I want to know what nurses think about socialized medicine.

oslogirl · Jun 14, 2009

And how many pts do you see flying frequently through your hosp who just won't quit smoking yet have copd and a myriad of other problems with it, the diabetic in renal failure ,etc, the alcoholic with liver dz, the uncontrolled htn, the ca pt. whose eaten nothing but junk for the last 20 or so years, the morbidly obese, I could go on and on.......

2BSure · Jun 14, 2009

And how many pts do you see flying frequently through your hosp who just won't quit smoking yet have copd and a myriad of other problems with it, the diabetic in renal failure ,etc, the alcoholic with liver dz, the uncontrolled htn, the ca pt. whose eaten nothing but junk for the last 20 or so years, the morbidly obese, I could go on and on.......

Gosh and I thought it was the healthy ones who were messing up the system (at least according to my good bud Rush Limbaugh).

PICNICRN, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2009

I'd like so much to hear from some nurses in the UK and Canada about this too! I keep hearing about "rationed" healthcare in these countries- about how if a person is over 65 and needs angioplasty they are not eligible or if a woman has stage III breast cancer they are no longer candidates for treatment. I'd like to know if these statements are in fact true or scare tactics.

I know for a fact that our system is completely broken, I wish I had the answer on how to fix it. I cannot say that I trust our government to run our healthcare system- seems everything else that is run by the government is just a bunch of inefficient bureaucracy wasting money left and right.

I wish we could have some kind of insurance reform- where premiums were the same no matter where you lived in the country- stop these companies from denying coverage because of "pre existing" conditions or charging HUGE premiums because customer was actually sick a few times! My husband is self employed and when I worked prn and did not receive coverage from my employer, we paid over $600.00 per month to cover our family of 4 with VERY BASIC coverage and a HIGH deductable. We could barely afford to be sick and barely afford the coverage in case we were! I would have to think that the insurance companies themselves would be the biggest opponents of socialized healthcare. I see that the AMA is against it too.

c_beshore_rn · Jun 14, 2009

I agree that our country has it's issues with preventable disease. That is no joke! But I really thought what was driving up the costs of healthcare, inpart, was the CEO of Humana or any other Insurance company earning a higher six figure salary, driving a new lexus (company car, of course) and a private jet at his disposal?? Or the Drug Reps that earn $100,000/yr and wine and dine healthcare employees into buying/ prescribing there products. I've seen countless examples of waste in this country. If I sent my psych patient home with an rx to get Abilify to stabilize their mental illness and they go to the pharmacy and find out that it costs about $400/month....do you really think there going to buy that or are they going to continue to self medicate with ETOH and Meth. They might anyway, but who knows??

Or lets say, God forbid, that I was diagnosed with brain cancer. I started chemo and had seizures and could no longer work. Could I pay the 600/month to COBRA my insurance as a jobless person? Heck no. Should I have to sell everything I own, move to government housing and go on Medicaid.....I would, but should I have to?? And even on Medicaid there are restrictions to what they will cover.

It baffles me? There has to be an answer to this problem. If Obama would see to it that these wasteful corp. perks were cut. It would be a start

c_beshore_rn · Jun 14, 2009

Of course some Dr's are against it.....They can't get rich either. None of us would be getting rich off healthcare anylonger. If government controlled healthcare Dr's would get a Nationwide cap on what they could charge. If an office visit cost $12 in New York it would cost $12 in LA and KS too....

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jun 14, 2009

There is a difference between socialized medicine systems and universal, single payer healthcare financing systems. The word "socialized" is being overused.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jun 14, 2009

There are several other threads on this topic already going. I'm going to see if I can find one that will merge well with this one. Be right back...

c_beshore_rn · Jun 14, 2009

Hello,

To all countries here I wanted to ask, What is your healthcare system like? Do you use a "socialized" healthcare system?

The USA has a capitalistic approach to healthcare and it's not working. I just want to know how other countries do it. How much is your health insurance? How much do u pay to see a Dr? Are u able to find employment? Are u making comparable wages to USA? What do you love? What do you hate?

If you don't want to answer these questions openly, feel free to send PM or email.

Thanks so much for your time in my research efforts!!

Crystal,RN:yeah:

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Jun 14, 2009

Okay, I found an OLD thread that has recently been resurrected that fits very well into your query, ratchet41. Go back to the very beginning of the thread and read it through. fergus51's descriptions are bang-on. And to update what I said about my own unit, we've had 3 more pediatric heart transplants and 2 more liver transplants since April 9. We're running our unit with overtime so that we don't have to turn people away. We currently have 2 patients on extra-corporeal life support - they require 2 nurses or a nurse and RT around the clock when they're stable and many, many more when they aren't. We're definitely not rationing anything.

There are so many questions and misconceptions about universal health care; my friend and I were at the AACN's National Teaching Institute in New Orleans last month and when people found out we were from Canada, they immediately wanted to talk about it. It was while we were chatting with three nurses from North Dakota that we decided to submit an abstract for next year's NTI on that topic, so we can dispel some of the myths and expose some of the truths in a large forum. Wish us luck?

Here are some more threads you might want to read:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-blogs/socialised-medicine-myths-392086.html

https://allnurses.com/social-health-care/canadas-healthcare-saved-395442.html

https://allnurses.com/nursing-news/article-supports-canadas-393106.html

https://allnurses.com/social-health-care/10-excellent-reasons-356434.html?highlight=socialized

464 posts in all. Might take you all day.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jun 14, 2009

In the UK it is national and commonly known as the NHS. Everyone working in the UK should pay National insurance and is usually taken out before you receive your wage. At point of delivery the care is free i.e. you do not pay GP or hospital for services rendered however unless entitled to free medication and you live in Britain then there is a prescription charge per item If you live in Scotland and Wales prescriptions are free. If involved in a road traffic accident there is usually a charge for the ambulance and that is sent at a later date. You can pay for private health insurance

Some links which may help

NHS choice

National Insurance

Deparment of health

Mark Perry · Jun 14, 2009

Hello,
To all countries here I wanted to ask, What is your healthcare system like? Do you use a "socialized" healthcare system?
The USA has a capitalistic approach to healthcare and it's not working. I just want to know how other countries do it. How much is your health insurance? How much do u pay to see a Dr? Are u able to find employment? Are u making comparable wages to USA? What do you love? What do you hate?
If you don't want to answer these questions openly, feel free to send PM or email.
Thanks so much for your time in my research efforts!!
Crystal,RN:yeah:

HealthCare in USA isn't working?

Doctors and nurses from all over the world want to work in USA. People from other countries come to the USA for surgeries since the USA healthcare is head and shoulders above any other country

Healthcare is working excellent in the USA, You need to broader your horizons before making such comment:nono:

5cats · Jun 14, 2009

It depends on your understanding of "working excellent".

The US has certainly a very advanced healthcare system. Problem is accessibility, not everybody can afford it, and it's very expensive.

5cats