Finding a doctor.

[Easto]

God this just pisses me off.

Over the past 20 years I have been with about 4-5 doctors. Nothing major, just general practice and the occasional specialist when needed. But I always seem to get someone who has a lousy front office and I decide to move on to another doctor

I've left several of them due to waiting room times of an hour or more. I've actually been left in a examination room when they all left for lunch!

So once again I find a provider that is close to home. I've been in to see him a couple of times and it finally looked like I had found a good doctor with a well run office. No so fast, I call today to make an appointment and I am told that I cannot get in until a week from tomorrow! Geeze!

[Philip]

Try to see a specialist, see if you can get scheduled within 3 months... Makes you wonder about the system when you get down to it.

A few years back, my wife got a $2k bill (well the insurance company did) from an anesthesiologist that never touched her... She got the service from some nurse, and the doc just popped in the door hours later to ask whether she's ok without stepping a foot inside at any point in time.

[RoundEye]

Easto, I can sympathize with some of your problems with doctors. But doctors have to eat too. If it bothers you so much don’t make an appointment around lunchtime. Waiting times may take a while but I’d rather a doctor who listens and pays attention to my problems instead of rushing me through to get to other patients who are waiting.

Let me give you some perspective from somebody who doesn’t have insurance or can’t afford to pay the doctor’s bills, like me. For my initial visit to the doctor I had to wait five months (I’m still very pissed about that). I had the choice of one hospital. By the time I got to see the doctor I was in such bad shape I was admitted through the emergency room, after a 16 hour wait. After an eight day stay of misery in the hospital my appointments to see the neurologist took all day, pack a lunch, you’re going to be there a while. I don’t receive Social Security or have any other income, I’m unemployed. Nobody wants to hire a man who walks around like a retarded Frankenstein with a cane, I’ve tried. So, my wife had to call 58 neurologist before she found one who would accept my Medicaid. I’m on Medicaid because the Rebif Titration Pack shots I take every other day to slow down my Multiple Sclerosis cost $2650.00 a month. So.....

......ain’t that about a bitch?

[blacklab]

Tell me again why you Americans don't want universal health care something like what Canada has.

[Shinobi]

Tell me again why you Americans don't want universal health care something like what Canada has.

universal health care? No problems in Canada? Ay?

[blebs]

Tell me again why you Americans don't want universal health care something like what Canada has.

Because we don't want our government dictating what care we receive. We give them an inch and they take over the whole thing.

[blacklab]

Because we don't want our government dictating what care we receive. We give them an inch and they take over the whole thing.

I don't know where you get the idea our government dictates what care we receive. The federal government sets a minimum standard of services the provinces are to provide. For this they get a transfer of funding depending on the population of the province. Provinces are free to add additional services if they want to pay 100% of the costs.

Services provided are things that are needed for the health and well being of the citizens of the country. For instance plastic surgery is not covered for a port stain(birthmark) on your face, but if a doctor will state that the birthmark is interfering with the persons mental well being and is interfering with that persons well being they can and usually do make special allowance for it. At one time if a woman had a breast removed because of cancer, reconstruction surgery was not covered -it was considered cosmetic. Now it is offered to all women. They try and discourage it in older women, but if they insist it will be covered.

Just about anything that is considered preventative medicine is covered including a once a year physical. Chiropractic service are no longer covered in my province, but it may be coming back.

I have had a few health problems the last two years, from bouts of the most severe paid I have ever had, to a heart attack scar. I have seen surgeons, a heart specialist(both took less than 2 weeks), I have had probes stuck down my throat, up my ass, ultrasounds done on my heart and neck and a cancer cut out of my back. I have yet to see a bill.

I think the big difference with universal health care is if someone has a problem, or thinks he has a problem they tend to go to a doctor and have it checked. Usually the sooner something is looked at the less cost there is to fix it.

We still have the option to buy private insurance to pay for things like a private room in a hospital, to pay for dental coverage, some of the costs of prescriptions and for other things that are not covered under the universal plan.

We have privately owned clinics and specialty shops for imaging or lab work. These are usually owned by a group of doctors who put the money up front to build and equip them, but the cost of the services are paid for by the province. Removes the need for expensive hospital floor space to house these services.

You Americans have had the wool pulled over your eyes. If done right universal health care does not have to break the country, in fact it will save money in the long run by fixing people with an office visit instead of an expensive hospital stay. The greed of the CEO's running insurance companies and hospitals are the problem, not the system.

Up here we have a spending problem not a money problem. When you get a government that fires a hospital board, who is made up of people making more money than some doctors, and gives them a Million dollar going away present. Where is the real problem?

We may not have the best system, but I can remember when universal health care came in when I was about 10 and I have never seen a bill. My taxes may be a little higher, but I am not afraid of what it will cost to see a doctor.

[Mutch]

Threaten the office to go to a walk in clinic. Your doctor will be billed for your visit to the clinic. Also, pretty much all doctor's offices keep one emergency appointment. Guess what, you just became that emergency.

[Prey521]

Because we don't want our government dictating what care we receive. We give them an inch and they take over the whole thing.

[blebs]

I don't know where you get the idea our government dictates what care we receive. The federal government sets a minimum standard of services the provinces are to provide. For this they get a transfer of funding depending on the population of the province. Provinces are free to add additional services if they want to pay 100% of the costs.

Services provided are things that are needed for the health and well being of the citizens of the country. For instance plastic surgery is not covered for a port stain(birthmark) on your face, but if a doctor will state that the birthmark is interfering with the persons mental well being and is interfering with that persons well being they can and usually do make special allowance for it. At one time if a woman had a breast removed because of cancer, reconstruction surgery was not covered -it was considered cosmetic. Now it is offered to all women. They try and discourage it in older women, but if they insist it will be covered.

Just about anything that is considered preventative medicine is covered including a once a year physical. Chiropractic service are no longer covered in my province, but it may be coming back.

I have had a few health problems the last two years, from bouts of the most severe paid I have ever had, to a heart attack scar. I have seen surgeons, a heart specialist(both took less than 2 weeks), I have had probes stuck down my throat, up my ass, ultrasounds done on my heart and neck and a cancer cut out of my back. I have yet to see a bill.

I think the big difference with universal health care is if someone has a problem, or thinks he has a problem they tend to go to a doctor and have it checked. Usually the sooner something is looked at the less cost there is to fix it.

We still have the option to buy private insurance to pay for things like a private room in a hospital, to pay for dental coverage, some of the costs of prescriptions and for other things that are not covered under the universal plan.

We have privately owned clinics and specialty shops for imaging or lab work. These are usually owned by a group of doctors who put the money up front to build and equip them, but the cost of the services are paid for by the province. Removes the need for expensive hospital floor space to house these services.

You Americans have had the wool pulled over your eyes. If done right universal health care does not have to break the country, in fact it will save money in the long run by fixing people with an office visit instead of an expensive hospital stay. The greed of the CEO's running insurance companies and hospitals are the problem, not the system.

Up here we have a spending problem not a money problem. When you get a government that fires a hospital board, who is made up of people making more money than some doctors, and gives them a Million dollar going away present. Where is the real problem?

We may not have the best system, but I can remember when universal health care came in when I was about 10 and I have never seen a bill. My taxes may be a little higher, but I am not afraid of what it will cost to see a doctor.

Perhaps so in Canada, but have you ever seen what the American government can do to most simple of simple things? We have and we don't need it.

[David]

....

You Americans have had the wool pulled over your eyes. If done right universal health care does not have to break the country, in fact it will save money in the long run by fixing people with an office visit instead of an expensive hospital stay. The greed of the CEO's running insurance companies and hospitals are the problem, not the system.

Up here we have a spending problem not a money problem. When you get a government that fires a hospital board, who is made up of people making more money than some doctors, and gives them a Million dollar going away present. Where is the real problem?
......

The corruption involved with the majority of our bureaucracies would lead to a far less efficient system. Indeed, director boards and placated share holders are a huge drain on the system as well.

Bless our Canadian neighbor and the trust they have in their government, because almost across the American political spectrum, their is a dearth of that comodity.

In general, we like to blame someone.... it is always THEM.

On topic, there is no problems seeing a physician in a timely manner in NJ.

[YeOldeStonecat]

Tell me again why you Americans don't want universal health care something like what Canada has.

Terry I don't think the majority of us don't want universal health care, I believe it's more of an issue of trusting our government to "do it right"..and not abuse the system.

I've heard your system generally works fairly well, my ex wife lived in cow town Calgary for many years and I heard a lot of her impressions on it, versus what we have down here.

Countries such as yours, or across the pond in Europe...universal or government managed heathcare evolved over the decades as is it. It didn't really have a chance to get corrupt or taken over by big business.

Over here in the States, healthcare grew as a business. Control is by insurance companies and big pharmaceuticals, and lobbying, and "scratch my back I'll scratch your back" deals behind the scenes. It is so deeply embedded, trying to overhaul something that became the ugly giant spinning wheel that it is would be difficult for an honest overseeing agency. Now..substitute a corruption prone government in the place of that honest overseeing agency. How do ya feel about that outcome?

[blebs]

Thanks David and YOSC. I guess I should have expanded as well.

[brembo]

blacklab-

US population: 304 million
Canada population: 32 million

Ten times population.

US traffic accidents: 6.2 million
Canada's traffic accidents 200 thousand (I rounded up)

31 times.

It's not an apple/apple comparison when discussing US vs. Canada. As already mentioned we as a country tend to get our collective panties bunched up when the idea of more governemnt control is floated. The idea that a population of 300 million can be propely and efficiently managed by anything but a HUGE bureau that becomes a morass or waste and corruption is laughed at. We also have 50 states that feel the need to assert states rights to add another layer to the complexity of having national healthcare.

National healtcare in the US will cost absurd amounts of money. It will take money away from some powerful entities that have entrenched lobbying systems in place. One the first count that means taxes will spike and as the history of the US shows the citizens will raise holy hell over that. On count two, it does not pay to make powerful entities (corporations) in your (if you are a congressman/senator) district angry when they are funding your re-election campaign. National healthcare has a hard row to hoe.

[blacklab]

Blebs

Don't kid yourself, we have the same problem here, in fact I suspect it is a world wide problem anywhere politicians
get elected.


David

Not had to eliminate corruption in politics.

I would like to think most politicians are not corrupt and really would like to do the right thing. People are very quick to
jump on palpitations who makes a mistake, but they do something good few say a word. Thank your politician if
they do something you like, even if you didn't vote for them. When a politician blatantly breaks the law there should be
long prison sentences and a ban from public office. People and politicians make mistakes and for this they should not
be punished, maybe removed, but not severely punished. I don't worry so much about the mistake, I worry about the
cover up. What I really want to know is how is the mistake going to be rectified.

The real way to stop, or at least slow down, corruption is to remove the dependence on corporate contributions.
Elections should be paid for out of tax dollars. Each candidate should have a limit place on what can be spent on a
campaign. If you think it would cost taxpayer more money it wouldn't. The corporate donators would not be
able to claim tax deductions unless it was a donation to the government campaign fund for all politicians. If there was
no donation they would have to pay the tax to the country.

Finally make a politician's time in office finite. Being a politician should not be a career, it should be a service. The
way it is now as soon as a politician gets elected he/she starts working on their next election campaign. Civil servants
who hold high positions should also be subject to stiff prison sentences for corruption.

One more thing. Have all expenses posted on the Internet. It is public money they are spending so the public should
be able to see how it is spent.

When I seen how much of the money donated to the President during his campaign came from small donations I had
hoped that maybe this guy will make the changes, or at least some of the changes that need to be made. No matter if
he is black, or you did not vote for him look at what he is proposing. If you agree let him or at least your local
representative know that you do. If you don't then don't just scream and holler abut it, suggest something better. If you
don't have a better idea, well that is the problem.

If you don't get involved, you are part of the problem.

YeOldeStonecat

Private health care can exist along with public. For instance an optometrist opened an eye clinic in Calgary to do laser
surgery that was not covered by Alberta Health. If you had the money you could get the surgery, or if you had a
private plane it may be covered. Now Alberta Health has a certain number of hours booked for others that they pay
for. Still costs the patent covered by AB Health nothing.

The federal government needs to set a minimum standard for health care and if people want more, let private
insurance pick it up. At least with public insurance that everybody pays for, people will not be afraid to go to a doctor.
Those that can not afford it will have it played by what ever social service is supporting them now. I think in the long run
it will be cheaper because maybe a lot of things can be fixed before they become and expensive problem.



brembo

This can work both ways. With only 32 million in the second largest country causes a different problem. How do you
serve the people who live away from the large centres. Costs a lot of money to fly from community to community. In the
States you have the problem of too many people and you still have transportation problem.

Both countries have problems and they are too many politicians who are in it for themselves. We need to let the good
ones know we appreciate them and speak up more against the bad ones.