Today, I re-dislocated my arm trying to get it out of the cast it was in because I didn't want to pay the $50 dollar fee to get it taken off. FML
I agree, your life sucks (4911) - you totally deserved it (55965)
On 08/19/2009 at 5:02pm - health - by flaps (man) - United States (Pennsylvania)
Seriously what the hell were you thinking.Now it's probably going to cost more than your precious "$50 dollars" YDI
#109 - On 08/20/2009 at 3:20am by xgoldfishx
Of course he is, he should've just helped the woman with the snake problem and could've got an easy $50 for stabbing a diamond-weave hat. Then he wouldn't have been wasting his money on getting the cast off.
Duh. :U
#133 - On 08/20/2009 at 9:28am by Lolbrittany
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and thats why, im glad i live in the UK
NHS ftw!!! =]
#5 - On 08/19/2009 at 7:13pm by Devikarawr
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Yeah if you enjoy MRSA
#20 - On 08/19/2009 at 7:43pm by SimpleSimon
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shut up with your "i'm glad i live in the UK". nobody loves you. oh, and if you dislocate your arm, you're paying in euros. so haha to you.
by you, i mean you as a person, not as the country
#54 - On 08/19/2009 at 9:00pm by curryndricegirll
1. We don't use Euro's here.
2. Healthcare is funded by taxes, we don't pay for healthcare directly.
Please excuse me if I read your comment wrong, it's 2am here.
Haha, #54 you dick, so obviously a dumb fucking American with no idea whatsoever what goes on outside your borders. You wonder why people stereotype you.
#114 - On 08/20/2009 at 4:22am by SimpleSimon
lol @54 yeh what sort of backwards country is full of inbred hicks who are overly patriotic, constantly talking up the merits of their own nation and know nothing beyond their borders...hmmm.....
#118 - On 08/20/2009 at 4:49am by organisedchaos
oh dear #54's not got his lights on has he?
and whats wrong if i want to tell you i like living in the uk...i thought America believed in free speech? or did you not know that? what a shame.
i shall say again.
NHS ftw!! =]
good day!xxx
#138 - On 08/20/2009 at 12:46pm by Devikarawr
Brilliant! Obama has plans to not let poor people who can't afford insurance die, and all the Americans are getting arsey about it and howling about how their system is JUST FINE AS IT IS THANK YOU VERY MUCH and HOW AWFUL THE BRITISH SYSTEM IS OH GOD NO NHS = AWFULNESS WE DON'T WANT THAT SORT OF THING IN THIS GLORIOUS COUNTRY GOD SAVE AMERICA.
And then an FML like this appears.
Classic.
$50 is a lot of money just to have it taken off. However, I would still have gotten help from somebody else. :/
If it's going to be the cheap route, have decent alternatives at least.
#6 - On 08/19/2009 at 7:15pm by wingedspiritus
i don't know whether or not to say that he deserves it. i mean, he might honestly not have been able to afford it. but i don't see how he thought he could just "pull it off". i mean, at least get a box cutter and break it open
#55 - On 08/19/2009 at 9:03pm by curryndricegirll
If you can't afford it, wait for your paycheck or borrow some money. Anyone who took 5 seconds to weigh the pros and cons should know this. You can either save $50 or lose hundreds or potentially low thousands, and then have to pay the $50 again to get it off correctly. YDI.
awh, fyl for living in a country that doesn't take care of it's own people..
#7 - On 08/19/2009 at 7:17pm by fishsticker
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Uh, obviously they do since he could have paid the money to have it removed...
"paid the money" is the key phrase. Most developed countries wouldn't make you pay 50$ - or anything at all - for a simple procedure. Or for any necessary, non-elective procedure for that matter.
cheap bastard. I don't usually enjoy other people's discomfort, but this is actually so funny I'm picturing the moron in my head jerking his arm out. I'm still laughing. ydi
Gee, did you ever stop to think that maybe there's a reason they have the doctor do that? Yeah, YDI.
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UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE IS EVIL.
oh wait
#11 - On 08/19/2009 at 7:25pm by whyevenbother
At least you had the cast already there for the newly dislocated arm, right? ;) I didn't know you had to pay to get it taken off. That's fucking stupid. It's dangerous to try to take it off yourself, I mean when the doctors take it off don't they cut it off with some type of sharp instrument? Not a good idea to do to yourself. And to respond to the comments above me: Universal Healthcare is not a good thing. I wrote an extremely long argument about why I think this on another FML, I think the one where a women got in a fight with her mom then accidentaly ran her over.
it's not a good thing, why? because a job that takes _at most_ a MINUTE!!! minute! doesn't cost $50?
I'd normally expect illogical pricing to come only out of government monopolies.
I too do not like universal healthcare. People just hear the government pays for your medical bills and think that it's great without learning any more details. To get an appointment with a doctor you have to wait MONTHS. In America you can see the doctor in a week or less. And with universal the government decides whether you need a surgery bad enough or not and if they decide you don't there's nothing you can do. Nothing at all. Even if you come up with the money yourself. My aunt who lives in Canada needed to see an eye doctor. It took her two months to get to the doctor's, then it turned out she was sent to the wrong type of doctor so had to wait another 3 months to get an appointment with the right kind. The appointment was for 6 fucking months later. She got fed up and came to America to have the eye surgery, which saved her sight. If America gets universal healthcare I am fucking screwed because we are the only place that does not have it. So I'll have nowhere to go if I need life saving surgery. I pray to god that never happens. American healthcare system is better, it doesn't seem like it on the surface but delve a little deeper and you'll see it is at your advantage. You have to pay out of your own pocket but you can get whatever the fuck you want.
^^^ That's why I think that. I had to go searching for where I wrote that but I found it.
Could you please copy paste this argument. I'd love to hear why you feel that a system in which you don't have to worry about your family going hungry should you get cancer or another serious illness is a bad thing.
I dunno about other countries, but my country, notorious for having crappy public healthcare, if I want to see a (non-specialist) doctor, I can just go to him pretty much instantly, at the clinic near my home.
I'm not too sure about specialists for elective things, but if people don't feel like waiting here, they're more than welcome to pay for it privately, for more money, and the insurance company may or may not decide to help them out. but the people who can't afford to get treatment, still get it, they just have to wait in line.
the problem with non-universal health care, is that it depends on you having money. and not so surprisingly, sick people have a harder time getting that. the people who need health care the most are the ones who can't afford it.
Tarynkd:
Here is my local NHS area:
http://www.kirklees.nhs.uk/your-services/doctors/
Note: "When you need to see a doctor quickly, you should be offered an appointment within two working days."
Hmm, "within two working days" does not sound like "months" to me.
I love it when Americans point to failings in Canada and other smaller, poorer countries (ie, every other country on the planet) and claim that it'll happen in America if they get universal healthcare; what, are you so unpatriotic that you think your country, the world's richest, can't create a universal healthcare system that works?
Why do you hate America? :P
You don't trust your government to run your healthcare, but you do trust them to run your nukes. Do you really have your priorities straight there?
Nope, I don't trust my government with that at all. I'm all for universal healthcare, but the US will find a way to screw it up.
#33 - On 08/19/2009 at 8:01pm by mymouse
21: "To get an appointment with a doctor you have to wait MONTHS."
Yeah, not so much. I live in England and if I call my doctor's surgery before 10am I can get an appointment the same day. It's only the specialists that take longer to see, and that's usually a matter of six weeks or so, not months. And I don't have to pay for my meds which, in your country, would cost more than I even earn - I checked it out and they'd be $24,000 at the cheapest.
Also, universal doesn't work like that, at least not here. If you want a surgery and the NHS won't let you have it on their system, you can go private and pay for it yourself, but if anything goes wrong after an elective surgery you would have to fund the treatment to fix it - which is the way it is in the US anyway, isn't it?
You're an idiot. Do some research on universal healthcare outside Canada before damning it in general - it isn't the same for every country.
#34 - On 08/19/2009 at 8:02pm by Tria
Well, you beat me to it. But although cases like your aunts do occur, it does NOT reflect the majority of situations. Naturally, if you go searching for negativity, that's what you'll find.
But I'd like to point out that the cost to stay in an American hospital is 5000$ a night, not including medications and doctors fees, or surgery. To have a baby can cost around 10 000$, without major complications. There are many families forced to go hungry and mortgage their houses in attempts to cover hospital bills for a family member who's fallen ill. Premature babies are costing meals from their siblings. People sit at home dying of cancer and other terminal diseases because they don't want to burden their families with medical costs.
At least in Canada and other countries with universal health care, you get the treatment you need, regardless of your financial situation. People are valued for their humanity instead of their richess, and everyone gets a fair chance at life.
#21 - Wow, you're sure misinformed. Except for specialists, you can get in within a few weeks. Or you could just go to a walk-in clinic or hospital and get treated or tested for a number of things within several hours. A cast taken off, for instance, would be extremely quick and free. And the wait-time for specialists is pretty much the same in both the US and Canada.
And the government doesn't go through every single person's file to determine if they can get surgery or not. To put it simply, if you need treatment you can get it. There may be waits, depending on what you need, but the states are not completely wait-free either. People heading down to the states for their surgery generally a) have money, and b) it's not an essential surgery in the first place.
Oh, and optometry and dentistry aren't covered by the universal health care in Canada - they're either out of pocket or through insurance companies, so it makes for a very bad argument against universal health care.
While I'm not saying that universal health care is flawless, it's better than having no insurance or stuck paying for an expensive plan only to be dumped the moment you get sick. You're so scared that the government will decide who lives or dies that you can't see that insurance companies do the exact same thing. Worse even, since the more people they deny the more money they keep for themselves and they aren't accountable to the people like governments are.
And one more thing.. life-saving surgery doesn't have long wait times, unless you are in née of a donor organ and a match isn't available. Which is the same as in the US, except you won't have to pay. And as previously stated, optometry and dentistry aren't included in our universal system, and shouldn't affect your argument. Which pretty much voids your statement. Time to do your research?
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why does this fucking argument take place on FML....join a fucking political group or something instead of jerking each other off over politics on FML....queers
What's your source?
I live in Alberta, Canada and that certainly isn't the case here. Need an MRI? The median wait time across Canada is 2 1/2 months. NOT two years. Broke a bone? There might be a wait in the ER but you get your cast and you get it that day, free of charge. Bit by a snake? Go to the ER and receive immediate treatment. Need a doctor's appointment? Call in the morning or visit a walk-in clinic and you'll be seen within hours.
I can't speak for the UK but I know that my great-uncle, who is hospitalized in England with severe Alzheimers, is not financially burdening his wife or any other family members, thanks to universal health care.
While I'm not sure the US has the infrastructure to go for fully socialized healthcare, something needs to be done. I paid for private health insurance out-of-pocket for 5 years because I was self employed. It was ridiculously expensive, and when I developed a chronic condition, I got dropped for costing the company too much. Now I can't get another insurance company to cover my pre-existing condition, and I'm not eligible for state healthcare. Even if I had the money for expensive procedures I need, it's very difficult to get an appointment with high quality doctors without insurance. The receptionists basically hang up on you. Insurance has gotten so outrageous that employers can't afford to offer it, especially in this economy. There are a lot of Americans whose lives are completely fucked because their medical problems keep them from working, which keeps them from being able to afford treatment, which keeps them unemployed... It's a vicious cycle. Health care costs are SO inflated by drug & insurance company fat cats and frivolous lawsuits. We definitely need, at minimum, SOME form of major government regulations for health insurance, drug companies, etc., and some way for "high-risk" people with chronic issues to have access to GOOD doctors and treatment methods. And yes, we need it NOW. People in the US, one of the richest countries in the world even in this recession, are literally dying while stalled in the no-man's-land that is our shitty system. I for one would be glad to wait for 6 months if I had to, if it meant I could actually get some fucking relief.
#70 - On 08/19/2009 at 10:09pm by TheIrishJaneDoe
It takes more time to situate and clear a patient's insurance coverage, or lack of it, when they come to our hospital. People think that because more people will need treatment it's going to completely overflow our hospitals. It's not - we have zero problem bringing patients in and out of the hospital once they are healthy. Realistically, a check-up or exam will take half an hour.
If it's life-threatening, you're given care right away. If it's not, you can stand waiting 20 - 30 minutes.
Oh sorry I didn't realize we were comparing ourselves to every country in the world. Well in that case we also have better health care than Rwanda so why reform it at all? *end sarcasm* America which is considered the richest most powerful country in the world has millions of people dying to get any type of health care are not even getting it. Besides the fact that insurance companies are retarded and won't cover you if you are sick. IF I WASN'T SICK OR COULD NEVER GET SICK OR INJURED I WOULDN'T NEED YOUR DAMN INSURANCE. Like the guy posting about himself paying for private insurance. We can't put a price tag on someone else's life. Thankfully I still have health insurance from an employer and another source but still. In most countries ok yes it takes a few weeks to see a specialist woopdy doo but if you need to see a specialist chances are you are not going to die within the next day otherwise they would probably treat you a lot quicker. Besides there is always the emergency room. That's what its for anyways. EMERGENCIES.
@21 um...never had to wait longer than 5 hours. ever. of course if i try to book in some smaller better clinics i may have to wait up to 2 weeks, but if i need to see a (any) doctor, i can do so right now if i want to. that alone proves youre full of crap but i might as well keep going since youre such an expert on a system youve never used.
the government decides if you get the surgery for free. not if you get it at all. thats why "private health care" exists. nothing you can do at all? you sure? damn. ill let myself know 6 months ago when i had to use it so i dont look like an idiot when i try to get the treatment and...actually get results.
yours isnt the only country without universal health care...idiot.
and i get the feeling your aunt is a douche. you get shit results from one doctor? GO TO ANOTHER. do some work for yourself and find a shorter waiting time. pretty much common sense right there. i got told i wouldnt see a gastroenterologist for 4 months. i rung around and got in after 3 weeks. on public of course. the fact that your aunt didnt even realise she was seeing the right specialist speaks wonders for her understanding of the process. sure the doctor may have fucked it up, but if the patient cant notice something that important thats pretty damn stupid.
if you need life saving surgery you get treated immediately...thats kinda how it works.
by the way, since the american system is so much better, please explain to me why your country is not even in the top 5 for average life expectancy? youd think a country with such great preventative and clinical care would have the longest life expectancy. but then who is in the top 5? oh right, all countries with universal health care. need i say more?
#121 - On 08/20/2009 at 5:12am by organisedchaos
@60 when i broke a bone i got checked on the day, xrayed the next day, and treated again the following day. so i dunno what youre talking about there.
as for MRI's etc ive never needed them. but i doubt youd be talking about anything you have any understanding of anyway given you dont even know about broken bone treatment timeframes.
#123 - On 08/20/2009 at 5:31am by organisedchaos
Ha ha - you guys argue so strongly against universal healthcare that you deserve to be screwed by the insurers. If you don't think people in a worse situation than you are worthy of health, then neither are you. You're sick in the soul.
the UK is pretty similar.. i had an MRI scan within weeks of seeing a doctor, broke a bone and it was dealt with there an then in fact i had a pretty rare case of compartment syndrome so they saved my leg... and it didnt cost me a penny!
@Tarynkd I don't think it is right of you to criticise people for being misinformed when you yourself are very terribly mistaken on this subject. I am a 15 year old Canadian, and I believe that we have a great system over here. I’m not saying it’s perfect, but if focuses on getting the people who can’t afford care, the treatment and medicine they need to live. I have had many illnesses over the years which have made me in need of a doctor. We have a family doctor, which my family has chosen (some Americans believe we don’t get to choose our own doctors but we do) and whenever I do need to see my doctor, we just call and I can get in to see him later that day, not months later. Also, the government doesn’t choose if we need the surgery or not. It is accepted under our healthcare as long as it prevents or treats any pain or life threatening diseases or conditions. My Mom had a herniated disk a couple years ago and needed surgery. It took 1 month to get an MRI, but you usually get in faster if you need it for something more life threatening such as a head injury, and after the MRI surgery was scheduled right away for a couple months later. All this cost us nothing. I looked it up, and in America, it would have cost us probably over $20,000, plus another couple thousand for medication and the MRI. Again, this cost our family NOTHING. This past year I had a lung infection. I went to our nearby clinic and waited in the waiting room for less than an hour and got in to see the doctor. He prescribed me antibiotics and we went to the drugstore in the same building and got the medication. We got back to our house in under and hour and everything was free. Even for specialists. I started getting migraines last summer so I needed to see a neurologist. I went to the neurologist after a week, waited in the waiting room for 15 minutes and then had an hour of testing and then was prescribed medication for my migraines. All this was free. Even for eye doctors and dentists (which my family is also covered for under blue shield with my fathers work) we get a letter in the mail every 6 months telling us to go in for our regular eye and dental check ups. If we need anything else during the year concerning our eyes or teeth, we can call and be in that day. And yes, America is the only developed country that doesn’t have universal healthcare. So hmm… if America is the only developed country that doesn’t have healthcare, and all the other ones do, doesn’t that make America likely to be wrong? So yes, you can stay in America, and pay tens of thousands of dollars to have “whatever the fuck you want”, so stay there and have your nose jobs and boob jobs and if you get sick, pay even more money. But I would like to stay in Canada where everything is free, especially for the poor who can’t afford it. Canada is a great country so don’t go insulting it when you’re too lazy to check your own facts and then call everyone else misinformed. So to sum it up, FUCK YOU because Canada is an amazing country to live in, and it’s Americans like you that should go die in a hole somewhere. You are a disgrace to your country.
@MsTs1 You're an idiot, do some research before spouting bullshit. I live in England. I broke my leg a couple of years ago. I was picked up by an ambulance 5 mins afterwards, taken to A&E, x-rayed and in a cast 3 hours later. The cast was removed 5 months later for free. If it is an emergency, you can be treated in the UK within minutes/hours.
21 your completely misinformed
universal health care is great
i can normally get a appointment within 3 days to see my family doctor and when i do its free
i broke my arm last year i walked in and out only spending $12 (i wanted the better cast)
then 6 weeks later i didn't dislocated my arm taking it off because it was free to get it off
watch the movie sicko that will teach you somthing
mmm the lineup thing isn't true and America uses priority booking instead of sorting (those who pay most stay most) and the whole fact that America is over weight by like 75% isn't really saying much
low food standard
an overworked government
a monopolized justice
#176 - On 03/06/2010 at 7:52am by flufffypants
WTF did you even have a cast on for a shoulder dislocation FOR anyway? I have chronic dislocations, and I've never once needed a cast, not even the first time I did it when I fell down a flight of stairs. Generally a sling will do for a dislocation - looks to me like your doctor was trying to screw you out of more money. FYL for living in a country that charges for simple healthcare like that...
#28 - On 08/19/2009 at 7:57pm by Tria
medfly and musu, I completely agree with you, and I'm an American. Universal healthcare isn't socialism, it's a human right. I have relatives in Canada, and they have so much less to worry about when it comes to healthcare. Sure sometimes they have to wait for non-emergency care, but if you asked them (which we US relatives have), they still wouldn't trade their system for our crap one.
#35 - On 08/19/2009 at 8:02pm by gothic_cat_lady
I dont think you're that stupid. I let my dad cut my stitches out because it was going to cost $180 just for 30 seconds worth of work.
And your arm shrinks in a cast, so I can see why you thought it was possible to do so.
He's not stupid for skipping the expensive medical thing. He's stupid for doing it half-assed. >XD
If he was smart, he'd have done what you did, and gotten someone with a brain inside their head to do it for them in a civilized manner, to avoid messing up his arm again.
I'd know, I skipped the whole process of going to the hospital to even get the stitches and all. It works as long as you do things carefully and in a proper manner... which you and I seem to have done, but which OP seems to have missed. *lol*
This has nothing to do with US healthcare, he could've easily paid the $50 and had it done by a DOCTOR. And to those quibbling about the price, yeah it doesn't take long to do, but you're not just paying for the time it takes, you're paying for the person with the knowledge to do it correctly. so really $50 doesn't seem so bad.
hehe....good luck with your re-dislocated arm :D
but yeah i think that you shouldn't have tried to take it off :p
should have gotten a friend to use a hammer and break that plaster off ;) thats what they r for anyway :D
Friend + hammer = have fun with your arm, it's not dislocated anymore, it's now broken!
Use something more civilized. D:
If you're going to pull crap like that, you're supposed to get a buddy you trust and a nice pair of garden scissors or another thing that cuts really hard stuff. Doing it alone is just plain dumb.
(Either way, it's not the smartest move ever.)
Did you try to take it off infront of the doctor after he told you the price? Because if you did and I was the doctor I would have been laughing my ass off at you.
#56 - On 08/19/2009 at 9:04pm by Daaniellee1234
There's never been one functional pure communist nation in the world. Way to speak out of zero experience.
And where, may I ask, do you live? If you live in America, do the rest of us a favor and leave. Do some research, because you oviously have no idea about current events of U.S. History. If you do not live in America, shup up. Read a few books, and give an opinion when you are well informed.
To all defending Univeralized health care in the U.S. try reading the bill and consider the proposed infastructure. It is not sound, and will cost BILLIONS. Also remember NO U.S. Senator, Representative, or President (past, present, or fututre) will be using said system. They have the best insurance in the world courtesy of the American taxpayers. Completely socializing American health care is just difficult to organize, and too costly right now. Instead we should offer tretment (mediacaid, or something) to anyone without insurance. It would basically achieve the same goals.
OP: you really should have asked a friend to help you. I understand not paying for getting the cast off, but I do not know why you thought you could do it yourself. Also, the $50 does cost less than having our dislocated arm treated. Sorry, YDI because nobody can safely take a cast off of their own arm. Also, FYL because you just screwed yourself until it heals. I would think of something to tell everyone else, because this is NOT something you want everyone to know. You would never live it down. I hope your day gets better. :)
#108 - On 08/20/2009 at 3:13am by shadow_woman
They actually have something like that; they're called "Remote Area Medical". They're commonly found in third-world countries. I was even in a field hospital in South Africa.
I'm sorry. I absolutely understand why you tried doing it on your own. We have insurance but it sucks so bad, I practically try to fix myself with duct tape rather than go in. :-)
#61 - On 08/19/2009 at 9:21pm by Thisnametaken
pay your healthcare bills cheapskate, thats what you get, always want something for free
#64 - On 08/19/2009 at 9:42pm by youdumbass
ydi , you should have payed it.
Or , better idea , if you go in the shower with it [assuming it's the plaster kind that is safe to do so] then it'll come off like that.
If it's the newer kind [where they show you pictures of what happens when it gets wet and it's not pretty!] then just pay it.
#65 - On 08/19/2009 at 9:47pm by JoBroCrazyy_14
This may very well be one of the saddest thing's I've ever heard.
Though last year when I was at the orthodontist there was a lady in there telling us a story of how a boy's dad took his braces off with a pair of pliers because the coach wouldn't let him play football with them on.
#71 - On 08/19/2009 at 10:10pm by ditzykayla
We get too many people like you in our hospital. Really, I feel for you. Some of the simplest, easiest, and cheapest procedures cost insane amounts. There isn't a lot to taking off a cast, and it should come free.
There's also no reason I should be paid as much as I am making. A lot of people think health is complicated - it's not. I could compare it to learning a new language.
You shoulda just coughed up the 50 bucks and not been such a cheapskate.
#79 - On 08/19/2009 at 10:42pm by carb_lover
WOW seriously, did u honestly think u could do such a job?? what a n00b. now stop being so cheap for the sake of all americans
This is why I love being in the military. it wouldn't cost me a dime to get a cast put on OR replaced on myself or my wife and kid.
#84 - On 08/19/2009 at 11:02pm by TheCashMan88
It's either "$50 fee" or "50 dollar fee" but it is not "$50 dollar fee." That's called redundancy.
Oh, and YDI.
#91 - On 08/19/2009 at 11:59pm by GriefBacon
I don't think you deserved it, actually. Probably could have done it yourself if you'd been a little smarter about it. Rather than try to pull it off, cut it off with wire/bolt cutters or or something.
How to take off a cast?
A. Pay 50 dallar fee.
B. Be cheap and pull it off.
C. Pay more money in emergency room.
D. Both B and C.
correct answer D
The economy is horrible right now. maybe the OP didn't have the money at the time or was saving it for something more important. anybody who really wants to save money would do that. well at least most people.
Aw I don't blame you man. Half these people probably would have tried the same thing. Who the fuck actually does what they're supposed to? I didn't know it cost $50 to get that thing off. That's ridiculous. It takes what, 2 minutes to cut it off? Sorry about that.
#110 - On 08/20/2009 at 3:26am by jewelzgalore
heh...developed countries have nationalized healthcare. It's a basic right. It has problems (long queues for non critical surgery) but it works a lot better in general than private healthcare, no matter what the propaganda on TV says.
If you're not in that top percentile of people who can actually afford to break an arm or go to the emergency room after a car accident, you're completely fucked. What if your brother or sister or mom or dad or best friend got hurt or nearly died and couldn't afford to get fixed? Or if you went into debt for 10 years because of some stupid accident?
What if you were born with a genetic disability, does that mean your family deserves to be poor forever whilst supporting you? Or are you in favour of terminating unhealthy people?
You pay taxes for the roads you drive on, the libraries you go to, the police to protect you, and firemen to save you from a fire. Why not pay taxes to help your friends and family when they get hurt?
#112 - On 08/20/2009 at 3:35am by ConSeannery
I'm sorry, but $50 is a lot for someone who doesn't have it.
You people shouting off about how you don't want healthcare for all should be ashamed of yourselves. Clearly you are in a position to be able to afford it and you don't give a damn about anyone else.
You can still pay for private healthcare if you wish, that won't change.
You need to stop listening to the absolute durge of propaganda on TV and come and talk to some actual citizens of the UK and see how they really feel about the our national health service.
They may bitch and complain about it sometimes, but would they have it taken away? Not in a million years.
#113 - On 08/20/2009 at 3:52am by PantsParty
Wow, some of the comments here are incredibly misinformed.
If I have a medical emergency I can see a doctor straight away. If I want to see a GP for a non emergency then I can still see one straight away. And I don't have to pay huge medical bills.
Yes the waits are long if I want non-emergency surgery but I still have the option to pay privately if I want to. People should speak to uk citizens before making judgement.
My mum was I'll with cancer for 4 years. She was able to see a doctor within hours and got surgery the next day. Over those four years she recieved all of her treatment, medication and surgery free of charge and it was the best care imaginable. We couldn't have asked for anything more.
My grandfather recieves dialysis treatment every 2 days, and is collected from his home and then taken home again after free of charge. If it wasn't for national healthcare we wouldn't be able to afford any of this.
As for the so called 'death panels', isn't that just what insurance companies are? Noone is deciding whether you live or die in the uk, everyone is just entitled to the best healthcare possible.
I for one are proud of our healthcare system.
But it's not free. You're paying for it with taxes, but not just you. EVERYONE is paying for it, even the people that aren't using it. How is that fair to them? How is that right?
If you weren't so overtaxed you would be able to afford your own healthcare. You could have the freedom to decide if you wanted it. Unfortunately if you don't get it then you're stuck, but it was your FREE decision to go for it or not.
What if your mom and Grandpa weren't so unlucky. Then all of you would be paying into a system you wouldn't even be using! How is that right? How is that moral? You'd be paying for someone to live whether you want to or not.
#162 - On 08/21/2009 at 7:34pm by TheKitsune
with a few exceptions, this healthcare debate...as it is with most debates...can be boiled down to to two simple points.
1) arguing on the Internet is stupid and pointless.
2) UK citizens, by birth, are inferior human beings and naturally jealous of all things American. When they feel like they can assert some false superiority, as in the case with their NHS, they'll try their hardest to make it seem like some dream system with doctors waiting at every corner to cure whatever ails you. Please stop. And we all know the UK hasn't discovered the Internet yet, so I'm still trying to figure out how they signed on here in the first place.
(disclaimer - lived in London/Manchester for two years.)
hehehe had to laugh at this.... have spent a lot of time in the US and Canada ...am in nooooo way jealous of anything american and have always preferred Canada
You lived in London and Manchester and met some UK citizens? I'm impressed - all I meet there are idiot Americans.
Yeah, I cut a cast off my leg with a pair of tin snips. My doc was NOT happy. But I did a mighty nice job of it!
#122 - On 08/20/2009 at 5:30am by flinkpamingo
Universal healthcare has it's flaws. But it's nothing like the propaganda "death panel on grandma" bullshit by Sarah Palin. If you want to contact the "death panel", call your insurance company.
#124 - On 08/20/2009 at 5:37am by WonderBlunder
Bloody Idiot. Doctors study for YEARS. They effectively have 12 years of training, and you figure "Oh I can do it"
It's really not hard AT ALL. We just have the proper tools for it, and it should still be done for free.
FYL and YDI. Granted, you're an idiot. But still... that sucks, dude.
#139 - On 08/20/2009 at 12:56pm by GabrielScott
YDI, you idiot.
Comments from Canada.
I don't wait months for appointments, I may wait 3 days. Or I could walk in and wait 2 hours. If it's an emergency? Depends on how serious. Broken wrist? Maybe an hour. Heart attack? No wait.
UR A DUMBASS!!! YDI FOR SAYING "$50 dollar"
also u need to put it in perspective. $50 in the medical world is next to shit
#144 - On 08/20/2009 at 2:42pm by Stealursoul
Know what have prevented this from happening? If your country had universal health care. $50 to remove a cast? That is ridiculous.
p.s. tell all the Republicans you know to stop making up retarded lies about our health care system.
hahaha... I am sure glad that I live in CANADA!!.. it's allll free
#146 - On 08/20/2009 at 4:38pm by RedNeckAndProud
This is probably BS. There is no fee for removing a cast. It is included in the fee for putting it on. Also, dislocated elbows are almost never casted. I work for an orthopedic surgeon and this story has more holes than my underwear.
Plus you gotta be stupid to write "$50 dollars".
#148 - On 08/20/2009 at 6:01pm by margie4peace
I would have done the same thing if I had to pay... $50 for a two minute procedure that just basically requires a pair of scissors, no thanks.
But then again if I had to pay every time I had a small worry about my body and wanted to get it checked over by a doctor I would probably never go...
Why didn't you have trusted friend to saw it off? Pulling casts off *never* work. (Well, sawing debatably shouldn't work, but it's a little better than simply pulling it off).
#152 - On 08/21/2009 at 12:54am by CyclonePsycho
What is all the crap I see Republicans spouting on CNN about socialism? What Obama is proposing is almost the exact same thing the Canadian CONSERVATIVE Party wanted to introduce a couple of years ago. It never even got to a vote in parliament because it so widely rejected by the electorate for being too conservative. Two-tier health care is the exact opposite of socialism. Also, conservatives need to to stop confusing socialism with a form of governance, socialism and communism are not the same thing. It is an economic system, not a political system.
You're right. Socialism and Communism are very different. And they're both evil. This particular health care bill that Obama supports (so much so that he's encouraging people to agree to it without reading it) is corrupt and wrong. Don't support something you know nothing about. Have you read the bill? Or do you just assume all healthcare is perfect as long as it's government sponsored?
#160 - On 08/21/2009 at 7:23pm by TheKitsune
Of course in the UK all your treatment would have been free...because we're in the 21st century and have a healthcare system. In fact I'm getting treatment on thursday at no cost and I've only waited 2 weeks from booking it to getting it - regardless of the rubbish your right wing media has been spreading about the NHS.
Oh, and I have health insurance too :p
Oh yeah. A plan that FORCES you to get and pay for health insurance whether you want it/can afford it or not. That doesn't go against free will at all. Yay! A plan that makes private insurance illegal! Yay! A plan for healthcare that will be just as effective as the USPS (Obama's comparison BTW) and DMV! Awesome! More taxes on an already overtaxed country, while we're in a recession! Of course we should punish the people being prosperous and productive and successful!
Anyone that believes that is pure disgusting.
If people didn't have so much TAXES we'd be able to spend our money as we please, therefore stimulating the economy. America is quickly becoming a parent government simply because so many people don't want to grow up and be responsible for THEMSELVES! These people WANT be taken care of like children, rather than adults. Consequences come for every action, and the more you put it off the more you will suffer.
Within four years I'm totally doing the "I told you so" dance for every idiot that supports Obama. Ha.
#161 - On 08/21/2009 at 7:30pm by TheKitsune
Shut the fuck up, bitch. This is FML. Take it to a political forum or something.
#164 - On 08/21/2009 at 8:15pm by star_ver
It sucks that you have to pay $50 for someone to stick a metal rod in and buzz saw it off.
I do enjoy my universal healthcare. That's just my opinion. I don't need facts or a debate, it's what I like. End of discussion.
#163 - On 08/21/2009 at 8:14pm by idrivefast
Its a shame so many americans are afraid of free universal care. Its the powerful, rich, businessmen and politicians who are making money out of making you pay for insurance, then making you pay for treatment or infact, denying you treatment.
These are the same people who are generating fear and rumours that universal healthcare is "Socialist/Communist" when all industrialised countries have universal care other than the USA. Also that Universal care will be more expensive and not as good as your care. Fundimentally, the care they would have to provide would need to be just as good as the care before, if not better inorder to make the change a success.
In the USA the most money is put into the system and the least money is returned to the public than in any other country. You can call in the morning and see a doctor in the afternoon. I feel that the goverment is MEANT to look after me. I am a student and also only 19 so i get free dental, free optomity and any free perscriptions, also all forms of contriception are free. Also if i wanted surgery such as a breast reduction because of back pain i could recieve it
Universal care is not perfect but its damn amazing for saying you dont have to pay on the spot. even if you do pay in tax. Youll be looked after if you get ill and lose your job, when youre old, and if you become poor.
Before being scared of care watch sicko the michael moore documentary, remember it is satire as well.
but really obama is not trying to fuck you over.
how could you not want this gift?
"I feel that the goverment is MEANT to look after me.:"
@#165 It's people like you that are destroying the world. Grow up and be an adult.
#171 - On 08/24/2009 at 2:23am by TheKitsune
who isn't cheap these days? freaking 50 dollars to take of a cast? that's a lot D=
#172 - On 08/26/2009 at 2:28am by assortedkandy
By dislocated arm do you mean elbow maybe? I've dislocated my shoulder 7 times, it doesn't require a cast
