I am amazed at how shit your health care system is! It's times like this I feel quite lucky to not live in that kind of society.

As far as seatbelts go, don't know why anyone would NOT wear one...ever. Mine is always the first thing and the lst thing I do when I get in my car, even if the cops weren't going to give you a fine for not wearing it I still would.

dude... I never said I supported socialized health care. I just said our government is fucked up. We are already paying a stupid high income tax (which includes social security tax that is being used for all sorts of things besides social security). With income and social security combined I'm paying nearly 30% income tax. With the high a tax rate I'd expect to see a cleaner, smoother run country with more services for it's citizens. But, instead we get gas taxes, fees, etc etc so they can get MORE money out of us.

I certainly would NOT support socialized health care run by the gov. The gov itself is so screwed up, tons of inefficiency, I cannot imagine what they would do to the healthcare system, but I KNOW it wouldn't to anyone's personal benefit.

Think of it like this - if the gov ran your healthcare they would be paying the tab so they would dictate. Imagine yourself being ordered to get an annual physical? Imagine them dictating a procedure that you do not want and forcing you to follow through with it? Then probably the only good part would be that since they are paying the bills all the un-healthy stuff would be banned from use? Now that actually would be a good thing, but, imagine your wife (or even yourself) when the microwave has to leave the kitchen? Or your cell phone, wireless router, etc is on the banned list. All this stuff would be first, improvmnet of the actual healthcare services and competence would take a back seat if it ever became a priority.

Emergency on-site services are not part of the healthcare system per-se, they are provided by independent business, or should I say independent FOR PROFIT business. Since they pretty much monopolize wherever they are, and are an affiliate/adjunct to most hospitals, they can charge whatever they want due to no competition. This high-cost service would not be part of healthcare anyway. It still would gouge the hell out of your wallet or insurance company. Better to do a walk-in to the emergency room if you need their services and are capable of walking in. Only those with real, life-threatening injuries belong in an ambulance heading to the emergency room.

Both the healthcare and emergency transportation systems are already running inefficiently at best, the gov would just make an abortion out of it all.

I do not subscribe to any healthcare plan, their system is really only a disease maintenance system at best. I instead practice living with good health choices, that should keep me out of their disease maintenance system a real long time.

Wow your system is a total mess.

I've seen many times when ambulances are called out to very minor cases and alot of the time they'll take you ito the hospital just to be checked out properly. Sure if you stroll into a & e with a minor complaint you will take a long time to be seen(maybe a couple hours) but it doesn't cost a cent depending on your income. It is covered by normal tax, there is a small ambulance levy too from memory and if you ear over 50k and don't have private health insurance then they hit you with a bit more tax like $500 or something, basically to encourage those people who can afford private health insurance to take it out.

It's not the best health system, but compared to yours it looks fantastic.

If your house is on fire does the fire brigade give you a bill before begining to douse the flames too or what?

Our system is a total mess with what little gov intervention already exists, can't imagine any more.

YES, if your house is on fire and they respond you WILL get a bill for their services. But in their defense, they will put the fire out first. Same applies to the fire departments emergency services, in fact, say you are in an accident, the police call the emergency people at the first sight of blood, you really just have some minor cut/bleeding, feel fine otherwise and decide you do not need THEIR transportation, can get to the ER yourself, you get bill for them just showing up in some cases even though you do not call them.

Years ago I was involved in an accident, I did have some facial cuts from the broken glass, so bleeding caused the spontaneous police request to my accident. I was actually a couple blocks from the hospital, could have walked there. Long story short, I refused their services, month later they sent me a bill. I responded with a letter that stated I did not request their services therefore NOT my responsibility to pay their bill, I suggested they try contacting whomever called them and bill appropriately. I also mentioned that billing someone for services that the person never engaged nor never requested was illegal and basically entrapment. They never billed me again. I often wondered just how many people actually stupidly paid their bills.

It's like healthcare services billings. IF I have an accident, my insurance will pay, they negotiate the bill down about 20%, effectively getting a discount that is pre-established because they are paying, the biller takes that amount as full payment and writes off the discounted amount. IF I am paying for my healthcare experience, the biller will not negotiate anything, they expect the full amount nothing less, no discount, just the amount that's billed - period. Now how does that discriminate against me and my money vrs an insurance company and what began AS my money?

We might have a different public mentality than you do. I would bet your people actually go to a doctors office for routine stuff, see the emergency room as a place for emergencies? Here, our emergency rooms are filled with people who do not have REAL emergencies. Many things like the common flu stuff in there, minor cuts and abrasions that a little peroxide and a band-aid would resolve, they actually plug up the emergency process from working properly.

That is pretty messed up...