12-26-2006, 01:30 PM
On Xmas Day, my wife back in Brazil was bitten quite badly by a stray cat she was feeding. All 4 teeth drew blood. Not the cat's fault really, he just got WAY too anxious for the feeding. We have great private insurance there in Brazil, but her doctor wanted her to be treated immediately. The closest hospital was a Government Hospital. So she went and was treated to: Anti-rabies shots (including a 2 hour IV in case of a sever allergic reaction), Tetanus shot, antibiotic shot, and sutures. Will be going back for more anti-rabies shots and checkups.
Now... the total cost to us? $0.00. Total wait in ER before being attended? Under 2 hours. Level of care and competency? Probably as good as you would get anywhere else.
So why is it that a poor 2nd world country like Brazil has figured out how to deliver universal health care like this while in the US I'll bet the ER bill would have been at least $3K? I gave up trying to explain or justify it to my friends in Brazil because I don't understand it myself and doubt that it will get any better in MY lifetime.
Here is an interesting read from:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/26...more-13076
The fact is that the U.S. is the only industrialized democracy on the planet that doesn't provide its citizens with some kind of universal health care system, and they do so at less cost per capita than the byzantine U.S. system. Ezra writes,
Indeed, in 2002, we spent $5,267 per capita on healthcare — $1,821 more than Switzerland, the nearest runner-up. And yet we had higher infant mortality, lower life expectancy, more price inflation and an actual uninsured population, a phenomenon virtually unknown in the rest of the developed world, where universal healthcare is, well, universal.
Edited by - toucano on 12/26/2006 17:31:12
Now... the total cost to us? $0.00. Total wait in ER before being attended? Under 2 hours. Level of care and competency? Probably as good as you would get anywhere else.
So why is it that a poor 2nd world country like Brazil has figured out how to deliver universal health care like this while in the US I'll bet the ER bill would have been at least $3K? I gave up trying to explain or justify it to my friends in Brazil because I don't understand it myself and doubt that it will get any better in MY lifetime.
Here is an interesting read from:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/12/26...more-13076
The fact is that the U.S. is the only industrialized democracy on the planet that doesn't provide its citizens with some kind of universal health care system, and they do so at less cost per capita than the byzantine U.S. system. Ezra writes,
Indeed, in 2002, we spent $5,267 per capita on healthcare — $1,821 more than Switzerland, the nearest runner-up. And yet we had higher infant mortality, lower life expectancy, more price inflation and an actual uninsured population, a phenomenon virtually unknown in the rest of the developed world, where universal healthcare is, well, universal.
Edited by - toucano on 12/26/2006 17:31:12