“Everything Ends Up In The ER”: Nurse Goes On A Truthful Rant Begging People To Listen
There is no universal healthcare in the US. The government does not provide benefits to citizens or visitors, so any time someone needs medical attention, someone has to pay for it.
On top of that, healthcare in the country is very expensive. According to a government website, if you break your leg, you could end up with a bill for $7,500. If you need to stay in the hospital for three days, it will probably cost about $30,000.
And Lex Hinkley has a problem with this system. After witnessing how it operates from the inside, the 27-year-old nurse based in San Diego recently turned to social media to share why she thinks America needs to “completely dismantle” its current model.
27-year-old nurse Lex Hinkley recently shared her frustration with the American healthcare system, and explained why she thinks all the for-profits have to go
Image credits: travelingnurse
“It is virtually impossible to be a ethical healthcare worker in this extremely unethical healthcare system.”
“The amount of times I’ve had to discharge patients back to situations where I knew they weren’t going to be able to take care of themselves but I had no other options is truly too high to even give a number to.”
Image credits: wanderrlex
“If my career as a healthcare worker has done anything to my worldview or life it has simply radicalized me further than anyone could believe.”
“But more so than anything else, I know in my heart that there is no way, shape, or form that we improve our society as a whole without completely dismantling ‘for profit’ healthcare.”
Image credits: travelingnurse
“I’m gonna share with you guys a story that is so beyond f**king disgusting and yet completely unsurprising, and I have seen varying levels of this happen at every single hospital I have worked at.”
“I’ve been a nurse for four years. I’ve worked in seven states. It is happening everywhere, and if you think your hospital is different, you’re f**king wrong.”
Image credits: travelingnurse
“Recently, and I mean as of December, hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky came under fire for leaving patients outside on f**king sidewalks.”
“They do this in front of shelters, they will drop patients off in front of shelters just like this. But sometimes they don’t even take them to the shelter, they literally leave them right outside the hospital.”
Image credits: travelingnurse
“This specific patient was left in this condition in 36 degree weather. The whistleblower who brought this to the media was a female employee, presumably a healthcare worker, at this hospital, and she said she sees this a lot.”
“This reporter said, ‘So I started watching and on December 16th at 7 p.m., 35 degrees outside, I recorded three security guards surrounding an elderly woman with a walker and slowly escorting her out of the emergency room.'”
Image credits: travelingnurse
“In order to understand what could potentially lead to a situation like this, we need to know two things.”
“One, the United States has a law called EMTALA, which basically says that healthcare workers in emergency rooms and hospitals have to, at the very least, stabilize patients. Meaning, make sure they’re not actively dying before discharging them.”
“The second thing you need to understand is that when you defund social programs, it all ends up in the ER. When you defund senior care, when you defund psychiatric care, when you defund shelters, whether it’s homeless shelters, woman’s shelters, when you defund the safety nets that our society needs to prevent people from beginning a crisis downward spiral, they end up in the ER.”
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
“And simply put, ER workers and hospital workers are already at their f**king wit’s end. We cannot act as a catch-all for every single issue in society, and yet, we are. Here we are doing it. And at the very f**king same time, treating people like literal f**king garbage? Should never f**king happen. Should never f**king happen, and yet I understand what caused that situation to occur.”
“Because I’m sure that in a red state like Kentucky, those social programs are even worse funded than in the states that I’ve worked in. So these people, and by these people I mean patients, healthcare workers, and their bosses, have no f**king options. Meanwhile, the executives of that hospital are probably f**king out on a trip in the Caribbean on their 7th yacht.”
“The only way to fix this, the only way to fix situations as unethical and disgusting as this from happening is to fund solutions. We need to fund proper safety nets for our society.”
Image credits: travelingnurse
“In this country, if you lose your job, you lose your health insurance, you potentially lose all of your income, which means you’re not going to be able to pay rent. Well, then what happens if you get sick? Do you see what I’m saying? We don’t have safety nets for our poor in this country.”
“We have a greased chute. And at the very bottom of that greased chute of poverty is a trip to your local emergency room. Because everything ends up in the ER. And then we have nowhere to place people. We have no way to help people.”
“And so people in that position get frustrated because they feel like they can’t f**king do anything and they’re being expected to have the answers for a very f**ked up system. They’re having to answer for all of these executives, these corporate executives who have privately funded their own bank accounts instead of publicly funding our communities.”
Image credits: Natanael Melchor (not the actual photo)
“So while it is f**king disgusting and inexcusable for any healthcare worker to treat a human being like that, I am telling you, society, you and me, right now, we’re levelling with each other.”
“The only way to avoid that s**t happening is to fund social programs. We have to fund elder care, we have to fund psychiatric care, we have to actually develop systems to help unhoused people.”
“Look at what the mayor of Detroit has done. There are options. There are solutions for these problems, but they cost money. They cost money. And we, as a society, have said that we’re a-okay with 400 people having 70 percent of the nation’s wealth, while our community members get treated like this.”
Hinkley’s emotional rant has since gone viral
@travelingnurse #healthcare ♬ original sound – lex RN BSN
A majority of Americans agree with her
Among the public, 63% of U.S. adults say the government has the responsibility to provide health care coverage for all.
When asked how that should be achieved, 36% of Americans say a single national government program is the answer, while 26% say it should continue to be a mix of private insurance companies and government programs.
Interestingly, a 54% majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners now favor a single national government program to provide health insurance, while among Republicans and Republican leaners, a 66% majority says the government does not have the responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage.
Image credits: Cedric Fauntleroy (not the actual photo)
The United States trails far behind other high-income countries on healthcare
In 2021, the Commonwealth Fund took upon itself to assess the health care system performance in 11 high-income countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The organization analyzed 71 performance measures across five domains — access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes — drawn from Commonwealth Fund international surveys conducted in each country and administrative data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Health Organization.
The results showed that the top-performing countries overall are Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia. The United States ranks last, despite spending far more of its gross domestic product on health care. The U.S. ranks last on access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes, but second on measures of care process.
Four features distinguish top-performing countries from
the United States:
- they provide for universal coverage and remove cost barriers;
- they invest in primary care systems to ensure that high-value services are equitably available in all communities to all people;
- they reduce administrative burdens that divert time, efforts, and spending from health improvement efforts;
- they invest in social services, especially for children and working-age adults.
So it sounds like nurse Hinkley’s take is right on the money.
Hinkley’s clip has received a lot of reactions, including similar stories
Makes you want to cry. It's isn't just the US getting worse either - it's everywhere as far as I can see. Needs massive wide-sweeping change. Revolution style probably as the people we get to vote for are usually wealthy, self-interested CUNextTuesdays and not fit for purpose. I'm going to go and make some ice-cream... this is just too depressing!! Dark Chocolate and Coffee flavours if anyone fancies some!! 😊
This is why USA is being considered less and less a civilized country by us small fishes from the other side of the pond
If poor little Canada can provide free health care, AND 1 year maternity leave AND a decent minimum wage surely the greatest country in world can! ( Quoting all modern presidents) Mind we do. have a 33% tax rate on income over 1/4 million. And we still have billionaires!
Most of those multi-billionaires are legally squirrelling their money away, frequently in offshore accounts/investments where the US economy gains no benefit whatsoever, and often pay less personal tax than ordinary Americans. Think of that for a second. Your government is colluding with people who have so much money they couldn’t spend it in several lifetimes to help them avoid paying fairly back into the economy. Your government is populated with people who want this or already have it, so they aren’t going to work to change it. Don’t get me wrong, every country has some billionaires, multi-billionaires. And every country enables them like this. I find the US the saddest because from the outside it looks like the citizens are considered disposable, unless they are in the womb. They don’t care what kind of life the children will have, so long as they’re born. Then they’re just another disposable person. “At will” employment makes my blood boil! Where’s your job security?
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It costs money, sure - but universal healthcare costs *less* than privatized healthcare. When I lived in the US, a lot of Americans grumbled about the amount of taxes they had to pay and, honestly, rightly so because they get so little for what they pay - no universal healthcare, expensive postsecondary education, poorly funded primary and secondary education, very shïtty roads (at least where I lived), no guaranteed maternity, paternity, or parental leave, etc. Some of the overblown military budget could be very well spent on healthcare and social support.
Seriously, all the money I pay and I don't see any benefits. How does a powerful military help protect a country that's falling apart from within?
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I looked at the photo of the patient dumped on the sidewalk and got very emotional. Imagined that being my mum.... So glad she lives in The Netherlands.
OH MY GOD! I did too. Anyone do this to my patients and I'd go freaking ballistic! They'd have a riot on their hands, should a hospital attempt such a despicable thing 🤬
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Mental Health worker here. Everything she said is 100% true. It was very cathartic reading an article with the appropriate amount of "f***kings" when describing the healthcare system. Let's not forget about the insurance companies that are now just straight up scams. First you have to pay thousands of dollars to meet your deductible, then insurance only pays a small percent of the service anyway, so where is the $300 mo thly payment the person pays going?? Certainly not mental health therapists, that's for sure. Thank you for writing this. People need to be angry.
The US is teaching a breaking point. Within the next 30-50 years, I think a big event is going to happen that will cause this country to collapse into violence. Our government, as is, is not equipped to prevent it. We essentially have a far right party and a center right party. And right now, each seems dead at on undoing anything the other does. Any president elected is going to be at risk of impeachment, just because Trump was. The Republicans are evaluating whether to try to impeach Biden and I'm certain they'll try it with any other Democrat elected. Our system will crumple within my lifetime.
It really is the fault of our government and the special interests with insurance companies. So far, no one was actually made a worth while change that has fixed anything. We have the healthcare marketplace, but I have not even heard that as being beneficial to anyone needing it.
Even when it was being debated in congress, proponents were simply calling it "a step in the right direction".
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She's worked in seven states in four years, I think she may have some credibility issues.
I was lucky when I was put in the hospital when I was homeless. I was 5 mos pregnant and got a blood clot in my leg from sitting in the car all the time. I was lucky firstly not to die since I had to go back to the ER 3 times before they found it (and perhaps this influenced the rest of my stay so they didn't get sued) but once they did realize, I was admitted and needed twice-daily lovenox shots in my stomach which cost something like $7,000 a week i think. The charge nurse filed massive paperwork and worked really hard to keep me there 2 weeks until the clot was gone because medicaid wanted me out in 3 days. My husband got to stay to on the foldout couch and it was a wonderful 2-week breather. One nurse was horrible to me though. She was rude and nasty abd would come in the room every hour all night singing loud AF and clattering stuff loudly, dropping big items on the floor. Reading this I feel lucky and terrible for these people dumped like this being elderly! Don't they have other places to send them like state nursing homes? I'm sure those places are hell holes in themselves but better than the streets in mid-december!!
My fellow North Americans (I'm from the top part), as an outsider maybe I can see a bit more clear as it doesn't effect me as much emotionally. The problem isn't the healthcare system, but I suspect you're supposed to think that. It's all about allocation of tax dollars. Guess what single line item gets the highest percentage: Defence. The US spends trillions on the military with a huge amount going to the Military-Industrial Complex,(MIC) who in turn spends large amount of that money to lobbying and supporting politicians who can move their agenda. During the Afghanistan conflict alone (that only reaped dead and maimed soldiers) the MIC spent a billion on lobbying and got trillions in return. The MIC wants as much money as possible going to the MIC: f##k healthcare and social equity, why that's "unamerican". We all hear about the meddling by the NRA, peanuts BTW compared to the MIC, but why don't we hear about MIC meddling? Well, they are really good and don't just lobby politicians.
Eisenhower had it right, but he was ignored. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-dwight-d-eisenhowers-farewell-address This was probably the most prophetic speech in modern US history. A warning unheeded so the consequences must now be endured. Today the USA's persona, it's identity. it's livelihood, and probably the cause of it's eventual demise is war: there is nothing larger and it's likely unstoppable. But, hey, that's all just a conspiracy theory, right?
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I think this is an issue for every person of faith, regardless of what faith you are. The tradition I was raised in commands me to help the helpless, shelter the other, etc. I think most faiths do. It's interesting that a large portion of Americans chose to ignore their own beliefs.
Agnostic here, and I strongly believe that those with the means to do so should help those that cannot help themselves.
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America sucks.... And any attempt to change it gets shot down so damn fast it'll make your head spin
You want to know what gets dumped in the ER? Everything nobody wants to take to a regular doctor b/c their HMO won't give them a referral to the needed specialist but the ER doing it means the HMO can't argue. Patients are sent in to the ER by their doctors to get faster testing for problems. Again, why? HMOs will d**k around until someone's too sick to save. This has been coming on for 50 years, and every time anyone voted for lower taxes, nobody ever quit funding the ludicrous military budget. Was this deliberate? YES. Why? Because sick ignorant people are easier to manipulate. Fear does that. Signed, a medical doctor PATIENTS OVER PROFITS (I worked for no pay during Covid, that's how serious I take my credo.)
Every nation has horror stories. Even the ones in Europe. Because if it's not affordability, it's access RIGHT NOW!!! that people want. It's always something. And this isn't something the US citizens want as a majority. Sadly, it's the a-hates who get elected promising they'll do something, then do nothing.
The other half is politics. The American government does nothing because it can’t do anything. Every issue is along party lines with absolutely no cooperation or compromise. If one side gets the majority and legislates something it only lasts until the other side gets the majority and repeals it. The solution is the same as the solution for gun violence in America. When a super majority of Americans, including every politician, have a child dead from guns or their own personal bullet wound then the Second Amendment will be repealed. Healthcare will also eventually deteriorate until a super majority of Americans go broke, suffer, or die. I’m an ER nurse since 1984. Healthcare is a basic human right. To profit from sickness or illness is a crime against humanity.
The cause of this problem is deep in American culture and politics. Americans will say they want universal or nationalized healthcare until they get to the specifics. Specifically, “Will my tax dollars go to people who are too lazy to work?” That’s the deal breaker. They think lazy people who don’t work are their enemy. They hate the guy living in a shack collecting $500/month welfare but love the billionaires who keep them in a lifetime of debt. They don’t understand that anything a society/government fails to provide its citizens becomes an opportunity for the rich to provide it at the cost of a lifetime of debt. No public transportation? A lifetime of car payments, car repairs, car insurance, fuel. No free higher education? Decades of student loans. No universal healthcare? Denials, delays in treatment, bankruptcy, death.
I'm sorry but no there is a difference. Elderly, infants, children, immigrant children , emotionally disturbed or long term illness individuals I would & do pay for openly but there is a large & growing population who use the system just because they can...
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This is how I lost my paternal grandfather. He was attacked by carjackers in the hospital parking lot no less, and his health insurance refused to pay for treatment so the hospital put him on the curve. They didn't even bother taking the IV needle out of his hand. He was gone before my grandma could find another place to take him. I hate the "healthcare" in this country.
Omg I'm so sorry...where are people's morals! I just don't understand
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Wait wait wait what??? Discharging patients that have nowhere to go and no sufficient care? Who even considers doing that? People living in the land of the free to die of curable illness and a lack of affordable insulin. That is not healthcare. My country is often criminalised for making euthanasia possible (under the stringest of supervision) but this is far worse. People who request euthanasia do so out of their own free will. What is happening here is the wholesale killing of the vulnerable in plain sight on sidewalks in cities and towns and apparently only a few Americans give a damn. Shame on you all!!
I don't know why you would assume "only a few Americans give a damn". The post clearly states the majority of Americans want a nationalized healthcare model. Also, Democrats and progressives are almost always in favor of funding social nets and programs, and they aren't a minority number of people. The real problem lies in asking: why aren't these things provided or enacted, if the majority of people are demanding it? It is because our democracy is broken. Our elected representatives no longer actually represent the people they are meant to SERVE - they enact whatever policies their wealthy donors demand of them. Until we break the corporate stranglehold on our government, we can expect more of this same bull s**t. Casting shame on 336 million people when most of them want better for their fellow human beings is also bull s**t.
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I've debated the health care issue in several online venues, & the arguments against universal health care I've heard most often are "Universal health care in other countries are in shambles w/incredibly long wait times for treatments" & "I don't want my money to pay someone else's medical bills!" The facts are countries w/universal health care prioritize treatments for life-threatening & urgent medical issues over treatments for non life-threatening or non-urgent conditions. Insofar as paying for other people's health care; if you have private insurance, you're paying for other people's health care now! Insurance companies don't set up a bank account for each policyholder & deposit their monthly premiums into their account. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 monthly premiums are mixed with the premiums of all their policyholders, & they pay each policyholder's medical bills with that $. If your bills exceed the amount of money you've paid in premiums, the overage is paid w/$ from the premiums paid by others.
The US is the ONLY developed country that does not have universal healthcare. Think about that. Who supports the political candidates that protest universal healthcare? Pharmaceutical companies. Who profits from Big Pharma marking up life-sustaining meds by 600-700%? Insurance companies. Who denies coverage to patients for things like cardiac and cancer meds, receiving 600% payment for medication necessary to keep people alive, yet only costs pennies on the dollar to produce? Think of the case with insulin. Just another example of politicians being in bed with the lobbyists to support their own greed and agenda.
The biggest problem is the lower classes r being reamed with taxes and the government isn't spending that money well. So they always need more money from us, the lower classes. Not the rich mind u! They r the ones that line the politicians pockets! We don't want THEM taxed! Only the ones that can't really afford to buy food and pay for rent and that r actually at risk of being homeless and needing these services.
I got in nursing for quality of life. Most nurses work 3 12hr shifts a week. The place that I am employed at says because nurses are union (we're not, I checked. Only LPN's and CNA's), we have to do the obnoxious 9-5 grind M-F. To get around this loophole, I offered to work 16hr shifts. On recent shift, the nurse who was supposed to tag me off showed up nearly 2hrs late to her shift. Not a single apology because I guess she does this often. Which meant I worked 18 hours. The exhaustion caused my body to break down and I fell ill. I I had to call in sick for my next 16hr shift. My job called me after I called off (with a dr's note confirming illness) and asked if I was planning on working the second half of my shift. Mind you, I am I health professional working in healthcare...and they won't even provide me with health benefits until 90 days of hire so I still have two months to go. Oh, and as for my employee "badge"...literally a flimsy piece of paper with my face on it & laminated.
Why doesn’t anyone do something instead of just talking about doing something………
Our ERs are so packed and have been for a few years now that you can't get seen for real emergencies even with insurance and a history of paying. When I broke my ankle, I waited in the waiting room for 5 hours after triage. I recently went in with extreme chest pain fully believing I was having a heart attack. The place was packed and I was shuffled in and out writhing in agony, but the moment the tests said it was something other than my heart, they wanted me out. I went home scared and hurting with no idea what to do about it. The system is toxic for everybody and is overwhelmed. Its purpose is very clearly profit rather than care.
Traveling nurses make a lot of money. And get a chance to see the country before they decide where they would like to stay longer.
Load More Replies... When I was in medical school I rotated with a bunch of Canadian medical students who 1. Loved universal Healthcare and 2. Wanted to practice in the US because it would Make them Much much richer here in the US. Made me sick.
That was all fixed by Obama, wasn't it. His top priority on entering the Presidency was to fix America's health care system. He's the president, he can do anything. So America's health care system was fixed, right?
I had to go to ER once in the US and once to a doctor. Both were very unpleasant, long waiting, high cost and I was misdiagnosed both times. Luckily my Swiss health insurance paid for it, but the service was absolutely useless and ridiculous.
The current yearly healthcare costs in the US is $3.6 or $3.7 TRILLION dollars. The most optimistic plan during the last presidential campaign aimed to get that cost down to $28 trillion over 10 years. The ONLY way that UHC happens, is everyone with a job, is paying 15-25% of their income towards the healthcare system. It is not, nor will it ever be "free". UHC prevents people from being unable to afford care, it does not prevent them from paying into the system. There is no solution in which the cost is offloaded entirely to "the rich" and Americans really seem to struggle with understanding this. Everyone is in favor of social programs up until the point they realize that funding those programs is going to raise their taxes. If you're working at McDonalds in denmark, earning $22/hr, you're handing over roughly 40% or so of your income to the government. That's what it takes to fund broad social programs. Absolutely EVERYONE contributes.
Thank you for saying it the real & honest way. Socialized Healthcare will not work, it has been proven
Load More Replies... Makes you want to cry. It's isn't just the US getting worse either - it's everywhere as far as I can see. Needs massive wide-sweeping change. Revolution style probably as the people we get to vote for are usually wealthy, self-interested CUNextTuesdays and not fit for purpose. I'm going to go and make some ice-cream... this is just too depressing!! Dark Chocolate and Coffee flavours if anyone fancies some!! 😊
This is why USA is being considered less and less a civilized country by us small fishes from the other side of the pond
If poor little Canada can provide free health care, AND 1 year maternity leave AND a decent minimum wage surely the greatest country in world can! ( Quoting all modern presidents) Mind we do. have a 33% tax rate on income over 1/4 million. And we still have billionaires!
Most of those multi-billionaires are legally squirrelling their money away, frequently in offshore accounts/investments where the US economy gains no benefit whatsoever, and often pay less personal tax than ordinary Americans. Think of that for a second. Your government is colluding with people who have so much money they couldn’t spend it in several lifetimes to help them avoid paying fairly back into the economy. Your government is populated with people who want this or already have it, so they aren’t going to work to change it. Don’t get me wrong, every country has some billionaires, multi-billionaires. And every country enables them like this. I find the US the saddest because from the outside it looks like the citizens are considered disposable, unless they are in the womb. They don’t care what kind of life the children will have, so long as they’re born. Then they’re just another disposable person. “At will” employment makes my blood boil! Where’s your job security?
Load More Replies... It costs money, sure - but universal healthcare costs *less* than privatized healthcare. When I lived in the US, a lot of Americans grumbled about the amount of taxes they had to pay and, honestly, rightly so because they get so little for what they pay - no universal healthcare, expensive postsecondary education, poorly funded primary and secondary education, very shïtty roads (at least where I lived), no guaranteed maternity, paternity, or parental leave, etc. Some of the overblown military budget could be very well spent on healthcare and social support.
Seriously, all the money I pay and I don't see any benefits. How does a powerful military help protect a country that's falling apart from within?
Load More Replies... I looked at the photo of the patient dumped on the sidewalk and got very emotional. Imagined that being my mum.... So glad she lives in The Netherlands.
OH MY GOD! I did too. Anyone do this to my patients and I'd go freaking ballistic! They'd have a riot on their hands, should a hospital attempt such a despicable thing 🤬
Load More Replies... Mental Health worker here. Everything she said is 100% true. It was very cathartic reading an article with the appropriate amount of "f***kings" when describing the healthcare system. Let's not forget about the insurance companies that are now just straight up scams. First you have to pay thousands of dollars to meet your deductible, then insurance only pays a small percent of the service anyway, so where is the $300 mo thly payment the person pays going?? Certainly not mental health therapists, that's for sure. Thank you for writing this. People need to be angry.
The US is teaching a breaking point. Within the next 30-50 years, I think a big event is going to happen that will cause this country to collapse into violence. Our government, as is, is not equipped to prevent it. We essentially have a far right party and a center right party. And right now, each seems dead at on undoing anything the other does. Any president elected is going to be at risk of impeachment, just because Trump was. The Republicans are evaluating whether to try to impeach Biden and I'm certain they'll try it with any other Democrat elected. Our system will crumple within my lifetime.
It really is the fault of our government and the special interests with insurance companies. So far, no one was actually made a worth while change that has fixed anything. We have the healthcare marketplace, but I have not even heard that as being beneficial to anyone needing it.
Even when it was being debated in congress, proponents were simply calling it "a step in the right direction".
Load More Replies... She's worked in seven states in four years, I think she may have some credibility issues.
I was lucky when I was put in the hospital when I was homeless. I was 5 mos pregnant and got a blood clot in my leg from sitting in the car all the time. I was lucky firstly not to die since I had to go back to the ER 3 times before they found it (and perhaps this influenced the rest of my stay so they didn't get sued) but once they did realize, I was admitted and needed twice-daily lovenox shots in my stomach which cost something like $7,000 a week i think. The charge nurse filed massive paperwork and worked really hard to keep me there 2 weeks until the clot was gone because medicaid wanted me out in 3 days. My husband got to stay to on the foldout couch and it was a wonderful 2-week breather. One nurse was horrible to me though. She was rude and nasty abd would come in the room every hour all night singing loud AF and clattering stuff loudly, dropping big items on the floor. Reading this I feel lucky and terrible for these people dumped like this being elderly! Don't they have other places to send them like state nursing homes? I'm sure those places are hell holes in themselves but better than the streets in mid-december!!
My fellow North Americans (I'm from the top part), as an outsider maybe I can see a bit more clear as it doesn't effect me as much emotionally. The problem isn't the healthcare system, but I suspect you're supposed to think that. It's all about allocation of tax dollars. Guess what single line item gets the highest percentage: Defence. The US spends trillions on the military with a huge amount going to the Military-Industrial Complex,(MIC) who in turn spends large amount of that money to lobbying and supporting politicians who can move their agenda. During the Afghanistan conflict alone (that only reaped dead and maimed soldiers) the MIC spent a billion on lobbying and got trillions in return. The MIC wants as much money as possible going to the MIC: f##k healthcare and social equity, why that's "unamerican". We all hear about the meddling by the NRA, peanuts BTW compared to the MIC, but why don't we hear about MIC meddling? Well, they are really good and don't just lobby politicians.
Eisenhower had it right, but he was ignored. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-dwight-d-eisenhowers-farewell-address This was probably the most prophetic speech in modern US history. A warning unheeded so the consequences must now be endured. Today the USA's persona, it's identity. it's livelihood, and probably the cause of it's eventual demise is war: there is nothing larger and it's likely unstoppable. But, hey, that's all just a conspiracy theory, right?
Load More Replies... I think this is an issue for every person of faith, regardless of what faith you are. The tradition I was raised in commands me to help the helpless, shelter the other, etc. I think most faiths do. It's interesting that a large portion of Americans chose to ignore their own beliefs.
Agnostic here, and I strongly believe that those with the means to do so should help those that cannot help themselves.
Load More Replies... America sucks.... And any attempt to change it gets shot down so damn fast it'll make your head spin
You want to know what gets dumped in the ER? Everything nobody wants to take to a regular doctor b/c their HMO won't give them a referral to the needed specialist but the ER doing it means the HMO can't argue. Patients are sent in to the ER by their doctors to get faster testing for problems. Again, why? HMOs will d**k around until someone's too sick to save. This has been coming on for 50 years, and every time anyone voted for lower taxes, nobody ever quit funding the ludicrous military budget. Was this deliberate? YES. Why? Because sick ignorant people are easier to manipulate. Fear does that. Signed, a medical doctor PATIENTS OVER PROFITS (I worked for no pay during Covid, that's how serious I take my credo.)
Every nation has horror stories. Even the ones in Europe. Because if it's not affordability, it's access RIGHT NOW!!! that people want. It's always something. And this isn't something the US citizens want as a majority. Sadly, it's the a-hates who get elected promising they'll do something, then do nothing.
The other half is politics. The American government does nothing because it can’t do anything. Every issue is along party lines with absolutely no cooperation or compromise. If one side gets the majority and legislates something it only lasts until the other side gets the majority and repeals it. The solution is the same as the solution for gun violence in America. When a super majority of Americans, including every politician, have a child dead from guns or their own personal bullet wound then the Second Amendment will be repealed. Healthcare will also eventually deteriorate until a super majority of Americans go broke, suffer, or die. I’m an ER nurse since 1984. Healthcare is a basic human right. To profit from sickness or illness is a crime against humanity.
The cause of this problem is deep in American culture and politics. Americans will say they want universal or nationalized healthcare until they get to the specifics. Specifically, “Will my tax dollars go to people who are too lazy to work?” That’s the deal breaker. They think lazy people who don’t work are their enemy. They hate the guy living in a shack collecting $500/month welfare but love the billionaires who keep them in a lifetime of debt. They don’t understand that anything a society/government fails to provide its citizens becomes an opportunity for the rich to provide it at the cost of a lifetime of debt. No public transportation? A lifetime of car payments, car repairs, car insurance, fuel. No free higher education? Decades of student loans. No universal healthcare? Denials, delays in treatment, bankruptcy, death.
I'm sorry but no there is a difference. Elderly, infants, children, immigrant children , emotionally disturbed or long term illness individuals I would & do pay for openly but there is a large & growing population who use the system just because they can...
Load More Replies... This is how I lost my paternal grandfather. He was attacked by carjackers in the hospital parking lot no less, and his health insurance refused to pay for treatment so the hospital put him on the curve. They didn't even bother taking the IV needle out of his hand. He was gone before my grandma could find another place to take him. I hate the "healthcare" in this country.
Omg I'm so sorry...where are people's morals! I just don't understand
Load More Replies... Wait wait wait what??? Discharging patients that have nowhere to go and no sufficient care? Who even considers doing that? People living in the land of the free to die of curable illness and a lack of affordable insulin. That is not healthcare. My country is often criminalised for making euthanasia possible (under the stringest of supervision) but this is far worse. People who request euthanasia do so out of their own free will. What is happening here is the wholesale killing of the vulnerable in plain sight on sidewalks in cities and towns and apparently only a few Americans give a damn. Shame on you all!!
I don't know why you would assume "only a few Americans give a damn". The post clearly states the majority of Americans want a nationalized healthcare model. Also, Democrats and progressives are almost always in favor of funding social nets and programs, and they aren't a minority number of people. The real problem lies in asking: why aren't these things provided or enacted, if the majority of people are demanding it? It is because our democracy is broken. Our elected representatives no longer actually represent the people they are meant to SERVE - they enact whatever policies their wealthy donors demand of them. Until we break the corporate stranglehold on our government, we can expect more of this same bull s**t. Casting shame on 336 million people when most of them want better for their fellow human beings is also bull s**t.
Load More Replies... I've debated the health care issue in several online venues, & the arguments against universal health care I've heard most often are "Universal health care in other countries are in shambles w/incredibly long wait times for treatments" & "I don't want my money to pay someone else's medical bills!" The facts are countries w/universal health care prioritize treatments for life-threatening & urgent medical issues over treatments for non life-threatening or non-urgent conditions. Insofar as paying for other people's health care; if you have private insurance, you're paying for other people's health care now! Insurance companies don't set up a bank account for each policyholder & deposit their monthly premiums into their account. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 monthly premiums are mixed with the premiums of all their policyholders, & they pay each policyholder's medical bills with that $. If your bills exceed the amount of money you've paid in premiums, the overage is paid w/$ from the premiums paid by others.
The US is the ONLY developed country that does not have universal healthcare. Think about that. Who supports the political candidates that protest universal healthcare? Pharmaceutical companies. Who profits from Big Pharma marking up life-sustaining meds by 600-700%? Insurance companies. Who denies coverage to patients for things like cardiac and cancer meds, receiving 600% payment for medication necessary to keep people alive, yet only costs pennies on the dollar to produce? Think of the case with insulin. Just another example of politicians being in bed with the lobbyists to support their own greed and agenda.
The biggest problem is the lower classes r being reamed with taxes and the government isn't spending that money well. So they always need more money from us, the lower classes. Not the rich mind u! They r the ones that line the politicians pockets! We don't want THEM taxed! Only the ones that can't really afford to buy food and pay for rent and that r actually at risk of being homeless and needing these services.
I got in nursing for quality of life. Most nurses work 3 12hr shifts a week. The place that I am employed at says because nurses are union (we're not, I checked. Only LPN's and CNA's), we have to do the obnoxious 9-5 grind M-F. To get around this loophole, I offered to work 16hr shifts. On recent shift, the nurse who was supposed to tag me off showed up nearly 2hrs late to her shift. Not a single apology because I guess she does this often. Which meant I worked 18 hours. The exhaustion caused my body to break down and I fell ill. I I had to call in sick for my next 16hr shift. My job called me after I called off (with a dr's note confirming illness) and asked if I was planning on working the second half of my shift. Mind you, I am I health professional working in healthcare...and they won't even provide me with health benefits until 90 days of hire so I still have two months to go. Oh, and as for my employee "badge"...literally a flimsy piece of paper with my face on it & laminated.
Why doesn’t anyone do something instead of just talking about doing something………
Our ERs are so packed and have been for a few years now that you can't get seen for real emergencies even with insurance and a history of paying. When I broke my ankle, I waited in the waiting room for 5 hours after triage. I recently went in with extreme chest pain fully believing I was having a heart attack. The place was packed and I was shuffled in and out writhing in agony, but the moment the tests said it was something other than my heart, they wanted me out. I went home scared and hurting with no idea what to do about it. The system is toxic for everybody and is overwhelmed. Its purpose is very clearly profit rather than care.
Traveling nurses make a lot of money. And get a chance to see the country before they decide where they would like to stay longer.
Load More Replies... When I was in medical school I rotated with a bunch of Canadian medical students who 1. Loved universal Healthcare and 2. Wanted to practice in the US because it would Make them Much much richer here in the US. Made me sick.
That was all fixed by Obama, wasn't it. His top priority on entering the Presidency was to fix America's health care system. He's the president, he can do anything. So America's health care system was fixed, right?
I had to go to ER once in the US and once to a doctor. Both were very unpleasant, long waiting, high cost and I was misdiagnosed both times. Luckily my Swiss health insurance paid for it, but the service was absolutely useless and ridiculous.
The current yearly healthcare costs in the US is $3.6 or $3.7 TRILLION dollars. The most optimistic plan during the last presidential campaign aimed to get that cost down to $28 trillion over 10 years. The ONLY way that UHC happens, is everyone with a job, is paying 15-25% of their income towards the healthcare system. It is not, nor will it ever be "free". UHC prevents people from being unable to afford care, it does not prevent them from paying into the system. There is no solution in which the cost is offloaded entirely to "the rich" and Americans really seem to struggle with understanding this. Everyone is in favor of social programs up until the point they realize that funding those programs is going to raise their taxes. If you're working at McDonalds in denmark, earning $22/hr, you're handing over roughly 40% or so of your income to the government. That's what it takes to fund broad social programs. Absolutely EVERYONE contributes.
Thank you for saying it the real & honest way. Socialized Healthcare will not work, it has been proven
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