etc.), it doesn't seem like it would be likely to help with the issue of doctor-recommended procedures being denied coverage. At least, not without some significant tort reform as well to reduce the issues with doctors over-testing and over-treating to avoid malpractice suits. Either that, or everything would be covered and the costs would skyrocket.
I also wonder how much the rest of the world benefits from the US medical system? Not the insurance portion, of course, but the actual medical system. I don't know that it's still true, but it does give me pause on the impact of drastic changes to our system.