Long wait times, when they exist, are still preferable to DYING FROM LACK OF MONEY. You are equating money with life. I find that offensive and uncivilized.
Where are the wait times a severe issue? How bad are they, why did they occur, when did they occur and have they been addressed? How did they compare under a government run system versus the US? There are ERs in the US where wait times are 8 hours. A woman died in an ER for lack of attention.
Since the US spends much more per capita than other industrialized countries, can the difference in money completely eliminate all wait times for a US single payer system?
Are the wait times from lack of resources or are they built into the system to prevent over usage? If so, do they prevent over usage and is over usage an actual or simply an imagined problem?
What percentage of the population are hypochondriacs? How large an issue is this?
The price does not have to be zero. There can be reasonable co-pays for those who can pay and there are also time and energy costs associated with going to the doctor. I think the Japanese cost of $10/night for a non-private room is too little and I suspect most Japanese think it's too much of a bargain as well.
Most people dislike doctors and hospitals and have better things to do with their time. Walmart and others have tried putting clinics into their stores. They were $40/visit and the NP could write prescriptions. There are many possibilities for distributing health care once the strangle hold of insurance companies, the AMA and big pharma is eliminated or reduced.
The French have doctors who make housecalls. That makes sense since medical offices and hospitals are hotbeds for disease and infection transmission. Whatever happened to housecalls?
No, the data show time and again that other industrialized countries have better results, lower costs and more satisfaction. When doctors also want to move to a nationalized system, people should pay more attention.
No, when the system is a non-profit, there is a larger incentive to reduce costs including incentives for making a healthier population. There are large profits in chronic diseases which is why there is more incentive to create another Viagra than there is to find a new antibiotic.
No, most people are not solely motivated by money. If you think they are then you have the wrong friends. Providing a low-cost or no cost education and then a good salary for life is enough to lure many people into the profession who might otherwise not enter it. I know doctors who actively discourage their children from the profession since it is now a frustrating, bureaucratic nightmare.
No, having more doctors in more places practicing medicine all day instead of playing pencil pusher will improve health and reduce overall health care costs. You keep focusing on costs without looking at the benefits to the system and the country as a whole.
In that case, you should stop spending money on food. You will starve to death but you will have saved money on food.
No, those who want to go into medicine solely to make money and play golf every Wednesday can stay out of the profession. Those who want to be doctors and nurses because this is what they find satisfying should go into medicine.
Again, if you think life is solely about money then you need to rethink life. |
