Re: Fwd: seattletimes.com: Survey: Americans get deficient health care

[Guest guest]

hello to the group,

I have not kept up with the chat for a while,

but this seems a very interesting subject.. I have

private health care insurance which pays 80% of the

fee, and my NS health care pays the other 20%..I feel

blessed.. but on the other hand when I was on Myleran

for over 25 years it cost about 40.00 a month for

about 2 months a couple of times a year. which 80%

was covered I payed the rest not knowing about the

local province plan. When I first was told I was

going on Gleevec and found out the cost I said NO. I

was dx in my late 30's and spent 25 years on Myleran

and was not going to bankrupt my family. At even the

20% which in NS, was over 700.00 dollars a month. my

private insurance covered the rest. I am not sure what

happens if you do not have insurance in NS. Even

saying that it still costs me almost 2000,00 a year

for coverage both the private and the provincial plan

and I feel blessed at that.. So I really feel sorry

for anyone who has to pay this cost. I was prepared

not to take it, until my wife found out about the co

pay that the province does.. Good thing my pension is

in rubber dollars to streeeeeeatch the costs..

My lates tests indicates that my platlets are dropping

they were down to 16,000 came up to 24,000 now they

will allow my count to drop to 10,000 has anyone else

on Gleevec had this effect? I am wondering if I have

a problem?

Skip

it is only with the heart one sees rightly what is

essential is invisable to the eyes

--- M <johndee_54@...> wrote:

>

>

>

>

> Survey: Americans get deficient health care

> Full story:

>

>

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002603067_healthcare04.html

>

> By Rob Stein

> The Washington Post

>

>

>

> WASHINGTON -- Americans pay more when they get sick

> than people in other Western nations and receive

> more confused, error-prone treatment, according to

> the largest survey to compare U.S. health care to

> that of other nations.

>

> The survey of nearly 7,000 sick adults in the

> United

> States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and

> Germany found Americans were the most likely to pay

> at least $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. More

> than

> half went without needed care because of cost, the

> survey found, and more than one-third endured

> mistakes and disorganized care when they did get

> treated.

>

> While patients in every nation sometimes run into

> obstacles to getting care and deficiencies in

> treatment, the United States stood out for having

> the highest error rates, most disorganized care and

> highest costs, the survey found.

>

> " What's striking is that we are clearly a world

> leader in how much we spend on health care, " said

> Schoen, senior vice president for The

> Commonwealth Fund, a private, nonpartisan,

> nonprofit

> foundation based in New York that commissioned the

> survey. " Clearly, we should be doing better. "

>

> Other experts agreed, saying the results offer the

> most recent evidence that the quality of care

> delivered by the U.S. system is seriously eroding

> as

> health-care costs soar.

>

> " This provides confirming evidence for what more

> and

> more health-policy thinkers have been saying, which

> is, 'The American health-care system is quietly

> imploding, and it's about time we did something

> about it,' " said Lucian Leape of the Harvard

> School

> of Public Health.

>

> The new survey, the eighth in an annual series of

> cross-national surveys conducted by

> Interactive for the foundation, is the largest to

> examine health-care quality across several nations

> during the same period.

>

> The survey, published in the journal Health

> Affairs,

> questioned 6,957 adults who had recently been

> hospitalized, undergone surgery or reported health

> problems between March and June this year.

>

> " These patients are the canary in the coal mine of

> any health-care system, " Schoen said.

>

> Nearly a third of U.S. patients reported spending

> more than $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses for

> care.

> Canadians and Australians came next, with 14

> percent

> of patients spending that much. The proportion

> reporting similarly high costs was far lower in the

> other countries.

>

> Americans also were more likely to report forgoing

> needed treatment because of cost. About half of

> Americans said they had decided not to fill a

> prescription, see a doctor when they were sick or

> get recommended follow-up tests. About 38 percent

> of

> patients in New Zealand reported going without

> care,

> as did 34 percent in Australia, 28 percent in

> Germany, 26 percent in Canada and 13 percent in

> Britain.

>

> About one-third of U.S. patients reported problems

> with the coordination of their care, such as when

> test results were not available at the time of

> their

> doctor's appointment or when doctors ordered

> duplicate tests. In the other countries, between 19

> percent and 26 percent of patients reported similar

> problems.

>

> Americans also reported the greatest number of

> medical errors. Thirty-four percent reported

> getting

> the wrong medication or dose, incorrect test

> results, a mistake in their treatment or care, or

> being notified late about abnormal test results.

> Thirty percent of Canadian patients, 27 percent of

> Australian patients, 25 percent of New Zealanders,

> 23 percent of Germans and 22 percent of Britons

> reported errors.

>

>

>

> Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times

> Company

>

> www.seattletimes.com

> Your Life. Your Times.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> __________________________________

> - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

> http://mail.

>

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