Originally Posted by
tennisguru
Sweden also has only 10 million residents. We have over 300 million.
We also have 44 million on Medicare. Medicare in the US has the highest rate of customer satisfaction of health care "providers;" users prefer it over private insurance.
Our DOD budget dwarfs all other nations, yet many folks on the left and right think it should be larger. Why is the size of our population so prohibitive WRT universal health care, but the size of military contracts and the number of military contractors isn't similarly restrictive of military expenditure? (Hint: lobbyists know how to turn policy and representatives against the best interests of their constituents).
Originally Posted by
tennisguru
I know several Canadians, and their health care has major issues.
Honest question... do you think health care in the US has major issues too? The perfect is the enemy of the good. Anecdotes are fun (the Canadians I know well enough to have meaningful health care discussions with think our system is a disaster in comparison), but if you look at actual studies and polling, satisfaction, results and cost are almost universally better abroad.
Originally Posted by
tennisguru
One of my friends mom had some issues but it took her 2 years to get seen. Turned out to be cancer which by that point was stage 4 and beyond curing.
I know two Americans who discovered stage 4 cancer too late to treat. My hunch is that you don't have the whole story with regards to a 2 year wait to even be seen, by that certainly sucks in any case.
Originally Posted by
tennisguru
Care is rationed in Canada by the government limiting how many people can attend med school each year. Limiting the number of doctors lengthens the wait time and lowers cost for the program.
This is not a good talking point. We effectively do the same thing, and limit the number of (tax payer-funded) residencies. If you want to advocate for more slots, I'd be all for it. We're particularly short on primary care physicians.
As long as health care is all completely about profitability for corporations and individuals, it's going to suck (or maybe be great if you're willing to pay out your a55 or get your employer to). From the forums, it seems people aren't willing to pay out their a55es. You get what you pay for. If you don't want everyone to chip in like they do with western European tax rates, you'll individually pay quite a bit more for equivalent care.