US medical system

[Maverick]

Is it true that if you dont have insurance you cannot just walk into a hospital if something is wrong with you ?

Damn, In Canada we should be thankful that we can just walk into any hospital and get healthcare !!!

what is the percentage of people that do not have insurance in the states ?

how much is an average visit to the hospital if you had to go ?

thanks for the info

 

[gjohnson5]

You're gonna need an operational medical system if you ever dream about whoopin' my ass!

 

[Matthew_31]

They will only accept you in emergencies in the states if you dont have insurance. Most hospitals budget for those circumstances.

Considering US taxes, it is amazing that they cant afford public health care. I guess they have to pay to hunt down dogs in Baghdad though lol.

Matt

 

[mrplunkey]

They can't turn you down if it's an emergency. Basically everyone pays for it in the form of increased healthcare costs.

When you say "can't afford public healthcare" you said a mouthful. Part of what works against us is our insanely high-end care for the insured. Proposing a two-tier system where anyone off the street doesn't get an instant MRI and a team of consulting physicians surrounding them brings-out public outcry. So "public" healthcare translates into "across the board ultra-high end healthcare".

Then the other issue is Americans ourselves. We're in the best shape -- and the worst shape. We're the most active -- and the most lazy. We have the best diets -- and the worst. We celebrate the extremes, so another problem is that we have to pay for the defiant, 450-lb diabetic who brags about how many cigarettes and pringles he can go through in a day.

 

[Gambino]

nordstrom in 3, 2,1

 

[PWTurbofan]

I think the other problem here is the insane amount of insurance coverage docs need to have to protect against med malpractice suits. Everybody sues everybody here. Look at the posting someone just left on C&C about the kids who electrocuted themselves while TRESPASSING and still managed to walk away with MILLIONS in punitive damages.

So we end up paying the brunt of this in higher medical costs. My latest round of bloodwork and a checkup from an endo was nearly 1300. 1300 fucking dollars for a 20-minute office visit, and bloodwork that's analyzed by computers. It's bullshit.

 

[jenscats5]

I'm so glad I have insurance......my outpatient knee operation was $12,000+ and I didn't even spend 12 hours in the hospital......they wanted to keep me longer too....

 

[mrplunkey]

I think the other problem here is the insane amount of insurance coverage docs need to have to protect against med malpractice suits. Everybody sues everybody here. Look at the posting someone just left on C&C about the kids who electrocuted themselves while TRESPASSING and still managed to walk away with MILLIONS in punitive damages.

So we end up paying the brunt of this in higher medical costs. My latest round of bloodwork and a checkup from an endo was nearly 1300. 1300 fucking dollars for a 20-minute office visit, and bloodwork that's analyzed by computers. It's bullshit.

That's another huge issue. We've needed tort reform for over 100 years.

 

[mrplunkey]

And to pile-on yet another issue... Americans are one of the most extreme break-and-fix cultures in the world. We just don't do prevention well at all -- not just in healthcare. It would take at least one, if not two full generations of indoctrination in schools to teach kids about the causal nature of health maintenance and long-term well being.

I'd love to see us start that kind of education, but realize that the marlboro-packing tobacco grower in rural North Carolina is going to show-up at school and ask "why the fuck are you telling MY child how to live????!!!!".

 

[reaper99]

Was in Er 2 days ago 500 beans just to go to the emergency room. ultrasound and some motrin what you think that cost. I can't wait for the bill.