@dancingtongue I am happy to hear it is alive and well. I confess I wasnt aware it was there. More power to you..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman There are other, smaller, examples around the U.S. as well. Some of which we actually helped set up and modeled after us. Others similar, but slightly different models but the same basic principles: providers and the "insurance" arm working together, the providers organized in integrated networks, the focus on early primary care, affordability, quality, accessibility, and service. But it has been hard for them -- or us -- to gain traction in the Midwest and Deep South where the myths of Marcus Welby type rugged, individual solo practitioners and the rampant ills of "Socialized Medicine" hold sway and in most case have have had the political clout to make it nearly impossible to function in states.

@dancingtongue Agreed. But as observed from a distance, it seems that the bigger corporate models are given every advantage, which the smaller start ups or local models have the cards stacked against them.. Renewable energy being a case in point. Here renewables are supported to some extent and predictions are for a 5% price FALL in the next year. Compare and contrast to your situation. (Just an easy apples and apples comparison to make)😷

@samueltyler2 the technology is available in all developed countries

@Ozdharma some is, but not all. You cannot really believe that the technology is equally available in every country? In my immediate area, about a radius of 15 mules, there are over a dozen places I can get an MRI done. That shortens the time delay between ordering and having it done.

@newjaninev2 Isn't it around 500,000 people per year going bankrupt due to medical bills?

@bookerdana that is terrible. My physician friends in Canada say that sometimes things are slow, but in an emergency, they can move very quickly.

@samueltyler2 She has P.D. and once a year isn't enough...here in the States ,in an emergency things can work fast,too

@bookerdana i think we may be missing some information. If she is an established patient with PD, she would already be involved in a program that includes follow-up unless the specialist doesn't think she needs to be seen more often than once a year. I am not giving an excuse, just wonder if we are missing something.

@whowasthatmaskedman I can't argue against any of that....

@samueltyler2 Luigi is an American hero.

@Crazywaterspring who?

@Convivial I confess, something always seems to turn up for me. Not lottery wins. But I seem to get breaks , even disguised ones..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman often that's because you pay attention and seek opportunities ;)

@Convivial I confess I do my research...😷

@idontcareok And thats the problem. While you are covered brilliantly, there is no reason a nation like American shouldnt be. There is just no need for anyone to lack any care..But like you say "You dont care"

@whowasthatmaskedman
One of the main problems with the American health system has to do with systemic racism. In the past it actively prohibited Blacks from becoming doctors and nurses in the health care system and limited them to segregated facilities. It was only after WWII when the politicans realized that America had suffered a severe manpower problem during the war because of the lack of healthy people to fight that things started to change. As a result, the American health system started to improve but it still has a long way to go.

edit typo

@Diotrephes Yes. The Tuskegee airmen was a long time ago now. Even the civil rights movement is old. But it can take a long time to correct inequality of opportunity when your are born with it and your parents didnt have the tools to fight it..😷

@RachelLia2003 a government's role is to care for people providing health care is far from communism.

@Ozdharma McDonald's, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell...

@Ozdharma The data depends on who reports it, what populations report it and during what period. Some countries eliminate the deaths that occur in the first 28 days of life, since those deaths may be as common in certain populations, that is thought to level the playing field but it does not really accomplish that. If you look at the effects of poverty, you also alter the projected life span. It is really too complex a number to take at face value. That said, all people should be able to have medical care as part of the expectation of life.