Why should the USA repeat the disasters that are the healthcare systems of Canada and the UK?

I am totally against universal health care.  I have friends in Canada and lived in England for 4 years.........THEY dont like it.   They have long wait lists for surgical procedures, long wait lists for referrals to specialists.........how can this be good?    There was a guy in England <this was from Good Morning America a few monthes back> who hated it.  He suffered from an unhealed ankle fracture <the pins got infected after the original surgery, the surgical date was over 2 monthes after the accident or something like that>.  He was a smoker, was not able to quit and being 'noncompliant' was among the reasons they refused to redo the surgery.  <I hate smoking but I also hate being dictated to>.        If we were to get universal health care, there goes another one of our rights down the tube.   I hope all those people who have been griping about wanting this system is happy once we get it............and I'm sure we will.  If our tax dollars are paying for abortions all over the planet, why not give healthcare to just anybody even though they might be deadbeats.............drug users, alcoholics, yadda yadda yadda.    This might be a way for these 'abusers' get healthcare of substandard quality........and they just cant seem to get medicare <they forget you sort of need to pay taxes for medicare> or medicaide  <lots of paperwork that only aliens can figure out>.  But now THIS..........no brainer, you only need to be human to get it?  This is making me just as mad as the stimulus thing. 

Dton. I'm worried about healthcare, I'm also worried about how the govt is working this stimus deal..........scares the crap out of me.    We better be quiet too...........another right we currently have that we wont have in the future is the freedom of speech.    God Bless this Country.

Ok, yall go ahead and blast me.......I wont lose a second of sleep over it!

I'm not pro universal healthcare.  I am pro stepping in putting a cap on premiums, co-pays and above all  insurance companies do not have the right to say no on any treatments considered experimental.  I'm also on the side of stepping in and telling pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices drastically. 

angie we were far more apt to lose our freedom of speech under the former president than Mr Obama. 

The last thing I want is the government involved in my healthcare.  As a nurse in managed care, I see how" well" they have done managing Medicare and Medicaid--ugh. The waste is unbelievable and it's all legislated. Medicaid members are not held responsible for anything. Every time they go to the ER even if we deny the charges and don't pay the hospital, the Medicaid recipients have no liability. So every visit for a pregnancy test, or a cold or STD check (non emergent visits), gets shunted to those of us who have insurance and we pay more.

This country tried allowing corporations to police themselves and look what happened. We are in another Depression because someone had the idea that corporations and CEO's were really in it for the benefit of the consumers. BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are only in it for the money. The same goes for insurance companies, managed care, pharmacy companies, etc. Healthcare should never be for profit. Period. You say that nationalized healthcare is worse; but is it any worse than what we have in this country? I work in an ER. The majority of our business these days is people who have NO MONEY, NO INSURANCE, and there's not a private doctor around that will see them for any less than $250 in the office. So you say that at least we are FREE to choose who we want to go to and where. Really ? My insurance company limits compensation if I go outside my "network". So I either see a doctor inside the contract that I may or may not like and may or may not be a good doctor or I go outside the contract and end up footing more of the bill, which I may or may not be able to afford. I'm sorry, but where's the freedom in that? Medicare and Medicaid patients see who they want, when they want and don't have to worry about the bill and how much will be left for them to pay when it's over. Medicare patients have a one time a year deductible. Medicaid patients pay nothing out of pocket except the occasional pharmacy fee, which in my state is limited to $10 if you're on the Medicaid roles. I not only pay a deductible with my insurance, but then I pay a percentage after the insurance company has paid which ramps up when I see a specialist. I recently had surgery. My out of pocket expenses will be in the approximate range of $2-3000. I will be paying for this surgery for the next 3 years if I make payment arrangements, which I will have to do. After a period of time, the practice will get tired of keeping my account on their books and will ship me out to a "collection specialist" who will then void the arrangements I made with the practice and come after me for the balance, paid in full. I will spend days on the phone making new arrangements, which will cut into my off time. Where's the freedom in that? You say I could practice health and wellness. Which I do. I do change those things I can change. However, genes cannot be changed and unfortunately, my family gave me the ability to suffer from severe asthma which means a lot of doctors and occasional hospital stays. Where's the freedom in that?

My rant is to focus attention on the fact that a lot of the things that people scream freedom and choice over are not free to choose amongst the now millions of Americans who cannot afford to play the Monoply game of healthcare. And as long as corporate CEO's can afford to chose, we will never be able to afford them. But interjecting the government may bring an end to the domination of the "free" market and bring some sanity back into healthcare, meaning that those of us who are healthcare providers can actually get back into the business of health CARE, without worrying about the cost, about the fact that I'm going to get chewed out by my manager because, if I stay another 15 minutes to explain to this elderly, hard of hearing patient about her medicines, I'm going to be in overtime and the corporate office has cut all overtime for ANY reason. And yet, if I didn't have to worry about that, I could patiently and slowly explain to her what medicines she can take and what ones she should no longer take and what foods could interact and how she should talk to the pharmacist before she buys that OTC med because it might interact with her prescribed medicines, killing her and causing her family to bring a lawsuit against myself and the prescribing doctor because WE DIDN'T TAKE THE TIME TO EXPLAIN THIS TO HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for the home health nurse that said dealing with Medicare and Medicaid is a pain- my mother was a member of Kaiser Permanente in the 80's and early 90's before they pulled away from the East coast. Some of the worst healthcare she received was under this entity. Twice she had severe allergic reactions to medications prescribed without anyone taking the time to explain anything to her because managed care is all about how fast can we shove the patient through. Since she's been on Medicare, she has been able, with the help of her family MD, come off all her medicines, is healthier now than at any stage of her life and is wishing she could go back and do it all again. It's because the doctors, under Medicare, already know they aren't going to make a fortune and are in it because of the reason they went to medical school to start with-because they want to help heal people. HMO's and managed care are in it for the bucks and it's all about how fast, how short and how cheap we can do this.

But there's freedom in that, right??

drsigman:    you are wanting everybody to have something for nothing.  Those CEO'S you, me  and millions of Americans hate at least have a job.  This country is founded on people who want to make a success with their life. What if Henry Ford didn't begin his business because he didn't want to pay his employees?  Why whould the govt punish successful people by taking their wealth away from them?  I know there are the CEO's who are crooked theives <Wall st bailout, etc.>.   I still dont want universal healthcare............I think it socialist.