Panis et Circenses

[commonpeople1]

[Poll #1445374]

Feel free to expand in the comments section.

Edit: If you are British, please consider "Health Care" as including the National Health Service (NHS). Basically, what I meant by it was an umbrella definition for some kind of system (whether private or not) that offers you health care.

Comments

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

I have "top up" healthcare cover through the Benenden Healthcare Society (previously the Civil Service Sanatorium Society). Basically it can get me in to see NHS consultants quicker, will pay for private consultants if the the NHS is taking the piss, and they will either get you private operations or they have their own hospital that does stuff like orthopaedic surgery if your waiting list is too long. I've never had to use it, touch wood.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

That sounds really good - I've been thinking of getting something similar (just in case). If you don't mind me asking, is it pricey?

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

You have to be public sector. I think it costs me about a tenner a month.

http://www.benenden.org.uk/

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

There's a "friends & family" section...

[inbetween-girl.livejournal.com]

I like the sound of that.

[missfairchild.livejournal.com]

Given that the Swiss health care system has saved my life twice this year, I'm pretty bloody happy with it.

[whitman22.livejournal.com]

I have fairly top-of-the-line health insurance through my employer, a huge American corporation, and a great local medical practice where I'm very comfortable. However I spent quite a few years between grad school and full employment with no insurance at all, and am merely lucky that I had no major illnesses during that time. For example, the appendectomy that was fully covered by my insurance a couple of years ago would have put me close to $18,000 in debt, had I even gone to the ER at all before it ruptured. I would prefer a single-payer system in the US with private medical practitioners, but the entrenched interests are too strong for that to happen at the moment. I hope that at least we can extend coverage to the uninsured and unemployed/underemployed.

[guignolhornpipe.livejournal.com]

I'm uninsured right now, and in a good year I make about $30,000. Last year I made $14,000. God help me if I should ever need surgery of any kind.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I sincerely hope you don't need any visits to the doctor until you get some coverage!

[(Anonymous)]

hey nick!

yes, this sounds very familiar. exactly where i was coming out of grad school. wish i were optimistic that something positive was going to get done to help the uninsured, but ugh...

[whitman22.livejournal.com]

oops, wasn't logged in, ^ this is me of course. :)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

All the hysteria at the moment in the U.S., coming from the Far Right (because lets face it, that's what they are) and the insurance companies, makes me realize how entrenched their interests are - and how ironic it is that they are accusing the other side of wanting people to die!

[vivnsect.livejournal.com]

I need to elaborate. I haven't had health insurance in 4 years. The last time I had it I had it for 1 year from the company I was working for and despite having great insurance I was turned down for a procedure my doctor said I needed because the insurance company at the time claimed I didn't need it (yes, utterly ridiculous).

I lost the insurance after I left that job and became a full time student. I was denied Medicaid for years (Medicaid is the current government health 'insurance' here) because my previous taxes made me look like I made too much money to qualify (which was a joke, I was barely scraping by).

I *just* now re-applied for Medicaid and got it (literally this week). It goes into effect on September 1st. I am so overwhelmed with problems that I haven't had treated properly that I don't even know where to begin (for reference I haven't had dental insurance for over 10 years as well!).

How did I deal with myself for the last 4 years? The way so many Americans do. If I had a pressing medical matter I would go to the nearest public run hospital, sign papers and be treated as I was an emergency because it was the only way I could be seen without paying money up front. I had/have medical bills from those visits that total over 3 thousand dollars (thankfully Medicaid will cover some of those). I have a condition where I take meds daily and had to beg my old doctor via e-mails to write scripts for me without seeing me (so my levels haven't been tested properly in over a year either because a visit to him to get my blood tested would have cost me over 100$, something I couldn't afford).

I am appalled that there are people in the U.S. who think our current healthcare system is great. I would love for them to live a year in my shoes or anyone's shoes I have seen when I wait in the same waiting room as them in a hospital for hours and hours for care we should be getting from a regular doctor.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

It's just shocking to me.

I've followed your case and what you had to deal with in terms of your condition - but I never took into account the financial aspect and how it affected you. I just assumed you had a good health coverage! You would have received free treatment for it here in the U.K., including tests, private GPs, hospital visits, whatever. It's your right and, as I said in another journal, I find it laughable that the American government (especially under the Republicans) will take issue with other countries Human Rights records...

I'm honestly so mad at the Far Right in America that I can't stop wishing bad things for them.

[olamina.livejournal.com]

It's not just the far right. The center is also chickening out on making this into a true health care for all system by making concessions to the health care thieves (I worked in both health care and insurance, so I feel justified to say THIEVES) and failing to adequately debunk the outright LIES that people like stupid Sarah Palin are spreading. This has been a major FAIL.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Is the center behaving this way due to political pressure from the right (i.e. fear of getting painted with "nazi" tags by their hysteria)? Would they, in a more rational climate, lean towards supporting it?

[olamina.livejournal.com]

I am not in America at the moment, so I can only speculate but I am well aware that people from the left to the right have had health insurance industry money flowing through their campaigns and with that money comes commitments and concessions. The right barely had a pot to piss in since they are in the minority and don't have the white house, but they are GAINING traction with this matter because they commitment on the left and from the center is so weak. The result is that there nothing for people to really support but plenty for people to rail against....thus the situation America is facing now with old people and right wing people in mass hysteria.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Oh dear... it's just so depressing that in this day and age we still witness so much greed and stupidity.

[olamina.livejournal.com]

"this day and age" that phrase always cracks me up. what is so exceptional about this day and age? what have we learned? how have we really changed beyond surface level aesthetic shifts here and there? sometimes i just don't know.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I just mean the access to information, the ability to see beyond our own little worlds - compare and contrast our situation with others. The people interested in withholding health care must know on some level that there is a stronger argument than theirs - but they hold their own interests above others and choose to ignore this (or maybe they are just plain stupid). It's different from other days and ages, where the lack of information was more pronounced (I'm using my own experience here since I grew up in a military dictatorship in Brasil that screened much that came from outside) and disinformation more usual.

Learning is possible - as can be seen by countries that have eventually moved into a fair system of health care. It's just a shame that some countries, like America, learn so slowly - or perhaps not at all.

[olamina.livejournal.com]

the funny thing about the people interesting in withholding health care are actually acting AGAINST their own interests both to spite the uninsured others (surely poor black people, mexican immigrants -- in their collective imagination) and also as pawns of greedy insurance companies. not sure what it says about our glorious information age that so many people are willing to unquestioningly swallow the misinformation that is being fed to them in the name of squashing progress towards health insurance that will benefit that country.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! It's almost as if our information age is making it clear that information in itself can be quite subjective, not properly digested by some. It's a terrifying conclusion in my opinion because it means people can't be dissuaded, no matter what.

Willful Ignorance

[msanthropist.livejournal.com]

Join the club...SO tired of the sheer stupidity of the majority of American sheep, it is beyond embarrassing...it is infuriating. Fear is a very powerful motivator and unfortunately until our society evolves en mass change is destined to come very slowly...

[olamina.livejournal.com]

I am American but I don't live in America so I answered the "non-americans"

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

That's cool. I can see from your response that you have good coverage now in Slovenia. If you were back in the States, how would that change/remain the same?

[olamina.livejournal.com]

If I were America, I would start from zero. There were many times during my life in New York where I was without coverage. The worst was when I came back from a trip to Ghana and had a bad case of malaria such that my boyfriend at the time rushed me to the emergency room (of course the treatment for malaria made me feel even worse, but that's another story...). Anyway, through a bit of trickery and a whole lot of paperwork I was able to get my hospital fees covered by Medicaid (I was, pretty much, broke) and I even got on the dole but was too afraid to use the food stamp credit card that they sent me.

[olamina.livejournal.com]

Also, you didn't ask but I wanted to let you know that here in Slovenia, I get basic government health insurance through Gregor (because he has a full time job where those contributions are withdrawn) and I pay an additional €22 a month for the additional health insurance which covers lab fees, trips to specialists (though not ALL specialists), and surgeries. i never have to pay a cent for drugs as long as i have a doctor's prescription and even when i don't have an appointment the wait is never that long. i remember waiting a super long time for my doctor in nyc even when i had an appointment, and they would really hurry you out of there.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

It sounds very similar to the U.K., where a person with a residency thanks to their partner is also entitled to health coverage. Even tourists can be treated in hospitals and seen by GPs, free of charge (for most things).

[olamina.livejournal.com]

don't get me wrong, the system in UK is far better. a friend sprained her ankle playing basketball in Bristol and she just went right in and got it fixed. she was shocked. here in slovenia, if you don't have any insurance they will not see you. my first six months here were very tough. i know of an english living here who wanted to go get lab work done and just pay for it out of pocket and they wouldnt let her. she is still floundering here without any sort of coverage. she is no longer entitled to NHS since she is not a UK resident and she is not entitled to coverage here either. bad system in that regard.