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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (17309)	4/25/2010 8:55:24 AM
From: Lane3	1 Recommendation Respond to of 42652

"Cannot do what? Afford it? Are you confirming that affording it is what you meant? "I think it's because expectations are higher here about delivery of services. To afford it we would have to scale back to the European benefits package and delivery system and even there costs are escalating and more trimming will be needed." What kind of discussion do you want to have with this sort of nonsense ...?? Nonsense? I was offering one of the many potential reasons why their systems are more affordable than one modeled after theirs might be in the US. If expectations are lower, then costs are lower. Clearly expectations are lower. For example, as has been discussed on this thread before, they offer routine mammograms only between the ages of 50 and 70. We offer them to all women starting at 40. So, if we were to institute their practice, we would either save money the same way we do or there would be riots in the streets over the denial of care. This has nothing to do with whether or not we have the "best" system. We offer different services than they do, not necessarily better or worst, just different. Theirs costs less in part because they limit the delivery of some pricey services such as mammograms. Apparently Europeans are OK with that. I question whether Americans would be. It's a matter of expectations. One more time. Were you referring to affordability? If so, my response stands. If you were referring to something else, then be explicit about it. Bear in mind that "best" and "affordable" are two quite different concepts. Universal care, which you mentioned peripherally, is also a different concept. So pick one or more and try to maintain focus. Don't shift from affordable to best and then fuss at me for offering "nonsense."