"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Mark: Most people are covered under employer-managed health insurance policies. Medicare covers the elderly (and is a federal entitlement program), Medicaid covers low income people (and is funded by both the federal government and the states), and there are also separate programs for Native-Americans, and the Veterans Administration is also involved in providing health care services). Medicaid is a means-testing program, and many poor people do not qualify (I am not sure about the eligibility rules). The federal programs are all running large deficits, and the quality of care has been heavily criticised.
People with no formal coverage at all can still be treated in the emergency rooms of many, if not most, hospitals, I believe.
While there is general agreement that the u.S. health care system needs to be improved, I think the big concern these days is that the current bills being floated in both the Senate and the House would create a bureaucratic monstrosity (and one that is ultimately unsustainable, from a cost perspective).
You might find this pdf document from the Aemrican Enterprise Institute informative.
My local post office isn't bad. Everyone is friendly and polite but they are never in any kind of hurry.
I've noticed that they have 3 spaces equipped for tellers but there are never more than 2 tellers working (actually sometimes there is a third or fourth person behind them aimlessly milling about, sometimes with a clipboard or on the phone or just trying not to make eye contact with the line of people waiting - but I'm not convinced they are working). My theory is that the building was wired wrong and if they turn on all three computers at once the building will explode.
I suspect their hours, 9-5 on Mon thru Fri are intended to allow the employees to wager how long the line can get at noon.
While the local grocery stores have added some labor saving automated checkouts, the post office has gone backwards and removed the stamp vending machines. I naively asked if they were going to replace it with a machine that could sell stamps, weigh & post packages, send registered mail, etc with the swipe of a credit card. No, not that they know of, they were told to get rid of it by upstairs so they did.
They eliminated the stamp machines around 2003 and I think it was last year they started adding the new kiosks but my post office still doesn't have one.
Anyone remember around 1995 when a post office in Chicago had a back room filled with literally tons of long undelivered mail and some of the mail carriers were dumping mail on railroad tracks or taking it home? If hospitals start stacking old people in a back room and pretending they aren't there it will just be the continuation of a Chicago tradition.
I suppose a bit of streamlining the system wouldn't go amiss.
I heard that per/capita, the US spends more on health care than some other countries. Weather building an other huge bureaucracy is the way to go, I'm not so sure. Here in OZ we are spending 2/3 of the public hospitals budget on administrators.
Light the wick and run like hell!
ReplyDeleteCan you give me a quick rundown on how the US health system actually works?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone misses out on required treatment?
Thanks
Mark
Mark: Most people are covered under employer-managed health insurance policies. Medicare covers the elderly (and is a federal entitlement program), Medicaid covers low income people (and is funded by both the federal government and the states), and there are also separate programs for Native-Americans, and the Veterans Administration is also involved in providing health care services). Medicaid is a means-testing program, and many poor people do not qualify (I am not sure about the eligibility rules). The federal programs are all running large deficits, and the quality of care has been heavily criticised.
ReplyDeletePeople with no formal coverage at all can still be treated in the emergency rooms of many, if not most, hospitals, I believe.
While there is general agreement that the u.S. health care system needs to be improved, I think the big concern these days is that the current bills being floated in both the Senate and the House would create a bureaucratic monstrosity (and one that is ultimately unsustainable, from a cost perspective).
You might find this pdf document from the Aemrican Enterprise Institute informative.
My local post office isn't bad. Everyone is friendly and polite but they are never in any kind of hurry.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that they have 3 spaces equipped for tellers but there are never more than 2 tellers working (actually sometimes there is a third or fourth person behind them aimlessly milling about, sometimes with a clipboard or on the phone or just trying not to make eye contact with the line of people waiting - but I'm not convinced they are working). My theory is that the building was wired wrong and if they turn on all three computers at once the building will explode.
I suspect their hours, 9-5 on Mon thru Fri are intended to allow the employees to wager how long the line can get at noon.
While the local grocery stores have added some labor saving automated checkouts, the post office has gone backwards and removed the stamp vending machines. I naively asked if they were going to replace it with a machine that could sell stamps, weigh & post packages, send registered mail, etc with the swipe of a credit card. No, not that they know of, they were told to get rid of it by upstairs so they did.
They eliminated the stamp machines around 2003 and I think it was last year they started adding the new kiosks but my post office still doesn't have one.
Anyone remember around 1995 when a post office in Chicago had a back room filled with literally tons of long undelivered mail and some of the mail carriers were dumping mail on railroad tracks or taking it home? If hospitals start stacking old people in a back room and pretending they aren't there it will just be the continuation of a Chicago tradition.
Thanks for the reply Paco,
ReplyDeleteI suppose a bit of streamlining the system wouldn't go amiss.
I heard that per/capita, the US spends more on health care than some other countries.
Weather building an other huge bureaucracy is the way to go, I'm not so sure.
Here in OZ we are spending 2/3 of the public hospitals budget on administrators.
Mark