Your health and what it will cost you are critical safety needs. With that in mind, I recently read this article regarding patient wait times by Katie Connolly of Newsweek: Link.According to the Commonwealth Fund, Americans wait longer to see primary-care physicians than patients in Great Britan, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand - all countries with public health systems. Nearly one quarter of Americans report waiting six or more days for an appointment with their doctor. Canada came in below the U.S. with a third of respondents waiting six or more days to see their physician. Note: Both the U.S. and Canada came in last for ability to make a same day appointment.
But...
When it comes to elected surgery, America came out on top. Only 8 percent of respondent had to wait more than four months while 62 percent waited less than a month. The worst was Britain where 41 percent had to wait four months or more.
The cause for this disparity is the shortage of primary care physicians in the States. The U.S. produces more specialists because they earn a lot more than primary care. Source: Newsweek.
Chime In: Without getting into a political discourse, what are your opinions of health care in your country?
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2 comments:
The quality of care in America is excellent - people from all over the world travel here for surgery...if they have the means to pay for it. Meanwhile, Americans are traveling elsewhere to get elective surgery because it costs too much in America. Bottom Line: for those with access, health care is first rate. For those without access (or limits to their access), it's a national embarrassment.
The government needs to make certain consumers and employers have a choice between public and private option. You can't kill one in favor of another. I prefer less government involvement, but I do agree that people should not be turned away because of a pre-existing condition.
- Gary S.
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