3rd World Country? Nope - This is the sad state of health care in Los Angeles

[Joanne98]

Run time: 02:28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjARiYEpEMQ   Posted on YouTube: August 14, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: August 14, 2009 By DU Member: Joanne98 Views on DU: 1361

 

This is how bad it is. I hope anyone in the world sees this. Shame shame shame!

[mr_smith007]

1. Jesus Christ this is really

sad. I am ashamed to be an American when I see reality smack me in the face like that. I am convinced that it is PURE racism on the right that is holding up health care reform in this county, plain and simple. And those on the right call themselves "Christians", fuck me what a bunch of hypocritical neanderthals.

[oldironside]

2. We Brits are so lucky

Most Americans find it hard to understand why Churchill lost the 1945 election, but it was precisely this reason. Labour promised the welfare state. Care from the cradle to the grave, and people could really believe they'd been suffering for a better world. We can be thankful for Attlee and Bevan. Without them (and millions of others as well) we would not have our wonderful (but not perfect - I grant you) NHS.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Please educate me....seriously.

What are the biggest problems with NHS for patients?

[oldironside]

6. It depends who you believe.

If you read the newspapers you will believe that the waiting times are horrendous, that drugs are rationed, dinosaurs roam the wards, etc, etc. Personally, I haven't met any Brit with a bad word to say about the NHS (aside from our natural national tendency to whine about everything - have you seen our football team? Shocking.), and my experience, and that of my family, is extremely positive.

I live in Germany, but was back in England last year and developed an 'internal problem' (by the way, I'm a man). I went to my GP, who sent me to a gastro enterologist within five working days. My dear old 80 year old dad (who won't hear a word against the NHS) had a skin cancer treated within 12 days, and is having three monthly check ups to make sure it won't come back - he actually moans they hassle him to come in. My 76 year old uncle collapsed last Saturday, was picked up by an ambulance within 20 minutes and taken to a clean, modern NHS hospital and given the highest quality treatment. He's home now and much better. My sister gets free, regular consultations with a specialist for a chronic recurring problem that stops her working. All free (apart from our taxes). My cousin worked for the NHS as a porter for 15 years (left last year) and starts clenching his fists when I tell him about Fox news saying that the hospitals are dirty, people are left to starve, etc. Hannity is such a gutless little twat.

It's all anecdotal, but it's still valid. If you want to know how much we Brits value our NHS, go here.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-joins-brown-in-defence-of-nhs-1772054.html

There's some real anti-American bile there in the comments. Please don't take it personally. Just accept we love our NHS. And if Daniel Hannan decides to come back to the UK we will do to him what Queen Isabella did to Edward II.

If you want to know about the roots of our welfare state, go here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beveridge_report

This is the real nub of the question. Freedom from want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness.

It is both unnecessary, shameful and immoral for people to want for basic medical care.

[dd20045]

7. call me ignorant

and please dont see this as an attack, but if i understood you correctly, you're born in england and now live in germany.....what brings your interest in du.....please excuse the ignorance once again as their are tons of reasons like military familes etc, and i was more intrigued then anything....

[oldironside]

11. I'm really not offended...

... honest!

I got into DU because (like a lot of Brits) I was angry and frustrated at Bush and his lies - and at Blair blindly following him. I was looking for something to rekindle my faith in human nature and to prove that not all Americans are stupid, ignorant and violent. I know you're not, but it did feel like it in the run up to the Iraq war. Oh, and I love the top ten conservative idiots.

There are actually more of us on here than you'd think. If you click on the country/state links you'll find a whole little ghetto for us where we have our own little arguments.

Why Germany? Because it's a fantastic country and I have the best job in the world. Teaching English to the Luftwaffe. I even forgive them for bombing Upton Park (that's a football stadium, by the way).

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. Thank you for the information.

And for being a DU member.

[robinlynne]

9. I have many British friends. the only question really I have heard from anyone

is the amount of care you get as a senior. FOr example, there are nurses who come to your home to stay for the day and take care of you, there are outpatient programs, and there are homes. I'm referring to a friend with a father with Alzheimer's. the care is fantastic. the question is how much is enough, and that is determined by doctors and social workers. My friend's dad now goes out for care for 3 days a week, which helps her mom a lot, who also has a child with serious needs. She would like her father to be out every day all day. Now, thats sort of question is absolutely no different from the questions here with an insurance company, how much care are you entitled to. The huge difference, is that in England it is based on which patients need it most, and what they need, as per doctor's decisions. here in the US it is based on who pays the highest premium, what the insurance companies can get away with legally, and you certainly don't get nurses coming to your house to help take care of you anyway, even if you pay for great insurance!

[laughingliberal]

14. Medicare has a Home Health Provision

I worked in the home health industry for years as an RN. It has been proven effective in preventing hospital admissions and it saves money. That industry has been decimated by government cuts since the '90's when Clinton promised to clean up "waste, fraud, and abuse." The hospital industry lobbied heavily and all the cuts and investigations fell on the home health industry that was too poor to lobby heavily. Subsequently, HCA (an evil hospital empire for which I once worked) was found guilty of the largest Medicare fraud in history. But the cuts to home health continue and the pressure continues. The paperwork, alone, took most of my time trying to prove to Medicare that the services provided were needed. I have heard that some of the legislation proposed currently would do away with home health. I have heard lawmakers say it is the most expensive part of the system. It may be, I don't know. But I do know it can't be more expensive than having all those patients admitted to hospitals if no one is checking on them and intervening before hospitalization is required.

[raystorm7]

4. Happening all over the country in staggering numbers, not just Cali. Plenty more vids on youtube =/

[sabrina 1]

5. These sad pictures remind me of

the front-page stories across the world of drowning American citizens during Katrina.

The Decline of America ~ how long before it's too late to recover from runaway Capitalism and greed?

[butterfly77]

8. So the country that has the best healthcare in the world..

as the republiCONS say can't even take care of its own people..

[Turborama]

12. This breaks my heart! Why isn't Obama there making an official visit?

If he did it would be game over for the naysers!


:kick: & R

I've posted a few vids about these guys already & just started threads in http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6310787">GD and http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4015864">LBN on this too. We all need to get behind this and try and get the MSM to take more notice of what's really going on, somehow.

[Turborama]

13. Kick

:kick: because these guys deserve as much publicity as possible