you have a very nice blog and very informative article…

Presidential candidates are pumping out new books like Pez candy. But why bother hiring a ghostwriter to concoct fresh pabulum when you recycle old pabulum? That’s the Hillary Clinton way. On Tuesday, she’s bringing back the 10-year-old “It Takes a….

At least on the Apnea thing, I am SO with you on this one. I have Apnea, and I had to self-diagnose because the 4-5 doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong and just wanted to put me on drugs for THIS symptom and THAT symptom… one of which was the pills, which as you pointed out, could have been the last thing I ever took.

On the other hand, imagine you’re in a single-payer system. The doctors are not magically better, in fact they have less incentive to get it done right and certainly less to get it done in a hurry. You have your appointments 3-4 months apart, and it turns out the treatment you need isn’t covered, so you have to settle for something less – which doesn’t work.

Yeah, if monopolies are so great, why isn’t Ma Bell still the only player? Why do liberals hate Wal-Mart but love socialized medicine?

Yeah, we REALLY need a medical system that’s not only a monopoly, but a monopoly with government authority.

Like THAT’s never gone wrong before.

There are significant differences in the laws regulating malpractice from state to state–some very liberal, some very conservative. The insurance rates don’t differ that much. Also, according to the latest info, the cost of malpractice insurance and payouts amounts to about .4% of total healthcare costs.

But honora, there is also the practice of “defensive medicine”. Bumped his head? Get a CT scan.

Also, I happen to practice in a very doctor-friendly state, malpractice-wise. Neighboring states have shortages of docs because they’d rather practice here.

I can vouche for this bit of information being a Canadian.

A few months ago, a woman has a miscarriage in the WAITING room. About a year ago, a friend’s grandfather DIED waiting for treatment for cameo treatment (probably a misspelling)

People die. Show me the causal relationship.

Also, this bit of misinformation has been repeated so often that people take it as fact

The real begiing of healthcare reform should be stipulated on the reform of malpractics suits. Medical care in the US is so expensive because trial lawyers will sue a doctor for anything.

Not true. Want proof? There are significant differences in the laws regulating malpractice from state to state–some very liberal, some very conservative. The insurance rates don’t differ that much. Also, according to the latest info, the cost of malpractice insurance and payouts amounts to about .4% of total healthcare costs.

Both the medical establishment and big business are starting to put their weight behind some version of national health care. It’s no longer a question of if, but of when.

Here’s an update from a story posted last week, as initially reported by Michelle Malkin at HotAir.com — Rosie O’Donnell
NEW YORK  —  Rosie O’Donnell says she’s sorry for mocking spoken Chinese on “The View,&#82…

Someone else mentioned about lack of competition between doctors. Technically, you are somewhat right and wrong.

The doctors in Ontario get paid based on the amount of patients that visit them. The more people who visit their clinics, the more they get paid. That’s how the system works.

So there is a bit of competition around here concerning the quality of doctors, however from what I have been reading here, the experiences have not been that much different from the United States counterpart.

Either way, it seems to be a scenario of “grass is greener on the other side” syndrome. But if I wanted a healthcare system to bitch about, it would be one that would grant me treatment within a week then several months.

Who pays for it when welfare moms and illegal aliens use the emergency room as a family doctor – taxpayers.

Often true, but there are many cases where no payment at all is made. In these cases, the hospitals and docs are providing care for free. ER docs typically collect about 45% of what they bill, as compared with 90% plus for family docs.

It’s funny, though – in single-payer systems, where does the money come from? Taxpayers. Who pays for it when welfare moms and illegal aliens use the emergency room as a family doctor – taxpayers.

One final note: I wish these libs would stop whining about how people don’t have health CARE. My above comment illustrates that anyone can go to an ER and be treated, regardless of ability to pay. What people can’t afford is health INSURANCE, which can be prohibitively expensive for poor families, especially if they smoke, etc. The reason: government regulation.

OK, rant over.

My Grandmother had a similar experience with one of her doctors when she went in with some complaints and he told her, “You know, I could be helping someone with real problems.” So she found a new doctor that was willing to spend some time with her and figured out she did in fact have a real health issue.

Benaiah on December 15, 2006 at 1:49 PM

Don’t you see you are actually pointing out a good result? The fact that she could switch doctors and get treatment is something that would never happen under a more socialized system. She would have been stuck with the first doctor period. A governemnt doctor doesnt make a mistake when they tell you nothing is wrong!

Socialized Medicine in a Wealthy Country by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.*

I’m curious about the long waiting time for health care (as evidenced by the gentlemans’ wait for an MRI, a relatively simple procedure). If this Smithman guy (the Health Minister) needs an MRI, does he also wait four months?

I suspect that Smithman visits the local witchdoctor.

Well, Comrades, this vent by Michelle (thanks again Michelle for making us aware of what is going on!) this vent says it all.

My friends have a daughter that is afflicted with autism. According to her, as I understand the situation, she and other parents of austistic children have tried to meet with HELLary concerning govt regulations about medicines and treatment for autism because many things are forced upon such parents….HELLary has REFUSED to meet with parents. She just impliments what she thinks is best and the parents must come and go by her leave, it seems.

Now, what Benaiah states has some validity. Because of the HMO regulations which DO bully and threaten the medical community by refusing payments until they see things the HMO way, many doctors do behave this way and some do have an attitude in general. But, good doctors do indeed exist who have not forgotten the true meaning of bedside manner.

I’ve been sick for almost 4 years now and none of my doctors has been able to put their finger on exactly why. I’ve had to self diagnose for just about every step of my treatment by going out on the net to look up my symptoms. I figured out that I had sleep apnea and not just insomnia. The sleeping pills my doctor had prescribed could have killed me by making me sleep through the apnea. That step took 3 months and that 3 months I was getting an average of 1-2 hours of sleep a night while taking sleeping pills.

Every step of this I’ve run into crappy doctors that don’t seem to want to spend the time with me to really figure out what’s going on.

My Grandmother had a similar experience with one of her doctors when she went in with some complaints and he told her, “You know, I could be helping someone with real problems.” So she found a new doctor that was willing to spend some time with her and figured out she did in fact have a real health issue.

Doctors here in the US seem to have adopted a practice of spending as little time as possible with each patient so they get their money for the smallest amount of work. So they might see you faster than they do in Soviet Canukistan but the quality of care still sucks.