Wednesday, March 25, 2009

HealthCare in USA - Need a Change

Recently I had to go for a Doctor consultation for COLD/COUGH and i tried to get an appointment,but the appointment date i got was after 10 days.

I asked the receptionist why it takes 10 days to see a doctor for a general consultation,She said this is normal waiting time.

I thought how many days it would take for me to get an appointment for an operation!!!

Do i need to wait for 10 days to see the doctor to get diagnozed for cold..my cold would go away in 3 or 4 days.


She said,If i needed to see the doctor the same day,i would have to go in as a Emergency case.The fee for it is very less - $600.(By appointment is $250)
It will be paid by my insurance,But If i dont have an insurance,how can i pay $600 from my pocket.


In India,we can walk right into any hospital/doctor and get a general checkup done with a very nominal fee.

Why is medicare so expensive in the US?Are there not enough doctors?

Most of the people in US are employed by Private companies and their retirement age is much higher than 60 yrs.People does not stop working until they are really old - may be to support themselves because they are on their own,living away from children or someone who can take care of them.

They have a big burden of paying their healthcare premium because without a health insurance in US,health care is really really expensive.

So,When the average retirement age is increasing,there are fewer jobs available for the youth and this is definitely one of the problems for unemployment rate growing higher.


Why is the US government not acting to improve the situation.

Solution:
Make Healthcare Cheaper
Open new medical colleges,make more doctors available,open new hospitals and provide more aid to pharma companies for research.

New Hospitals will create thousands of jobs startig with construction,Nurses,Front office staff,Lab staff and various other categories in line with hospital administration.

Access to more hospitals/medical services will drive down the medicare costs and it makes people less dependent on Medical Insurance.

i.e Medicare should be available at less cost for people even without Medical Insurance.

Is it the Pharma company/Insurance company lobby that is stopping the government from doing it?
Or the system is complex enough that it is very difficult to change it.

Or this is how it works in Developed countries!!!!!!!!!!!!

(When i started this blog few days back,i took the example of my friend who had to go to emergency checkup for $600.
But just before posting this blog,i paid $720 from my pocket for a Physiotherapy treatment(It costs less than 700 Rs in India).And my insurance is not paying it for some reason)