We've been trapped Inside a Bad Health Care System So Long,

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

We're in company of nations that one wouldn't necessarily have reason to be proud of.

Are you saying Central African Republic is not a nice place to live?

Not if you're looking for health care.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

We're in company of nations that one wouldn't necessarily have reason to be proud of.

We might be one one the green ones soon, and can join Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela, and the country formerly called Burma.

[AlHayatZween 2]

We're in company of nations that one wouldn't necessarily have reason to be proud of.

Are you saying Central African Republic is not a nice place to live?

Not if you're looking for health care.

Or human rights, in general.

[Ban Hammer 12,836]

that's a hellin' funny map colored in by someone who thinks china has "some kind of universal health care". most people in china have none, baby.

those that get health care pay for it up front. every time a doctor prescribes a medication, including an injection he orders a nurse to give, some family member has to run down 6 flights of stairs to the pharmacy to pay for it, pick it up, carry it back up the stairs, and hand it to the nurse. they will not give you a room with a bed until you pay, and will throw you out on the street if you cannot, bleeding stump and all. they will not make any surgery or adjustment until the money is in their hands. seen it with my own eyes, from shanghai to shinola.

china has universal health care. the liberals said so!

[HAL 9000 96]

Because China = USA.

[Marilyn. 340]

China might not have it now but there are plans for it in the near future... although in this article it does say the government does give many people a small subsidy to help pay for health care...

Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009

BEIJING — China announced that it intended to spend $123 billion by 2011 to establish universal health care for the country's 1.3 billion people.

The plan was passed Wednesday at a session of the State Council, the Chinese cabinet. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao presided.

Xinhua, the state news agency, said the authorities would "take measures within three years to provide basic medical security to all Chinese in urban and rural areas, improve the quality of medical services and make medical services more accessible and affordable for ordinary people."

Providing universal health care is seen by some economists as a way to stimulate domestic spending during the current economic downturn. The Chinese have a high savings rate, and one of the reasons usually cited is their concern about possible medical expenses.

Bai Zhongen, chairman of the economics department at Tsinghua University's School of Economics and Management in Beijing, said that establishing universal health care with government-financed insurance would increase general consumer spending. He said the school did a survey in 2007 about the effect of rural health insurance on consumer behavior and "found that in government-sponsored health insurance areas, people are spending more."

The government already gives many people a small subsidy to help pay for health care, but more government financing for individual health care would strengthen the economy, Bai said.

Xinhua reported that the plan approved Wednesday would aim to provide some form of medical insurance for 90 percent of the population by 2011. Each person covered by the system would receive an annual subsidy of 120 yuan, or more than $17, starting in 2010. Medicine would also be covered by the insurance, and the government would begin a system of producing and distributing necessary drugs this year.

The plan also aims to improve health centers in rural and remote areas as well as equalize health services between urban and rural areas, Xinhua reported. Furthermore, the government would begin this year to reform the operations of public hospitals.

"Growing public criticism of soaring medical fees, a lack of access to affordable medical services, poor doctor-patient relationship and low medical insurance coverage compelled the government to launch the new round of reforms," Xinhua reported.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/world/as...1.19590543.html

Edited July 7, 2009 by Marilyn.

[justashooter 430]

i've met wen jaibo, and have the picture to prove it. he is about as reliable as any other chinese politician.

trust me, you wouldn't believe the state of health care in china. think mexican slums, and you have an apt comparison to what is available to 80% of chinese. think ralph and alice cramden, and that gets another 15%. think USA, and that's better than the remaining 5%.

funny story about my father-in-law:

he gets happy when he drinks, and likes to help people, even his wife. after a bout of baijou he decided to run the rototilloer in the garden one afternoon, and proceeded to mangle his right leg pretty good in the process. after limping to the village doctor with an entourage including 6 relatives, 20 neighbors, about a hundred strangers, and 16 dogs licking up the blood, it began to rain.

the village doctor is an old woman with some needles and thread, pictures on the wall that explain the arcane relationship between the spleen and the left big toe and encourage practitioners to jab each other with stainless steel wire in the vain hopes of relief of pain for which aspirin is just not avaliable, and a few vials of liquids in a small masonry tennement. during the stitching the power to the 1 light bulb went out and she couldn't see well (not that she could with the lights on, anyway). they dragged the FIL out onto the sidewalk in the evening rain, propped his leg up on a wagon, and sewed him back together without anisthetic ior umbrella. throughout it all he kept swilling the baijou and smoking cigarettes, telling jokes.

he's a skinny little 55 year old guy, and considered rich in the village, having made his money selling bank safe doors to businesses in the cash centered chinese business economy that pays employees monthly in yuan notes. he still lives on the edge of the village, and parks his 3 cars wherever he wants when he is home. he has a mediterranean style courtyard house with 20 rooms, but just can't haul himself out of the countryside. he was a child of the cultural revolution, so nothing is too tough for him. he's my kind of man.

because of his "face", my wife could not tell him she was marrying a foreigner till she had the visa and it was all done. so, we got the K1 after 16 months of beauracratic bungling, came to the states, married, and traveled back to china on business. we held a big family dinner and announced the deed. i then very somberly asked for his permission to keep and care for his daughter as he would in my place. his answer was, "well, if the rice is already cooked..." if you know anythign about chinese cuisine as served on the mainland, by the time the rice hits the table, most of the meal is already done.

Edited July 7, 2009 by justashooter