Healthcare Poll

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There seems to be a lot of misconceptions when it comes to various healthcare systems throughout the world. Being from the US, I often hear complaints about how bad socialized medicine is, so I'm looking for honest opinions from those with firsthand knowledge.

Please feel free to add any details about your system and your own experiences. Is your system fair? Is the overall quality good? Would you prefer a more free-market solution? Are you made to wait too long for care? Do you feel that your taxes are too high?

Of course not every other nation has socialized healthcare and I'm interested in those experiences as well. All responses are greatly appreciated.

Please excuse the redundancy in the thread title.

Please clarify:

If I am from a country other than the US, and I want to take part in your poll, how would I interpret:

"I am from another country and would rate our system as XXX"

"our system": is the system from my country or the american system?
And, aside from Americans, do you only want people from other countries that have universal healthcare to take part in this poll?

Apologies. I meant "our" as in your own. I should have wrote "my" instead. I also should have been consistent by either using bad for both or poor for both. Meh, clearly it wasn't my best day.

I was hoping that people with a variety of different systems would participate including, but not limited to those with universal healthcare. No system is perfect, but I think it's a good idea to get a sense of the pros and cons of each.

IMO these are some of the pros and cons of the U.S system:

Pros - Reasonably good access to proper care and treatment if you are fortunate enough to have good coverage and if your insurance company deems your care to be necessary.

Cons - 50 million or so uninsured citizens, outrageous premiums and deductibles, pre-approval processes that leave the decisions of medical necessity to insurance companies instead of doctors, frequent claim denials, pre-existing condition clauses and very long waiting periods for coverage, lifetime and annual caps that put very sick people at a clear disadvantage, financial vulnerability should illness or injury occur (even with insurance), the shift from patient to consumer, much of the consumer's dollars going towards advertising and promotion, extravagant salaries/bonuses for sales, legal teams, and CEO's, a lack of choice for most as they are at the mercy of their employers decision.

That's a good start. I'm quite curious about the reasons for the good and fair ratings for the U.S. system. Would anyone care to explain?

The U.S. system was good until Obamacare was passed. Now it's fair headed for bad.

Could you elaborate? Why was it good prior to the passage of Obamacare?

Really is that why even before that my dad could never get proper treatment for his knee injury?


Now it could be worse if you seriously have to pay a fine for not buying the insurance or whatever Obama tells you to buy, at least I think that was part of Obamacare.

Capricious social darwinism is good, as long as no bad s**t happens to me.

I'm your neighbour up north and I'm satisfied with the system we have. It is 70% public and 30% private which is a good balance.

I'm pretty sure the fine only applies to those who can afford it independently. There are supposed to be subsidies for low and even middle income families and individuals. That's not to say that I'm thrilled about insurance companies getting a slew of new customers to profit from.

That's what I was thinking. I'd love to be wrong though.

That does sound like a good balance. I'm curious, do you guys see endless ads for erectile dysfunction pills every time you turn on the TV?

IIRC from my health care course advertising is illegal unless it's on a scientific journal or something like that. I have seen ads for pharmaceuticals but they're probably American.

I have lived in America and in Europe, and have experienced socialized healthcare and American healthcare.

As I experienced it:

Socialized healthcare - No frills (shared a room with 5 other patients, had a metal hospital bed that had to be adjusted manually, etc.). Less expensive treatment options are tried before more expensive ones, even when that means suffering for the patient. Paperwork is almost nonexistent, and cost is usually zero.

American healthcare - My hospital room was like a resort (it was huge, private, had cable tv - there was even a mini fridge, for pete's sake). Treatment is whatever is fastest and most effective. Paperwork is nightmarish, and costs can be high even with health insurance. Because billing is so complicated, there is no way of telling how much expense is being incurred until afterward. Without insurance, the hospital will probably refuse to treat you at all.

Basically, if you're rich or have good insurance, then America is the place to be for healthcare.
If you are uninsured or poor, it is better to be in a place that has socialized healthcare. Your hospital stay may not be pleasant, but you will receive free, adequate treatment.

Wow, you can't so much as turn a page in a magazine without seeing full-page ads for pills here. Often, they have to do with sexual functions and behaviors like ED, birth control, or STD vaccines. We take "sex sells" to a whole new level.

Hahaha wow as if MTV wasn't enough