No country for old men?

[frequent]

Just to throw this out there -- I don't really ever need medical attention, but my parents are getting to be that age. Gotta say, can't really say I'd rely on the healthcare system in Canada or the like, and from the stories I hear, US is no better especially when it comes to things like the price of prescription drugs.

I always found the US health system worked perfectly well, and the price of the drugs I needed not too bad. The problem is that the drug companies are in control and the government won't stand up to them as they do in some other countries eg. Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, to negotiate better prices. The one thing I did think was good about going to a general clinic was that I saw the practice nurse for most things, and only saw a doctor if the nurse assessed I needed greater expertise. The company I worked for paid my health insurance so I've no idea what it cost. When I go to a hospital in Thailand all the vital signs - weight, blood pressure, etc - are taken by the nurse whereas in some other countries the doctor does that - and a waste of their time it is. However I didn't think the quality of medicine was that great. I went to an ER at a major university teaching hospital in California with bleeding from the anus once, and was told absolutely and definitively that it was not hemorrhoids. The colonoscopy (I had to wait three weeks) determined absolutely and definitively that it was hemorrhoids. I happened to see the ER invoice - it was $4,000 (that didn't include the colonoscopy. I've had a colonoscopy elsewhere and it was barely four figures). However my experience of Thai hospitals (and that of my friends) is that the doctors haven't kept up with any professional development, and are between five and ten years behind their peers overseas

I gather that the shortage of general practitioners in North America (including Canada) is a failure of government regulations together with the enormous incomes medical specialists can command (another reason why health insurance is so costly). If you ever want to see how powerful a closed shop/trades union can be, you only have to watch the American Medical Association in action. The NRA have nothing on their lobbying abilities

[kkjason]

Hail to the chief and down with trump

Now that is one statement I will say a resounding CHEERS too!

[kkjason]

Oh please...in the USA healthcare is so expensive many people can not afford healthcare. Hayek the intellectual founder of the modern conservative movement realized that and supported national healthcare. The USA is not a politically conservative nation it is a punitive nation... the national debate has been taken over by rich elites who favor punishing the undeserving poor.
I have heard conservatives in the USA say poor people should work harder to get medical insurance. If they don't have insurance too bad. Let them die. That is conservatism for many people in the USA. There are no basic human rights.

So - people like you and I should pay for other people to get medical treatment? I don't think so. There is no simple answer to this 'debate' but to continue asking people who make money to pay for people that don't is just ludicrous. We are no longer living in the days of Robin Hood. I've worked hard my entire life so that I am NOT dependent on anyone else - certainly no my government - as I am older. Why should I be punished because others fail to do the same proper planning? Back to the original topic of moving to Thailand in old age - One should not move away from their home if they cannot afford to do so. If you can't afford 4,000 baht for life saving medicine, for example, then you have no right to come to come to another country and try to get them to take care of you.

In fact - Thailand is a great model for taking care of your own. They do not have a lot of money as a country. Retirement schemes are a joke here. How do they survive - family takes care of family. Imagine that. In America, you get a one way ticket to a nursing home when you are old if you have not planned. Now - that sucks.

[frequent]

I'm pretty sure if you stop for moment, you can write a long list of things you can't stand about your own government.

Where is your evidence for this bizarre assertion?

[kittyboy]

You are just trying to stir the pot - but what the hell- I'm game. Let's see - you mention Europe. Greece, Portugal, Spain - the list goes on - 30 percent unemployment. Jumps to over 50 percent when you are talking about young people under the age of 25. Immigrants get free housing. Native born citizens - unemployed - get nothing but an occasional handout when the government sees fit - which is not very often. Don't even try to say I don't know what I'm talking about. I've lived in each of the three countries I just mentioned, and still have many friends that are stuck there trying to get out.

Europe again - You famous EU can't even decide who is in and who is out. You are over taxed and get little to show for it. I have not idea what you are talking about when you say Americans pay no taxes. I sure had a lot of taxes taken out when I worked there - so I guess I was just dooped all of those years. Good to know. Canada - we all know what kind of healthcare system they get for their taxes. I know two Canadians here in Khon Kaen who, when they lived in Canada, hopped across the border to New York to get medical care. They gladly paid for it rather than wait the months it would have taken just to get an appointment in their 'tax funded plan'. Our own Matt - regular contributor - can tell you horror stories about what you get for healthcare in Canada. If that is what you get for your tax payer money - then you can have it.

Again - I know you are just stirring the pot - if not - then you really need to get real. If you will look at my earlier posting - I am the first to acknowledge that healthcare in America is crazy expensive. I am also a firm believer that, yes, you can make your own life work. Stop blaming the government for everything. I'm pretty sure if you stop for moment, you can write a long list of things you can't stand about your own government. So be it - live your own life and stop blaming other people and countries for your own self-inflicted misery.

The conservative writings from the post ww 2 era discusses in detail the need for government to provide a framework for people. Including things like healthcare, education, transport infrastructure. Conservatism has been radicalized to the point where human beings are near commodities and if people are sick, old, or lacking money for basic human rights like food, shelter and healthcare...well fuck them..they are bad people who made bad decisions and they can die. Conservatives in my family spew that hate

[frequent]

So - people like you and I should pay for other people to get medical treatment?.

That's exactly what health insurance does. Health insurers take premiums (taxes) from a large group of people knowing (on an actuarial basis) that the total premiums paid in any one year will cover the costs of treatment for any individual member. Every year that your premiums exceed the costs you incur and pass on to your insurer you are paying for other people to get medical treatment

[kkjason]

The conservative writings from the post ww 2 era discusses in detail the need for government to provide a framework for people. Including things like healthcare, education, transport infrastructure. Conservatism has been radicalized to the point where human beings are near commodities and if people are sick, old, or lacking money for basic human rights like food, shelter and healthcare...well fuck them..they are bad people who made bad decisions and they can die. Conservatives in my family spew that hate

I'm by no means a conservative - far from it - but I do believe in individual responsibility at some level. If people believe the system is broke - then go fix it. Have you actively lobbied for a new healthcare system? I know many people who have talked about how horrible the current system is (and I would tend to agree), but funny thing is that I know nobody who has actively set out to try to fix it. So, since that has not occurred, yes - I took matters and take care of myself and my family. I guess I am just stupid then for expecting others to do the same? I have a cousin who espouses your type of thinking. She has been on 'disability' for over 20 years. Funny thing is - she plays softball two night a week, smokes like a chimney, and spends her days trying to get more money out of the government. Again - why should my taxes go to pay for crap like that? My other cousin - her sister - works her ass off, pays taxes, and lives in near poverty. No wonder people the world over are looking for handouts. It's kind of nice having a government just give you everything you need without you having to work for it. My parents certainly never had a gig like that!

[frequent]

I have a cousin who espouses your type of thinking. She has been on 'disability' for over 20 years. Funny thing is - she plays softball two night a week, smokes like a chimney, and spends her days trying to get more money out of the government. Again - why should my taxes go to pay for crap like that? !

Ah yes, find some exception and then claim that justifies the harsh attitude you champion because it "must" represent what everyone on welfare is like

[kittyboy]

I'm by no means a conservative - far from it - but I do believe in individual responsibility at some level. If people believe the system is broke - then go fix it. Have you actively lobbied for a new healthcare system? I know many people who have talked about how horrible the current system is (and I would tend to agree), but funny thing is that I know nobody who has actively set out to try to fix it. So, since that has not occurred, yes - I took matters and take care of myself and my family. I guess I am just stupid then for expecting others to do the same? I have a cousin who espouses your type of thinking. She has been on 'disability' for over 20 years. Funny thing is - she plays softball two night a week, smokes like a chimney, and spends her days trying to get more money out of the government. Again - why should my taxes go to pay for crap like that? My other cousin - her sister - works her ass off, pays taxes, and lives in near poverty. No wonder people the world over are looking for handouts. It's kind of nice having a government just give you everything you need without you having to work for it. My parents certainly never had a gig like that!

People in the USA have tried to fix healthcare and been stopped by the conservative machine.
I expect the USA government to help people get education and level the playing field for those who are not powerful.
I love the conservative mindset....INDIVIDUAL responsibility...anyone who needs help is a bloodsucking leech who should suffer.
Corporations and the wealthy over the last 40 years have changed the rules so it is harder to succeed. I know people who have died because of the USA healthcare system. They did not have health insurance . Many conservatives. Maybe yourself included...think too bad. They made bad choices. Fuck them. Let them die.

[scottish-guy]

Well said Frequent!

If kkjason or anybody else wants to get pissed about about so-called spongers then look no further than Amazon, Google, and the Family at the head of the UK (watching my words, Jellybean) - the trillions in taxes which are dodged by corporate entities and wealthy individuals places his cousin's "free" beer, fags, and tampons firmly in the "so microscopic that the Lord himself could not find it with a telescope" department.