{"id":39317,"date":"2013-10-23T00:31:23","date_gmt":"2013-10-23T06:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/23\/us-health-care-from-foreign-eyes.html"},"modified":"2013-10-23T08:31:02","modified_gmt":"2013-10-23T14:31:02","slug":"us-health-care-from-foreign-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/23\/us-health-care-from-foreign-eyes.html","title":{"rendered":"US Health Care, from foreign eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"
Per Digby (http:\/\/goo.gl\/W33oci<\/a>):\u00a0_I honestly don't think that Americans, most of whom don't travel outside the country, understand just how unusual it is to be petrified that you are going to go bankrupt or be denied care due to money. \u00a0The rest of the developed world has found a way to provide universal health care to their people. In this case we are exceptional. Exceptionally heartless._<\/p>\n

I<\/i> understand that petrification. From both sides of the geopolitical coin.<\/p>\n

Many years ago, when touring the UK, I managed to injure myself. \u00a0It was a stupid occurrence, it was my fault, and there I was in a foreign country, convinced I was in deep trouble. A significant laceration, possible infection, maybe even tetanus.<\/p>\n

My wife (at the time) convinced me we should seek medical help. Mind you, this was in an era when you took traveler's checks to fund your time overseas. I was sure that we'd be in big trouble if we just showed up at a clinic and wanted care. \u00a0How much would it cost? Could we afford it? How would it impact the rest of our vacation? Should I just grim and bear it and hope it would all turn out okay?<\/p>\n

After some semi-comical tracking down of a medical facility in \u00a0that pre-Google Maps era, we found ourselves at a clinic on a Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

And they took me in, and they did the proper stitching and dressing and treatment. \u00a0And when I asked how much it cost, it was, hey presto, nothing.<\/i><\/p>\n

Health care was obviously important in the UK. For anyone. Even for a furriner like me.<\/p>\n

I do not discount or discard the issues that the British NHS has, for a variety of reasons. \u00a0But from that date I found myself with a profound appreciation for the idea that people who are hurt, injured, ill, deserve to get some sort of treatment for same,<\/i> and that somehow we, as civilized individuals, should figure out how to make that happen.<\/p>\n

In later years, I encountered just what sort of health care system we in the states had, and how the whims or margin targets of a for-profit insurance company could dictate exactly what treatment one could receive, regardless of what one actually needed. And beyond the lie it put to the whole "death panels" question (they already exist behind corporate doors, my friend), it made clear to me the very distinct difference between having "the best medical system\u00a0in the world" and having the financial resources to actually partake of it.<\/p>\n

"That you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me." \u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\n \n <\/div>\n

Three days in a US hospital convinced me that America needs ObamaCare<\/a>
\n Current affairs, world politics, the arts and more from Britain’s award-winning magazine\n <\/p>\n

View this post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Per Digby (http:\/\/goo.gl\/W33oci):\u00a0_I honestly don't think that Americans, most of whom don't travel outside the country, understand just how unusual it is to be petrified that you are going to go bankrupt or be denied care due to money. \u00a0The rest of the developed world has found a way to provide universal health care to … Continue reading “US Health Care, from foreign eyes”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,134,380],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-health-care","category-nationalism-exceptionalism"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15584,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2009\/08\/14\/universal-health-care-terrorism.html","url_meta":{"origin":39317,"position":0},"title":"Universal Health Care = Terrorism?","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 14-Aug-09 11:19am","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow -- the crazy and the xenophobia just keep on rolling. \u00a0 As far as I can see, the argument (via James Cavuto and Jerry Bowyer) is: Universal Health Care\u00a0-> Britain's NHS\u00a0-> budget cuts -> low-paid doctors -> doctor shortage -> recruiting of foreign doctors\u00a0+ anonymous post-office-like bureaucracy where nobody's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fourth Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Fourth Estate","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/fourth-estate"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":137722,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2019\/01\/27\/the-trump-administration-will-protect-religious-discrimination-by-health-care-workers.html","url_meta":{"origin":39317,"position":1},"title":"The Trump administration will protect religious discrimination by health care workers","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 27-Jan-19 6:23pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Think those lesbians are nasty sinners who are going to fry in hell so why should you have to provide nursing services to them? Convinced that a woman who gets an abortion is an unclean baby-killer and your checking her blood pressure will make you complicit? Think that transgenderism is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32325,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/01\/26\/how-do-we-reduce-health-care-spending.html","url_meta":{"origin":39317,"position":2},"title":"How do we reduce health care spending?","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 26-Jan-13 12:40pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, looking at how Canada spends less per person -- not person in the national health care system, but person in the country -- than we do. \u00a0And the reason is not because they have more \"free market reforms\" than we do. The Canadian system isn't perfect, but from talking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11519,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/08\/08\/the_bush_health_care_plan.html","url_meta":{"origin":39317,"position":3},"title":"The Bush Health Care Plan","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 8-Aug-07 10:39pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I missed this when it was making the rounds a month ago.\u00a0 Yeesh. From the White House transcript of Pres. Bush's comments at the Cleveland Clinic, 10 July, just prior...","rel":"","context":"In "Health"","block_context":{"text":"Health","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/health"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":133072,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/03\/16\/john-oliver-on-the-america-health-care-act-acha.html","url_meta":{"origin":39317,"position":4},"title":"John Oliver on the America Health Care Act (ACHA)","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 16-Mar-17 10:05pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Yeah, I know, this is all of four days old, but if you want to understand what the GOP Leadership (Paul Ryan, but not really devotedly Donald Trump) is pressing forward to replace the ACA, this is worth a watch.[1]In John Oliver's inimitable style.------[1] Though it pre-dates the CBO score,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39282,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/21\/obamacare-socialism-health-care-death.html","url_meta":{"origin":39317,"position":5},"title":"Obamacare! Socialism! Health Care! Death!","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 21-Oct-13 9:03pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Senator Jim Inhofe is once again talking about how, if he lived in a country with socialized medicine just like Obama is trying to impose here, he might well be dead.Inhofe had gone in for a routine colonoscopy, when he discovered he needed immediate heart surgery for clogged arteries. \u00a0_\"A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39317"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39323,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39317\/revisions\/39323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}