Health

[jazzfish]

Between Jo Walton, The Decembrist, and my own experiences with Those Pig****ers, I have to know:

What are the actual objections to nationalised health care?

Comments

[laughin.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I can see any doctor I want.

If you really want things to be cheaper, chuck the trial lawyers and reduce malpractice insurance. And get rid of the FDA.

[markush.livejournal.com]

The problem is that sometimes the doctor really does screw up someone's life forever. If some poor guy comes in for an appendectomy, and gets his legs cut off by mistake, then what should he do? There needs to be some sort of mechanism for responsability and accountability in place, and currently that system is civil court. Perhaps it should be changed to some sort of arbitrary level, so that the court system is bypassed.

Of course, then we get into how much mistakes could cost. Lose a leg, get $50,000. An arm, $40,000. An eye, $75,000. Lose a life, $250,000.

And if you don't agree with the assessment, back into civil court it goes, unless we pass a very specific law saying that the arbitration levels cannot be challenged in court. It would definitely solve the malpractice issue. Part of the reason malpractice is so high is to cover those cases where a jury rewards tens of milllions of dollars to a plaintiff. That, and insurance companies want to make money, and doctors are legally obliged to buy it, so they have a 'captive' audience, so they can charge more.