SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, will it help or hurt research

[merryBe]

weigh in if you want to!!  I think we'd set the clock back 50 years, but that's just me.

[beamishboy]

didn't start this thread 'here' ,but,this is a 'medical issue' and well worth discussion...just did a little reading in nytimes article by paul krugman-annual premiums to medical insurance industry-$776,000,000
friole-i also employed and thru union-my costs were staggering with bluecross/blueshield and not one employee was covered until they had 1,000 hrs per yr-plus comp insurance another Crazy cost system...we are becoming a less competitive nation with these sky-rocketing prices..look at recent gm and uaw negotiations-All about med insurance-

[gauf]

Was working on an opinion, after reading yours I dumped it cause you said it best. I wholeheartedly concur. Like mind again dude.

[PSP-n-Me]

here in Canada we have Universal Healthcare - No one goes without health care - The waits may be a bit longer than the States, but no preferential treatment is given based on what kind of coverage you have, what name, race, or social status - Everyone is equal...I thank God I am tx here in Canada compared to the States - I have heard so many horror stories about how HCV patients are treated and the astronomical costs involved - The ONLY thing I have to pay for is a 10% co pay on my meds, everything else is covered - Doctor visits, Labs, Medical tests and Procedures - And I have top notch care - My Doctor is a world wide known and well respected researcher of the liver and it's diseases, and she has a NP that is outstanding - I have seen both sides of the border when it comes to healthcare - When I lived in the States (10 years ago) the healthcare was top notch, state of the art - Not anymore!  Thank you Mr. Bush! (I refuse to call him President, he is not nor has ever been Presidential material)

Kathy - I feel for your grand babies .. It just isn't fare that every American citizen doesn't enjoy the benefits of the Healthcare System there.

[mikesimon]

I didn't suggest that it wasn't "well worth discussion". Maybe I should post about an ingrown toenail - I mean it is a medical issue and "well worth discussion" if you happen to be suffering form that malady. BUT - IT DOESN'T BELONG HERE - that is the point.
For your edification one last time:

"This forum is for questions about medical issues and research aspects of Hepatitis such as, questions about being newly diagnosed, questions about current treatments, information and participation in discussions about research studies and clinical trials related to Hepatitis"

[gauf]

Who pays for all that free healthcare? Do they tax the rich, or the middle /lower class? just wondering how it can be free, i mean someone must be paying for it.

[jmjm530]

I see pro's and con's -- and def some fixin' is needed -- but the bottom line for me is quality of care. This article is similar to what I've heard from some doctor friends.

http://www.memag.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=133883
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Are the best and brightest going into medicine?

"When the Medical Economics Continuing Survey asked physicians earlier this year, "Do you think the brightest young people are going into medicine today?" 72 percent said, firmly, No!...The litany of reasons is familiar to anyone practicing medicine today: Too much government red tape . . . and not enough reimbursement. An uphill battle to repay medical education debt . . . and a downhill slide into liability hell.
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The question then is, will a move toward socialized medicine help or hurt this apparent trend?

And to be fair, the article also asks "do the brightest necessarily make the best doctors? And that's a legitimate question, however there is no guarantee that a potential new crop of "less bright" doctors will be any more caring than the ones we have, for better or worse.

-- Jim