SICKO: Movie

[Mark Grumpy]

just because they were too lazy to make an appointment a month earlier.)

Well then, dangit, that makes it an emergency doesn't it?? :lol:



Maybe the problem is in the name, emergency room. Let's change it to After Routine Business Hours Critical for Life and/or Limb Treatment Facility.



Seriously though, let's not blame it on the kids. It's the parents' fault that they either didn't schedule preventative maintenance or that they are hypochondriacs and a sniff = full blown pneumonia.

 

[Jeff C]

working 80+ hours a week breathing lawn mower fumes in 100 degree weather, standing in a steam and bleach filled room

Try 90-100 hour weeks in 102+ degree 99% humidity weather, breathing lawn mower fumes, and instead of bleach, it's pesticides and other chemicals. I've worked right next to illegals, knowing full well they were being paid cash and were making more than me because I was paying taxes. Yeah, I have no idea what hard work is...6am to 10pm with 2 jobs, you're right, that's not hard at all. Yes, I've had a lot of things handed to me thanks to my parents and grandparents. My grandparents were immigrants. My dad's grandparents left Europe during the first World War (or because of it, rather) and my mom's parents came over during the second World War, and my grandma can still remember the sounds. When my grandpa was a kid they would chase the vegetable truck hoping stuff would fall off so they could have dinner. He worked for the gov't for 60 years of his life before retiring (earning more on retirement than both my parents combined). My grandparents worked to provide a better life for my parents, and they worked to provide a better life for me and my siblings, which included moving out of New Orleans so that I could go to better schools, but still public schools (which from what my sister tells me is now about 1/4 non English speaking Central American students). I had to (and still have to) work my butt off for school, they don't just hand out engineering degrees.



So, after generations of hard work, I'm supposed to support someone who doesn't respect the country enough to come in legally? I'll stay on my high horse, pay for my insurance, and provide for my kids. I have a job now where I only work about 40-50 hours a week, I have medical, and could have dental insurance if I wanted to. I'm a 21 year old guy working while going to school, and I have insurance, and I pay my bills. There's no excuse for another adult to be unable to afford insurance.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

A large portion of this thread turned into an ER bashing set of posts. The overcrowded ER and ER used for preventative medicine by those that don't/can't go elsewhere isn't the problem, but is instead a symptom of a larger problem or set of problems.



TJR

 

[Bill V]

Seriously though, let's not blame it on the kids.

Agreed. I apologize if it came across any other way.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Jeff C said

There's no excuse for another adult to be unable to afford insurance.

Sure there are:



#1. Can't afford to pay for it themselves because:



a. They don't make enough to pay for basic coverage.



b. Are unlucky enough to have a loved one that has a pre-existing condition that causes insurance to be unaffordable.







#2. Simply not qualified for any jobs in the area that offer coverage as a benefit and cannot move outside the area because:



a. Family situation (may have to live with an area as part of custody, etc).



b. Simply does not have the money to relocate.





Those are two reasons and sub-reasons. But then, I guess the generic comeback to them is "well it was their CHOICES" that limited them in that way..., which of course is true for many, but not all.



TJR

 

[Chris Kulbaba]

You're so lucky you get to work in those conditions just so you can afford to live...



Lol, thats hilarious! You want to be patted on the back because the citizens and the government has made your life so bad that you need to work obscene amounts of hours in obscene conditions... To afford medical insurance, food, rent, and possibly a vehicle or maybe if you work another job 2 vehicles....Im not to sure this is a good thing to defend your country.

 

[Adam Smith 2]

Try 90-100 hour weeks in 102+ degree 99% humidity weather, breathing lawn mower fumes, and instead of bleach, it's pesticides and other chemicals.

Now try to imagine that as the rest of your working life, even after you're married with kids, not just something you had to sweat through a couple summers before going off to engineering school.

Yes, I've had a lot of things handed to me thanks to my parents and grandparents. My grandparents were immigrants.

Right, and their hard work ain't your hard work. Sounds like your parents and grandparents really did work their butts off, just as new immigrants are still doing today, legal or not. Keep in mind I'm not saying you aren't working hard, but it's all relative.

I had to (and still have to) work my butt off for school, they don't just hand out engineering degrees.

I know how much work it is, I have my BSEE from Syracuse University '96. But would I rather have spent 4 years mowing lawns for cash? Hell no! Getting the opportunity to afford an engineering degree in the first place is a priviledge most don't have. And I'm still paying for mine, 22 years later.

 

[Dingo]

In my engineering school, they taught us that 2007-1996=11.

 

[Jeff C]

Getting the opportunity to afford an engineering degree in the first place is a priviledge most don't have.

Scholarships? Again, working hard pays off for the future. You sure you got your money's worth? '96 was only 11 years ago...how long were you in school for?



And XST, I didn't have to work in those conditions to live, I only need one job, but all my friends were home last summer so I said f' it and got a second job to kill time and make extra cash.

 

[Les]

"Live Free, Die Hard" posts = 4

"SICKO" post = 69



I will see "Live Free, Die Hard", and even for free I would not see "SICKO"...



And Adam S, if you got your degree in "96", by my calculations it's only been eleven

years, not 22...

 

[Les]

 

[Adam Smith 2]

And Adam S, if you got your degree in "96", by my calculations it's only been eleven

years, not 22...

Yes, that is correct. But you've already figured out what I was trying to type, so point not lost I hope.



Had I actually graduated 22 years ago with a BSEE at age 10, I'd probably be famous. That would be pretty sweet, but alas, too late to try for that now.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Hell, I say we all move to Canada. This way we can "voice our opinions" and the Gov. will listen.



As a "healthcare worker", I get to see on a daily basis what the "healthcare" problems are. The rising costs due to Insurance companies saying to the hospitals "this is what we are going to pay you for the services rendured", when the hospital is saying "this is what it cost". The Gov. does need to step in and settle the arguement. Just my opinion. Costs could go down if the hospitals got paid what it cost to do the exams. For example, the base charge for a CT (Cat Scan) is in the neighborhood of $2000. The insurance companies are only going to pay us $1500. Where does the other $500 come from? Unfortunately the patient. Do I know of any hospital that turns patients away? NOPE. We have signs all over our hospital that say, "if you don't have insurance, we can not refuse to treat you". It called "The Patients Bill Of Rights". Am I saying it doesn't happen? I can't. What I can say is it never happened at any hospital that I worked at here in Pa.



As for Micheal Moore, I wish he'd just fade into the background. I have not and will not ever watch one of his movies.



Again, just my opinion.

 

[Bill V]

Now try to imagine that as the rest of your working life, even after you're married with kids, not just something you had to sweat through a couple summers before going off to engineering school.

I'll take you up on that. I'm going to imagine being in that situation.



Hmmm...You know what I see when I'm in this situation? It SUCKS! So instead of staying in that situation, I'm going to pursue means that will lead to a better life for me--means which include legal pursuit of citizenship, improved education (and your line about "Getting the opportunity to afford an engineering degree in the first place is a priviledge most don't have" is utter nonsense--that opportunity is available to anyone who puts their mind to it), and resultant better job with better pay and better benefits. All of these are available to anyone who cares to pursue them.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Stone, there is no valid reason a Cat Scan should cost $2K. None that I can see. I know the reason that they do cost that much....but few of them are valid. Even if the equipment cost $1M dollars and operators were paid 200K a year to operate the machinery, etc, then the machine pays for itself after 600 scans...2 or 3 a day. Were is all the money going?



TJR

 

[TomT]

Insurance companies know what a procedure should cost but many hospitals are forced to make up for the loss from non-paying customers. That's the problem with our present system. It's unfair to us that have insurance and money. It's great for those that don't.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

I've only been to an emergency room once, but I was wisked straight in ahead of everyone. Of course I had a heart rate over 200 that wouldn't go away on its own. It was later diagnosed as SupraVentricular Tachycardia (SVT). Not life-threatening, but a little scary.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

TJR, I know what you are saying, and I know it doesn't make sence, but we have to charge that much because of the reason if we only charged $100, we would only get $10 from the companies. Is it right? No. There are so much that goes on "under the wire" that is such BS. We spend more time making sure all the paperwork is straight, if it's not, the companies won't pay. They keep changing the "charges" on us and if we don't keep up with it, the hospital has to "eat" the charge (most people won't pay and I can't blame them). This is the first hospital that I've work for that I spend more time with the paperwork, than I do actually taking the x-rays just to make sure the companies pay, not the patient.



On another note, Yes the scanner only costs $1M (we just got another to help with patient flow and it was close to the $2M mark), but the hospital also has to pay the trained tech's wage, the electricity to run the scanner (not cheap since it takes ALOT of power to run and is running constantly), and for the repairs when the tube's go. We go through an average of about 3-4 tubes a year (due to patient load, we have a 3 week waiting period for scheduled patients) at about $250K each and the sevice company is charging $100-$150 an hour. (it takes about 10 hours to put one in, get it calibrated and software upgraded)

 

[Gavin Allan]

Education is free in this country? I don't think so. Like so much else in this country the value and quality of what you get is based on what you pay.



Like I said, the I think the reality is that most that claim to have worked hard and made good choices and are in the upper-middle class because of it really have won the "born to good parents" lottery. If you were like me, you were born to parents that wanted better for you then they had, and they were born to parents that thought the same.



TJR

If a person works hard, gets good grades in high school, or applies for scholarships and grants, he/she can get a degree and or skilled training for free.



The military even pays you to go to college or trade school.



It is the lazy and the folks with no sense of personal responsibility who are the problem.



Sure, being born from weathy parents can help, if the kids don't blow all mom and dad's money, which is what happens most of the time. However, the attraction of EQUAL ACCESS TO UNLIMITED OPPORTUNITY is what keeps folks wanting to come to the US.



If folks are too stupid or lazy to get health insurance or get a job to pay for their health care, let 'em suffer.

 

[gary s]

holy crap, i have to say, i agree with caymen ! and some of you others as well.

i am in the healthcare field as well, and in general, the better your insurance, the better the care.

btw, do you guy's know where i can find "workers" to cut and landscape my lawn :lol: