US Healthcare

In order to drag the debate out of the 'Anti-Obama' Thread, I thought I'd start this one.

So, as we all know, Obama plans for Healthcare reform in the US have been met with, at times, vitriolic debate. The fact that the US spends twice as much per capita on healthcare, without equivalent additional healthcare benefits whilst leaving 75 million people without insurance or underinsured, the system is clearly in need of reform of some sort.

What should America do to fix it's healthcare system?

Speaking as someone who has extensive experience of MEDICAID provision - I find it shocking how little is understood by Europeans about the American healthcare system. It does approach the standard of the NHS. The fact that millions of Americans are uninsured is clearly true - however it does not tell the full story. Many of these recieve basic emergency care under the MEDICARE and the MEDICAID systems.

Paid insurance schemes, though expensive, and not available to many Americans provide an appreciable higher level of service than the NHS.



I speak as a Socialist and a supporter of European style medical provision. We must not however view the American system in simplistic terms.

In order to drag the debate out of the 'Anti-Obama' Thread, I thought I'd start this one.

So, as we all know, Obama plans for Healthcare reform in the US have been met with, at times, vitriolic debate. The fact that the US spends twice as much per capita on healthcare, without equivalent additional healthcare benefits whilst leaving 75 million people without insurance or underinsured, the system is clearly in need of reform of some sort.

What should America do to fix it's healthcare system?

Speaking as someone who has extensive experience of MEDICAID provision - I find it shocking how little is understood by Europeans about the American healthcare system. It does approach the standard of the NHS. The fact that millions of Americans are uninsured is clearly true - however it does not tell the full story. Many of these recieve basic emergency care under the MEDICARE and the MEDICAID systems.

Paid insurance schemes, though expensive, and not available to many Americans provide an appreciable higher level of service than the NHS.

The standard of care provided by the NHS is very high.

The standard of care provided by the NHS is very high.

Why then to we have very poor cancer survuval rates?

Well first of all I think you need to stop reading whatever you're reading as it's bull****.

how is it not broken. It runs on who can afford it basis, not a need basis leaving 70 million people without healthcare. Plus those with insurance still dont always recieve there rights while the executives get millions in bonuses for doing nothing! Its a disgrace that th richest country in the world, a 1st world nation has people living in 3rd world standards!

Out of a non-elderly population of 261.4 million 17.2% (45 million) are uninsured.

There are a further 25 million+ underinsured people i.e. people who have health coverage that does not adequately protect them from high medical expenses

Care to try and dispute those figures?

I can

Many of those 45 million are illegal immigrants and no country in the world (please correct me if I'm wrong) provides anything other than emergency medical care to people who shouldn't be there.

Cancer survival rate statistics spouted by the American right are often outdated. In the nineties our rates were low, but this is due to the chronic underfunding by Thatcher and Major.

Since NHS spending rose continuously under both Thatcher and Major, was it also chronically underfunded under Callaghan, Wilson, Atlee &c.?

America has excellent health care for rich people. These same people think a health care plan for everyone will hurt their level of healthcare in the end its selfishness.

75 million people without healthcare, these same people are left to die but then America has the balls to quote statistics that britain has a 77 percent survival rate for prostate cancer treatment whereas they have 100 percent ignoring those who get no treatment.

Britain is ranked 18th in the world for healthcare and America is ranked 36th. America spends double Britain does.

Cuba has a superior healthcare system to America that says it all.

Medicine was cheap (ish) in the NHS's formative years. The price of medicine exploded the early 80s with technology like CTs, MRIs, new cancer drugs etc fuelling the price boom worldwide.

(also the graph doesn't take into account inflation)

The standard of care provided by the NHS is very high.

Have you got a source for that other than a cartoon?

Some of those numbers look pretty dodgy. I mean, according to my source, there are 7.2 million 18-25 year olds uninsured. The cartoon suggests there's a million more, all of whom think they're invincible.

First of all - my position on American citizens criticising our healthcare system - is that they are stupid. Do they not realise they have a 3rd world healthcare system. Obama needs to put everyone on Medicare, for free, but with the option of paying for a private insurance premium.