Socialism Is the Best Medicine

she shouldn't be going to the ER, that's the problem, people using the ER for primary care

Wow, I've never lived in a town that didn't have free or reduced price clinics supported by local doctors & hospitals for patients without insurance.
The town I currently live in is small, (about 7,000 people) & we have 3.

I agree, if one is truley "poor" they would qualify for medicaid, if they are the working poor there are places that offer services and fees income based on a sliding scale. I find it interesting that people who can't afford to pay for insurance can afford to own cars, pay for rent/mortgage, groceries, flat screen tv's, cell phones, computers etc. It's really a matter of priorities. One can always pay to see a doctor (with money) no insurance needed there. The big problems come in of course with expensive tests, treatments and hospitalizations. There are options, even for kids of the uninsured, to get health care. Maybe the government should think about offering the already socialized medical plan--Medicaid, to include the working poor. It would cover those in the gaps without forcing all of us into it. Socialized medicine = socialized society, we would say goodbye to our liberty and freedoms we so much enjoy in this country.

. Socialized medicine = socialized society, we would say goodbye to our liberty and freedoms we so much enjoy in this country.

she shouldn't be going to the ER, that's the problem, people using the ER for primary care

BTW, USA does not hold the patent on liberty and freedom. Ask any European who enjoys national health care if they are "enslaved".

The feudalistic society that we are rapidly heading toward WILL enslave you.

Funny, the Croat and the German that work with me left Europe for the USA for that very reason...

Americans wait longer to see primary-care physicians than patients in Canada, Britain, Germany, Australia, or New Zealand—all countries with strong public-health systems.

Nearly one quarter of Americans reported waiting six days or more for an appointment with their doctor. New Zealand scored best, with just 3 percent waiting that long, followed by Australia (10 percent), Germany (13 percent), and Britain (15 percent). Who did the poll, and how many opinions were polled?

Canada rounded out the bottom, with more than a third waiting six days or more. Again, how many were polled, and where were they? Sounds like a rural area! Similarly, America shares with its northern neighbor the dubious honor of being ranked last in terms of patients' ability to make same-day appointments. Those who I know in Canada, get next day appointments when their need is appropraite), unless of course, they request one at 7pm

Only 26 percent of Americans and Canadians reported being able see their doctor on the day they called, compared with 60 percent in the Netherlands and 48 percent in Britain…. It's important to be assertive (not aggressive) when calling for an appointment, when the telephone answerer seems not to recognise urgency when they hear it!

http://www.newsweek.com/id/212152