Information

[TheFiberLady]

so tonight i decided to rent a movie ( i don't think i've rented one since like jan) anyway i rented "sicko" done by michael moore.did anyone else watch this? my gawd is our health care system screwed up compared to everyone else's...i cried like 4 or 5 times during the movie, however after watching it i asked my husband if he would like to move to france.seriously...free healthcare...free cleaning lady 2 days a week for 4 hours...jobs starting with 5 weeks of vacation..extra weeks earned for marriage or babies...free college, free dental and vision, daycare for $1.00 an hour, if you need time off, tell the doc and he writes you a note and you still receive pay...so how can we be such a rich country but can't have a nation wide health care plan, preventable healthcare would i'm sure lead to some better lifestyles and quality of life.Not sure if you like michael moore's movies but it was very good.anywho i'm off my box now.wendy

[AnnOminous]

As somebody who has not had health insurance for almost 10 years and has been through the county health system...And also as somebody who has an 81 year old mother with Alzheimer's and has learned many lessons the expensive way about just how much Medicare does NOT cover....YES!!!! 

[twinsmom1]

i have not had insurance for my family since march. i lost my job in feb and had insurance for the month after. i have had to take 2 of my kids to the doctor amd it was $70 each time. they gave me a hard time since i didn't have insurance, even though my older son has been with the same doctors since he was 4 months old and he is now 10. i tell you they just do not want pts without insurance. i have applied for the medicaid program they have here--on oct 12, the told me 30-45 days before i would hear anything. have i heard anything yet????? hell no! i went from making what i making the same in one day as i do in a whole week on unemployment. multiply that by 3-4 days a week and you can see where i am now. i work in the heathcare field. i know what it is like. makes you sick to know that people who do not need or deserve assistance can get it and those of us who really need it can't get $hit! ok, enough for now. i could go on and on about it, but i won't.

[twinsmom1]

i have not had insurance for my family since march. i lost my job in feb and had insurance for the month after. i have had to take 2 of my kids to the doctor amd it was $70 each time. they gave me a hard time since i didn't have insurance, even though my older son has been with the same doctors since he was 4 months old and he is now 10. i tell you they just do not want pts without insurance. i have applied for the medicaid program they have here--on oct 12, the told me 30-45 days before i would hear anything. have i heard anything yet????? hell no! i went from making what i making the same in one day as i do in a whole week on unemployment. multiply that by 3-4 days a week and you can see where i am now. i work in the heathcare field. i know what it is like. makes you sick to know that people who do not need or deserve assistance can get it and those of us who really need it can't get $hit! ok, enough for now. i could go on and on about it, but i won't.

[4peasinourpod]

I agree that our health care system is in trouble...but before you pack and move to France, you might want to know that the average Frenchman pays 50% in income taxes.  So all those things are necessarily "free".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax

[Northern Brat]

Guess I don't realize how lucky we are with our medical system.. However, they can't attract doctors, and the waiting lists are nuts!  Not to mention shortage of beds in some hospitals.

[berries]

What is messed up is how even Cuba provides their citizens with health care! Cuba! How is it that a country that is so bad has it's priorities together enough to value health care? But we can't?

[JubileeJan]

As someone who has worked in the U.S. healthcare system her whole life, let me tell you that Michael Moore's movies are lies.  He showed you what he wanted you to see, but it simply isn't true and even HE knows it.   An American is 3 times more likely to get the heart operation they need here, than in Canada and don't even get me started on how STUPID that Cuba thing was!  You can sure have their healthcare system.  Ours is not a perfect system of course, but as an uninsured person myself through no fault of my own, I don't think that YOU need to pay for my health insurance!I don't think the government is the answer to any problem, and certainly not the healthcare problem!

[amtmhj]

I wouldn't knock Cuba if I were you. Yes, they're under a dictatorship, but they have the highest literacy rate in the world and extraordinary healthcare.Jr

[Judes]

I don't know how other countries do it, but, I'd glady pay my taxes if I could get the kind of services they have in France and Germany.  In the States we must be mismanaging our dollars or something.

[bumblebby]

As a Canadian I will say that our system is not perfect, NO SYSTEM in the world is! However, our healthcare is good, really good compared to what most people in the world have.....nothing!!You hear the horror stories about Canadian healthcare, the dude who died waiting for surgery, long waiting lists etc. You do not hear the excellent things that happen every minute of every day! Not every hospital in every city has a waiting list for surgery.My two children are proof that our healthcare system works pretty good. One was very premature and spent 10 weeks in the hospital, the other one was almost premature but I spent 83 days in a row in the hospital and prevented her prematurity and she was born perfectly healthy. AND, I did not lose my home trying to pay hospital bills. Or the time I suddenly developed appendicitis, went to emerg, and a few hours later I was in surgery.Yes, we pay high taxes here. The security of knowing that should you or your loved ones get sick, you can go to emergency and not go bankrupt.I do not understand Healthcare in the US enough to really comment on it. I am just here to say my piece about public healthcare not being the horror story the "critics" make it out to be. 

[JubileeJan]

Why are so many Cubans still risking their lives to come here if things are so swell under a dictatorship?  And why did France vote recently to overhaul their wonderful healthcare system if a government run system is so ideal?  The U.S. system is FAR from perfect, but I am not a Socialist.  Just my own opinion, of course and anyone is welcome to disagree. 

[-Shannon-]

As someone who has worked in the U.S. healthcare system her whole life, let me tell you that Michael Moore's movies are lies.  He showed you what he wanted you to see, but it simply isn't true and even HE knows it.   An American is 3 times more likely to get the heart operation they need here, than in Canada and don't even get me started on how STUPID that Cuba thing was!  You can sure have their healthcare system.  Ours is not a perfect system of course, but as an uninsured person myself through no fault of my own, I don't think that YOU need to pay for my health insurance! <---Needed to be repeatedI don't think the government is the answer to any problem, and certainly not the healthcare problem! What she said except I haven't worked in the U.S. Healthcare system...(and I DON'T have any health insurance right now)

[Queen Mum]

Something needs to be done - but I haven't a clue how to fix it or how it can be fixed.
I do think it would be cool if the government had more programs where they will pay for a doctor's education if the doctor committed to working in needed areas for a certain period of time - so that those who need care can get it.