Jim Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/view/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist This was a repeat of T.R. Reid's trip around the world to see how other countries handle health care: UK, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Switzerland. Worth watching. They range from the total government program in the UK to private insurance in Switzerland. Several common themes - no one wants a US style program, the vast majority of folks give their system high marks, wait times are minimal, even in the UK and mostly for elective surgery, they deliver health care at a fraction of the cost of the US, they are all healither populations, if they have private insurers they have strict cost controls and insurers can make only minimal profit. Oh yea - and no one goes bankrupt over medical costs and lacks care just because they lose their job. How civilized. In Switzerland, with the highest administrative costs of these countries it is a staggering 5.2% - compared to the 22% of the US. And we're arguing about this in Congress. Idiots. Quote
Fairweather Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 It's not about costs, or wait times--or even equality of outcomes. It's about freedom. There are reasons we aren't them. You should read up. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Freedom from affordable and equal access to health care for all. Freedom to be fucked in the ass by corporations. Read up. Read up! Edited November 11, 2009 by tvashtarkatena Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 In fact, it's pretty fucking expensive. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 4 times more expensive than anyone else's. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Freedom from dusty old Constitution. Freedom to blow a trillion stomping on some little brown people because we fucking feel like it. Freedom to shove our cult down everyone else's throat. Freedom from The Gay Hordes. Freedom from the yoke of totalitarianism...unless practiced by our own government or corporations. Republican Freedom. Edited November 11, 2009 by tvashtarkatena Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 FW's freedom, the freedom he's stood behind in word if not deed every damn American day, all day. Quote
tvashtarkatena Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 (edited) Read up, my fine soldiers of freedom! Read up! Edited November 11, 2009 by tvashtarkatena Quote
Jim Posted November 11, 2009 Author Posted November 11, 2009 It's not about costs, or wait times--or even equality of outcomes. It's about freedom. There are reasons we aren't them. You should read up. WTF are you talking about? Freedom from what or to do what exactly? Get sick and die in the gutter, drain your family's bankaccount, help pay million dollar salaries of the CEOs of insuranace companies, suffer trade imbalances because Toyota pays no health insurance for its employees, or do you just mean the freedom to pay a bloated insurance bureacracy? Great jigoism. No logic. The ususal. Quote
prole Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ease up guys, it's just a typo. Fairweather meant to say freedumb not freedom. Simple mistake. Quote
Crux Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 Who be that slobbering red-eyed fool blowing fumes over the top of his laptop, there in the back seat of the classroom at Po-Dunk Community College? We can at least be glad he's not like some poor American stuck in his country's healthcare crisis, you know, dying gutter and draining his family's bank account. Well, he's not dying in the gutter anyway. Quote
j_b Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 "it's about freedom to be denied health care by insurance corporations" Orwell couldn't have imagined it any better. Quote
Hugh Conway Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 It's not about costs, or wait times--or even equality of outcomes. It's about freedom. There are reasons we aren't them. You should read up. WTF are you talking about? Freedom from what or to do what exactly? Get sick and die in the gutter, drain your family's bankaccount, help pay million dollar salaries of the CEOs of insuranace companies, suffer trade imbalances because Toyota pays no health insurance for its employees, or do you just mean the freedom to pay a bloated insurance bureacracy? Great jigoism. No logic. The ususal. Fairweather means the Freedom to be a fucking retard. Quote
prole Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLJx2vJdlJQ Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 We can at least be glad he's not like some poor American stuck in his country's healthcare crisis, you know, dying gutter and draining his family's bank account. Americans don't have bank accounts. Huge, endlessly running credit card debt, OTOH... but heh, we should be able to buy 5 plasma TVs, a new car every 3 years, and not have to buy health insurance - that's too much money! Quote
prole Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 Don't forget more family members working more hours too! Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 Don't forget more family members working more hours too! well, yeah, you got to have enough cash to pay off the finance charges every month! Quote
Hugh Conway Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 Don't forget more family members working more hours too! well, yeah, you got to have enough cash to pay off the finance charges every month! and pay taxes to bail out the credit card company's Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 Don't forget more family members working more hours too! well, yeah, you got to have enough cash to pay off the finance charges every month! and pay taxes to bail out the credit card company's only rich people pay taxes, so that's ok Quote
j_b Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 still doing what the right wing does best: blaming average Americans for family income not keeping up with inflation for the last 30 years (despite the generalization of 2 wage earners families), good jobs lost to no benefit-no living wage regions (and blaming unions for corporate greed), etc ... families needs cars to make up for lack of public transits (that dead-enders have beat back through anti-tax demagoguery), 5 plasma TV's wouldn't even pay for 6 month of healthcare. Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 still doing what the right wing does best: blaming average Americans for salaries not keeping up with inflation for the last 30 years (despite the generalization of 2 wage families), good jobs lost to no benefit-no living wage regions (and blaming unions for corporate greed), etc ... families needs cars to make up for lack of public transits (that dead-enders have beat back through anti-tax demagoguery), 5 plasma TV's wouldn't even pay for 6 month of healthcare. workers of the world unite! Quote
j_b Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 more like middle class of the world unite, you dumbass Quote
KaskadskyjKozak Posted November 11, 2009 Posted November 11, 2009 more like middle class of the world unite, you dumbass yes, kill the bourgeois capitalist pigs! Quote
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