Ugly Health Care Waiting Times? Look at the U.S (by Deborah Burger at HuffPost)

[marmar]

Deborah Burger

Ugly Health Care Waiting Times? Look at the U.S


What country endures such long waits for medical care that even one of its top insurers recently admitted that care is "not timely" and people "initially diagnosed with cancer are waiting over a month, which is intolerable?"

If you guessed Canada, guess again. The answer is the United States.

Scrambling for a response to the popular reaction to Michael Moore's SiCKO and a renewed groundswell for a publicly-financed, guaranteed health care, single-payer health care solution like HR 676, the big insurers and their defenders have pounced on Canada, pulling out all their old tales of people waiting years in soup kitchen-type lines for medical care.

But, here's the dirty little secret that they won't tell you. Waiting times in the U.S. are as bad as or worse than Canada. And, unlike the U.S., in Canada no one is denied needed medical care, referrals, or diagnostic tests due to cost, pre-existing conditions, or because it wasn't pre-approved.

U.S. waiting times are like the elephant in the room few of the critics care to address. Listen to what the chief medical officer of Aetna had to say in March.

Speaking to the Aetna Investor's Conference 2007, Troy Brennan let these nuggets drop:

* The U.S. "healthcare system is not timely."
* Recent statistics from the Institution of Healthcare Improvement document "that people are waiting an average of about 70 days to see a provider."
* "In many circumstances people initially diagnosed with cancer are waiting over a month, which is intolerable."
* In his former stint as an administrator and head of a physicians' organization he spent much of his time trying "to find appointments for people with doctors." .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-burger/ugly-health-care-waiting-_b_55749.html

[matt819]

1. And for those who say that Canada rations health care, etc. . .

Health care is rationed here as well.

Insured people don't seek medical care because of fear that they will be denied coverage or will otherwise inadvertently set themselves up so that their insurance will not be available "when it's really needed."

Should an insured person seek medical care, for whatever reason, and the insurance company denies coverage of certain tests or treatment, then health care is rationed.

And then there are routine sorts of things. A relative sought a consultation in April with a psychiatrist in a major metropolitan area. This individual was offered an appointment in October. Another relative sought an appointment for a physical - the first in almost ten years - also in April, and was given an appointment in August. Granted, these people weren't "rationed" out of coverage, but a 4-month wait for psychiatric care?

Then there are the 40-50 million Americans who do not have insurance coverage and are forced, therefore, to "self-ration" their coverage. As Michael Moore pointed out in his comments on CNN, just think what our waiting times would be if we added these 43 million to the equation.

And then there are those who say that those universal health care countries tax their citizens out the proverbial wazoo. Are these people stupid, or what? What do they call our insurance premiums. It's nothing more than a not so hidden tax, adding close to $10,000 annually to my "tax bill," and with no guarantee that it will be there when I need it.

[OlderButWiser]

2. I'm not sure...

...I get this: "Insured people don't seek medical care because of fear that they will be denied coverage or will otherwise inadvertently set themselves up so that their insurance will not be available "when it's really needed." "

Can you give an example?

[fencesitter]

4. An ambiguous statement....

If I (somehow in miracle of miracles) find an insurance company that will offer me a lower rate, there is always a year, sometimes two, where they will not cover a preexisting condition. I have a "condition" that could surface and land me in the hospital at any time. Although usually benign, the chance is always there. So, if I get sick in that waiting period, I get stuck with the bill.
Perhaps that is what is being said here?

[TrogL]

3. I've never had a big problem with waiting in Canada

Yes, I've spent hours sitting in an Emergency room, but I wasn't actively dying at the time.

People who were dying (eg. car accidents) got right in.

I can see my doctor without an appointment and expect a one-hour sit in the waiting room.

There are a few problems relating to surgery but this has more to do with a lack of qualified doctors, caused by a reluctance to expedite licensing of doctors immigrating to Canada.

[fencesitter]

5. An hour is not unusual for me.

My "prinary physician" is as most general practioners, an HMO doc, so the office is usually very crowded, Move 'em in and move 'em out. Three full time staff at the front desk to shovel the paperwork. Even with an appt. (walking in is impossible) an hour wait can be the norm.