--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In [email protected], anonymousff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > The right therapy is the right therapy. Sometimes it > > > involves drugs; sometimes it does not. My concern is > > > that too many doctors aren't interested enough in the > > > welfare of their patients to find what the right > > > therapy is. It would take too much of their time. So > > > they just write a prescription. > > > > I share you concerns. However, given a majority of doctors work for > > HMOs and have fairly rigid guidelines to follow, I think the issues > > you raise are not fully on the shoulders of HMO doctors. Or the > > HMOs. HMOs compete and offer cost-effective services, for the > > most part, for the fees they are paid. Most HMO subscriptions come > > from corporate health plans. They pay what they do, trying to stay > > competitive. Look at the mess GM is in over paying higher than > > normal health benefits. > > > > A problem, not necessarily THE problem, is that people expect > > optimal health from their corporate HMO health plans, and wrongly > > vent and blame the doctors for 'short-changed' treatment. When in > > reality, the doctor, nor the HMO, nor the corporation are fully > > to blame. Or even substantially to blame. Employees get the level > > of health benefits per their total compensation contract. Its > > never optimal. People need to pay extra if they want extra. Its > > a sad fact. > > I'll answer this because Americans really need to > understand a little more about this "hard fact." > > It's a "hard fact" primarily in America, and primarily > because Americans don't DO anything about it. > > I live right now in France. Before I had health insur- > ance here, I had occasion to go to a doctor. The doc- > tor welcomed me into his office, which was laid out > like a comfortable drawing room, as opposed to a sterile, > impersonal laboratory. He did all the tests on me him- > self; no pawning me off on nurses and underlings. He > spent over an hour with me and then wrote me a prescrip- > tion for the antibiotic I needed. He apologized for > the cost of the antibiotics: "It's *outrageous* what > they cost these days," he said. > > The doctor's visit cost me 20 Euros (25 bucks). The > prescription cost 12 Euros (15 bucks). > > Now I have health insurance, so I get reimbursed for > such things, pretty much 100%. It's better coverage > than I had in the US. Much better. It costs me 320 > Euros (400 bucks). > > A year. > > My health insurance back in the US cost me 600+ dollars > A MONTH. > > The health care situation in America is not a "hard > fact." It's a travesty, an abomination created by > uncontrolled greed and a lack of respect for the basic > rights of individual citizens. > > My brother's situation was just one example of it. > There are many others. Before Paris, I lived in New > Mexico, a state that is so poor that an estimated > 40% of its citizens have no health insurance at all, > because they can't afford it. > > I'm sorry to vent, as you so accurately put it, but > by moving to France I got to learn first-hand what > decent, *caring* health care really costs. The policy > I have is from an insurance company; it is not supple- > mented in any way by contributions from the government. > The insurance company expects to make a *profit* by > selling full-year health coverage for 320 Euros, and > they do.
> "Hard facts" are what we settle for. Nothing more, > nothing less... > > Unc Like you, I am quite dissatisfied with the healthcare options / pricing in the US. My main point is that a majority of doctors (those working for HMOs) don't have that much discretion over the time they spend with patients, nor on what fees are charged. The ones I talk to are frustrated at the system. As your example points out, health care is a lot more expensive to obtain in the US. But then again, so are the services of a software engineer. Just as a lot of software companies are outsourcing programmers to less expensive sources (than those "greedy" US programmers -- well they are as "greedy" as HMO doctors are), more and more Americans are availing themselves of foreign healthcare. Medical tourism is growing, where by people take a trip to Thailand or India and receive top notch treatment, often by doctors who studied in the US and are board certifed there -- plus sightseeing and touristy activities. Here are some sources in Thailand and India. http://www.bumrungrad.com/ http://www.apollohospdelhi.com/apollo-group/ http://www.maxindia.com/maxindia_ibusinesses_healthcare_devkidevihospital.htm> I saw a news segment the other day on the Bumrungrad in Thailand. Ultra modern facility. A guy went for a heart bypass -- $50,000 in the US, $6000 at the Bumrungrad, with a surgeon who practiced in the US for 15 years, state of the art medical equipment, a hotel quality private room, and higher quality post-op care, a team of RNs were assigned to him, no lower trained, short-staffed attendants common in US hospitals. I plan to start going to these facilities for care. Eoes anyone have experience with them. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
