Introduction & My Experience
Dr. Sean Masaki Flynn starts off his discussion by explaining his experience with the healthcare system and some of the things he noticed as his mom went through with the requirements of becoming a doctor. He explained the tribulations his mom encountered of trying to get her own practice, but how it was much more difficult than it originally seemed. He then went on to explain some of the rules that doctors have, including seeing twelve patients an hour, which sounds absolutely insane to me. He then says how more and more people are choosing not to become doctors, even though they have the drive and grades for it, because instead they could be a nurse practitioner with normal hours on a fixed salary.
While not completely the same, I had a similar experience. I started college on the Pre-Veterinary tract, but after some more research and talking to some more vets I realized just how hard the job is. While the idea of helping animals sounds amazing to me, my goal is to work to live, not live to work. I still want to work with animals, but when you hear about the hours vets work and the heartache that they go through it just seems so tough. I also believe the veterinarians are grossly underpaid, only making a third of what human doctors do.
Country Healthcare Comparison
When comparing the United States health system to others, I know things can get a bit tricky. While I think there needs to be some changes I’m not quite sure on what should be implemented. I did appreciate when he compared the United States health system to Canada, as neither are perfect but I feel like we often get compared to them and how good their health system is, but there are some flaws there too. This includes what Dr. Flynn talked about regarding how many people who live in Canada will come to the United States to avoid the long lines of getting treatment. Something that I feel like is an urgent problem, as waiting can be detrimental to someone's health. However, I can also admit how sometimes going through insurance can be a pain, and there are flaws to our system as well.
In terms of billing, it can definitely be insane and I do feel like hospitals here in the United States will overcharge an insane amount and send it to insurance and it will be a jaw-dropping amount.
My Experience Pt 2
About two years ago, I had a concussion and was sent via ambulance to the hospital. I was only five miles away from the hospital and they tried to charge my insurance an astronomical amount. My insurance told me that the number they gave me was insane, and that it should only be worth half of it at most, and they were going to leave me with the rest of the bill. To me, it looks like most healthcare systems as a whole are flawed, and I really hope we can find something to change it.
What I Learned
This video as a whole was very educational for me. I was always told that when I graduate that I need to find a job with good insurance and benefits provided, but now it makes sense as to why. My job isn’t paying my taxes for me, so the insurance that they offer me is in a higher tax bracket. This is also what encourages a third party communicator, so it’s not just about me and my healthcare provider, but my insurance.
Healthy Competition
He goes on to say how Singapore actually has a level of competition for their healthcare. He asks us how many times we’ve known the price of the medical care we receive before we get it. We simply don’t, and when you think of it like that it’s crazy. I wouldn’t buy a car before I know the price and while I understand healthcare is necessary I would like to prepare for the cost in advance. I think that’s why getting an itemized bill nowadays is so important, because that way you at least know what you’re paying for, because now it seems like you get treatment and you’re just hit with a bill. So because of this, I do think price competition would be good for us. Granted, I know prices may fluctuate but a ballpark idea is a good idea, especially for the big cities when you do have multiple options.
This competition can help make prices go down while making quality of care go up. I think that healthy competition is a good thing, and maybe more upfront prices here may be a good thing. I can’t fully get on board with getting rid of insurance, because I have benefited from it greatly, but I like the idea of upfront prices and competition. I hope that this can be implemented and this could help our health care system improve!
Healthcare
A question I had is about how these grants and Singapore’s health care system would compare to things such as medicare and obamacare. He found that Singapore’s system was still exponentially better. I’m open to change, but would want more information and details on the systems we have here in America as I will admit my knowledge is still limited but I am open to learning so improvements can be made. I’m just not fully convinced that getting rid of insurance is the way to go.
