How Bad is it in America? Breaking an arm among the thirty million without health care

victorhanson.com ^ | March 13, 2004 | Victor Davis Hanson

[billorites]

I broke my arm last week and went into the emergency room at our local hospital about 24 hours after a Sunday morning accident. My family doctor told me to go to the ER first to get an x-ray and then take it over to his office later that Monday afternoon.

[facedown]

VDH bump.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Still, the cryptic answers I sort of got from one or two of the guarded staff could perhaps be summed up that a lot of people just liked going to doctors, whether out of loneliness or in need of conversation and attention.

Yep. I would say a good third of the people who go to the doctor fall in that category. Higher for the elderly.

[cwb]

Yep...and as was noted, "some" of these people who complain about not having health insurance do have a choice. They can get rid of the cell phone, the walkman, the cable and the $150 dollar sneakers. While times may be tough for some people, many people don't know what tought times, are. We have become such an over-indulgent society, that too many people look at their luxuries as neccessities...and choose not to protect themselves. The "M.E." virus has obviously spread from the '60s to the new century...with no cure in sight.

[MarkeyD]

I remember reading that this is a huge problem in Japan. The elderly have nothing to do, so they just go to the doctor. Get's them out of the house. And all visits payed for by the government.

[annyokie]

Yep. I would say a good third of the people who go to the doctor fall in that category. Higher for the elderly.

Yup. Count my mother in that group.

[FITZ]

For those who aren't expected to pay even a dime and who have little else to do --- which includes millions of foreigners and their children and the elderly --- it does seem they go mostly because they enjoy going. Costs them nothing.

[Trillian]

It's so bad that people all over the world come here for it.

[squidly]

I would say a good third of the people who go to the doctor fall in that category. Higher for the elderly.

And as long as they've got Medicare to pay for it, why not?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Count my mother in that group.

My grandmother too. *sigh* And she is ill but nothing that the doctor can give her is going to help. He can't bring Grandpa back.

[woofie]

The "teaching" hospitals often are for the poorest and they provide the best care.

[annyokie]

So's my mom, but Mom has been a hypochondriach for as long as I can remember. I wish she'd just find a boyfriend.

[ExSES]

I remember reading that this is a huge problem in Japan. The elderly have nothing to do, so they just go to the doctor. Get's them out of the house. And all visits payed for by the government.

Thus is the end result of ANY SOCIALIZED MEDICINE! Anyone ever go to a MILITARY HOSPITAL and wade through a mob of MILITARY DEPENDENTS socializing while awaiting their children's visit with a doctor for a fever or cold?

At the older end of the scale, elderly folks who just want "someone to talk to" crowd into clinics and hospital waiting rooms armed with their medicare cards!

The phenomenon is not limited to illegal aliens!!!

[Lizavetta]

What you said.

My husband's brother falls into this category. Didn't want to shell out for company health insurance as he and his wife and 2 kids were all reasonably healthy, so they fall into that category of 'one of the millions of uninsured Americans'.

Of course, they DID have the money for plenty of jet skis, pot, beer, many trips to the local lake (admission fees for all), etc.

What the liberals will not ackowledge is that for a huge amount of Americans they CAN afford health insurance (especially if they're getting it at a company rate) but they DON'T WANNA pay for it. Insurance premiums aren't as sexy as buying cars, ski trips, drugs, or whatever. For many Americans it's a (here comes their favorite word) CHOICE to go without insurance.

[Utah Binger]

Help me! I think I'm going blind....Oh no...whew! It's just the small print. Almost had to go to the doctor with no eyecare insurance. What a relief. What a great time I could have had visiting with all those folks longing for free health care at the emergency room.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Costs them nothing.

Another big problem is the co-pay system. I have good health insurance that costs me $12.00 a month. Catch is that there is a $3,000.00 deductible. I have no problem with this, I go to the doctor maybe twice a year and, not counting proscriptions, spend under $500.00 a year on everything. If I need it for major medical it is there.

I think I am the only person in my branch who chose this plan. The rest chose the kind where you pay $10.00 or $20.00 a visit and they go for a stubbed toe.

[ExSES]

For many Americans it's a (here comes their favorite word) CHOICE to go without insurance>

Thou speaketh the truth therefore thou art a danger to society!

[FITZ]

One trip to the ER anywhere close to the border can be a real eye-opener. They come from all over Mexico and Guatemala for the best and free-est healthcare the world has to offer.

[TheSpottedOwl]

What I want to know is how much that hospital visit cost him?

I developed health problems last year, around this time. I finally went to county to get checked out. I don't have insurance. At the time I was a community college student, however the campus health clinic had been shut down for budget reasons.

I went to the doctor, and after an EKG, they perscribed medication to try and regulate my heart. I was worried about how much this was going to cost, and how I could pay for it.

As I am a divorced mother with 2 children still at home, I was advised that I qualified for MediCal. I explained that the children were already insured through their father, but that didn't seem to be a problem.

I was told that I had a share of cost of 560 dollars. Fine. I saved it up, and then couldn't find anyone to tell me who to send it to. At my last appointment, the woman told me that I wasn't elligible for MediCal, then came back with a different card, after I asked her where I should pay this share of cost.

I have 7 bills from county sitting on my dining room table, totalling up to almost 4k. I can't pay it. I ran out of meds, but unfortunately I see now that I need to get them refilled. What a load. I should have spoken broken English and passed myself off as Hispanic :-(

Btw....both kids got MediCal ID's immediately. I never got one....