Remission

[Aesir23]

Reminds me of a parody I saw. "Breaking Bad, Canadian edition"

"You have cancer. Treatments start next week"

THE END!

Seriously, the creators even said there was no way the show could happen in a first world country with socialized medicine.

Wait...that doesn't really make all that much sense.

Spoiler: Breaking Bad Spoilers...well, not really but spoiled anyway just in case

I mean, I suppose one could make an argument for it but ultimately, it wasn't the money that got Walter into meth. He had other options but he chose to take the prideful route because, as he stated at the end, it was for him. Pride before the fall and all that jazz

Plus, maybe this is just the "Obamacare is gonna turn us all into communist hippies!" bull-crap but isn't one of the major drawbacks of socialized medicine is that it's not immediate? As in, it can take weeks to get into the doctor's office and it takes time before they can start treatments since everyone is able to go when they want/need to?

Note: If you don't want to get into the socialized medicine thing, that's fine. I'm not looking for a debate, I'm just curious but you might get yourself pulled into a debate if someone disagrees with you

Yes and no. I've heard of people who have taken a while to get into an doctor's office or get treatment but I think it might depend on how urgent it is. The last time I needed an MRI scan for a non-urgent matter it took place about two weeks after I saw my doctor. The last time I had something that was an emergency I was seen to pretty much immediately and had surgery after I was stabilized and I had a decent chance of surviving the surgery itself. I'd say the biggest problem with Canada's healthcare right now is that there aren't enough physicians to go around. It took me about a year to find another physician once I was too old to see my pediatrician.

However, I could also be extremely biased since my family and friends that live/have lived in the US have not had good experiences with the privatized system. My cousin had to wait for months to get a graft because her insurance company wouldn't approve the material for the graft and so she couldn't work for that period of time, my friend in South Carolina can't afford to see a doctor at all, and my mother had to cope with a painful disease (the same one that I have) for roughly eleven years until she moved up here after marrying my father.

 

[Draconalis]

I remember, years ago, when this was a hot topic that the prime minster of Canada went to Florida to have his procedure done.

Everyone replied, "If Canada's system is so great, why is he coming to America to get it done?"

I've been looking around to find out which prime minster it was, and all I'm finding is Danny Williams in 2010... but I really could have sworn it was earlier than that... maybe it happened twice?

 

[SweetShark]

You are in a good road to make Hentai Games in the future.
Clothes Swap is the first important step.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Plus, maybe this is just the "Obamacare is gonna turn us all into communist hippies!" bull-crap but isn't one of the major drawbacks of socialized medicine is that it's not immediate? As in, it can take weeks to get into the doctor's office and it takes time before they can start treatments since everyone is able to go when they want/need to?

If that's true, then isn't the lack of waiting time in US clinics just due to so many people who need treatment getting turned away for not being rich enough?

 

[Ishigami]

As someone who lives in a country with socialised Healthcare (Germany):

There is no waiting time here if i want to see my doc. But there is a long waiting time for specialists, because they are not enough so everybody has to wait a few months. Unless it´s an emergency, in which case they have to see you at once.

Well that?s not the whole story. E.g. if you had a private health insurance plan you get an appointment with a specialist in a reasonable amount of time.
I think Stern and Spiegel had several articles with test of their own demonstrating that with a private health insurance plan you can get an appointment in let?s say 3 week?s time while the guy with a statutory health insurance plan, who mind you called 5 minutes earlier, got an appointment in 5 month time.
The issue they discussed is that is much more profitable for the doctors to treat someone in the private field than one in the statutory field. Therefore most appointments are used or reserved for patients with a private health insurance plan.
Now I very much agree that our system is way better then whatever the USA currently employs but it certainly is still true that money gets you faster and better treatment in Germany as well.

Edit: For everyone not familiar with the German system: You can only get a private health insurance plan if you are either part of a certain job group, e.g. if you are self-employed or are civil servant (those guys have a lot of bonus...), or if you earn enough money which is currently roughly about 55 000? annually.

 

[Darknacht]

Plus, maybe this is just the "Obamacare is gonna turn us all into communist hippies!" bull-crap but isn't one of the major drawbacks of socialized medicine is that it's not immediate? As in, it can take weeks to get into the doctor's office and it takes time before they can start treatments since everyone is able to go when they want/need to?

If that's true, then isn't the lack of waiting time in US clinics just due to so many people who need treatment getting turned away for not being rich enough?

You don't have to be rich enough because in the US its free if your poor enough, its just those in the middle that have a problem.

 

[Macsen Wledig]

Christ, what third-world country do you have to reside in to not go to the doctor for fear that it will cost money? Oh yeah, America.