The Affordable Care Act is devastating to seniors

[MADem]

76. Every system -- save the "cash on the table" ones -- are in the business of trying to not pay out.

It is the "new normal" to deny folks first, then you have to fight. Sometimes ya win, sometimes not.

People who can afford to pay are in a better situation, but even if they're stuck doing that, money can be saved if one takes the time to "shop around."

UK costs are lower than US ones, because the system is geared around being non-profit (and there are no insurance companies with their hand in the till, and malpractice--which is hugely expensive-- isn't the growth industry that it is in USA). The more they allow the NHS doctors to take on paying patients, though, the more those "private" costs are likely to rise. They'll still probably will be a good deal for a long while, though.

I know a Canadian (they have the all-inclusive health care too, of course) who had a bad hip and was in line for the operation, but because of where he lived, he would have either had to wait or travel across the country to get the doggone operation. His wife wanted to see India, so they combined a "trip with a hip" and it worked out well for them (I first learned about the whole heath tourism thing from them, actually--this was quite a few years back). Now, he could have gotten the hip if he'd waited a while, for free, or travelled in winter, but he was in the hurt locker, didn't want to take pain pills and wait, or have his mobility limited for several cold winter months. Apparently they have a system up there where it depends on where you live how fast the services (save the "Yer gonna die" ones, of course) are allocated. If you live in the middle of nowhere, you just might have to wait, or travel!

I do like the concept of health care for all, and I do think we're getting to it here in USA--the road to single payer is through ACA, I believe, and it's also through "state's rights" (how ironic that a construct used for racist hatred can be used for good), with VT leading the charge. It's not going to happen straight away, though--it will happen incrementally and in stages. That said, even if we do get to that point, there are going to be people who will want to jump the queue, but they'll just have to pay to do that.

I haven't had many surgeries, but the few I have had were in military settings. I was not only able to communicate directly with the surgeon, but I got a visit from the CO of the hospital afterward. I've also helped a few friends in recent years as a patient advocate for their surgeries, and they always had a surgeon consult -- I usually go along to "ask the right questions" and facilitate understanding. The surgeons have never minded and they were all pretty forthcoming. I've done all but one of these at MA General, though, so I don't really know if this is typical in all hospitals or if MGH--or Massachusetts-- is special.

I guess they have some sort of welfare-to-work scheme over there now, but it doesn't look like it's doing very well if this article is any indication (fifteen percent is a pretty lousy number, IMO): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24286806