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I'm appalled, as a human being, and outraged as a politically aware person (and would be as a citizen if it were my country).
Of course, in my specific case, I can' help wonder - what if we had been in that system? Would we be bankrupt? Would treatment have been denied? And I am terrified every single time.
European Tribune / The Oil Drum / EA2020
by Jerome a Paris on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 01:06:00 PM PDT
[ Parent ]
Your costs would probably be in the millions of dollars by this point. Even if you had insurance, it probably would have been canceled long ago.
If you still had insurance, you would be spending massive amounts of time fighting with infuriating profit-driven bureaucracies, who would make the treatment decisions instead of your doctors.
And you'd probably be harassed mercilessly by bill collectors, creditors, and other leeches.
You'd probably end up on public welfare, which means every facet of your lives would be scrutinized to make sure you were destitute enough to receive help.
Thanks for contrasting the two healthcare systems. I really don't think our system will ever be as good as yours, because ours is driven by profit, not medicine.
by Pompatus on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 01:37:25 PM PDT
...if it were run by the government", or at least that's what they like to tell us...
-5.12, -5.23
We are men of action; lies do not become us.
by ER Doc on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 03:35:17 PM PDT
(In my best Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction voice)
Allow me to retort! If the frakkin' French government can do a more than adequate job of health care administration, surely ours could do even better?
Oh, and don't forget that if we could reduce our Defense Dept. budgets, where we spend more than every other country combined (is that a true stat? or was it just more than the other top 3 or 4? I'll look it up later...) we could actually provide health care and still reduce our taxation? Hmmm?
Need something new here... This Space for Rent! (Keith? Your name could be here!) (-4.88, -4.15)
by DrSpalding on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 04:49:40 PM PDT
bit better? Could you provide a link either in English or French?
It sounds pretty frightening but probably because it reminds me of a re education camp.
When we become disenchanted with the purity of Sen. Obama, let's think of John Roberts and Sam Alito when we think of the alternative.
by Dave from Oregon on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 01:44:31 PM PDT
and kinesitherapy and associated disciplines - just the long term treatment+exercise to catch up any physical handicap or other similar condition.
by Jerome a Paris on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 01:58:00 PM PDT
. . . "rehabilitation". :)
The French can sometimes be a bit literal. I recently read a funny article in the NYT, about how an American lady living there got "re-education" of her privates, after the birth of her child. She highly recommends it, but "reeducation" does sound. . . odd to the American ear. . .
"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -William Morris
by Robespierrette on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 02:06:46 PM PDT
very brilliant and angelic daughter got lyme's disease on a trip to the East Coast. It took her five years to get her West Coast doctors to admit she had it (lyme, at the time wasn't on the west coast) and another year and half to get even basic treatment.
In the interval her condition (which she had diagnosed accurately herself in the first year) left her at 90 lbs., bed-ridden, repeated seizures and collapses, and loss of mental faculties.
The treatment they gave her was a protocol for someone who had recently been infected, apparently the progression of the disease being determined by the date the medical establishment there acknowledged it. Of course, it was inadequate to the purpose. Nonetheless their documents said this treatment cures this condition so therefore no more treatment for this was available.
That took a year to fix.
Fortunately, an angel has arrived, and she, after another two years has gone from the edge of death to actually taking short jaunts with friends, and writing and singing again. If not for that lucky break...
I could tell you stories... it's the one reason I usually don't have the nerve to read most of nyceve's diaries.
At this point I'd favor a law that would at it's start require, first, that all the medical related board members, and a good sprinkling of doctors be lined up, and second the ability to count to ten.
Until we break the corporate virtual monopoly on what we hear and see, we keep losing, don't matter what we do.
by Jim P on Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 09:24:52 PM PDT
wide narrow
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