So what if we go “universal”? The hospital might say “well, you’re over 65 years old, and we have some 20-40 year olds already, so you’re just going to have to wait — sorry!”
Or, there’s just so much overflow compared to capacity that what is currently her 2 hour wait becomes a 10 or a 20 hour wait?
Heck, look at our county hospital here in Dallas — they estimate 20% of ER patients walk out of the hospital without seeing a doctor because of the lines. A man just died of a heart attack here — he waited in the ER for over 20 hours, nobody treated him and he died.
sounds like another lawsuit coming. 20 hrs is too long a wait. if i was a lawyer, i think i be sitting next to the er waiting to see what happens. afterall, i get paid either way – if i win….whoa, i would be able to hit the jackpot!
2 hours is not that long of a wait in the overall scheme of things. I realize that in this particular case it was the difference between paralyzed and not-paralyzed, but equipment is busy, people are busy, preparations must be made, all that jazz. Not everything can happen on a dime.
What time of day did it happen – how many staff were available – were there others in front of her? All of these questions seem important. I find that even if you have an appointment, you may have to wait a while because of other folks in line, delays due to scheduling, the list goes on and on. I think it was another case of juries picking the deep pockets.
An appointment? I didn’t know that you could make an appointment at the emergency room. Great concept! Charge a few $ more, and you can guarantee a time slot.
Lastbat,
2 hours is 1 hour and 59 minutes too long to wait. In the event of a head injury,
I would consider thie an emergency and would assume that the ER would get this done STAT. If this were you or a member of your family, I think you would agree.
Wouldn’t a possible bleed int he brain constitute an emergency? I wou=nder what was going on in the ER that day….I shudder to think.
Oh, FYI, when I had to go to the ER recently for Supraventricular Tachycardia
(a heart condition), I was told by the triage nurse I had to wait becuase the patient before me had kidney stones and was in too much pain….Boy, did my hubby get FURIOUS…..made such a scene that they took me in right away.
It’s just that only the illegals get treated for free. ER waits in S Fla average 4 hours because every illegal with 6 kids with colds are ahead of you in line. It’s the people that treat the ER like a primary care physician that drive up wait times and cost.
If they could ONLY treat true emergencies and turn away the rest the wait time would drop. Keep in mind down here there are clinics every few blocks that will treat any insured or cash paying patient- so the only way I’ll even go to ER is by ambulance so I’ll actually be treated. If I don’t need the ambulance I can go to the clinic and bypass ER completely.
What I don’t understand is why don’t more hospitals have after-hours urgent care facilities to deal with those patients who have non life-threatening emergencies?
Then they can take patients on a “pay as you go” basis.
I know of one hospital here that has this available for their pediatric patients. It would be a no-brainer to have this available to everyone. Then maybe the
ER’s won’t get clogged with non life-threatening emergencies.
By the way, what ever happened to treating
life-threatening emergencies first? The sore-throats later? Hmmmmm…….
All the hospitals have to do is put a guard in an ICE uniform and all the illegals would stay away but don’t worry Obamas health plan will give everyone free health care and you will never have to wait for treatment. He promises. Oh and with no tax increase for 95% of the people, just for 5% of the people. Wow.
That’s an easy one. The ACLU happened to treating the life-threatening emergencies first. If an illegal with a cold has to wait too long, the ACLU will promptly sue the hosital for ‘discrimination’. Everyone down here is afraid of it. Even the police are afraid of legal action if they arrest them on suspicion of a crime.
The problem is that the people who are clogging up the ER won’t pay for anything. That’s why they are IN the ER. So a clinic won’t do any good for them. They have to use the ER as primary because they aren’t going to pay a dime and the hospital can’t turn them away.
They do a traige- and two different departments to funnel the patients through. But they still have to triage every patient that comes in- that’s where the bog down is.
Don’t have on a heart attack or other illness that requires ER treatment on a Sun. There are literally a hundred or more waiting for treatment for colds, sore backs, etc. They work under the table and the only day they have to go to the doctor is Sunday. The only way to get bumped ahead of even a few of them is to come in by ambulance.
Obama wants to give everyone free health care. McCain wants to tax health care insurance premiums and give $5000 credit. (I pay $17K a year, so that $5K isn’t going to help me a bit)
They both want to have insurance sell plans across state lines. Like a company in Az is going to give the same plan/rates to someone in Fla. (McCain’s example at the debate) Obama wants to offer the ones that are dissatisified with their current plans the same plan he and McCaine have. (again, across state lines) That was his plan in the same debate. Sounds to me like they are both planning to take the insurance (at least health) out of the states regulation and make it federal.
Then they both want the illegals that are already here to find a way to become citizens.
What we need is a candidate who will put a stop to all the freebies for them. If the hospitals aren’t charging double to the insurance companies to cover the freebies, prices can be negotiated much more favorably. We need electronic health records in place to cut down on admin costs (and errors, if the studies are correct). both dropping premiums. We need a candidate who isn’t in the drug companies pockets that will negotiate with them on a larger scale. (that’s why Canada’s drugs are so much cheaper- the VA does it, and it works for them as well)
Neither candidate seems to have any real plan to fix the problem. Pretty much like the economy. Throw a bandaid on it and hope for the best.
You know Dawn, I feel really bad for you guys down there. It is kind of scary, isn’t it?
The more I think about Universal health care in this country, the more I cringe at the idea. Sounds good on the surface, but the more and more you read about horror stories like this one, the more and more unappealing universal health care sounds.
Also, who in the world is going to pay for this? Not Uncle Sam nor the insurance companies, that’s for sure…..the little guy gets picked again! (This is one ball game I wish we didn’t have to get picked for)! :)
I’ve heard good and bad about socialized medicine. But the good stories are as good as what we have now and the bad are no worse then what we have now. So maybe it’s a toss up?
But the one fact remains that the people who drain the system and put nothing into it are a HUGE part of the problem. Not just illegals. We just have so many thousands of illegals dragging down our system here you can’t ignore it.
Our entire social system needs to be overhauled. There have to be incentives to work. Now it’s incentive to stay home and breed. And the single biggest incentive to sneak into this country is the free money and healthcare if you show up with your hand out. (don’t say work- work doesn’t count if they only work for $10 an hour because we’re paying for everything else) The unemployment rate in Texas is high, and Ike SHOULD have created a lot of jobs. But they are looking for illegals here to take to Texas to work cheap. A couple of truck loads a week from here to work there instead of hiring a US citizen that needs the work and is already there.
I don’t believe that our healthcare system, economic system, or any program stands a chance until that problem is resolved first.
It’s pure speculation whether or not the delay caused the paralysis. A 71 year old has the skull density of an egg and since she already had a fracured skull the damage was already in process. Maybe there were other priority patients….like ones who had their whole live ahead of them and/or had insurance. People need to face the realities of life. The system ain’t perfect and nobody should expect it to be.
Unless our highly compensated politicians and medical insurers find a solution, this type of situation will only intensify. With limited facilities and reimbursements shrinking annually by medical insurers, some hard decisions will have to be made regarding who gets what level of care. A 71 year old skull fx victim isn’t going to rank too high on the list. She lived a long life; she’s probably on medicare/medicaid that pays squat; her chances for recovery to any quality of life are probably low. Here comes’s the big question: how much is society willing and able to pay things like CAT scans and extended care?
why should it matter, because if it was me, i’d want to treated no matter what age i am. if you were younger, do you deserve better care? i think you need to rethink; why shud age matter?
If you are over 70, we need to to take a tip from the Eskimos. Over 70 and your health care consists of a blanket to keep you warm on the iceberg that you get floated out to sea on. Bye Bye.
The key question is who was the judge; who was plaintiff’s counsel; where was this case tried (what county of NYC). This case stands more for how Med Mal cases play out in the NYC courts and that turns on the talents of the attorneys for both sides and what judge oversaw the case and his/her bias than it does for broader issues of the medical treatment. A paralysis victim is a very sympathetic plaintiff and the defense may have been forced to go to verdict to deal with larger settlement demands than the award; bottom line is that this case does not stand for any policy or trend as much as it is about its own facts and trial.
Some people on this message board have to re-think their position on who gets medical care first. I wonder if you’ll be saying the same thing when you turn 70….geez…don’t you guys know that
“70” is the new “60”? By the time you reach “70”, it will probably be the new “30”….since we are all living longer, I’m not so sure you’d be willing to give up your “place in line”.
As to Universal Medical care, I say “phooey”…keep health insurance privatized and the government out of our lives.
Ned, I’m 52 and if I were having my SVT’s, I would think that the “20-something” behind me with a terrible head cold could wait before I had a heart attack….as well as the 20-something that was having “kidney stone” pain (please read my prior posts).I would think a heart condition would take priority over anything. I don’t think you read this thread thoroughly…that is, are you ready to “chuck it all”? …..I’m not….I don’t think you would be ready either if it were you having the heart attack….Unless you are terminally ill, please stop being so self-rightous.
I am 56 and I would give my place in line in a SECOND for a young person to receive quicker med care. Just wanted you to know that not all feel the way you do – some of us WOULD move out of the way.
So what if we go “universal”? The hospital might say “well, you’re over 65 years old, and we have some 20-40 year olds already, so you’re just going to have to wait — sorry!”
Or, there’s just so much overflow compared to capacity that what is currently her 2 hour wait becomes a 10 or a 20 hour wait?
Heck, look at our county hospital here in Dallas — they estimate 20% of ER patients walk out of the hospital without seeing a doctor because of the lines. A man just died of a heart attack here — he waited in the ER for over 20 hours, nobody treated him and he died.
sounds like another lawsuit coming. 20 hrs is too long a wait. if i was a lawyer, i think i be sitting next to the er waiting to see what happens. afterall, i get paid either way – if i win….whoa, i would be able to hit the jackpot!
2 hours is not that long of a wait in the overall scheme of things. I realize that in this particular case it was the difference between paralyzed and not-paralyzed, but equipment is busy, people are busy, preparations must be made, all that jazz. Not everything can happen on a dime.
I would be interested in knowing what cases were ahead of her. Was this a case of poor triaging or simply too many high needs patients?
What time of day did it happen – how many staff were available – were there others in front of her? All of these questions seem important. I find that even if you have an appointment, you may have to wait a while because of other folks in line, delays due to scheduling, the list goes on and on. I think it was another case of juries picking the deep pockets.
An appointment? I didn’t know that you could make an appointment at the emergency room. Great concept! Charge a few $ more, and you can guarantee a time slot.
Lastbat,
2 hours is 1 hour and 59 minutes too long to wait. In the event of a head injury,
I would consider thie an emergency and would assume that the ER would get this done STAT. If this were you or a member of your family, I think you would agree.
Wouldn’t a possible bleed int he brain constitute an emergency? I wou=nder what was going on in the ER that day….I shudder to think.
Oh, FYI, when I had to go to the ER recently for Supraventricular Tachycardia
(a heart condition), I was told by the triage nurse I had to wait becuase the patient before me had kidney stones and was in too much pain….Boy, did my hubby get FURIOUS…..made such a scene that they took me in right away.
Sadly, sometimes it’s a case of “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
It’s just that only the illegals get treated for free. ER waits in S Fla average 4 hours because every illegal with 6 kids with colds are ahead of you in line. It’s the people that treat the ER like a primary care physician that drive up wait times and cost.
If they could ONLY treat true emergencies and turn away the rest the wait time would drop. Keep in mind down here there are clinics every few blocks that will treat any insured or cash paying patient- so the only way I’ll even go to ER is by ambulance so I’ll actually be treated. If I don’t need the ambulance I can go to the clinic and bypass ER completely.
Dawn,
What I don’t understand is why don’t more hospitals have after-hours urgent care facilities to deal with those patients who have non life-threatening emergencies?
Then they can take patients on a “pay as you go” basis.
I know of one hospital here that has this available for their pediatric patients. It would be a no-brainer to have this available to everyone. Then maybe the
ER’s won’t get clogged with non life-threatening emergencies.
By the way, what ever happened to treating
life-threatening emergencies first? The sore-throats later? Hmmmmm…….
All the hospitals have to do is put a guard in an ICE uniform and all the illegals would stay away but don’t worry Obamas health plan will give everyone free health care and you will never have to wait for treatment. He promises. Oh and with no tax increase for 95% of the people, just for 5% of the people. Wow.
That’s an easy one. The ACLU happened to treating the life-threatening emergencies first. If an illegal with a cold has to wait too long, the ACLU will promptly sue the hosital for ‘discrimination’. Everyone down here is afraid of it. Even the police are afraid of legal action if they arrest them on suspicion of a crime.
The problem is that the people who are clogging up the ER won’t pay for anything. That’s why they are IN the ER. So a clinic won’t do any good for them. They have to use the ER as primary because they aren’t going to pay a dime and the hospital can’t turn them away.
They do a traige- and two different departments to funnel the patients through. But they still have to triage every patient that comes in- that’s where the bog down is.
Don’t have on a heart attack or other illness that requires ER treatment on a Sun. There are literally a hundred or more waiting for treatment for colds, sore backs, etc. They work under the table and the only day they have to go to the doctor is Sunday. The only way to get bumped ahead of even a few of them is to come in by ambulance.
Obama wants to give everyone free health care. McCain wants to tax health care insurance premiums and give $5000 credit. (I pay $17K a year, so that $5K isn’t going to help me a bit)
They both want to have insurance sell plans across state lines. Like a company in Az is going to give the same plan/rates to someone in Fla. (McCain’s example at the debate) Obama wants to offer the ones that are dissatisified with their current plans the same plan he and McCaine have. (again, across state lines) That was his plan in the same debate. Sounds to me like they are both planning to take the insurance (at least health) out of the states regulation and make it federal.
Then they both want the illegals that are already here to find a way to become citizens.
What we need is a candidate who will put a stop to all the freebies for them. If the hospitals aren’t charging double to the insurance companies to cover the freebies, prices can be negotiated much more favorably. We need electronic health records in place to cut down on admin costs (and errors, if the studies are correct). both dropping premiums. We need a candidate who isn’t in the drug companies pockets that will negotiate with them on a larger scale. (that’s why Canada’s drugs are so much cheaper- the VA does it, and it works for them as well)
Neither candidate seems to have any real plan to fix the problem. Pretty much like the economy. Throw a bandaid on it and hope for the best.
You know Dawn, I feel really bad for you guys down there. It is kind of scary, isn’t it?
The more I think about Universal health care in this country, the more I cringe at the idea. Sounds good on the surface, but the more and more you read about horror stories like this one, the more and more unappealing universal health care sounds.
Also, who in the world is going to pay for this? Not Uncle Sam nor the insurance companies, that’s for sure…..the little guy gets picked again! (This is one ball game I wish we didn’t have to get picked for)! :)
I’ve heard good and bad about socialized medicine. But the good stories are as good as what we have now and the bad are no worse then what we have now. So maybe it’s a toss up?
But the one fact remains that the people who drain the system and put nothing into it are a HUGE part of the problem. Not just illegals. We just have so many thousands of illegals dragging down our system here you can’t ignore it.
Our entire social system needs to be overhauled. There have to be incentives to work. Now it’s incentive to stay home and breed. And the single biggest incentive to sneak into this country is the free money and healthcare if you show up with your hand out. (don’t say work- work doesn’t count if they only work for $10 an hour because we’re paying for everything else) The unemployment rate in Texas is high, and Ike SHOULD have created a lot of jobs. But they are looking for illegals here to take to Texas to work cheap. A couple of truck loads a week from here to work there instead of hiring a US citizen that needs the work and is already there.
I don’t believe that our healthcare system, economic system, or any program stands a chance until that problem is resolved first.
It’s pure speculation whether or not the delay caused the paralysis. A 71 year old has the skull density of an egg and since she already had a fracured skull the damage was already in process. Maybe there were other priority patients….like ones who had their whole live ahead of them and/or had insurance. People need to face the realities of life. The system ain’t perfect and nobody should expect it to be.
can’t use the insurance — remember, under their own code, it does not matter, whether they have or have not insurance…
question: how many were in front? was there someone else already in the catscan? would it have made a difference in causing the paralyzation?
Unless our highly compensated politicians and medical insurers find a solution, this type of situation will only intensify. With limited facilities and reimbursements shrinking annually by medical insurers, some hard decisions will have to be made regarding who gets what level of care. A 71 year old skull fx victim isn’t going to rank too high on the list. She lived a long life; she’s probably on medicare/medicaid that pays squat; her chances for recovery to any quality of life are probably low. Here comes’s the big question: how much is society willing and able to pay things like CAT scans and extended care?
why should it matter, because if it was me, i’d want to treated no matter what age i am. if you were younger, do you deserve better care? i think you need to rethink; why shud age matter?
If you are over 70, we need to to take a tip from the Eskimos. Over 70 and your health care consists of a blanket to keep you warm on the iceberg that you get floated out to sea on. Bye Bye.
The key question is who was the judge; who was plaintiff’s counsel; where was this case tried (what county of NYC). This case stands more for how Med Mal cases play out in the NYC courts and that turns on the talents of the attorneys for both sides and what judge oversaw the case and his/her bias than it does for broader issues of the medical treatment. A paralysis victim is a very sympathetic plaintiff and the defense may have been forced to go to verdict to deal with larger settlement demands than the award; bottom line is that this case does not stand for any policy or trend as much as it is about its own facts and trial.
Some people on this message board have to re-think their position on who gets medical care first. I wonder if you’ll be saying the same thing when you turn 70….geez…don’t you guys know that
“70” is the new “60”? By the time you reach “70”, it will probably be the new “30”….since we are all living longer, I’m not so sure you’d be willing to give up your “place in line”.
As to Universal Medical care, I say “phooey”…keep health insurance privatized and the government out of our lives.
Ned, I’m 52 and if I were having my SVT’s, I would think that the “20-something” behind me with a terrible head cold could wait before I had a heart attack….as well as the 20-something that was having “kidney stone” pain (please read my prior posts).I would think a heart condition would take priority over anything. I don’t think you read this thread thoroughly…that is, are you ready to “chuck it all”? …..I’m not….I don’t think you would be ready either if it were you having the heart attack….Unless you are terminally ill, please stop being so self-rightous.
I am 56 and I would give my place in line in a SECOND for a young person to receive quicker med care. Just wanted you to know that not all feel the way you do – some of us WOULD move out of the way.