Capitalism Wins.....barely

[Lynnie]

It seems to me that a meaningful discussion of the relative merits of healthcare systems has to be isolated to yield productive results. News today is littered with stories describing the US healthcare system as broken, backwards and/or expensive. It is expensive and one reason is our tort system. Our system is unique in the world so maybe tort reform is a good starting point. Physicians are forced to practice defensive medicine. You know, let's get an MRI just to be sure. Lobbyists have been battling this since the beginning of my career as an underwriter. Tort reform is needed here for frivolous cases absolutely, but most of Congress is a JD? And, litigants are encouraged to settle out of court for insurance limits.....driving the malpractice premiums for physicians and hospitals higher and higher.

Speaking of MRI's, several months ago I posted the mean wait times to get an MRI in Canada and Sweden, two countries normally thought to provide excellent universal healthcare. The wait times were a few months and were published by the governments in those countries not some right-wing fringe organizaiton.

Your friend thinks the UK system beats the US system hands down? Consider the below-linked article. It is published by the Leftist BBC. A woman is told to get an MRI and learns the wait time is eighteen months. I would go somewhere else and get my MRI, if I was this woman. But, she probably can't afford it because she is too dependent on their socialized system. What a shame! A few years ago, I was told to get an MRI; got one the next day with the latest greatest state-of-the-art machine. There is another reason why our healthcare costs are high: we have the latest in availability and technology. GE is a manufacturer of this type of medical equipment. A few years ago a new MRI machine had a price tag well over $5MM US.

 

[traderx]

It seems to me that a meaningful discussion of the relative merits of healthcare systems has to be isolated to yield productive results. News today is littered with stories describing the US healthcare system as broken, backwards and/or expensive. It is expensive and one reason is our tort system. Our system is unique in the world so maybe tort reform is a good starting point. Physicians are forced to practice defensive medicine. You know, let's get an MRI just to be sure. Lobbyists have been battling this since the beginning of my career as an underwriter. Tort reform is needed here for frivolous cases absolutely, but most of Congress is a JD? And, litigants are encouraged to settle out of court for insurance limits.....driving the malpractice premiums for physicians and hospitals higher and higher.

Speaking of MRI's, several months ago I posted the mean wait times to get an MRI in Canada and Sweden, two countries normally thought to provide excellent universal healthcare. The wait times were a few months and were published by the governments in those countries not some right-wing fringe organizaiton.

Your friend thinks the UK system beats the US system hands down? Consider the below-linked article. It is published by the Leftist BBC. A woman is told to get an MRI and learns the wait time is eighteen months. I would go somewhere else and get my MRI, if I was this woman. But, she probably can't afford it because she is too dependent on their socialized system. What a shame! A few years ago, I was told to get an MRI; got one the next day with the latest greatest state-of-the-art machine. There is another reason why our healthcare costs are high: we have the latest in availability and technology. GE is a manufacturer of this type of medical equipment. A few years ago a new MRI machine had a price tag well over $5MM US.

The place I go has the GE Light Speed which is super fast. Still a PITA but... I can now get an MRI, MRA and "slices" in less than an hour. An MRI alone used to take over an hour. The Light Speed images are as close to real life as can be. MRI/MRA is almost $2,000 but the insurance company has a deal so it is automatically adjusted downward by sixty percent or so.

 

[traderx]

Tort reform isn't necessary if society can impose a higher cost to bring forth frivolous lawsuits. One quick switch is to move to the English Rule, in which the loser of the civil suit pays for the winner's attorneys fees.

Agreed but how would you define frivious? Have you noticed all the attorney's ads on TV? Yesterday, I saw a lawyer boasting that his only practice area is pursuing mesothelioma cases.

Although not in the tort arena, don't get me started on the Scooter Store. There are so many service/equipment providers out there who have learned how to exploit SS/Medicare. Maybe some more rules by the federal government would help.

 

[Winnie]

I have been to Finland and spent a good bit of time in Spain with family and friends there. I even got immediate, "first class" emergency service in a hospital there when I sprained my ankle. Socialism will give you nothing to fear, unless your just an "old style" capitalist, clenching your well deserved money in your hands so you may secure a "first class" afterlife.

Hey, I guess I am only a socialist "sympathizer" at this point. I have been called way worse in my lifetime.

How much ?unclenching? is necessary? Should the benefits of wealth be redistributed evenly worldwide or is it laudable enough to redistribute only here in the United States?

 

[traderx]

Speaking of the IRS Tax Code, officially known as Title 26, I found this on the web:

By the way, if you go to the US Government Printing Office ( www.gpo.gov ), you can order a complete set of Title 26 of the US Code of Federal Regulations (that's the part written by the IRS), all twenty volumes of it, at the bargain price of $974, shipping included.

According to the US Government Printing Office, it's 13,458 pages in total. The full text of Title 26 of the United States Code (the part written by Congress--available for an additional $179) is a mere 3,387 printed pages, bringing the adjusted gross page count to 16,845.

 

[Bob]

Assuming the minimum retirement age isn't upped again, it's at least 36 years before I can even apply. And none of my generation is planning on seeing a dime out of the principal paid in, much less interest. We're too busy subsidizing your generation.

dgsevier, exactly.

true statement, but my aim is at the ww2/boomers with their hands in the till whining all the while.

 

[Bob]

I know. I just wanted to give Bob the best argument possible, and give him every benefit of the doubt. Concur on the least of our worries as well. The Republic's unraveling is too far gone.

the unraveling has incrementally occurred over the past several generations. the crush of population growth/immigration and unrealistic expectations of unfunded governmental influence are forcing our path. portugal may ultimately not be the westernmost member of the eu.

 

[traderx]

the unraveling has incrementally occurred over the past several generations. the crush of population growth/immigration and unrealistic expectations of unfunded governmental influence are forcing our path. portugal may ultimately not be the westernmost member of the eu.

Nah, we go, Euro Zone goes. Just part of the deal.

 

[Lynnie]

The place I go has the GE Light Speed which is super fast. Still a PITA but... I can now get an MRI, MRA and "slices" in less than an hour. An MRI alone used to take over an hour. The Light Speed images are as close to real life as can be. MRI/MRA is almost $2,000 but the insurance company has a deal so it is automatically adjusted downward by sixty percent or so.

Managed care at its finest~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[dgsevier]

The Republic's unraveling is too far gone.

You say that like it's a bad thing.