Health Care in One Sentence!

[twowheelsnake]

Trolling success...yesssssssssss

[shittygsxr]

How about you worry about how you spend your money and I will worry about how to spend mine.

[Mykill]

Scruit, you are speaking from my heart.

I have never had anything to worry about in Germany. (Before you all start, the military stationed us here, that is why we're here)

When I was sick, I went to the doctor, I got treated, I got better. Never had to pay a dime, no copay, no deductible, nothing. THAT IS WHAT INSURANCE IS FOR! DUH!

I don't get this capitalistic way of living.

And yes, change is so hard. I admit it, I am democratic at heart, because of the country I come from. I do understand what the president is trying to do.

Another thing I cannot stand here is they way they campaign. It disgusts me! It is lame and the low blow commercials on either side make me wanna puke! They just look ridiculous in my eyes. The way the Repukes were doing jokes about the president is just sad. He is your elected official of this country. How are children supposed to learn respect, if the majority of the adults cannot respect authority????

THis year is the first year I can vote in this country, but I might choose not to.

That is something that is different in Germany also, you cannot publicly ruin ones reputation. It is not allowed. All they do is tell the public what they will change and how they will do it. (something you don't hear here either)

How come the majority of people in Germany who qualify for private insurance opt of the public system if it is so good?

[ChiefScooter]

Scruit, you are speaking from my heart.

I have never had anything to worry about in Germany. (Before you all start, the military stationed us here, that is why we're here)

When I was sick, I went to the doctor, I got treated, I got better. Never had to pay a dime, no copay, no deductible, nothing. THAT IS WHAT INSURANCE IS FOR! DUH!

I don't get this capitalistic way of living.

And yes, change is so hard. I admit it, I am democratic at heart, because of the country I come from. I do understand what the president is trying to do.

Another thing I cannot stand here is they way they campaign. It disgusts me! It is lame and the low blow commercials on either side make me wanna puke! They just look ridiculous in my eyes. The way the Repukes were doing jokes about the president is just sad. He is your elected official of this country. How are children supposed to learn respect, if the majority of the adults cannot respect authority????

THis year is the first year I can vote in this country, but I might choose not to.

That is something that is different in Germany also, you cannot publicly ruin ones reputation. It is not allowed. All they do is tell the public what they will change and how they will do it. (something you don't hear here either)

I don't think I understand your post correctly. You are in the military, stationed in Germany, and don't have to pay anything for treatment? Wouldn't that be because you have TriCare Prime, which means you have no costs to pay, regardless of what country or area of the US you find yourself in as an Active Duty military member?

[C-bus]

Bad things happen to good people. Our healthcare system is pretty damn good.

[cg2112]

How come the majority of people in Germany who qualify for private insurance opt of the public system if it is so good?

They don't, that's how come.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91971406

[Cheech]

Bad things happen to good people. Our healthcare system is pretty damn good.

Seriously? Being a hospital visit away from complete financial ruin is "pretty damn good?"

Methinks you and the others wouldn't be singing this tune if it was you or someone close to you.

[Cheech]

They don't, that's how come.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91971406

Nice, thanks for posting that up.

[Mykill]

They don't, that's how come.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91971406

You are correct. I couldnt remember completely and shouldve double checked.

Are the sickness funds run as for-profit businesses or nonprofit?

A.

They’re all nonprofit companies. There is a separate for-profit industry to which you can belong if your income is above 45,000 euros [about $65,000]. If you’re 33 years old and have a high income, your premium in the private plan is much lower. However, premiums increase with age. And if your income declines, you could be in dire straits. Since 1992, individuals with an income above the threshold who choose to buy private insurance cannot get back into the social insurance system unless they fall below the poverty line. This makes people hesitant to leave the social insurance system.

Q.

Is there competition between private and public plans?

A.

Yes, there is, but 90 percent of people are in the public plans. There is competition among the sickness funds, too, now that people can choose.

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health-care-abroad-germany/

[cg2112]

You are correct. I couldnt remember completely and shouldve double checked.

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health-care-abroad-germany/

One thing that is important to remember: No one is asking that we implement Germany's health care plan, or Canada's health care plan, or Britain's health care plan. It's a fallacy to say "Just look at how horrible Canada is!!" It's not, but it's a common argument - it doesn't matter, because no one is saying "Let's use Canada's plan!"

Comparison's to other countries is a useless exercise. Americans are, in my opinion, smart enough and ambitious enough to implement a universal national health care plan that works for us.

What we have had up until now hasn't worked. We have too many people without health care, and the rising costs of health care is a serious problem for so many people - 50% of mortgages during the housing crisis were related to health care costs.

Obamacare isn't perfect, but it's step in the right direction. Health care is only going to be fixed with baby steps. Sadly, the tea party infected Republican Party is hell bent on undoing even the baby steps.

[C-bus]

Our payment system is screwed up. I don't have that answer. But our care, technology, and amenities are second to none in the world. Is it our profits that drive one provider to be better than others? I think it is. Go to a county hospital or VA which keep their doors open regardless of success and compare to one (for profit or not-for-profit) who will only prosper if the margins are there and you will find astonishing differences.

[Cheech]

Our payment system is screwed up. I don't have that answer. But our care, technology, and amenities are second to none in the world. Is it our profits that drive one provider to be better than others? I think it is. Go to a county hospital or VA which keep their doors open regardless of success and compare to one (for profit or not-for-profit) who will only prosper if the margins are there and you will find astonishing differences.

It's not the "payment system", it's the profit motive driving the payment system. I'll put this out for starters. No, that's not satire, and no, that's not a billing error, overzealous staffer, or any other bullshit copout excuse, and I'm willing to bet there's a lot more where that came from.

If you want to talk about profits, then let's talk about marketing. Last year, Pfizer spent 6 BILLION worldwide on marketing their products. The industry as a whole? 92.2 Billion. Before you start on "b-b-but, it's expensive to do clinical trials!" those trials took up 2%, or 1.8 Billion of that total. Professional advertising? You know, actually educating the people that should be educated about the benefits and risks of new drugs, so they can adequately explain these to their patients? .8%, or 737 Million. Where did the rest go? Here's en experiment you can try tomorrow night. Watch the evening news, and during the commercial breaks count how many prescription drug commercials you see. Pick up a Time or Newsweek and count how many are in there, and know that magazines that cater to housewives have double that number. Source for the above numbers

So you tell me, as an industry that regularly wastes 89 billion dollars a year for unneeded marketing (unneeded since the rest of the world doesn't think that Rx marketing is necessary, it's only legal in the US and NZ), you don't think that the price of prescriptions drugs is just a wee bit inflated, and indicative of a larger problem of massively inflated health care costs in the US?

[C-bus]

I get the feeling that minds aren't going to be changed on this internet motorcycle forum. By the way, do you know how much profit is made on a Corn Flake? Imagine that.... billions spent on marketing for food! If we took profit out of food, everyone could afford to eat. Even better, if we gave it away in bread lines.....

Edited September 12, 2012 by C-bus

[Cheech]

I get the feeling that minds aren't going to be changed on this internet motorcycle forum. By the way, do you know how much profit is made on a Corn Flake? Imagine that.... billions spent on marketing for food! If we took profit out of food, everyone could afford to eat. Even better, if we gave it away in bread lines.....

Ah, false equivalency, for when you can't use logical arguments and just want to spout bullshit. But hey, since you brought it up, for 3Q2011, Kellogg's netted 464M while Pfizer netted 3.7B, up from 867M the year prior. To be fair, that 3.7 number is a little inflated due to one-time charges and selling off a business unit, so we'll chop 1.3B off that number for a total net of 2.4 billion dollars.

[magley64]

Ask your doctor if prilo-viag-nexi-ambien

will cure your depression, ed, gout, rls, and insomnia...

don't you think if you have these problems your freaking doctor would know what medications or treatments to prescribe? Why are idiot consumers supposed to make suggestions to healthcare professionals?

it's retarded

[cg2112]

I get the feeling that minds aren't going to be changed on this internet motorcycle forum. By the way, do you know how much profit is made on a Corn Flake? Imagine that.... billions spent on marketing for food! If we took profit out of food, everyone could afford to eat. Even better, if we gave it away in bread lines.....

I've never heard of anyone dying without Corn Flakes.

I've never heard of anyone losing their home because they had to pay for breakfast cereal.

[RHill]

Ask your doctor if prilo-viag-nexi-ambien

will cure your depression, ed, gout, rls, and insomnia...

don't you think if you have these problems your freaking doctor would know what medications or treatments to prescribe? Why are idiot consumers supposed to make suggestions to healthcare professionals?

it's retarded

Because people will not realize they have these problems without pharmaceutical companies shoving it down their throats every commercial break. If people do not realize they have these problems(is it really a problem if you/those surrounding you dont realize it?) it wont set off the chain of events which results in money in the pockets of the pharma companies.

Advertising intertwining with so-called medicine is bullshit and is extremely unethical.