povmcdov (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

In the NHS (UK) all patients with a suspected cancer are referred to a specialist within two weeks. The rural county I live in has at least 5 MRI machines covering 800K people. No waiting weeks for scans here. As a healthcare professional I would feel safer in the NHS than in the local private hospitals. If you want to skip the insignificant wait the NHS hospitals also provide private care, but you get the same treatment.The NHS is not perfect but I would take it over the US system anytime.

ArtificialCleverenAI (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Nice agenda-driven expose of an apparent socialised healthcare failure. From my own personal experience within the UK and France, serious cases are referred to consultants within days. Having had a relative survive cancer, upon suspicion of the disease they were in specialist care within four days. It's a matter of record that the UK's health system is orders of magnitude better than the US's by survival count for such diseases and operations.It's not free, either. Taxes pay for it.

SCGATOR2001 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

But make sure the GOVERNMENT stays out of your health care or else we'll get this OR WORSE! Government is the problem, not the solution. The gov't made mortgage companies lend to risky people (led by ACORN and the like) and they "almost" wrecked the economy.Get them in US Healthcare and it will be more of the same. The gov't will make sure NONE of us have decent healthcare. That's socialism, CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN!

MonicaRyan99 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Just completely outlaw all insurance, then Doctors would charge reasonable rates that normal people could afford.

MonicaRyan99 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

If your post was removed, how could I notice that it was removed?

spiderwomanatl (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

This example is just the "tip of the iceberg". I'm sure there are other examples of similar situations. Maybe not as life threatening but something that comes darn close.

algonquin91 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

How can you say something "failed so miserably" from just one example?

mistamustard (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

This is all well and good provided you can afford to pay for private health care. However, despite being a US citizen somewhere in the middle class bracket, I have to save up money just to get insurance for even basic medical procedures. Faced with this situation, I would end up paying loans for the rest of my life. It seems there is nothing wrong with the premise of socialized medical care except that the option for private care should be available. This either-or description is BS.

mhpninanasinisikim (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

lol

mrktwn (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Hmmm... Maybe you could post them again? I'd like to see. Gotta ask though, how do you know these "wait times"?