Oh no! I'm going to die because of socialized health care!

[velvetpage]

The last thing I did before leaving this morning was post a debate in booju_newju asking if the U.S. should socialize their health care system. As a result, I haven't read much of my friends page - I've been replying and managing discussion over there ever since I got home.



I'm wondering about the perceived connection between long wait times and socialized medicine. There is a connection, certainly, but it's not, "Oh no! If the government is paying for it, we'll have to wait!" From my point of view, it appears to be mostly about infrastructure. We do not have enough doctors or other specialists, and if we did, we would lack some of the operating theatres, hospital beds, and other necessary things to reduce wait times. This is a systemic problem, certainly, but it is not one that would appear immediately upon instituting socialized medicine. The U.S. already has the infrastructure, and they certainly have enough doctors. (They could send back a few of the ones they've borrowed from us, actually. We need them ourselves.) There might be some shortages when all the currently-uninsured suddenly had access to the whole system, but they'd be manageable, and probably much of it would be absorbed by the current system. After all, everyone would have a lot more time to see patients if they weren't filling out dozens of forms and attempting to get blood from a stone payment from people who have no money.

Also, what's with this idea that "The government will tell me which doctors I have to see!" That is totally, categorically false. In fact, I have more choice of doctors than many insured Americans whose insurance companies tell them which doctors they're willing to pay for. I can see any doctor in Ontario by presenting my health card, if I have a referral. And, while I know many people who have to wait, I never have. It depends on the specialty how long you'll wait, and once you're on their patient roster, you won't have to wait again to see the doctor - though you may have to wait for your surgery. See previous comment about infrastructure.

Last complaint I have little patience with - "Our taxes will be too high for us to afford to eat!" Okay, maybe your taxes would go up - though it should be possible to do it for the amount already being paid for Medicare - but your health premiums would (almost) disappear, and the savings would be rather greater than the increase in taxes. No, the rich are not going to flee to places where they don't have to support the poor. There aren't a whole lot of those places left, at least not places where the rich would actually want to live.

Okay, I'm done now.

Comments

[neebs.livejournal.com]

I have no idea about Canada and I have no actual facts to back me up (so it sounds like I would fit right in with this Booju community =P) BUT I DO have friends in med school and vaguely remembering reading in a few places (washingtonpost.com comes to mind) that with the rate that malpractice insurance is going up, being a doctor isn't all that lucrative anymore. (Except for plastic surgery, which apparently is booming.)

So, really, if the gov. covered malpractice stuff, it might be even more incentive to go into medicine.

AS I SAID, though, I have no facts to back this up. So nobody yell at me. I'll cry. ;)

Also are people complaining that if we go to socialized health care they'll have to wait? Because I waited one hour and thirty-f-ing-two minutes last time I went to see my doctor. Granted, she's a f-ing moron, but still...that's outrageous.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I think they mean waiting for surgeries or getting an appointment with a specialist, either of which can take months depending on who and why you're trying to see. My friend's mother waited six months for her hip replacement, and my aunt will wait most of a year for her double knee replacement.

Canadians are less inclined to sue, and I think judges are less inclined to find malpractice, so there are fewer malpractice insurance costs in Canada.

[neebs.livejournal.com]

Ahh, my apologies, I see now that I missed the "specialist" in that sentence.

Amen for Canadians being less likely to sue. *Another plus for moving to Canada*

[anidada.livejournal.com]

...also where, when, and how desperately the surgery is needed. For instance, knee surgeries in Toronto (Alex's mom) and Kingston (our friend M), it seems, have very short wait times -- at the moment. Six months from now, who knows? Go west, it might be better, or not!

It's all a rich tapestry. ;)

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile, I know a lady who went for her first "routine" checkup in a long time a few years ago. The doctor was very concerned. He got her in for tests, and she was on the table for major cancer surgery within the week. That probably meant that someone else had to wait a day or so longer - but it was the doctors' judgment that they could afford to, and this lady clearly couldn't.