From: Damien Morton (Morton@dennisinter.com)
Date: Wed Nov 15 2000 - 04:26:05 PST
Seems to work OK in Australia too. Also most of Europe.
I currently live in the US, and whilst I havent experience the full breadth
of the medical system, I have experienced enough not to want to have
anything to do with it.
My current medical plans are to head back to Australia if anything serious
happens to me.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff Bone [mailto:jbone@jump.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2000 1:36 AM
> To: Tony Finch
> Cc: Sophie Maddox; FoRK@XeNT.CoM
> Subject: Re: [CNN] Bush 2,909,465; Gore 2,907,722.
>
>
>
>
> Tony Finch wrote:
>
> > Jeff Bone <jbone@jump.net> wrote:
> > >
> > >Give it up. Socialized medicine does not work in a
> capitalist economy.
> >
> > Seems to work OK in the UK.
>
> Really? Don't mind waiting six months for a doctor's visit,
> then? Hell, we
> complain about *HMOs* in the US, do you *really* think we
> would be okay with
> social medicine? And, have you seen their *teeth,* for godssakes.
>
> BTW, every time this comes up, somebody brings up the damned
> UK. Tony, where
> do you live? I'd love to hear from somebody that's actually
> lived in and had
> healthcare in both the US and the UK.
>
> > >The hybrid system and its corresponding governmental
> impact on private
> > >healthcare is the ROOT CAUSE of rising healthcare prices,
> and if you don't
> > >believe me I can give you my pop's e-mail address, he's
> been managing
> > >hospitals for 30 years and has quite a bit to say on the matter.
>
> Well, I'm no expert, but his line on this is that the
> increasing regulation of
> healthcare over the last 3 decades as a part of Medicare /
> Medicaid has
> basically made it impossible for hospitals and clinics to
> operate profitably at
> a reasonable direct cost to the consumer of healthcare
> services. Overhead
> related to administration of those plans, regulations for
> staffing, all kinds
> of gov't interference with market forces. I buy it.
>
> > I thought it was because insurance companies will pay whatever price
> > is demanded,
>
> A First!!! I've never heard insurance companies described as generous
> before!!! (And btw, what *have* you been smoking? Insurers
> actually pay a
> (significant, but still) fractional amount of what doctors bill them.)
>
> > and employers pay whatever premiums are demanded. There's
> > very little downward pressure on prices.
>
> Why shouldn't there be? Why isn't the healthcare market
> *competitive*? Essay
> question for bonus points.
>
> >
> >
> > Tony.
> > --
> > en oeccget g mtcaa f.a.n.finch
> > v spdlkishrhtewe y dot@dotat.at
> > eatp o v eiti i d. fanf@covalent.net
>
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