All-Star Does Everyone Make A Team Who Tries Out?

[kristenthegreat]

Every health system has its pros and cons. No one country does it perfect, but some are better than others.

I've spent hours in an American hospital on private insurance waiting to get X-rays. I've also gotten my monthly medication FREE of charge, and several other minor procedures at a MUCH more reduced cost. There are several sides to every story, the reality is usually somewhere in the middle.

Side note: American services tend to be way more expensive here than other countries. This partly because they are allowed to charge what they like without any type of negotiation on the price. Other countries have negotiations (either by the government or between insurers and providers) to set an agreed upon cost. America charges what they can get away with- how are you going to say 'no' and risk someone's health?

Regardless of how you feel about the American healthcare system, it is INDEED broken and WAY more expensive than is necessary. A saline drip costs $1 to produce and they charge you upwards of $400 to use it.

 

[Ashley]

I work in a pediatric hospital, and those poor parents of NICU babies get slammed with insane bills because their stays are often so long.

My cousin had her baby at 34 weeks. She said they didn't even want the hospital to give them a rough cost estimate because they didn't want to make health decisions for their son based on the bill. They're fortunate that her husband has good insurance through work, I'm not sure what bill ended up being.

 

[Ashley]

But at least they get the care. People like the above story die waiting for appointments is socialized systems.m

Not necessarily. The ER can't turn you away, but if you have cancer, they don't have to treat you. And if you have no way to pay for it, you're going to avoid going to the hospital anyway. When you show up in an ambulance with some secondary illness, they'll treat that, but they're not going to just go ahead and start you on chemo or radiation.

Like others have said, there are pros and cons to both systems. And if you can afford it, you can always get private insurance in England.

 

[cheer25mom]

Not necessarily. The ER can't turn you away, but if you have cancer, they don't have to treat you. And if you have no way to pay for it, you're going to avoid going to the hospital anyway. When you show up in an ambulance with some secondary illness, they'll treat that, but they're not going to just go ahead and start you on chemo or radiation.

Like others have said, there are pros and cons to both systems. And if you can afford it, you can always get private insurance in England.

There are charity hospitals in the US that treat everyone, regardless of ability to pay. It may not be in the facility you want, but you can get care. The waiting lists in the UK cannot be worked around, and in some cases even having private insurance doesn't guarantee timely care.


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[cheer25mom]

The problem with the finite nature of the NHS is that if you have a niggly, annoying problem, you're a low priority. The money will (rightly in my opinion) be used first for life threatening things, long term chronic illnesses, etc. If you are unlucky enough to get cancer, have diabetes, heart problems, get in a serious accident, break a bone, have a premature or sick baby, you will get top quality care without any fear of bills BECAUSE you're lucky enough to have the NHS.

Not always. If you are young and otherwise healthy sure, but how timely your cancer treatment is often depends on your age. They will often refuse to treat cancers in older patients.
Eta: I have a friend whose child is a transplant recipient. Through them I know 4 UK families whose kids were transplanted here because they could not get adequate timely care at home. They come back regularly for follow up care because that is also not available to them at home.

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[Ashley]

Haven't read this whole topic but just to give you some extra insight to the NHS, as grateful as we Brits are to have it, because it's free we don't receive the best care. Hospitals here are usually very busy and are usually short on staff and rushed off their feet! If you have a cheer injury that needs seeing to straight away in A&E I can almost guarantee that if you got there at 9pm, you probably won't be seen until 3/4am (unless it's life threatening)

When I was in the U.S. and I had a skiing accident (not fatal) I was taken to a near by hospital, that was clean and efficient I was seen and treated to within two hours! (Thank god I had insurance!!!)

What i'm saying is, just because it's free doesn't mean it's better. The Staff in the US were friendly and quick! (Partly because it's being paid for and maybe because the U.S. Is big on suing but still it just seems Britain no longer cares about the duty of care they are given, the staff aren't paid enough to care)

I'm glad you had a pleasant experience at that US hospital, but I can assure you that we frequently have ER wait times just as long as the ones you describe in the US. I know plenty of people who have gone to the ER with a cheer injury in evening and aren't seen until early morning.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

Not necessarily. The ER can't turn you away, but if you have cancer, they don't have to treat you. And if you have no way to pay for it, you're going to avoid going to the hospital anyway. When you show up in an ambulance with some secondary illness, they'll treat that, but they're not going to just go ahead and start you on chemo or radiation.

Like others have said, there are pros and cons to both systems. And if you can afford it, you can always get private insurance in England.

I am a student so currently can't afford private and due to me going to university in wales but home if in england doctors notes do not transfer between the 2 borders. although next year its going to be the other way around I am dreading it.

I have quite a strong reason why I don't like the NHS they gave my dad the wrong diagnosis they said he had epilepsy when he infact had a clearly visable brain tumor which cost him his life and they said that the tumor was there for over 12 years the found out 3 days before he died.

Also I have had issue myself so if I could I would go private

 

[cheer25mom]

I'm glad you had a pleasant experience at that US hospital, but I can assure you that we frequently have ER wait times just as long as the ones you describe in the US. I know plenty of people who have gone to the ER with a cheer injury in evening and aren't seen until early morning.

But in the US you don't HAVE to sit in the ER. You can choose to go to an urgent care center and be seen more quickly, if your insurance covers it or you are willing to pay for it. That is a RARE option in the UK. Most people simply don't have another choice no matter what they might be willing to pay to get it.

 

[cheer25mom]

I am a student so currently can't afford private and due to me going to university in wales but home if in england doctors notes do not transfer between the 2 borders. although next year its going to be the other way around I am dreading it.

I have quite a strong reason why I don't like the NHS they gave my dad the wrong diagnosis they said he had epilepsy when he infact had a clearly visable brain tumor which cost him his life and they said that the tumor was there for over 12 years the found out 3 days before he died.

Also I have had issue myself so if I could I would go private

I have heard many, many stories like your dad's. Many times the diagnostic work necessary to find something like your dad's tumor simply isn't done because the person isn't acutely ill and those services are too expensive.

 

[123jump4!]

But in the US you don't HAVE to sit in the ER. You can choose to go to an urgent care center and be seen more quickly, if your insurance covers it or you are willing to pay for it. That is a RARE option in the UK. Most people simply don't have another choice no matter what they might be willing to pay to get it.

Urgent care here in the US is great... but it's only open until 8 or 9 pm. My 4-year-old fell onto our fishtank and split her eyebrow open... at 7:30 pm. I ran her over to Urgent Care and she was seen straight away and glued. (She's ok now.)

When we lived in England I've actually taken kids to "urgent care" too. It's ususally a section within the hospital, for minor injuries and sickness. Like, if you broke your leg you go to ER but if you just cut your eyebrow open you go to the urgent care dept which is not such a long wait.

How come you know so much about the UK? *curious*

 

[cheer25mom]

Urgent care here in the US is great... but it's only open until 8 or 9 pm. My 4-year-old fell onto our fishtank and split her eyebrow open... at 7:30 pm. I ran her over to Urgent Care and she was seen straight away and taped up. (She's ok now.)

When we lived in England I've actually taken kids to "urgent care" too. It's ususally a section within the hospital, for minor injuries and sickness. Like, if you broke your leg you go to ER but if you just cut your eyebrow open you go to the urgent care dept which is not such a long wait.

How come you know so much about the UK? *curious*

I have family that have lived there off and on for the last 10 years or so. We have a couple of urgent care locations open until midnight, and we don't live in a major metro area. I would think most everyone would have the option, even if they have to drive across town. I was referring to the fact that there isn't a separate urgent care facility that is an option in the UK. In many hospitals, you get the same wait for minor injuries as major, sometimes longer.

 

[Ashley]

But in the US you don't HAVE to sit in the ER. You can choose to go to an urgent care center and be seen more quickly, if your insurance covers it or you are willing to pay for it. That is a RARE option in the UK. Most people simply don't have another choice no matter what they might be willing to pay to get it.

I had a UTI once (TMI sorry). I had just started a new job and had recently moved so I couldn't take the time off to go to my doctor - who was also an hour away. By the time I got home from work and started looking into where I could go, urgent care was closed. It's not always an option. So yes, I did HAVE to go to the ER. Perhaps I could have found another urgent care, but I don't remember finding one. And I was miserable and panicking and just wanted to get the stupid antibiotics. Fortunately for me, I had a car, but that's not something everyone has. Maybe the bus to urgent care would take two hours and not be running anymore by the time they got out of there.

I just did a quick search of urgent care locations around the town I was living in that time. I can't find any that are open past 8 or 9 at night. And I do live in a pretty big metro area. Maybe it's because the Boston area has a bajillion hospitals and ERs, but I didn't even know urgent care was a thing until that incident.

You're right. The U.S. Health system is far superior to NHS and socialized medicine. It's black and white, now why can't the rest of the world seem to understand that and get with the problem?

ETA: Look, I'm not saying that NHS is better or that we should dump ours and make one like that. But there are definitely pros and cons to both systems and you're refusing to acknowledge that. And if you're using the NHS as your only reference for socialized healthcare, you're doing it wrong.

 

[cheer25mom]

I had a UTI once (TMI sorry). I had just started a new job and had recently moved so I couldn't take the time off to go to my doctor - who was also an hour away. By the time I got home from work and started looking into where I could go, urgent care was closed. It's not always an option. So yes, I did HAVE to go to the ER. Perhaps I could have found another urgent care, but I don't remember finding one. And I was miserable and panicking and just wanted to get the stupid antibiotics. Fortunately for me, I had a car, but that's not something everyone has. Maybe the bus to urgent care would take two hours and not be running anymore by the time they got out of there.

I just did a quick search of urgent care locations around the town I was living in that time. I can't find any that are open past 8 or 9 at night. And I do live in a pretty big metro area. Maybe it's because the Boston area has a bajillion hospitals and ERs, but I didn't even know urgent care was a thing until that incident.

You're right. The U.S. Health system is far superior to NHS and socialized medicine. It's black and white, now why can't the rest of the world seem to understand that and get with the problem?

ETA: Look, I'm not saying that NHS is better or that we should dump ours and make one like that. But there are definitely pros and cons to both systems and you're refusing to acknowledge that. And if you're using the NHS as your only reference for socialized healthcare, you're doing it wrong.

There are definitely pros and cons to each. I just feel that the US system comes out better in the end. I have heard too many stories about denial of care, misdiagnosis because diagnostics weren't done, and personally know too many families form countries with socialized systems who bring their critically ill loved ones to the US for care to ever advocate for it. Socialized systems certainly make it less costly to access basic care, and that is an advantage, if you never need more advanced services in a non-acute fashion. For most people with uncomplicated medical situations who are willing to wait for care, that would work fine. It breaks down when you have a complicated diagnostic case that is not an acute presentation. That person will wait months to years to see a specialist, and sometimes die as a result of the delay in diagnosis. I would rather pay a little more for my basic care and not run that risk.

Bottom line- and I am generalizing here-
Socialized systems mean no one is laying out thousands for care, but also mean increased wait times for non acute problems, fewer diagnostics performed, and large delays in diagnosis for non-acute cases, some of which end up being fatal because of the delay.

Private systems end up costing the patient more but provided faster access to care, better diagnostics, and faster diagnosis, even when not acutely life threatening. I would prefer the latter. YMMV

 

[Pip22]

I have family that have lived there off and on for the last 10 years or so. We have a couple of urgent care locations open until midnight, and we don't live in a major metro area. I would think most everyone would have the option, even if they have to drive across town. I was referring to the fact that there isn't a separate urgent care facility that is an option in the UK. In many hospitals, you get the same wait for minor injuries as major, sometimes longer.

That's untrue. Urgent care is known as Walk In Clinics here.

 

[cheer25mom]

That's untrue. Urgent care is known as Walk In Clinics here.

From what I understand they are few and far between and private, has that changed recently?


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