On 26/05/2011 06:15, flipper wrote:
On Thu, 26 May 2011 12:35:18 +0930, "no
wrote:

i got a broken arm.... paid not one red cent to get it fixed..

Like I said, there is no such thing as 'free' and while YOU may not
have paid for it SOMEONE did.

What he means is that at the time of emergency need it didn't cost him a
penny. You don't end up bankrupted here if you get seriously ill.

That is the mark of a civilised society - how it treats its weakest and
most vulnerable members. If you are unlucky enough to be seriously ill
in the USA then the chances are that unable to work you will not have
the money for proper treatment or will quickly run out of savings.

America is a great place to be healthy and wealthy. But lose either one
and you will surely lose the other.

Most of us consider it to be a really good deal to pay for the health
service and *NOT* have to use it for anything more serious than a cold
or flu. I don't want to get "value for money" out of my contributions -
but I am happy if those contributions do help others to get better.

Everyone pays for the public hospitals in Europe either through health
insurance or taxes and they operate on a not for profit basis (apart
from the private ones that cherry pick easy to do lucrative operations
and then throw their failures over the wall to the NHS for repairs).

can you get free medical if you dont have a job, or even if you do :?

In the sense that someone else 'pays for it', yes.

But only when their condition has deteriorated to the point where
massive intervention is necessary making it much more expensive.

I don't suppose Americans have heard the saying "A stitch in time saves
nine" - it applies in spades for medical intervention.

so if your on the dole, and you need a operation , in usa , you dont have
to pay for it ? cause i didnt ...here in australia.

Hospitals are required to provide emergency services regardless of
ability to pay, which is why costs go up for those who do pay.

Which is insane since nothing happens until it is an acute emergency.
Emergencies cost a lot more to handle than routine outpatient care and
drives up the costs in the USA to be roughly twice that of comparable
societies like Japan which have far better outcomes and considerably
greater longevity as a result (and despite smoking like chimneys).

Then you have the price gouging by your private insurance schemes and
all their agents commissions and lobbyist bribes to congress.

Btw, what are you going to do when those who pay for it run out of
money?

So long as there is a healthy working population we all pay for it.

Oh I forgot. It is the aim of every good American to consume enough junk
food to contract type 2 diabetes by the age of 40 and wreck their knees
and hips by 50 to get best value out of their employers health
insurance. Perhaps in America where being grossly overweight and unfit
is considered normal there might be a problem funding a *health* service.

thats what we pay taxes for ...... for unemployment benefits ...

Where do you get that "we" stuff, paleface. It you were part of the
'we' then you DID pay for it.

Of course he pays for it. On average most people pay in more than they
take out over a lifetime. But think about it - do you really want to
spend time seriously ill in hospital just to get your moneys worth?

Perhaps this really is a cultural thing but in Europe and Australia we
value health, fitness and a long life over money.

Americans seem to know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Regards,
Martin Brown