NPR Reviews ‘Sicko’
Jun 24th, 2007 at 2:55 pm by Susie
And I thought this was interesting:
Moore contrasts the U.S. system with the systems in France, Britain and Cuba, where care is free. He claims there’s no waiting, and you can choose your own doctor. And in France, he says, there are doctors who make house calls in the middle of the night. How accurate are those claims?
SILBERNER: I think some of the things that those countries are willing to pay for are things that we Americans would not be willing to pay for. There was also the remarkable revelation that in France, when you’re a new mother, a government employee will come to your house and maybe even do your laundry and make you soup. That’s not going to go over well in this country.
That’s not going to go over well in this country.
Well, that depends. Are you talking about corporate interests, or are you talking about regular people?
Because I disagree. The insurance industry got away with that Harry and Louise crap the last time, but people have had a lot more experience with healthcare indignities since then.
We’ve also seen the Bush administration pour several billion dollars down a black hole of government contractors since then, and we have neither a better Iraq nor cheaper gas to show for it.
They really think wage earners aren’t interested in seeing something for their money? Clearly, the experts at NPR live in a very different neighborhood than mine. Because I think people are more than ready - they’re just so used to being told the government “can’t afford” what they want and need.
With the cost savings from a universal healthcare system, a lot of those previously impossible dreams could come true.
Silberner fails to answer Melissa Block’s question about facts (Block’s assertion of fact is correct) and provides an unresponsive answer which is simply her opinion. I guess NPR must have such good health insurance that she can’t get her mind around the idea that the rest of us don’t.
I know someone who was visiting England on vacation, broke her leg seriously, and literally waited on a hallway gurney for two days to be provided no Xray and an ace bandage.
Fortunately she had the resources to arrange a flight back to America to get proper treatment. So don’t believe all you hear about Europe’s system.
Yeah? Well, I had insurance and last year spent two days in a corner of the emergency room because they didn’t have a room to put me. Seems to me getting the same treatment for free would be an improvement.
eh…i’m not getting in this discussion. of course the medical system is better in every other industrial nation.
but i just had an ultrasound and it is costing me 153 bucks with my high deductible junk insurance. y’know how much it would cost without? $1224.00.
it has always blown my mind how much higher the cost is for people w/o insurance. i’m not talking co-pays, just the negotiated prices. it’s like a buyer’s club that you need to join to get discount prices. the system is insane.
I haven’t listened or contributed to NPR since they became the non-profit wing of Fox.
Anyone who says that “government “can’t afford” what they want and need,” are really saying that the ‘right’ people won’t make any money on that idea. Taking out an insurance policy is really just signing a contract to negotiate what miniscule portion of the damage you’ve suffered your insurance will reimburse you for.
I know someone who was visiting England on vacation,
broke her leg
seriously, and literally waited on a hallway gurney
for two days to be provided no Xray and an ace bandage.
Fortunately she had the resources to arrange a flight
back to America to get proper treatment.
So don’t believe all you hear about Europe’s system.
Sounds highly exaggerated to me.
I know someone who broke her foot in a fall on an icy
sidewalk in Prague last year, and received excellent
treatment gratis.
So you are now losing the Suburban Guerrilla battle
of the anecdotes by a 2-to-1 margin. And your handle makes it clear that you’re a right
wing troll with questionable credibility.
We spend one-sixth of our GNP on medical care,
and what do we get for it?
Every single word I wrote is true and accurate - told to me firsthand by the woman who broke her leg. She is an experienced licensed physical therapist so she knows a bit about broken bones and health care.