potpourri

[ciroccoj]

It is freaking hot (33.3°C - 91.9°F), we just came back from our first date in... way too long, I still have to post pix of Justin's dance recital where he was the only boy among about 150 little dancers, I have no idea what the difference is between R-rating and NC17-rating, Siam Bistro has really good food, we're going to Hawaii, and Canadians healthier, have better access to health-care than Americans: study and the kicker of the study is that There was one area where Americans fared better than Canadians. Despite being less healthy and having less access to a vastly more expensive health-care system, Americans are happier with their care than Canadians are. Which is funny because we were just talking about this over dinner on our date.

That's my day in a nutshell.

Comments

[lizzie-omalley.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I know that it is frustrating to worry about paying more and not being able to afford things but there are advantages. When I sprained my foot in England and thought I may have broken it I went to the emergency room in Canterbury. I waited for a long time before I was taken to be x-rayed. The doctor had told the x-ray tech how she wanted to the picture taken but the Tech did it his own way even when I told him my ankle, which is what he was x-raying was not the part that hurt and even when I showed where the bruise on my foot was. He went ahead and x-rayed the ankle. I then had to wait for a considerable time to see the doctor and then longer to get the foot x-rayed and then some more for the doctor to tell me that it wasn't broken and to go home keep it elevated and keep it iced.

I don't know how that compares to Canada but I know that if the doctor had ordered a foot x-ray in the US she would have gotten a foot x-ray and not an ankle one.

It might have been free, even to me a non-citizen, but it cost me something like 5 hours waiting.

When I did break my leg here and needed to have it pinned I was greatful beyond measure that I got the doctors that I got because they did an amazing job fixing things. I am also greatful that because I had an emergency claim that was accepted while I was under the care of one doctor I did not have to go through the normal workman's comp channels. The contract provider for my employer at the time had a reputation that was in the pits. In fact they were so bad they lost their state contract. Very hard to do. I got to have care provied by some of the best private orthopedic surgeons in Denver. It made all the difference that they were in private practice.

I do think that the US system is in bad shape and needs repair but I don't know that I want a system like either the Canterbury hospital or the piss poor insurance company in the US. Given the US govt.'s track record on every thing else these days, I don't think I want them in my health care.

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

I got to have care provied by some of the best private orthopedic surgeons in Denver. It made all the difference that they were in private practice.
Hm... I'm not sure about that, but then again, I've never broken a foot or leg in England or Denver, so what do I know ;)

Given the US govt.'s track record on every thing else these days, I don't think I want them in my health care.
Good point. I could say the same for the Canadian government too - and for once, that's not my anti-Conservativism speaking, because they've only been in power for a few months and the Liberals were screwing with our money for over a decade.

Still, statistically speaking, when it comes to health, apparently incompetent/larcenous governments do better with our money than whoever manages things in the US. Which disturbs the hell out of me, for both sides of the border ;)

[lizzie-omalley.livejournal.com]

The difference was that the Doc was all about me and doing the best by my leg that he could rather than worrying about the nickles and dimes of the bottom line and pushing me to get up and on the leg too fast.

With that said, the Doc in England was attentive too, if over worked, and I can't say how it would have gone if the foot had been broken. Thank goodness that it wasn't.

The insurance companies in the US, being managed for investor profits, tend to be penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to treating and trying to think towards wellness rather than repair. Also, our law suit system is part of the problem where bad suits with a good chance of winning in front of a jury go forward and cost people a lot of money in the long run due to extremely high liability rates for doctors. Good cases with little chance of winning will often not go forward because there is no money in it for the lawyers who all get paid by contingency fees if they win. In the end, it is a lose/lose system for everyone except a few investors. I really hate the idea of health care as a "for profit" corporate enterprise. I have no problem with individuals making a living at being a doctor, but I hate the idea that my insurance premiums are making a few investors really wealthy while they nickle and dime my treament options.