What state is the health service in where you are?
 

And don't say "Wisconsin" or something! I mean, how good or bad is it?

Those who have been following my moans on the intros to the Journal Update Thread will know that I've had my pops at the Irish health system, and damn it deserves it! If you go to A&E and DON'T have a referral letter from a GP or a Medical Card (card issued by the State to various people with long-term illnesses that allows them to get medical services and pharms free) they charge you 100 Euro for your visit before you're even seen! The sign above reception says "Have your preferred method of payment with you as you approach!"

So after paying for the privilege of getting to sit on a hard seat in the waiting room you can expect to be there for anything from 6 - 24 hours plus. Then if you want a bed you may be waiting another bunch of hours. If you want to go home (assuming you didn't need a bed and they discharged you) and like my sis need an ambulance to get you there, you can expect another 1 - 10 hours wait, and they can't say how long it will be.

A report released yesterday revealed that only 1 in 3 people who phone with life-threatening emergencies are being seen to in the requisite time (ambulance should be there in eight minutes); someone's going to die, sooner or later, waiting on an ambulance.

Now I should point out I don't blame the crews: they work all hours and they're great at what they do. This is all down to budget cuts in the health system, while the CEOs continue to award themselves huge bonuses for basically doing nothing. Same with the nurses and doctors. The ground level staff are all great but the top men make me sick.

So, what's it like where you are? Better? Worse? Does what I say about Ireland shock you, or should I be grateful I don't live where you are? Is this normal? Exceptional?

Totally normal here...They stop for Chinese on their way to get you. You'd have better luck walking here.

Canada is pretty good, but in Ontario, surgery is tough to get, as they don't allow private practices. I knew a guy who had a herniated disc in his back, and the waiting list was something like two years! He ended up flying to B.C. to get it done privately.

So there actually is some truth to the doomsday predictions by conservative types in the US about state run healthcare?

Well if you can afford private care you'll be ok, but a single bed in a hospital ward costs about 3000 Euro a night! So you'd want to be damn well insured!

And that's another thing: private health insurance here is going through the roof. Mine is just short of 100 Euro a month, so that's what, over a thousand a year? They're trying to get universal health insurance for everyone, but as usual the govt, who came to power on many promises they have failed to keep, are dragging their feet on this one too. Many people are finding it hard to make ends meet and with the choice being between their health insurance and food, they're cancelling their insurance. I'm afraid to, as with my luck as soon as I do I'll find I suddenly need it.

Bloody country!

What really happened is that ACA was written up and conservatives didn't like it so they wouldn't pass it until provisions were in it to protect insurance companies. Now that it pass they are just pointing their fingers at Obama and the democrats saying see see it doesn't work and people have to leave their current junk policies and get something that's more expensive.

There was supposed to be a public option to combat the insurance companies and be competitive because the insurance companies decided this was a great time to raise their rates.

The conservatives decided to have that taken out so that the people would turn against ACA.

A similar system worked very well in Mass. but it's not working on a national level because they ended up tweaking the stupid bill so much just to get it passed.

Come to Canada! We'll take you gladly! :p:

I honestly can't be sure. I'm a fairly healthy person aside from two emergency room visits in the past two years and, until a year ago, lived without health care my entire life. I'm covered under my mom's insurance for another year or two so I'm taking advantage of the coverage and getting all my checkups and such.

I know that because of Obamacare one friend was glad to able to afford chemo before stomach cancer recently killed her and another friend was angry with Obamacare because she lost her Crossfit membership.

I'm a healthy person so not a lot if first hand experience but I believe 1 of 3 bankruptcies in america are cause of medical bills sooo.....

I guess it's okay here. There are flaws though, like the fact that provincial health care in Ontario (where I live) stops covering vision care at age 16, unless you have a congenital eye condition like I do (so my vision care is always covered). Dental care is not covered at all, and I'm not covered under my dad's insurance anymore (that stopped at 21), so I haven't been to the dentist in nearly 3 years because I can't afford it, and I certainly can't afford private insurance at the moment.

But everything else is pretty much covered, at least the basic things.