and-justice-for-all (1000+ posts) Sat Jun-27-09 09:28 PM
Original message
US Is One Of Only Three Developed Nations Without Universal Healthcare For All
Salon has a good article about the ugliness of the US healthcare situation and how it could possibly be this way.
It's entitled "The questions our healthcare debate ignores".
"Last month, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued the latest in a long series of reports on our wasteful and cruel practices that ought to awaken a sense of national embarrassment."
DEPRESSING fact that is mentioned NUMBER ONE: "Among the OECD's 30 members -- which include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom -- there are only three lacking universal health coverage. The other two happen to be Mexico and Turkey, which have the excuse of being poorer than the rest (and until the onset of the world economic crisis, Mexico was on the way to providing healthcare to all of its citizens). The third, of course, is us."
Here is the actual report from the OECD web site:
http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2009doc.nsf/LinkTo/NT0000...
More: http://www.mydd.com/story/2009/3/9/18277/26800
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5942043But..but..why do people from other countries come here for medical care? Has any DUmmy ever seen the inside of a hospital in the Slovak Republic? Has any DUmmy ever heard of a rich American going overseas for medical treatment?
Bonobo (1000+ posts) Sat Jun-27-09 09:34 PM
1. Wow! Foreigners might get a mistaken impression...
They might look at the fact that tens of millions are incarcerated and have limited or no access to normally accepted standards of health (including dental) care and accidentally make the leap that we are being ignored, abused and flogged by leaders that only have a vestigial sense of responsibility here in the good old US of A. They might not know that we are still the greatest and gosh darn free-est nation on the face of God's green earth!
Re incarcerated, dead wrong. By law they have access to free medical and dental care. Typical DUmmy.
Re greatest and most free, exactly right. Even though the DUmmy is trying to sarcastically demean this nation, he is so wrong it becomes right. Despite the best efforts of democrat socialists, we are still the most free and the greatest nation on earth. I honestly doubt that a few years of the jug-eared Kenyan communist will materially change that.
NJCher (1000+ posts) Sat Jun-27-09 09:44 PM
5. the health care story tells the truth about America
We are ruled by a rabid, vicious form of capitalism that has been honed by republicans for over 30 years.
The fact that America has the health care system that it does says everything about the values of this country. It says you the person doesn't matter one bit: only your ability to pay has merit.
According to DUmmy NJCher, until Ronaldus Magnus fired the air traffic controllers, there was no need to pay your doctor, and we had a friendly, warm, cuddly form of capitalism wherein profit was not an important consideration.
Crazy Dave (1000+ posts) Sat Jun-27-09 09:35 PM
2. Even Cuba has health care for all
And no matter how bad the right wing says universal or "socialized" medicine is, it's worse when you have nothing. Even if you do have health insurance if you happen to get a serious or long term illness you still will need to hire a bankruptcy attorney.
I wonder what DUmmy Crazy Dave would say if he got admitted to a 16-bed ward in the workers' paradise, swarming with flies and devoid of medicine, being treated for a life-or-death condition by a $40 per month "doctor". DUmmy Crazy Dave is, indeed, crazy.
Crazy Dave (1000+ posts) Sat Jun-27-09 09:37 PM
3. Yeah...we have the freedom to publicly complain about not having free health care
Who wouldn't want that?
DUmmy Crazy Dave finally cuts to the chase. DUmmies are getting all the medical care they can use. What they really want is for productive citizens to pay for every dime of it. They don't want co-pays, deductibles, or any out-of-pocket expense that cuts into disposable income. Disposable income has one purpose: ganja.
