<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>amy</b></i>
Proof of how well the vest works is undeniable.
Why is socialized medicine not the utopia that many Americans think it is? Let me give you some background. We have debates in this country often about whether the US should go the European/Canadian/Austrialian/rest of the world way of socialized medicine. People say we'll get better healthcare that way, etc.
Coverage of the Vest is a perfect example as to why socialized medicine isn't the utopia that many Americans think that it is. You all have to pay cash for it. Everyone in the US has access to one if you have health insurance (may have to pay a few thousand, but not $20 or 30 g's that socialized med countries do) or if you're super poor is disabled, the government will pay for it at almost 100%.
There are countless other examples as to why you get what you pay for in terms of medical care. CFers, and other Americans, need to understand the pit-falls of socialized medicine.</end quote></div>
Amy, proof of how all the cf devices work is undeniable, and there are studies saying that no one device is significantly better than any other.
Now, my hospital here in canada pays for tobra (not tobi) my enzymes, antibiotics, hospital fees, etc. If you do not have private insurance, all you have to do is get government insurance, (which everyone can get) and it covers pretty much everything else. If there are some things that are overly expensive (tobi, pulmozyme), all the doctor has to do is write a letter to the government saying that you need it, and you will get it.
If you have a health card, and you get sick, you can always go to the hospital, get treatment, and never have to pay. That goes for surgery, expertise advice (ie dermatologists) cancer treatment etc etc.
I know how you were saying that you guys have a lot of expenses from people that aren't citizens, and it costs you a lot. Well the same goes here. Our hospitals write off millions of dollars from americans that come here and have something happen to them ( a broken arm etc) and never pay the bill. We don't turn people away, we treat them and then hope that they pay us after, which isn't always the case.
That doesn't make me upset. But I think socialized medicine is a godsend. Wht would you do if you had a minimum wage job in the states, and had cancer, or a broken bone, and didn't have insurance. What would happen? Would you get billed for it? I'm not exactly sure of the procedure there, so if you could enlighten me on it that would be great.
I go back to my clinic in a month. I'm gonna ask about the vest, and see if i can get the government insurance to pay for it. We'll see what happens, just out of curiousity.