Don't Even Stink About It ♠ N'y Puez Même Pas |

Article content

Article copy

Looks like Small Town's hospital is not exactly an exception.

Over there at Fainting in Coyles, Terrance tells the story of his father, unlucky enough to be ill and in France.

3 bathroom for 51 patients, but all of them used as storage rooms anyway? The best - and particularly expensive - health care system in the world is starting to look like the one of a third rate Soviet republic.

Lamentable.

Article copy (alternate language)

Il semble bien que l'hôpital de Petite Ville ne soit pas exactement une exception.

Là-bas sur Fainting in Coyles, Terrance nous raconte l'histoire de son père, suffisamment malchanceux pour être malade et en France.

3 salles de bain pour 51 patients, mais toutes utilisées comme entrepôt de toutes manières ? Le meilleur - et surtout coûteux - système de santé du monde commence à ressembler à celui d'une république soviétique de seconde zone.

Lamentable.

Other

About

the dissident frogman

I own, built and run this place. In a previous life I was not French but sadly, I died.

Contact

Random (somewhat) related entries

Comments

Comments thread (41)

646 - Matt

Matt
- Link

IN YOUR FACT = IN YOUR FACE

647 - Millie Woosa

Millie Woosa
- Link

CA has a credibility problem in spite of his throwing OECD statistics our way. Millions of Americans have their prescriptions filled in gasp, ugh, horrors, `socialist' Canada. I don't think so. Just where exactly are these millions located? In Maine at Calais/St. Stephens? In New York state at Plattsburgh/no Canadian town, village, ciity at the border? Buffalo/Fort Erie? Lewiston/Queenston (there isn't even a shop in Queenston let alone a pharmacy)? Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls? Detroit/Windsor. Vermont, New Hampshire,Ohio, the Dakotas and westward until one gets to Washington State. - all crosings where there are no Canadian habitations within miles of the border. Look at a map and see for yourself that millions of Americans, and franchement la there really aren't that many `millions', even if they live near the US/Canada border rarely cross anywhere near a city or town with a pharmacist beavering away to fill their prescriptions. .The cost of travelling to an area in Canada where those prescriptions could be filled would certainly jack up the price of those medications wouldn't it?

648 - Ms. Andi

Ms. Andi
- Link

CA I work for a high volume bankrupcy attorney. The main reason people file BK is change of income. Yes, medical bills are a contributing factor since you have to list all your debt; however I have rarely seen anyone file primarily because of medical bills. I would like to know where this statistic of "millions of Americans going to Canada to get their perscriptions filled" comes from. Are millions of Americans crossing the border to do this or is this online? Also, as mentioned by Mr. Frogman, his point was to show us a collassal failure on the part of France's medical system. 11,000 people died in two weeks, and that is absolutely ridiculas. Heat stroke has nothing to one's tolerance to high temperatures. It is an accelerated condition that occurs to prolonged exposure to heat and when the body becomes too dehydrated. It is a nasty, nasty way to die, yet it is so easy to prevent. Where were the civil servants? What sort of action were they taking? Here in Texas, there are plenty of communities that can not afford AC. However, during the summer months there numerous public announcements on how to avoid heat stroke. There are charities, city officials, etc who will deliver free fans to those who need them. The local fire department in Austin, for example, will also go door to door and check in folks, especially senior citizens, in low income communities. Many of fans delivered are donated from Sears and The Home Depot. Drinking lots of water (gatorade helps too) and a couple of fans can make the difference between life and death. Sure you will be uncomfortable without AC, but you will live. Very simple measures could have prevented such deaths. Again, where were the "civil servants?" What exactly are they paid for?

649 - Ms. Andi

Ms. Andi
- Link

Clarification. When I mentioned Mr. Frogman's "point" it wasn't just on this particular post. I meant to respond to all his posts on the recent deaths in France. However, this thread on this gentleman's poor father is related to what is really happening in France's medical system and may help explain the situation.

650 - B. Durbin

B. Durbin
- Link

"may someone explains me the "AC system" please ? for i can understand the meaning of this sentence :)" As no one has yet been so kind as to answer Dann's question, I will clarify: AC is an acronym for "air conditioning", a concept that should actually be called "air cooling" as very few AC systems actually "condition" the air. We of the english-speaking world are sometimes over-fond of acronyms, which can get unintentionally hilarious when two well known groups or concepts adopt the same sets of initials (such as WWF being either the World Wrestling Foundation or the World Wildlife Fund.)

651 - Fred

Fred
- Link

Lets talk morality too. My Canadian healthcare system and the willingness of my neighbours and government to steal drug research from American companies is an embarassment. It seems to me to be closely related to socialism. Cause or symptom? Who knows. Canada has become a nation of envious sneak-thieves. We don't even have the courage to mug you. We'll just pick your pockets.

652 - David D

David D
- Link

I used to work in healthcare cost and utilization analysis. The 40 million uninsured Americans have nothing to do with French health care. As a side point, I'd like to note that the uninsured (like me) still have access to health care, and it's free, if you're poor. (Poor in America mean an income of less than $16,000 for a family of 3.) In addition, most of these people are between ages 18 and 40, and the bulk of them are men. They don't usually need insurance. I would rather be paying fee-for-service in America than getting 'free' health care from any socialist system I'm aware of. I value my health, and my doctor values my money. In a socialist system, where the doc gets my money no matter what quality of service I get, there seems to be some sort of disconnect. I don't mean to disparage the professional ethics of any healthcare provider working in a socialist system, but in my experiance the profit motive is much more motivating than social duty. As far as drug research goes, America isn't the only country with a large pharmaceutical research component; the Swiss and British both have large drug industries - that makes, what, nearly 2% of the countries in the world? I've been told by MD's that heat stroke is hard to recognize if you've never seen it before. Also, these were really abnormal temperatures in Europe. I'm not really surprised by the lack of AC in homes; here in Seattle, which has a climate like Britian, AC is rare, and only used by those who have it in their homes an average of 6 days per year. I have a friend with a $3,000,000 home - he built it without AC. However, I can't imagine building a hospital or office building without good AC. I think the inflated price of electricty in France might have had something to do with that.

653 - Beth Reasoner

Beth Reasoner
- Link

There's an insurance program for low-income kids in Texas; it costs $16.00 per month for the entire family. A friend who works trying to get families enrolled has been told often: Why should we pay $16.00 when we can get anything we need for free? These folks use the Emergency Room for everything from insect bites to childbirth. (Infant mortality rates, anybody see a connection?) My niece works in billing for a small community hospital; mostly the uninsured use false addresses so bills are useless. Is this better than "national healthcare"? YOU BET IT IS. As one of our fellow posters said: We have it already in the Veteran's System. I see a lot of medical records from VA facilities. The amount of money being simply thrown away is astounding. It is common to see a guy in his 30's with back pain walk out with a half dozen prescription drugs. The VA staff seem most interested in keeping their own jobs intact and keeping patients coming back for more drugs AKA "treatment." There are whole sections devoted to finding victims of "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder"...more drugs and more "treatment." I'd love to see a comparison of how much it costs to handle similar cases in the VA versus the private system. It would probably make me sick. Finally, when's the last time you saw a sick poor person dying in a ditch in the United States...EMS would be there with an (air-conditioned) ambulance in 5 minutes. Now if only we could stop the maggot lawyers from suing our medical system to death... Merci Je suis Acadienne (Louisiana)

654 - Beth Reasoner

Beth Reasoner
- Link

Oh shucks, one last thing: My cousin does research on cancer treatment. she informs me that it costs A BILLION (not a million) dollars to bring a chemotherapy drug to the public. And do these companies ever get a thank you note?

655 - Kotrin

Kotrin
- Link

Just a side note: several years ago, French government started the CMU (Caisse Maladie Universelle) to provide "free" health care to the SEVEN MILLION people living in France without access to the previous health care system. Huh ? Seven millions ? Let me tell you: free health care is not for everyone, EVEN in France, EVEN with the CMU. My parents, for example, had no access to neither, despite being French and living in France. If they went to the hospital, they had to pay bills. Free Health care in France is another french lie.

Add a comment

the dissident frogman