Natasha Richardson and Socialized Medicine
*****When the news first broke of the accident that precipitated the death of Natasha Richardson, my first thought was, "Why are they driving her around bumpy roads when it is clear she needs a chunk taken out of her skull in order to relieve the pressure that will surely kill her if left untreated?"
*****My second thought was, "Ah oh, she's in Canada (Quebec to be exact), and that doesn't bode well for her receiving the treatment she needs." Not because Canadian doctors are less well trained than other doctors, or care less about their patients. No, it's because Canada has socialized medicine, the very thing our current President wants to cram down our throats, and it doesn't work.
*****The average Canadian pays more in taxes to provide "free" health care than any private insurer would charge for the same level of care, which under the best of circumstances is pretty poor. If a Canadian can afford to come to the states to have needed tests or treatment, they do so. If they can't afford that option, oh well.
*****Natasha Richardson died because there was no helicopter available to fly her to a hospital that could run the necessary tests and drill a hole in her skull. I think as reports continue to come out over the next few days, my thoughts will be confirmed. Natasha was beyond help by the time she entered the second hospital in Montreal. She was simply put on life support and flown back to the states so her family could make their last farewells.
*****Is there an option to socialized medicine? Yes. Will it work? Yes. Will we ever see it? No. We won't see it because over the last 40 or 50 years, the people of this country have been led down the path of socialization which breeds dependency. It started with Aid to Women with Dependent Children, a system designed to provide medical care for (in most cases) women with children born out of wedlock. That was the first time our government became responsible for essentially rewarding bad behavior in the guise of "protecting the children." Then came the idea that businesses should be responsible for providing health care for its employees.
*****Now we have gotten to the point where our citizens think it is their "right" to have health care and most importantly, that someone else should foot the bill. News flash for all of you. Health care is not a "right." Our Constitution includes no references whatsoever for the provision of health care.
*****When I was a young girl, families paid for what was called a "catastrophic health care" policy. It was designed to cover, well, a catastrophe. If you needed to see a doctor for that vexing hangnail you acquired working in your garden, you paid for an office call with your money. Well, guess what? You figured out very quickly that trimming the hangnail yourself might be a good idea.
*****Now we have emergency rooms used as primary care facilities in order to treat that nasty hang nail. I have spoken to people who one would regard as being in the upper ranges of intelligence, who will look you in the eye and say, "but it's free!" No, it's not "free". We are all paying with lower wages and higher costs for products. And as costs go up, taxes go up, innovation goes down, equipment becomes old and obsolete, doctors become scarcer, and people die from hang nails for lack of a helicopter.
*****Get employers out of the health care business, return to a simple system of catastrophic coverage easily paid for (with money left over), out of the higher salary you will earn because your employer is not burdened with the cost and administration of your health care.
Second and Most Important Lesson
*****Natasha Richardson traveled to Quebec for a relaxing and fun vacation with her husband and children. She did not for one second think (I'm guessing) that on that beautiful morning when she hit the slopes it would be her last morning on earth. God told us we would not know the time of His second coming. We are also, in most cases, not going to know when our last day will happen. We are to be watchful and prepared.
*****Are we to live in fear? No, our faith should fill us with hope and gratitude for the gifts we have been given through grace. But we should be watchful and always remember that the end of our earthly existence may come when we least expect it.
*****In his spiritual exercises, Ignatius outlined two ways of making a good choice. The fourth rule of the second way is:
******I should picture and reflect on myself standing in the presence of my Judge on the last day, and consider what election (choice) in the present matter I would then wish to have made. I will now choose that rule of life that I would then wish to have observed, that on the day of judgement I may be filled with happiness and joy. Tetlow, Spiritual
Exercises, pp60-61
Socialized Medicine: The Canadian Experience
by Pierre Lemieux
read more
A Canadian Doctor Describes How Socialized Medicine Doesn't Work
By DAVID GRATZER
I was once a believer in socialized medicine. As a Canadian, I had soaked up the belief that government-run health care was truly compassionate. What I knew about American health care was unappealing: high expenses and lots of uninsured people. read more
16 comments:
Kind of like a 99-cent McDonald's hamburger... which ends up costing $5 by the time you factor in the associated medical costs that go with obesity, type II diabetes, etc.
I know health care is not a right (I especially know this as someone who has paid exorbitant health insurance costs for many years, despite being healthy and young), but unfortunately the vicious cycle of insurance billing has turned routine care into an inflated, unaffordable experience.
Everything is so separated from reality that it's like they're playing with Monopoly money. The hospitals bill insanely because the health insurance companies only pay a small percentage of what they're billed. That forces costs up, which trickles down through everything else. Additionally, doctors have to raise their fees because many of them have to hire a separate full-time employee just to manage insurance billing.
It will take a lot of unraveling to bring health care costs and procedures down to a level that makes them realistic and reasonable for families.
But I would love to see it happen!
When Mrs Richardson took a fall she was immediately offered to be taken to the local hospital, but she refused saying she felt fine.
It is only one hour later that the symptoms were declared and she was brought to the hospital (Ste-Agathe) and then to the Sacré-Coeur Hospital which is renowned for neurosurgery.
And the roads from Mt. Tremblant to Ste-Agathe are not bumpy. They are large and smooth and dry. I know because I live in that area.
When my mother had a heart attack, the ambulance was at her home in 10 minutes and she had the best of care in Ste-Agathe.
For people like me, with modest means, socialized medical care is a God-sent. And we hear a lot of horror stories in the US too when poor people are left to die in the street (I saw some reports on CNN).
Elise B.
"Is there an option to socialized medicine? Yes. Will it work? Yes. Will we ever see it? No. We won't see it because over the last 40 or 50 years, the people of this country have been led down the path of socialization which breeds dependency. It started with Aid to Women with Dependent Children, a system designed to provide medical care for (in most cases) women with children born out of wedlock. That was the first time our government became responsible for essentially rewarding bad behavior in the guise of "protecting the children." Then came the idea that businesses should be responsible for providing health care for its employees.
"
Years ago, one time Senator Patrick Moynihan[sp?] decried that 10% of the Black population was having children out of wedlock. THe other day I saw that in some states the overall "unwed mother" rate was 40 percent FORTY percent.
What a disaster. Yeah, the "pill" really did women a favor - if they get pregnant the oaf who impregnated them "skips" and tells them to get an abortion or let Uncle Sucker take care of his children.
And I feel awful for Natasha's family. I dont' know if it would have turned out better had she not refused initial help, but it's a warning to all of us not to take things lightly.
and don't get me "started" on people using the emergency room as a free clinic for the common cold and hangnails.
Some hospitals have literally had to close their doors because people (including a lot of illegal aliens) broke the system.
And you're right about catastrophic. It used to be a kid broke his arm, and mom and dad and Blue Shield took care of it -- it was an expense, but not enough to break the average family budget, so a simple break can cost thousands, because they are "papering over" the cost of everything else -- including covering the a'hole who went to the emergency room for the hangnail.
And let's not forget the malpractise insurance the doctor has to pay because he is supposed to be a miracle worker 100% of the time.
I read that it was in fact four hours before she got medical help, the last hour of that four was when she started going downhill. They say if she would have agreed to be looked at right away, no doubt she would have lived:(
It happens and I really hope it was not in vain, I pray that people will wake up to how serious a seemingly simple bump to the head really could be. It makes me think of my husband and my dad.. both very stubborn men who would never go in to have something like this checked out.. they would be "oh, no, I'm just fine" sometimes its better to have something checked out and be told your just fine, than to do this wait and see approach. I am so sad for her family.
Thanks for pointing out this angle to the tragic story about Richardson. The major media won't touch this aspect of the story with a ten-foot pole because of the MSM's devotion to socialized medicine. Richardson might well be alive today if Canada had a medical system that embraced the virtues of competition and responsive care. Instead, they get a health care allocation system that has all the efficiency of a Bulgarian collective farm from the 1950's. Sad.
Government policies have real-world consequences. People live or die as a result.
"Natasha Richardson died because there was no helicopter available to fly her to a hospital that could run the necessary tests and drill a hole in her skull."
Medical help was immediately made available and she turned it away. Natasha died because she turned away the help that was provided. A common and tragic mistake in many seemingly minor falls and head injuries.
As for the health care in my nation, I've never really needed it until just recently and I can't tell you how grateful I am for my recent four free 911 trips to the hospital; for the five stays in hospital; the operation and the out patient procedure that would have put my family in debtors prison had we had to pay for it all.
On your second point I agree 100%
One of the people I work with is a Canadian from B.C., and he tells frequent stories about the phenomenon of Canadians flocking down to the U.S. for medical care -- and not just elective car. Cancer treatment up there takes months to get -- as do necessary MRI's and Cat scans.
I'm glad to hear from the last poster that he had a successful experience in Canada's socialized medical system. In a "Russian routlette" system like the Canadian one there will be people who are fortunate enough to get good or at least adequate care. The problem is, somebody has to wind up with the hot chamber. Their cancer doesn't get treated, their heart disease isn't dealt with, their cateract surgery has to wait. And wait. And wait. Wait for chemo. Wait for bypass. Wait. Wait. Wait.
Until the government tells you you can be treated. By them. When they want. How they want. By whom they want.
Even Canada's Supreme Court says that the Canadian system is a human rights violation: http://www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/hl892.cfm.
Owen and Anon - it is true she turned away help as do most people in that situation. The majority of the ambulance runs to that ski resort are sent away. A lesson to be learned there.
However, it doesn't change the fact that Quebec doesn't have helicopter medical service which still might have made the difference.
P.S. I'm so glad to see you doing better. It's been a long haul for you and we've all been worried. Bless you!!
Gemmie - the overall rate is over 40% and the black rate is over 70%. That's horrific!
Mark, so everyone in the USA receives the care they need even when they cannot afford it? The cancer victim who is working poor get's that life saving operation every time? I am, in all sincerity, not trying to be provocative but am asking an honest question.
I live in a border city. People with money here go across the river and get the heart operation they need that they might wait in line for over here and become more ill or die before they get it. So, yes, this system is not perfect but the American system is so much better that people who can't afford that bypass don't have to cue up and wait or end up in debtors prison spending money they don't have to stay alive? I have to wonder because I've certainly heard those stories and from people I know personally.
Adrianne, sadly my long haul is not yet over but I am on the mend. I have another out patient procedure in a week or so. Here's trusting our Lord that it doesn't result in another surprise extended stay.
In the USA, where there are medical helicopters, do they come for the people who don't have money in the bank? Again, asking in all sincerity.
Owen - yep the helicopter will pick you up even if you don't have money. However, it does make you jump to the hospital roof. (Only kiiiiiiiding)
What is wrong with our system now is exactly what I said in my post. As our population has become more and more government dependent, they don't want to pay for anything.
When you add on what Gem said about malpractice insurance (the highest states here cost about $277,000.00 - the lowest states about 20,000.00) per year and what Katie said about the cost of filing insurance forms the doctor is squeezed in the middle.
All the government is doing with socialized medicine is extracting mega taxes from the people to pay for the care. Governments do not run efficiently and so doctors get shortchanged and many quit. Competition goes by the wayside and the attitude becomes one of "oh well".
Lets put it in dollars and cents. If a person pays $200.00 per month in taxes to ensure health care and a catastrophic policy costs $75.00 per month the person is $125.00 ahead each month. They can then inject that money into the economy or save it for a rainy day.
Meantime, they get a cold or virus once per year and go to their doctor who charges them $75.00 for the visit. They pay that and are still mega dollars per year ahead. Remember, without the insurance hassle, the cost of the doctor visit will decrease substantially.
In the case of an more serious illness i.e. cancer, their catastrophic policy covers that.
Trust me - I grew up in a system like that and it works just fine.
And you're right - a really bad illness with no coverage can bankrupt someone in the USA but socialized medicine is not the solution. It will only make it worse.
My primary care physician opted out of the whole mess a number of years ago. I go to him and pay about half what would have to billed to an insurance company. My policy has a $1500.00 deductible so it's not paying for that visit anyway.
If you wish to pay him and file your own insurance, for $2.00 it will be sent to a company that does that. That means THREE less people in his office to pay and my office visit is very affordable.
Owen,
Adrinne's covered things quite nicely in her response to you, so I won't reinvent the wheel and restate what she said. But I would add this:
There is a light years difference between a system like that in the U.S. where people have options, and the Canadian system where they don't, except for the option to flee the country to get the medical care they need. Once the government runs healthcare, there are no more options. People are stuck with whatever services the government gives them. Maybe those services are great, but they probably are considerably less than they would be if the free market was allowed to provide competition.
The Canadian Supreme Court has acknowledged this, has ruled in favor of people who simply want to be able to pay for their own treatment with a doctor of their own choice. And the Canadian Supreme Court is no bastion of free-market right wing capitalist ideology!
Remember, when the government runs things, it does so with the coercive power of the state behind it. Want socialized medicine here in the States? Then the people who run it won't be good-hearted Samaritans who want to help the sick and ailing. The people who will run it will be the same people who run the IRS and the Transportation Safety Administration.
Ever been through a tax audit? Ever been through American airport security? Want to have people just like that deciding whether you get dialysis?
Thanks for your explanations.
Thank you so much for writing about this, because yes everything you said is true. My Canadian In-laws who are well heeled often come to the US for testing, and one went to Europe to have a knee surgery since it was much much less of a wait.
I really feel sorry for Natasha Richardson's loved ones. She very well may have survived had she received prompt care. And, headinjured people shouldn't be taken at their word that they're "fine". And, she would have had such a story to tell on ski safety.
Fantastic post, Adrienne. Excellent points. Great read.
Owen said...
"Mark, so everyone in the USA receives the care they need even when they cannot afford it? The cancer victim who is working poor get's that life saving operation every time?"
Yes Owen, the poor (working or unemployed) get excellent care in a timely fashion. I know this from personal experience. All things being equal, I'd much rather receive health care in the U.S. with or without insurance than to take my chances anywhere else in the world.
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