The Human Animal (Humans)

by xeno6696 , Sonoran Desert, Saturday, August 29, 2009, 16:39 (5564 days ago) @ George Jelliss

George,
> I'm wondering if this would be the right thread for a discussion on the health service issues which are being debated in the US at present. I would be particularly interested in Dr Turell's views on this. The British National Health Service (NHS) is being drawn into the argument, and often being misrepresented for propaganda purposes. I've always been a great supporter of the NHS, and consider it one of our great achievements. The situation in the US in which millions of people who cannot afford insurance just have to hope never to fall ill seems awful. - Having worked in a hospital for nearly 5 years I can give you a bit of perspective on the current system. Anyone who walks in must be treated--by law. There is no escaping this. The only exception to that are private docs who have their own practices--they can refuse whomever they wish on their own time and in their own practices, though I think that's a very rare occurrence indeed. - Really, the only debate is on the cost of health services, which has risen much faster than inflation over the last 30 years. The no-insurance fear propagated by US media (and our president) is irrational because I watch every day as people are dismissed from their bills, say from seniors on medicare, or on the hopelessly poor. The media is pretty good about finding special cases and touting them as 'normal.' - Many variables go into the rising health costs, first and foremost is malpractice insurance. Then there's the cost of recruiting high talent--the best doctors deserve the best salaries. Then there's competition between hospitals for the latest and greatest equipment. There's hidden costs as well--about a year before I started working in my pharmacy someone forgot to put away a refrigerated chemo shipment, and cost the hospital $100k. (Over 3x my salary.) Who pays for that? Sometimes illegal immigrants get treatment in the ER then sneak out. Who pays for that? - I don't have a problem with requiring all people to pay insurance, but if its one cultural aspect of america that you haven't experienced, we don't have a great tendency to trust government. You trust yours, and I get that. But if you watch our veteran's health system--those citizens that deserve the best--they get treated like shit and a government-run system would likely end up that way here for all citizens. No sane man wants that.

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\"Why is it, Master, that ascetics fight with ascetics?\"

\"It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with ascetics.\"