Death Panels for All! The health care thread

[Jim North]

Notably, the contraceptive pill is 100% free in the UK.

Well shucks, sign me up!

Move to England for 6 months and sign YOURSELF up.

Man, if there's work involved, I don't think I wanna do it.

[Ti-Phil]

Free contraceptive pills? I didn't know there was that in the UK. Good thing. But is that part of the health care or simply a way to give people a choice of when to have kids?

[Komiyan]

Both, I should imagine. It's probably a family planning intiative, but it's all operated under the NHS. Here's how it went for me-

-Initial GP session, blood pressure test, height and weight measurements, few questions about why I wanted to go on the pill. Since I had no problems..
-One month prescription for the pill given, handed over to any chemist for free pills.
-One month checkup, if all's fine a 6 month prescription is given.
-From then on, all you have to do is go the the GP for a blood pressure and weight check every six months to get your repeat prescription. I've been doing that for some 7 years now.

Total cost- Nowt. Nada. Zero. Free contraception!

For teenagers that are a bit confused as well, there are family planning clinics (also free, and under no obligation to inform your parents of your visit) who will tell you about contraception and STDs, and give you free condoms. My uni even had a box of free condoms in one room for anyone to take. I don't think there's anywhere in the UK that practises teaching absintence-only sex ed, on account of it being a crock of shit. Our teenage pregnancy rates are still a bit dire, though, so there's a long long way to go.

[Killbert-Robby]

I know my dorms in Canada have free condoms, and honestly, in anywhere a bunch of drunken college kids are living, its a necessity. But I don't know if they get a stock of free/cheap condoms thanks to health care, or if it comes out of their budget.

[Tellurider]

Honestly, one of my concerns about nationalized health care in the US is that yeah, the US is pretty fucking backwards about sex ed, contraceptives, etc. We DO have abstinence-only education here, and no it doesn't really work, but the thing is, could they pass a bill that covered contraceptives? Could they pass a bill that covered abortion, even with all of the qualifications mentioned earlier? I just don't know. Despite the whole thing in the constitution about a separation of church and state, we pretty much suck at it. Yeah, in some parts of the country there isn't a problem, but I do think that family planning should be covered by any national health care program, and if we can't even make high schools tell teenagers about condoms, I don't really have high hopes.

Fuckin' religious nutjobs.

[McDuffies]

That's because you folks believe in god.

[Dave Against The Machine]

Ugh, typical. Now religion bashing is starting. Could we get back to the actual topic. I'm still interested in see what people think about the subject. I myself am staying out of it for my own reasons, but I like reading what people think, and would hate to see the thread locked for stupid crap.

[McDuffies]

Dude relax, we're just kidding.

[Prettysenshi]

Well, I live in South Carolina, which is pretty backwards. Neonazis can march, Marilyn Manson can't perform in the state, confederate flag on the statehouse grounds, etc. Anyway, WE even give out free condoms, so I think that's pretty standard in the US. In most places anyway.

[Killbert-Robby]

Surely Neonazis being allowed to march is the fault of your constitution and not how backwards a place is?

[Komiyan]

Respectfully, I would like to know if there is a reason beyond religion for absintence-only education programs. I can't imagine there really is..

[Darkdetective]

You're all a bunch of damn commies! 30 years ago you'd all get the chair!

[Laemkral]

You're all a bunch of damn commies! 30 years ago you'd all get the chair!

As an employee of the federal government, you may want to watch just WHO you call a "damn commie" you treasonous pinko sympathizing dirty hippie lowlife!!!

You want to talk strange healthcare? I get virtually everything free, a la Uncle Sam. Every deploying Soldier is issued goggles, what with there apparently being sand in Iraq and wind which doth blow it around into storms. Well, I need prescription inserts for mine.

Optometry at Landstuhl clinic insists that my brand of goggles are exactly like another company's brand. As a student of capitalism, and someone who's not a complete moron, I beg to differ. Lo and behold, wrong pair of inserts are delivered to me. I decide to try optometry right here in Iraq seeing as they make them on the spot. They make them, I'm happy, and am informed that the attachment for the goggles is not something they carry. I've got to get it through my unit supply sergeant, who'd have to order somewhere in the vicinity of 25 of the bastards. Ain't happening.

So Optometry doesn't carry eyewear related parts that I need. Is that not just delightful? This is what happens when shit gets contracted out!!!!

Govt health care = good. Contractors = bad. True story.

[Guildmaster Van]

But I hear that it's an indication that you're becoming popular when people start hating you. Maybe it's some kind of compliment.

Sure it is. But usually people become popular THEN attract hatred, not vice-versa. I just wish I had shown up earlier when this thread was still juicy.

I hardly call wishing to remove myself from the situation "storming off." All I did was remove the posts that I have every right and ability to remove because I wanted out of the debate as it was quickly turning ugly and personal.

You're right, that's called "going back to your hugbox"

I have long held the opinion that if your creative output is as god damn terrible as something like antibunny, then you probably shouldn't get involved in any kind of debate.

To quote Willem Black - "That's beautiful, man"

Yeah Canadians went to the US for health care. You know. The ones with money. The ones who can afford it. The ones who have money to burn to such a degree they say "Meh, this is non-vital surgery, I'm willing to pay out the nose to get it done ASAP so I can get on with my life" Those who can't? They die horrible deaths or lose their jobs and are unable to support their family a-... oh wait shit, no, thats not right. Canadians who can't afford non-vital surgery just kinda wait. And get it. For free.
Canadians with diseases that require urgent attention or they'll die? CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF :O They are in fact not left to die in the waiting room, but, GET THIS, GIVEN MEDICAL TREATMENT.

Yay! Someone who understands how it works up here! Personally I don't know anyone who has been to the States for health reasons, and I've had friends and family on transplant lists and with various forms of cancer (No, the latter was not caused by proximity to me)


But yeah, if you Yanks have issues with your health care I offer a solution: move to Canada. The American health care debate is ridiculous, with people slinging the word "socialist" around like it's supposed to be a career-killing word with awesome archaic Super Saiya-jin animu powers that makes you automatically win a debate. What can be expected of a country that regards the Democrats as a Left wing party?

[Killbert-Robby]

*bows his head, holds it, and cries*
I am not the only one who knows the horrors of Chris Chan, I am not the only one!

[McDuffies]

You're all a bunch of damn commies! 30 years ago you'd all get the chair!

Well duh, I come from behind the iron curtain!

[Ti-Phil]

Sorry Dave, but religion may have a part to play in all this.

I mean, this is from an outsider's point of view, but the states seems to be rather obsessed about religion in the upper spheres of the government. Just look at the troubles you guys make about what church Obama goes to. Seriously, don't you guys have, you know, an economy to rebuild? Lowering your level of comsumption of the world's ressources to a reasonnable level? (Seriously guys, try to plant a tree, alright?)A reputation to bring back to life? A level of analphabetism to lower below the 40% ? Stop worrying about your leader's personnal belief and actually help him work on making your country better.

I'm not saying Canada is better, we got our own problems (namely Harper), but as the saying goes : As long as you have health, it's ok.

[Killbert-Robby]

I mean, this is from an outsider's point of view, but the states seems to be rather obsessed about religion in the upper spheres of the government. Just look at the troubles you guys make about what church Obama goes to. Seriously, don't you guys have, you know, an economy to rebuild? Lowering your level of comsumption of the world's ressources to a reasonnable level? (Seriously guys, try to plant a tree, alright?)A reputation to bring back to life? A level of analphabetism to lower below the 40% ? Stop worrying about your leader's personnal belief and actually help him work on making your country better.

Well I think this is because America is divided into two, moderate liberals and complete lunatics who yell a lot thus drowning out everyone else.

[Jim North]

Pssh. If only my lunatic yelling drowned out everybody else.

[Rkolter]

It is true, without question, that people do come to the United States for medical treatment from Canada, England, and other nations with perfectly good medical facilities.

It's a misleading thing to say though.

The caveat is that they come for the specialists, who are overwhelmingly trained in the United States. They do NOT come for general care - they come when they want the top tier experts, and when they can pay for them. If you look at the true top-notch medical establishments; the ones the medical field immortalizes, they're in the USA. And those establishments get a lot of people from other countries, who fly in just for treatment.

But if you look at the medical services as a whole, like the hospital I went to for treatment, they're no better nor worse than those in Canada or England, and nobody flies in to be treated at my local hospital.