Comments on: Why The French Can Afford To Get Sick

Sunday Morning: Medical Care In France Is Efficient, Quick, And Costs Half What Americans Spend On Health Care

[pswanberg]

The grass is always greener on the otherside, but once you get there you find it is fertilized with "bull ****". There are many foreigners who visit the very state you mock and say the exact same thing you said about France.

[pswanberg]

Are you serious? Everyone does have the right to health care! Life is all about making decisions, good or bad; Those who choose not to purchase health insurance have made their choice.

[pswanberg]

"And while the French are determined to preserve their system (it's currently running a 12 to 14 billion dollar deficit), most agree something's got to change." Just because something sounds good, doesn't mean it is good. It is unfortunate that so many people are uninsured and as a result suffer from inadequate medical care, but the fact still remains: social programs end up costing those who work for what they have. Maybe in the future when the US economy stabilizes, the idea of public health care will be viable, but the increased amount of government involvement in every American's life has them worried more than it has them excited.

[dzunakwa]

In the USA most obstetrician/gynecologists who deliver children pay $80,000 to $100,000 for their malpractice insurance. Does anyone believe that true Americans would give up their right to sue so that doctors could be paid less? If you introduced a system like the one in France without a complete overhaul of our courts there wouldn't be any doctors here. However, that would definitely reduce the cost of health care.

[Martin_Turow]

The difference is this simple-- in America, healthcare, including doctor services, IS A BUSINESS, a big one. In France, it is more like the Postal Service is here, a quasi-governmental system that strictly regulates everything. As soon as America decides that they don't like healthcare being a business, the sooner we can get down to true reform. Until then, healthcare will continue to seek the biggest return on investment possible and if that means gouging the crap out of everyone and everything, well, then, that's what's going to happen.

[davefromcamp]

Obesity is higher in the US too

[davefromcamp]

Seriously if you can't give your workers some health care close shop

[davefromcamp]

Food is more of a moral right than health care. I want free food.

[davefromcamp]

tort reform actually would help drive down medical malpractice insurance. An indirect approach. Agreed that few get taken to litigation but laywer advice isn't free. Agreed that the payouts are small BUT its like the lottery if a scissors is left inside of you during surgery. Therefore rates are high. It was probabbly dropped because ambulance chasers like Edawards are in congress. If there isn't much support for the bill, it gets stalled. Your defensive medicine is very off. MRIs in the US are orders 8-10xthat of germany. Unecessary daily labs, consults etc. The examples don't stop there. Check your #s

[davefromcamp]

well if you are counting the post doc time as well. People forget about residency where interns and residents make about $12/hr and this goes for anotehr 4 years. AND my local pyscologist/english professor/laywer is not taking the risk of someone's life. Do you want your surgeon to make less than your plumber? Agreed costs are high. Easy to jump on MDs but less than 20% of the cost goes to your Dr.

[davefromcamp]

This article is another example how liberals don't understand money. 1 Drs make 50-100k?!?!? Why not go work for pay pal and have a 40 hr week with less stress. Drs here work 60-80 hrs have the looming fear of law suits and possibly dying people in their palms of their hands. Seriously med school debt in the US is 175k PLUS residency, so 8 years after college. Less people would go into medicine OR less qualified people. So when 50 million now have insurance and are seeing Drs when are further into a shortage. 2) 1 sentance about how the program is 12-14 BILLION $$ in debt. Obviously not free care. That logic gets me a free house. YES we have a problem, but fixing it in 2 months is a terrible Idea.

Side note: They also said the ambulance as General Anesthesia drugs. We have that too its called Fentanyl, Versed and Vecuronium. Our EMS are better at trauma than most physicians.

[persocialismo]

now go and compare France:US GDP, cost of living, education, fuel efficiency, energy and commodity consumption and maybe you'll have a better understanding of why Americans are merely greedy capitalists. The "Economist" is a great place to start your analysis!

[persocialismo]

I agree with you, I've lived in Europe as well, and shared same experience. the protocal for seeking medical attention here in the US is Insurance, Billing, and safeguard from lawsuit, that's all procured before you even think about seeing a Doctor, and many times you see a Nurse, or a Physician's Assistant as in my case the last time I went to Baptist Hospital and even if I had insurance I still got stuck with a $500 bill, and when i spoke to my friends in italy they replied "and wow even if you had insurance they only paid 75% of the bill"

[persocialismo]

I get your point, but I'd like to say that I come from an African American family with 3 surviving great grandparents: 102, 99 & 97.

[persocialismo]

They pay about 28% in taxes first of all. We have various taxes, sales tax, federal and state.

secondly, your theory about compensation for excellence is not necessarily true. look at the healthcare system in Cuba where the average salary for everyone is about $20/month. I've seeked healcare in Europe and I found that far more attention was paid to detail because the capitalist mentality doesn't exist, it's more of a social approach, Docorts will even come to you at HOME! and they dont' make nearly as much as Doctors here in the U.S. They will run various tests like EkG,CT Scans and MRIs, X Rays in order to be sure that there's not a trace of anything malignant in your body, and they can do so because the costs are not nearly as high as they are here in the U.S. and they aren't looking for a capital gain, they genuinely care for the sick!Here the first concerns are billing, insurance, and being safe from lawsuit...that's the protocal here in the U.S.

[persocialismo]

Americans also pay 2 arms and 2 legs for education, again the only industrialized, developed democratic nation that adheres to such a practice, this is absurd, so we also have taxes for education that feed into our economy!They fail to mention Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia, where the economy, government and social systems are virtually flawless!

[persocialismo]

I totally agree with you, I lived in Italy, traveled to France and Switzerland, e si parlo italiano anch'io, viva l'italia!!!! one question that the media hasn't posed to opponents is" what's wrong with Socialism? It works in Western Europe and Scandinavia very very well!Americans are fearful of the unknown and maybe that's why only 40% of Americans have a passport!

[persocialismo]

Do you believe that tax payers should have a choice in where their tax dollars are spent? or do you believe that we should not pay taxes all together, which to my knowledge individual tax paying is no constitutional. We are the most productive nation in the world, and if we can spend $3 trillion on an Iraqi invasion under false pretenses, then we can make sure that all of our citizens are taken care of medically incase of an emergency. Do you think people should just die in the waiting room? what is your plan? do you have an prolific ideas? or do you just want to oppose the current administration? what do you think about impoverished children and Americans? Every Developed nation in the world recognizes that healthcare is an inherent right and not a privilege, why are Americans like you so greedy and selfish?

[persocialismo]

Do greedy money hungry capitalists like yourself ever stop and think "ok my employers is paying $650/month for my healthcare, but what about those who don't even have healthcare?" I have a B.A. in International Relations, I have work full-time and I'm left withouth healthcare! so what do you suggest? that i die waiting in the hospital when I have a medical emergency? The first stop in the hospital is the Billing desk, in order to collect insurance info. I had insurance for 20 years, now i've been withouth it for 5, and i've also lived and seen how efficiently the system works in Europe.

[persocialismo]

Have you ever heard Impressionism or the Euroepean Coal and Steel Community and France's role as a proponent of the founding of the EU? The French prior to Sarkozy's current administration were limited to a 35hr. work week but now they can work 40hrs. If you're against illegal immigrants, you need to advocate for that, but that's another issue. Why should tax paying Americans be denied healthcare based on improprieties of illegal immigrants?