Skeeter,
IMHO, the "public" doctor plan would not work well because we'd wind up with a two tiered system of health care.
One would contain most of the brightest, talented, aggressive doctors and the other would contain a handful of bleeding hearts and a lot of mediocrity. The rich would use the former and the rest of us would be stuck with the latter. That would infuriate some politicians because in their minds everyone deserves everything even if resources are limited.
The following is not directed at you. It's more general conversation.
I'm not sure if we spoke about this, but in November of 2008 I had neurosurgery for a benign tumor in my head (basically brain surgery).
The doctor that recommended my surgeon told me he was sending me to see the Michael Jordan of my type of tumor. I'm sure this guy makes a small fortune. But if he didn't make a small fortune he might have become an investment banker instead (or something else). Even if he didn't, some extremely talented and bright people ARE motivated by money and we need them to use their medical talents.
This surgeon was not in my insurance plan. When we reviewed my case (paid out of pocket) it was clear to him I had a very good chance for a favorable outcome. He could also tell how anxious I was for him to do the surgery. So he offered to cut his fee by more than half so I could use him. So people should not paint all doctors and surgeons as greedy bastards.
Here's another thing.
There are several surgery options for this type of tumor. Each has advantages and different very serious risks. The patient needs to weigh all the pluses and minuses in his/her individual case with input from several surgeons and make a very difficult and personal decision about which to use and how to do it.
There are also a couple of radiation options. Again, there are advantages and disadvantages between various radiation treatments and relative to surgery.
The thing is, in the US there are several super duper elite surgeons and radiation treatment specialists in several parts of the country and you can pick whatever option fits your exact case and your emotional makeup best.
In most other parts of the world (including in Europe), there are no surgeons of this quality. Perhaps just one guy in Germany rates as the same caliber as somewhere between 5-10 in the US. In addition, in some countries (including in Europe), they don't even give you the surgical option because radiation is cheaper. If you understood the details of this issue like I do you would understand how horrible that is.
So the next time someone complains about healthcare in the US or says our quality is inferior, you will know for sure he's a political scumbag or retarded.
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