So, I was talking with my good friend Jenni-O the other day (although she has been married for years now, I still reserve the right to retain the O on her name) about her grandmother who just went through quadruple by-pass surgery and the many woes she has experienced of late with the health care industry in general. Ridiculous, really, but I think everyone has their horror stories of health care and health insurance, in particular.
It got me thinking about a movie that Ellis and I watched the other night called Sicko by Michael Moore. Now, I know what you're thinking -- that Michael Moore is crazy! Well, at least, I always thought he was, and I never had any desire to see any of his movies. Oh yeah, I'd heard all the hype about him, and I wasn't interested.
Well, Ellis has read several of his books, and he picked up Sicko at the library. I didn't really want to watch it, but he threw it in one night while I was holding a sick, little Lucy for a few hours, and I was pretty defenseless.
So here's the thing: the movie was fantastic! Seriously, it was completely entertaining (Moore is very funny) and very informative. I guess I hadn't realized that we were one of the few countries in the Western Hemisphere without national health care. Not only that, so many of the beliefs I had about national health care were dispelled.
Here are just a few of those myths:
1. You have to wait hours in waiting rooms, or months to have surgeries. Well, according to the people in Canada, France, and England that Moore interviewed, that's just not true.
2. You can't pick which doctor you go to. Again, not true. With national health care, all doctors are paid through the government, so you can go to any of them.
3. Doctors aren't paid as well. Well, according to a doctor Moore interviewed in England, this doctor feels he's doing pretty well. He is a family doctor who makes about $200,000 a year, lives in a million-dollar home, and drives some fancy car (I can't remember what it was). The nice thing was, he only had a mortgage to worry about because his college career was paid for! He basically had no debt. Huh, that would be nice.
Overall, though, I think we all know that our health care system is a big, fat mess right now. Something really has to be done. When I think about how much money Americans fork out every year for insurance that doesn't even pay for much of the actual health care needed, I feel literally sick.
The thing that really got me, though, was the comment Michael Moore makes at the end of the movie. He questions what kind of country we are that we don't take care of our own people. I wonder that, too.
I think of all the people out there who can't afford health insurance (or even those that can, but it doesn't cover their needs). Are they less deserving of good health care? What has happened to us, as a country, that we won't even take care of our own people? Why is money the overriding motivator here? Why have we not adopted a system that allows every person in this country to get the care they need, whether they are poor or rich?
So, let me just say that I highly recommend this movie. I'm kind of mad at myself for falling for all the crap talk against Moore without every having actually seen any movies he's made or read any of his books. I hate that I made such knee-jerk reactions without even being informed. Sicko was great.
I'm off my soap-box now.
9 comments:
Having lived in (and had the great fortune of visiting hospitals) two different European countries, let me tell you that there are pros and cons to National Heath Care. First of all, both hospitals I went to (come to think of it, I've been to three, just once it was for my companion, not for me!)were kind of dang scary. In one of them, in Brussels, there was no doorknob in the ER, just a huge string hanging down from the ceiling that you pulled to open the door. The personnel were wearing Birks with no socks...I had to get an ultrasound (they thought I was having problems with my gall bladder)and the tech literally took the ultrasound and LEFT us to find our way back to the hospital room..all sketchy stuff. I will gladly pay for an American hospital any day! B. Taxes (especially in Europe) are INSANELY high to pay for this. It's really sad--one of my friends said that after she pays tithing and taxes, she only brings home about 40% of her income!
I agree our system is a mess--getting good medical attention should be a RIGHT not a PRIVILEDGE, but National Health Care has problems of its own!!
While I agree there are going to be problems with any system, I just don't think what we have going on is the best option. And the taxes thing -- I wonder how much of our income we take home after insurance premiums, co-pays, outrageously expensive prescriptions (my dad's diabetic - his medication expenses are insane), and the percentage we have to pay to have surgeries, procedures, and babies (I don't know if we could afford to actually have another one right now . . .).
I'm with you -- good medical attention should be a right for all citizens. It's just wrong that there are so many people who aren't getting any care at all just because they can't afford it.
Not to mention, compared to the care Jenni-O's grandma just got by the hospital staff here, it sounds like you got the royal treatment by ultrasound guy!
I would be curious, though, to hear Amanda's thoughts on this subject since she recently had a baby in England.
Interesting stuff.
Let me tell you my pet peeves about medical issues in this country...
I am tired of watching illegal citizens walk out of the hospital doors, new baby in arms and not pay a single cent for the primo care they just received. Meanwhile, my insurance premiums just keeping going up...is it to cover all those free babies?
We pay A LOT for insurance each month, as I am sure you all do and still pay around $150 a month in diabetes supplies for Allison.
Then there's the issue of the deductible. This year we are looking at a three day stay at Primary Children's for Allison's Diabetes, Same Day Surgery on Friday (she's getting her tonsils out), and it looks like Richard is going to need to have his knee worked on as well as his shoulder. After all those procedures, we still won't have anything covered 100%. It's insane.
That being said, I do feel we have a lot of dedicated doctors out there. It kind of scares me to think that our doctors might behave like Postal Workers if they worked for the government too!
I agree that SOMETHING needs to be done - SOON!
No offense to you postal workers out there. I am speaking in generals, not specifics. I guess I could have said, DMV workers, but then I might offend that department as well!
BTW - the postal workers in my neighborhood are very nice people.
You know, that's an interesting thought. I wonder, too, how national health care would really affect doctors. I mean, besides the money issue, what would it really mean for them?
Would they be happier knowing they could help any patient, not just if the patient has insurance? What kinds of frustrations would they have? Would they have less working hours (like it seems doctors in England have?), or would they basically work the same kind of hours? It always alarms me to hear about doctors working 48 hours straight and performing surgeries on people.
With that said, though, I agree that we do have some wonderful doctors and nurses here that do truly care about their patients. How much do insurance companies tie their hands, I wonder.
I'm just so sorry that you guys have medical bills like this that I really feel you shouldn't have to worry about, what with all the other worries you have just with getting your family healthy. And did you say tonsils?? Just one more thing, huh?
Well, I do have a lot to say about the situation. But first,
...do you know how hard it is to read your posts while the music on your site is playing? I love it, but I can only do one thing at a time.
You're right about the fact that they're are good and bad things about National Health Care, and we definitely can improve our health care system. But if I had to vote right now for or against nationalizing our health care I would vote against it.
1. As far as having to wait for care or surgeries, it can go both ways. As a ante-natal patient I rarely had to wait, but I had private insurance and they were trying hard to impress. I believe their post-natal and baby care is pretty good and again we rarely had to wait for things. But I have talked to a few people who have had to wait quite awhile for things. I think that part just depends.
2. I'm not exactly sure how it works for general sickness, but in our case with ante-natal care we were directed to see a general practitioner first and were told to go to the facilities closest to our area. Had I not gone the private insurance route here's how our care would have gone. First visit, general practitioner. Weeks 8-14, midwife, somewhere between weeks 15-20 you'll see an obstetrician once. If there are complications you may continue to see the obstetrician, if not you go back to seeing the midwife and continue to see the midwife for the rest of the pregnancy. At the hospital you would be delivered by whichever midwife is on at the time. They will absolutely not induce you until you are at least 10 days overdue.
3. I have no idea how much the doctors are paid, but after paying for our care in the hospital, I'd say they get paid quite a bit.
Here are a few other thoughts:
-It's true that taxes in England are extremely high, about 55%. People think their health care is free, but it surely is not.
-As I said, I had private health insurance and was supposedly treated better, but I would never again pay what I did for the care I got. I wish I had used the National Health System for free, because the care and mainly the facilities were so crappy.
-After my delivery (with an epidural that did not work) they never checked the baby to see if she was okay. They never suctioned the nose, listened to her heart, anything like that.
-After a few hours they needed me to clear the room (I understand that), but they wanted me to shower (by myself) and then walk up (yes, up) to my room by myself, pushing my baby in her little cart. Since my left leg was completely numb (from the non-functioning epidural), they wheel-chaired me to my room upstairs. Luckily I had a private room (one of five, and only two had their own bathrooms). Had I not had a private room I would have shared a room with at least seven other women and their new babies. The next morning I had to walk myself and the baby out to the "community" meeting area for my breakfast.
-While I was in the hospital (for less than one day, by my own choice) they never checked me again. They had a pediatrician come and check the baby (who was by far my favorite doctor there). But when my doctor came back she basically asked how I was feeling and that was it.
-The baby was never given any vaccinations until she was two months old. They don't give the Hep B shot unless the mother has tested positive. They also gave her a vaccination that my doctor here had never heard of.
-My six week check-up with my doctor (which cost $1000) consisted of a 3 minute conversation with my doctor about how I was feeling. That's it.
-I was told that the hospital that I went to was one of the nicer and better hospitals in the area.
-I've heard there are some pretty good hospitals in London, but a majority of them are private hospitals or have private patients.
-Anybody with money over there uses private doctors. For example, my neighbor's cancer recently returned. She told us for little things like a cold or minor injury they use their NHS number for health care, but when it comes to her cancer and her care, they always use their private health insurance.
-I had to bring everything for me and the baby at the hospital: pads, underwear, clothes (they didn't even give you an extra gown), diapers (okay, they gave me 6).
-They didn't bathe the baby until I asked them to.
-If you ask my mom (who used to be a Labor & Delivery nurse) how the experience was (she was there), she'd tell you it was absolutely horrible. I didn't think it was that bad, but I had A LOT better with my first two. If I had to do it again I would not pay for the care I got, it wasn't worth it. Compared to my first two ante-natal and post-natal experiences, this third one was not good.
So those are a few things to think about. Did I leave anything out? I posted a little about it on my blog after I had Addi.
One thing I liked about NHS was the after care of the baby. A midwife came to my house within a week to check me and the baby, and then again to discharge the baby after 10 days. At 2 weeks the health visitor came to our house to check on us (I really liked her), and she came again at 2 months. We left when Addi was 3 months, but I believe they continue to come for another few months. I'm not sure if that is a national service or was one provided in my area, but I thought it was great.
As far as other health services go, I've heard of some pretty crazy things happening there, but I'm sure there are some pretty crazy things that happen here also.
But as I said earlier, if I had to vote on it, I'll keep my health insurance and health care here, mostly because of the quality.
Sorry that was so long. I guess I should have made it my own post.
Amanda, thanks so much for all of your insight on this! That is exactly what I was looking for, actually, so I'm glad you were so detailed. It's hard to really know what other countries have unless you've experienced it yourself. It's nice to get first-hand experience from someone who has had extended health care visits and a hospital stay.
I just wish I knew what the answer was to providing quality health care to all citizens.
And, uh, sorry about the music . . .
I'm digging the Lenny Kravitz this morning, by the way.
While I can't really can't give too detailed an opinion on the state of the healthcare industry, I do have a general opinion on the subject.
I know people who have had fantastic medical experiences with their hospitals, doctors, insurance companies. I'm sure someone could produce a documentary about how many people are happy with the current state of things and find witnesses to back up this argument. My Dad's motorcycle accident and following 2 month ICU occupation, was a phenomenal experience. (Aside from the fact that the whole thing was a crap deal, obviously.) We couldn't have asked for better care - both in the hospital and through the bureaucracy of the insurance companies. I actually loved my last insurance company. They were helpful, friendly, accommodating, and willing to work through a few sticky billing situations. (The jury is still out on my current insurance company.) Obviously, there are people who are unhappy....but there are a lot of people satisfied everyday, too. Just remember that we're dealing with a topic that no one is generally too happy about having to use. I've had great medical care and horrible medical care. But there's no way the government could have prevented or fixed the horrible medical care situation.
I also have two brothers-in-law who are doctors, and while they say there are certainly things that need to be fixed - a government overhaul is the last thing they recommend. Admittedly, I don't know the inner workings of the medical community well enough to make a convincing argument on what should be fixed and how.
But this I DO believe. I think the federal government RARELY makes things better. Why do we automatically assume that the fix to societal problems must come from and through government? Is that REALLY the best route? Remember, every time we give a job to the government, we'll never get them to rescind it. And so we give our freedom away "good idea" by "good idea." No, things aren't perfect. Still doesn't tempt me into wanting the government involved in every aspect of my personal life. With each good "plan," I have to ask myself, "Is it worth giving more power to the government for this?" And everyone has to come to their own determination on what is right and wrong in that arena.
Seems people have different ideas of what is a "right." Here's my opinion on the matter. I don't think I'm entitled to perfect health care coverage just because I live and breathe. Nor do I think anyone else is. Want? Yes. Is it a God-given right? Absolutely not. Remember, some other tax payer is paying for that service. I don't have the right to demand that they take care of my want. If they choose to help me, so be it. But should the government go in and take that money and decide how it is best used? I don't believe so. As a human being, I have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness....meaning that I can pursue it....but nobody can guarantee that's going to happen. Sometimes life is great and sometimes life sucks. C'est l'avie. Our challenge as free citizens is to take care of ourselves, our families, and our communities. And there are good people out there, doing good things, trying to make the world a better place, taking care of those people that need help....good doctors, good institutions, good companies, etc. Let's keep the government out of it and let free people meet that responsibility on their own without being coerced into doing it.
And now I'll get off my soap-box. :-)
I shall avoid any further political discussion. While I love listening and investigating....I personally hate discussing it. Gives me major ulcers. Whew, I'm wiped....where's the Zantac?
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