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Originally Posted by dksuddeth
sounds like a good fluff piece from time. i've spent time in a VA hospital, wouldn't want to do it again. A friend of mine has to go alot due to his MS difficulties, he hates it when a 2 hour doctors visit takes 8 hours. horribly inefficient.
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Yeah lots of fluff pieces make statements like-
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Vets still gripe about wading through red tape for treatment. Some 11,000 have been waiting 30 days or more for their first appointment.
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Yep, total fluff.
I think the point was independent studies found things are improving and in some areas the VA beats private hospitals and HMO's-
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University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, based on patient surveys on the quality of care received. The VA scored 83 out of 100; private institutions, 71. Males 65 years and older receiving VA care had about a 40% lower risk of death than those enrolled in Medicare Advantage, whose care is provided through private health plans or HMOs, according to a study published in the April edition of Medical Care. Harvard University just gave the VA its Innovations in American Government Award for the agency's work in computerizing patient records.
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Unless you think the University of Michigan and Harvard are in some conspiracy to make the VA look good.
Personally, though I am a Vet, I don't think I can use that system unless I have no other option. I had a major injury and subsequent related health issues. I spent 3yrs of my life battling my insurance, bouncing from one Dr. to another, waiting 5-6 hrs at a time in waiting rooms, sometimes I showed up (after driving two+ hours) only to be told the doctor was "out" that day. In the end it cost me 30k out of pocket and I had to hire an attorney to keep it from costing me several hundred K.
I think this comes down to people who think the government can't do anything right and people who see the current system as completely screwed up and are willing to let the government take a shot at it. Personally I think the government does some things right, wouldn't have a hwy system without them. The military seems like a professional group of people. And I like that the FBI is out there tracking down serial killers, ID thieves and terrorist. Are they prefect at these things? Hell no. Do I think a private organization could or would be better? Absolutely not.
Things like this amuse me-
It was awful... no It's the best anywhere!
---------- Post added at 09:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:39 AM ----------
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Originally Posted by powerclown
Can't you see that some people don't want to be financially responsible for the medical welfare of others, of strangers? That they just want to be able to work and provide for their own families? That some people don't want yet another government regulation over their lives? Some people still believe in the notion of self-determination, of the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Its a principle thing.
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I'm interested in this position. I hear it often and it may have some merit. But many of the people I hear expressing this view were completely 100% for the tax cuts. What your personal position was I have no idea. But people thought, even though we were having to borrow huge amounts of cash to fund two wars, the tax cuts were the right move because they'd improve the economy and thus create new tax revenue simply due to increased economic activity. I'm not 100% sure but I don't think that trickle down theory has ever worked the way it's been sold. In fact I think it just made the debt grow faster.
But right now we have a large number of people who are not working due to health issues and people who are under employed because they have a pre-existing condition(s.) I personally know three people (Ok, one lady is a person my ex used to work with, I know of her and her story- but don't really personally know her) who can not find work in their fields because employers will not hire them. Their medical history makes them uninsurable or the employer would have to pay millions more for their group plan just for that one person. What if we made these people insurable? Move them from the min. wage jobs they're currently struggling to survive on back to careers they used to have. What if we helped sick people move from sick to healthy productive members of society? How much tax revenue would this create?
I'm betting more then the trickle down tax cuts ever did.
Heck, what would the impact be of just removing uninsured people from using the ER as their only health care option? I've been to the ER in the US and I've taken people to ER's here in Mexico. In the US if the wait time is less then several hours you're lucky. Here the place is near empty and you're seen right away. ER's aren't full here because it isn't a treatment of last resorts. Maybe if everyone wasn't using the ER this way in the states then if you did have to go there, say for a auto accident, you're wait time wouldn't be hours and the aspirin they give you wouldn't cost $50.