Don’t forget about Hints from Hell!
Here are a list of industrialized countries with some form of universal health care. These countries are populated with borderline Commies who have outrageous taxes and horrendous doctors. These countries are full of waiting rooms, which are filled with sick, sick pinko people.
The two “modern” countries without UHC. These countries are full of empty waiting rooms and the healthiest, happiest, longest-lived people in the world.
The lesson of the day is Sometimes it’s okay to go along with the crowd, because the crowd may know better than you do.
EDIT: Along the theme of today’s Lesson, here are the countries of the world that have not yet officially adopted the metric system (courtesy wikimedia). Click thumbnail. Commence sigh.
Friday, June 29, 2007 at 10:23 pm
we should socialize medicine! down with the US healthcare system!
Saturday, June 30, 2007 at 3:10 pm
michael moore is right!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007 at 8:56 am
Australia is a “Commie Pinko country”???
I’d rather be in Australia if I was terribly ill than in the U.S….that’s for sure!!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Health care should be a SERVICE not an INDUSTRY at the expense of its’ people.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007 at 2:06 pm
You are a complete asshole! There is no reason to even try and have a discussion with an asshole like you, about the most important issue in our country: Healthcare. We do not have a good Healthcare system. You lie about people waiting in long lines. You are afraid of Socialism………not Communism. Socialism. You of little mind and little wit have no clue of the difference in Socialism and Communism. You can still have a thriving economy and have a mix of Capitalism and Socialism. Its not all or none. You of little with and little mind, are either all or nothing, hot or cold, black or white, on or off……You have no good input and nothing of any solution offer other than you extreme selfishness and self centeredness. Have fun talking to your rich and ignorant self. Forget the rest of the world…….they are dumb right? They are of little importance to you right? Forget what Jesus taught about loving and respecting and helping one another…….while you go to Church and pray for only you……..nobody else. Do I have it right righty?????????????
Monday, October 19, 2009 at 8:00 pm
You need to read everything that is written up there… he’s obviously being sarcastic, you pick that up with the fact that he shows the 3 countries that don’t follow the metric system and right above that is the statement “Sometimes it’s okay to go along with the crowd, because the crowd may know better than you do.” Which also goes along with the 20 ought countries listed under socialized healthcare, and the 2 under non socialized! In this case I believe you are the ignorant one.
Friday, August 3, 2007 at 7:23 pm
I guess this guy means the opposite. The long list contains the countries with a good health care system. :p I live in the Netherlands and I’m never ever going to move to the USA without a shit load of money to cover my back. Cause that seems to be the only way to live a healthy life in the USA.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at 7:21 pm
You are right about needing a tremendous amount of money to stay healthy. I am a teacher and so is my wife, we rarely go to the doctor, but we paid (and currently still owe) around $7000 for the birth of our first child and $3000 for the birth of our second. This does not include all of the required shots and doctors visits during the first few years.
Financially we would be much better off if we weren’t constantly paying $200 – $500 per month for our deliveries.
– If we can do it with our libraries, our schools, our police and fire departments, then why can’t we do it with our health care. WTF?
Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I am fortunate enough to be Canadian. I just feel that this issue in the unites states sets a precedent for acceptance of murders of millions of people (both within and without the U.S., by the hands of the U.S. government and many indifferent americans.) If people within the U.S. can stand by silently (and fight higher taxes that it would take to pay for universal healthcare) as their fellow humans die in the name of money, of course they can sit by and allow millions of people worldwide be murdered and left to die by American hands for the same abstract commodity.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 1:00 am
I like it! I thought this was serious at first!
Seriously, I’m beginning to realize that the reason the USA has it’s health care system is because of Social Darwinian “survial of the fittest” ideology. Poor people, especially black ones and especially their babies, are SUPPOSED to die in this country’s warped ideology. It’s so much easier than using concentration camps or throwing the newborns into the Nile. There’s no other explanation why the “richest country in the world” would behave this way that I can think of.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 12:04 pm
I hope you are insulting him because you know him and not because of his stand against Universal Heatlhcare. The economist from the UK was on TV talking about how England has suffered finacially since they went socialized Healthcare. He said that Canada is the model we in the US always hold up. That it is not all it cracked up to be. Hillary says it will cost 200 million to convert. That is hilarious. We have three hundred million people here and the cost for that monstrocity would be five trillion a year. Most of you have no concept of how much that is. Our whole budge comes to 2.5 trillion. Something you don’t hear the candidates of either party talk about is our economy. After the last six years and the terrible expenses we have to do something to help our economy. Some saw the answer as letting sixty million Mexicans in as citizens to pay taxes and pay into SSA. But further look showed they work at too low pay and sixty per cent needed to use at least one welfare program. Millions of illegals flooded California and eighty of their hospitals closed, because they could not abosrb the cost of the indigents. Someone has to pay for those programs. Who? You the American Taxpayer. There would be massive tax hikes. With too many of our factories moved out of the country, our high tech being cloned and taken over by China, and the housing buble bursting we have to look at the dynamics of our economy. We have a huge national debt of 1.7 trillion and a deficit of 1.5 trillion. Bush took money out of SSA for the war that should be going to the present retirees. Can you imagine a little eighty year old woman who is on SSI and disability who gets a check of 630 a month living in uper Minnesota where heat bills are soaring and fuel for the car is rising again. She can’t afford the food she needs for her diabetic diet and she keeps all the lights turned down. There are millions of people on a fixed income and they pay high taxes on their houses and cars and the price of food has gone up. They often choose between medicine and food. I am for some socialization balanced by a healthy capitalist system. But we don’t have candidates addressing our ecomony, the national debt, or the recent tricks of the Federal reserve. I know you are caring people. I just ask that you consider the consequence of our going Universal Heathcare right now. Our college students will be working soon at good jobs and will be able to afford insurance. A working persnon’s check today has nearly forty per cent taken out in Taxes. Isn’t that enough. Do you want to pay for the drunks, the lazy druggies, and the illegal’s healthcare through higher taxes?
Thursday, October 18, 2007 at 3:54 pm
this list isnt completely correct
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 7:18 pm
our health care sucks shit, our ELEMENTARY schools are closing, and we a fighting absurd wars on two fronts and our fuckface leader and his idiotic minions are working on a third, to the tune of millions of our tax dollars A DAY. but what the hell, they’re making money. so what if a few people die in the process.
we need a revolution, folks.
either that or I’m taking the family and giving up on this goddamn country.
Saturday, November 24, 2007 at 7:23 pm
We have lost the sense of community in America. I would not mind paying higher taxes if those taxes went towards universal comprehesive coverage for all. I think this is the truest form of patriotism, helping your fellow American become healthy is a truly noble idea indeed, but it is attainable. Maybe if Americans were able to take more of their hard earned money home, instead of paying the rediculous imcome taxes we currently pay, they would be more inclined to pay some of that money back into a healthcare system to HELP others. The powers that be have created a divide and conquer system that makes people say I,I,I. There can be an I within the WE. Yes, there are druggies, drunks, and people that have fallen on hard times. Are they any less human? Are they less worthy of basic healthcare? Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, if this group of people had access to basic healthcare, it could lead to a change in their lives? Who knows, it’s just food for thought. In my humble opinion, this single issue could change the entire conciousness of America. I give you this, imagine a mother and father waking up in the morning not having to worry that if they got hurt or sick, they wouldnt lose their life(i.e bankruptcy)because of it. Imagine, you could apply for a job, and take, or not take the job based on it’s merit and pay…not benefits. Which by the way, is the perverbial carrot that is dangled in front of you by your employer. How many people in America do you think stay at a particular job, even though they may hate it, beause they have a family, and couldn’t afford health care if they left and they can’t take that risk? What if that wasnt an issue? Do you think employers may treat people with more respect, because no matter what they could get treatment and not worry about bankruptcy? One could find a job they like because the JOB, not the benefits. Could they then come home happier becaue they are at a job they actually like? Maybe have dinner with the kids and wife? “Hey hunny, how was your day?” “Amazing, I love my job, my boss i great!”… Imagine that conversation at the dinner table, and it not be a lie. What if those same families could take the money they spend on healthcare, and apply it to their mortgage or credit card debt? But wait a minute, once you give American’s the chance to decrease the debt and burden on themsleves, you give them a chance to open their eyes and look at what is going on and question it, and that is a dangerous thought to some people. How can we help other nations, when we cant take care of our own people? That would be like me having a family, yet, I’m going through a divorce, I have a kid in prison and one in rehab…but I’m going to tell you how to raise a family…doesnt make sense in that context does it? A healthy America will lead to a healthy America. We are the only country in the industrialzed world without some form of healthcare. What does everyone else know that we don’t? NO system is perfect, wether it be healthcare or education or insert name here… What we need to do is LEARN from other countries that have these systems. Learn what is good about a particular system and what isn’t, and develop our system accordingly. Last I checked, doctors took an oath to help the sick…nowhere does it mention money. And this simple thing, MONEY, is where our system is inherently flawed. This system has created the greed that is so prevalent today. I have heard this arguement, “you are going to get less talented doctors because they are going to make less money”. My retort, you won’t get less talented doctors, but you will get doctors who are in the profession for the right reasons, i.e helping the sick get healthy and stay healthy. Instead of pharmaceutical and insurance companies corrupting the system with money to deny claims and prescribe certain drugs…what about the doctors being “corrupted” by the taxpayers money by paying bonuses to those doctors who help patients get healthy. What a noble concept…they actually get paid to get, and keep people healthy. The government would then have a vested interest to negotiate and regualte drug prices because the government would be paying for these drugs. Some things require sacrifice. If that means we pay more taxes for everyone to have basic health care, so be it. But if we are going to be a strong country, it has to start at home. To those of you that ask “why should I pay for the homeless bum to have health care?” I ask you, why not? Your neighbor would be contributing to your basic health care needs too, as is HIS brother and the mayor, a nurse, a teacher….That is a community, a NATION. That is PATRIOTISM. Never judge a man until you have walked a mile in shoes. Life is not set in stone, one day it could be you on the side of street, sick and homeless.
Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Very Well put.
Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Whoever Said that the U.S. and Mexico have the greatest healthcare in the world is a f-ing moron. You are just like all the other idiots who follow the leader over the side of a cliff. How ignorant can this person be anyway? You have no understanding of the difference between a communism and socialism. Do you have any idea what is going on, OUTSIDE OF THE US? You probably listen to your fellow ignorant friends like Rush Limba or Bill O Rylle. I dont know how someone with a brain can just listen to them and swallow that shit!
Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 6:04 pm
We as Americans owe Mr. Moore a huge THANK YOU ! He has opened our eyes to a government and health care system that not only stinks but they are sucking the life out of us. So is the housing industry. What I personally am wondering is : Is it gradual mind control or population control?? Or maybe both?? What stinks worse is that the rest of these countries are shaking their heads and laughing at how insane we all must be for allowing this crap to happen. Let’s wake up America and take back what is ours while we can. Before we are so sick, destitute and homeless that we just roll over to get kicked again. That is where all this is headed as far as I can see it. Right now is the time to wake up and make a change.
Monday, December 10, 2007 at 10:18 am
I am fed up with the US and I would like to relocate to another country with universal health care and less greed and a little more compassion for others. I am a nurse and I am having a hard time finding info on relocating and if I need to start over with my education… Also my husband is a social worker. Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 6:06 am
You forgot Israel, Malta, Costa Rica, the UAE, South Korea, and, Chile. And all of these countries (with the exception of the former soviet bloc countries) have higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rates than the United States. And you are right to catigorize Mexico with the United States on quality of life. Because we all know how great the quality of life is in Mexico, what does that say about the American quality of life?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 12:10 am
the health care issue is futile. yea UHC would be great, once most of the country stops crying over higher taxes. then you face the problem with this power going over to the government whose corrupt nature caused this in teh first place. I say move to Europe before the US empire falls. anyone wanna come?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 12:12 am
btw, if anyones intereted in more i guess you can say “eye opening” documentaries, here are a few to look into. you can watch most on google video, or segments on youtube. “9/11 confronting the evidence”, or “Into the Wilderness” Mike ruppert plays a big part in both of those.
Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 8:18 pm
ok for the people geting angry at what he said, he is being sarcastic. this just shows you how bad our helth care system is. And yes people actually believe that universal health care is “socialized”, despite that a large majority of europian countries have a universal healthcare system and have a democratic form of gov’t.
OBAMA 08
Sunday, April 13, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I think that you are wrong about socialized health care. In the United Kingdom the National Health Service has made reforms. It now only takes a month for any cancer patient to start treatment and 18 weeks for other operations. Universal Health care a socialist idea not a communist one. In the United States it is almost impossibe to cover everyone unforuntely. This is why you should go to Europe for treatment if you have no insurance. Hopefully in the future the government will figure out how to help the few who cannot afford insurance. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 12:19 pm
You all do not get it a doctor can not turn you away for not being able to pay! People are not dying because they do not have health care. Period. Get a better job go back to school quit complaining, health care is a business as it should be. Whats next will the commies i mean democrats stop allowing conservative broadcasts? Oh wait they are trying. We have the highest quality doctors in the world, waits are manageable, and doctors are well payed for their 12 years of higher education. Socialized health care calls for doctors to be payed how much $80,000 a year? So all your labor makes you middle class. The people who goofed off their whole life get to use your money and keep more of their own. This is known as leveling, this is not a good idea we would have one HUGE middle class. We need some of all classes. What works for others may not work for us. Think about this people… we are the only super power left this country will prosper if we can keep our liberty if not we will see the fall of this great super power.
Monday, April 28, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I am an American, and lived in the UK. The healthcare was phenomenal; what struck me was that when you went in for care all they wanted was to help improve your physical condition. Here, in the US, however, the first words are: “What’s your insurance? How will you pay?” It’s quite pathetic that a country that is ostensible the most well endowed, culturally, technologically and so forth, the one that is deemed the most evolved, of course only by Americans, operates a medical system that cares not a whit for its people, only for their money. Someone could be standing there, bleeding from every orifice, and the automoton receptionists would say: “Sorry, if you dont have insurance, and you can’t pay today you will have to go somewhere else.” This isn’t hyperbole. I’ve had something quite close to this scenario happen to me. I am a Part-Time Professor, and, therefore, do not get medical coverage. Teaching at the college level is the ONLY thing I am qualified to do for a living, but full-time positions are nearly impossible to procure, so the majority of us teach at several schools simultaneously. But, when you need a major procedure, that costs 800 dollars or more, well, it’s just impossible. But we don’t care about that here. We’re the country of free enterprise! Yes, hail to this wonderful land of opportunity where, if you drop dead in the doctor’s office, where they won’t see you ’cause you don’t have the money, the automoton-receptionists will step over your body to get to the next person’s wallet. For those of you who don’t know there has been a plethora of great literature written about this, predicting this; Brave New World, by Alduous Huxley, for example. Something must be done. Medical care should not be a luxury, or a privilege. But, I guess, in your mind it should be….survival of the fittest, right? And what does that mean, anyway? The fittest, now, are not intelligent, not even educated; they are moronic people who are just soulless enough to bulldoze anything along their path to wealth. And bulldoze they do, all of those who, maybe, don’t think that money is the be all. I mean, come on, what are you going to do when you die? Drive your Lexus to heaven? And you conservatives are, meanwhile, all up in arms about animal rights, ’cause, you say, humans are more important, the higher species. Well, first of all, if that’s true, why don’t we start acting like the higher species? Secondly, if we care so much about other humans why don’t we start showing it? Look, face it, most people don’t have any soul anymore. We’ve evolved so that we don’t need it anymore. Who needs a soul when they’ve got money?
Monday, April 28, 2008 at 5:54 pm
I am an American, and lived in the UK. The healthcare was phenomenal. First of all, the waiting rooms were not crowded, not at all; I never waited more than 10 minutes for the Doctor. What really struck me was that when you went in for care all they wanted was to help improve your physical condition. I had an ear infection; they wanted to see me every day for a week to monitor it. The doctors there rode bicycles and buses; people who pursue careers in the medical field there do so because they have a genuine need to help others. Here, in the US, however, the first words are: “What’s your insurance? How will you pay?” It’s quite pathetic that a country that is ostensibly the most well endowed, culturally, technologically and so forth, the one that is deemed the most evolved, of course only by Americans, operates a medical system that cares not a whit for its people, only for their money. Someone could be standing there, bleeding from every orifice, and the automoton receptionists would say: “Sorry, if you dont have insurance, and you can’t pay today you will have to go somewhere else.” This isn’t hyperbole. I’ve had something quite close to this scenario happen to me. I am a Part-Time Professor, and, therefore, do not get medical coverage. Teaching at the college level is the ONLY thing I am qualified to do for a living, but full-time positions are nearly impossible to procure, so the majority of us teach at several schools simultaneously. But, when you need a major procedure, that costs 800 dollars or more, well, it’s just impossible. But we don’t care about that here. We’re the country of free enterprise! Yes, hail to this wonderful land of opportunity where, if you drop dead in the doctor’s office, where they won’t see you ’cause you don’t have the money, the automoton-receptionists will step over your body to get to the next person’s wallet. For those of you who don’t know there has been a plethora of great literature written about this, predicting this; Brave New World, by Alduous Huxley, for example. Something must be done. Medical care should not be a luxury, or a privilege. But, I guess, in your mind it should be….survival of the fittest, right? And what does that mean, anyway? The fittest, now, are not intelligent, not even educated; they are moronic people who are just soulless enough to bulldoze anything along their path to wealth. And bulldoze they do, all of those who, maybe, don’t think that money is the be all. I mean, come on, what are you going to do when you die? Drive your Lexus to heaven? And you conservatives are, meanwhile, all up in arms about animal rights, ’cause, you say, humans are more important, the higher species. Well, first of all, if that’s true, why don’t we start acting like the higher species? Secondly, if we care so much about other humans why don’t we start showing it? Look, face it, most people don’t have any soul anymore. We’ve evolved so that we don’t need it anymore. Who needs a soul when they’ve got money?
Monday, April 28, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Asia,
People in the U.S. don’t care for other people. They only care about themselves, about getting more money, and more stuff, glutting themselves on fat-laden food, as they drive around in their oversized vehicles. It is a country that is self-centered in the extreme, and it’s sad. I am a Professor, and do you know how much attention is paid to Literature? To reading? Very little. The majority of my students are barely literate because they’ve grown up on a culture that has gorged them with the fatty surpluses of super-sized burgers and fries, they’ve grown up hypnotized by ads for things, things, things that will temporarily fill the void inside, but, ultimately, only lead to hideous greed, ignorance, and malcontentment. We are a society that punishes people for being “middle class,” and, as it stands now, the middle class is diminishing. We are a country that believes in devouring everyone in your way to get, get, get, get for YOURSELF, and YOURSELF ALONE. And, yet, we are a Christian Nation! It’s so absurd. Did Christ drive an SUV, or would he have? Did he wear designer clothes? Would he have? Absolutely not. If you compare the characteristics of a sociopath to this country, you wil see that our country is truly sociopathic; it has no conscience. Survival of the fittest, that’s our motto. My Uncle was a Doctor; he treated people for nothing. You see, the problem with our country is that because people no longer get nourishment from the Arts, and Literature, from Nature, all of this has been supplanted by a moronic, and soulless love of money. And the more people cultivate their self-centered, and bottomless quest for wealth, the more they need. It’s a bottomless pit. How much will finally make you satisfied? How many trips to the Mall before you feel fulfilled? It’s not where fulfillment’s at, but so many people in this country have fallen into ignorance, and, living this way, have forgotten what it means to care for others, to think of others, have forgotten that others exist. And we have grown so fat, and so deadened by all of our consumption. We no longer know what compassion is. But it’s headed for a crash. Already, we’ve started rationing food. What will the Ugly Americans do when that happens? And, by the way, for you idiotic conservatives who don’t know, “The Ugly American” is a work of Great Literature written in the 1800’s. You should check it out. Try reading, that is, if you know how
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Do you have any idea what you are saying. I work in healthcare. Universal is the best way to go. And guess what we have waiting rooms upon waiting rooms full of the sick. And dont preach to me about there will be a waiting list. Guess what when you call to see a specialist in may and cant get an appointment tell spetember, what do you call that. Hmmm, I CALL IT A WAITING LIST. Please do not believe everything you read on the internet. Considering how we are one of the sickest countires in the world due to obesity.
Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 3:17 am
I’d rather have a higher tax and have it go to more useful things like “socialized healthcare and education” then towards guns and ammo. The American government needs to start putting people before profit! As an American and also as a hospital employee the waiting room’s are rarely empty and there are waiting lists!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Nicole,
Come back home your dinner is ready! It’s cabbage and tofu, just the way you like it.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 9:59 pm
i am angry with your offensive outlook at countries that are using uhc and i thing that you are jealous of countries that have uhc and i know americans are.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 10:04 pm
if you are SO JEALOUS WHY DONT YOU IMMIGRATE TO CANADA WHERE YOU LIVE YEARS LONGER here in canada you have free access to great healthcare
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 10:11 pm
down with the us government
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 10:16 pm
are you kidding if tiny little south korea uses universal healthcare you should too [remember usa is 700 times bigger than korea]
Friday, August 29, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Oh, you can add that ‘commie’ island of Taiwan (oh yeah, weren’t they government that was chased off the mainland by the communists back in 1949?) to the list of univeral health care.
Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 7:50 am
This site must be written by a Die Hard Republican. You are probably wealthy and don’t want the tax burden or your are really uneducated. This is one of the most uninformed and misleading sites I have ever seen. Your false logic is what is keeping people from the care they need. Please change.
Friday, September 19, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Every “Commie Pinko Country” on that list, except for Turkey, is ranked higher by the World Health Organization in healthcare than the US.
Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 12:00 pm
wow u are an asshole i live in canada and we have an amazing heath care system unlike yours in the USA o ya u said your people like long life each of those countries u listed there have a longer life expectancy than the USA
Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 12:04 pm
o ya mexico is try to get a heath care system just like canada’s
Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 3:55 pm
U.S. healthcare system is the pits!
Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 3:57 pm
U.S. healthcare system is the pits because of spiraling costs due to excessive use of expensive, dangerous pharmaceuticals, commercialization of healthcare, private hospitals and insurance companies.
France is the best because 40% of the population use Homeopathy.
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:31 am
I hope that was a joke. If 40 percent of the country is using Homeopathy, then that means they don’t use the government healthcare system. I’m all for home remedies, but that is a terrible argument for socialized medicine. Also, the rising cost of healthcare is largely due to frivolous malpractice lawsuits, and doctors and hospitals are having to pay millions in malpractice insurance just to have a license. So, naturally they have to make up those costs by charging patients.
Friday, October 10, 2008 at 8:08 pm
UHC would help this so called Land of the Free. Who can afford Insurance for there whole family and be able to afford the rest of everyday living.
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:24 am
Millions of people afford insurance for their entire family and have plenty of money everywhere around the USA. It is called the Land of the Free because we have the freedom to make our own choices. We don’t have the government controlling every part of our lives. Just as you have a choice to move to a country which provides universal healthcare if you don’t like how it is here. That’s what freedom is.
Friday, November 7, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I feel there should be a spam for ignorance… and the start of this topic would be at the top.
Please, get facts straight before making a fool of yourself.
“The two “modern” countries without UHC. These countries are full of empty waiting rooms and the healthiest, happiest, longest-lived people in the world”
FALSE.
Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Just to correct some of your false information, for one, According to the World Health Organization, many countries who ranked higher than us in overall healthcare efficency were countries with “Universal Healthcare.” Many countries such as Canada and Cuba, has citizens that live on average 2.5 years longer than Americans. Also, the United States has been known for having some of the longest waiting times in the world. But those are just some facts from organizations that have conducted years of long, non-bias research to present accurate information. You may want to do conduct more research so you don’t seem so ignorant and foolish in the future…
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:20 am
You should also do more research, because how many Americans risk there lives to get to Cuba or Canada for healthcare? I’ve never heard of any. If you have some statistics on that, then it would be great. Would you rather live in a country like Cuba, just to not pay to see a doctor?
Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 11:43 am
yeah, who needs free healthcare, it’s not like there’s a PROBLEM WITH THE ECONOMY SO PEOPLE IN THE US DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY!!!!
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:16 am
Do you think paying higher taxes so people have even less money is the way to solve our economic problems? I would just rather have to pay for healthcare when I actually need it, not all the time.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I hope you guys know he was kidding. U.S. and Mexico are the only two wealthy, industrial countries without Universal Healthcare. Just Like the metric system. Basically he’s saying that the U.S. has a problem and we need to fix it. Not to mention the fact almost every country on this list has a higher ranking on the World Health Organization list of world countries.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I mean if you guys read the lesson of the day it says,” Sometimes it’s okay to go along with the crowd, because the crowd may know better than you do.” Imean I agree with all you guys, but you’re being kind of stupid.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I don’t quite understand this, one of my friends is American and he swears black and blue that they have free medical care. From my understanding here, is it only partially free. Like emergency healthcare only?
Monday, January 5, 2009 at 1:11 pm
The trouble with UHC is that it forces people that DO NOT NEED health care to finance those that do. I use the pay as you go method and have saved over $100,000 on health insurance over the past decade. Those premiums only benefit the sickly.
If health insurance becomes mandatory or UHC is implemented in the USA, I’m leaving.
The USA is turning into a Socialist state with government health care (Medicare & Medicaid), government owned banks, insurance companies and manufacturers!
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:13 am
Thank you BBJJ.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Funny. So many of you don’t see the sarcasm in this. I know it’s a hot topic, but lighten up. I’m all for UHC, and obviously so is the author.
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I live in Canada and we have one of the greatest health care systems in the world. Michael Moore The States will never have Universal Health care because it is too expensive to have a health care system for 350 million people. Not to mention you guys are close to a 3 trillion dollar deficit. You government needs to start pulling there socks up. Electing Obama is one of the worst things your country could have done. I’m not saying that because hes Black. I’m not a racist. But come on a depression this deep is not going to be fixed by a guy who has no experience. Obama is a socialist. You can’t have a socialist running such a big country like the states. Back to the health care system. You should have realized it by now you will never have a Universal Health Care system because it is too expensive and it will just add on to your growing depth. And closing is a not so smart move either. Letting all those terrorists out will back fire in the long run. I’m sorry to tell you the truth but deep inside all of you Americans know that!
Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 11:28 pm
I just got through watching SICKO for the first time and let me tell you; I’m appalled, ashamed and embarrassed of my country. To think that these same countries – some of which we deem third world – have FREE healthcare. When Mr. Moore showed how he went over to CUBA with some 9/11 rescue workers – that just took the cake for me. These people received the necessary TESTS, TREATMENTS and MEDICATIONS – THAT COST AS LITTLE AS 5 DAMN CENTS – and were sent on there way HAPPY AND HEALTHIER THAN WHEN THEY FIRST ARRIVED. I have to pay $160 for my FLOVENT medication (this is a STEROID Asthma Medication for those of you who don’t know). It costs $0.5 in CUBS – FIVE DAMN CENTS.
This is a DAMN shame, y’all a DAMN shame, I tell you.
Monday, September 14, 2009 at 6:57 pm
MissBlaze…in what parallel universe do you live where you actually believe that anyone can get all those tests, treatments and medications for a nickel? How is any doctor, nurse, pharmaceutical company, etc. going to make any sort of profit in that world? And no…”profit” is NOT an evil concept. If there is no profit in the medical industry, I assure you, there will be no people drawn into that industry. And if you think profits are so evil, let me ask you: do you do whatever it is you do for a living for FREE? And if you were to do it for free, how would you be able to meet your expenses? You simply cannot believe the absurd claims of Michael Moore.
Oh…and by the way…did you know that the word “gullible” is not in the dictionary?
Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 11:29 pm
I meant ‘CUBA’.
Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Cuba may be gaining five new citizens. I’m SERIOUSLY thinking of relocating there. Something’s gotta give.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Does no one here realize this is satire?
Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 2:58 pm
MissBlaze you seriously want to move to Cuba. Are you joking around?!
Move to Canada, here we have free health care. Not to mention we’re one of the safest countries in the WORLD. GO CANADA GO!
Monday, September 14, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Dude…I seriously doubt that your healthcare is “free.” Your doctors, nurses, etc. all have bills to pay and they can’t meet their expenses if they aren’t getting paid. If you’re not paying for your healthcare services, then I promise you…SOMEONE is. Why then, do you find it acceptable for someone else to have to take care of you?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Since you are into posting information that is published from an authoritative source, maybe you should look within to check the statistics on which countries have the longest life expectancy. Interesting how the one you believe to be the best is, by it’s on government’s ranking, behind the majority of the ones you rail against.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html
Friday, March 20, 2009 at 12:09 pm
90% percent of the people leaving comments here don’t understand that he is being sarcastic. Learn to read. Read lesson of the day ” The lesson of the day is Sometimes it’s okay to go along with the crowd, because the crowd may know better than you do”.
Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 11:37 pm
just one thing Mexico does have a universal health care system, well kinda; many large hospitals in the major cities offer free services for anyone. It is often 20-40min Max to get attended and treated; exception of true medical emergencies of course. how its funded I have absolutely no idea
Monday, May 11, 2009 at 3:38 pm
[...] could it be in all those “Commie Pinko Countries with Universal Health Care (Socialized Medicine)“? 1. Denmark 2. Finland 3. The Netherlands 4. Sweden 5. Ireland 6. Canada 7. Switzerland 8. [...]
Friday, June 12, 2009 at 8:41 am
I can’t believe so many people in this country can be so STUPID!!!! Universal Healthcare doesn’t mean the poor will have better care, it means we will all have WORSE care. It is all about CUTTING COSTS. You will have worthless insurance for nonexistent care.
The poor in this country are, by law, required to be treated as paying customers. The problem with our healthcare system, if anyone cared to look at the TRUTH of the matter, is sky-high malpractice insurance and illegal immigration. Because of the threat of lawsuits, doctors prescribe more useless tests to cover their asses. Tort reform is needed and would greatly reduce costs.
Illegal immigrants swarm the borders to have their babies in our emergency rooms. I know. I spent time in the ER in San Diego and talked to the drs. and nurses. If they knew they had to provide citizenship documentation to be treated, then that problem would be solved.
We have too many of our own people to take care of, we don’t need free-loaders sucking up our resources. And don’t give me that kum-ba-ya crap about “loving everyone and taking care of everyone.” No one’s going to take care of us, and how can we help anyone if we are broke and decrepit?
Wake up and smell the damn coffee you self-righteous, self-serving, demented and completely clueless idiots.
Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 2:55 pm
you are silly for saying that, have u ever lived in a country where the doctor comes out at 3am in the morning and it costs you nothing, or you need emergency surgery and it costs you nothing. I am british and am living in the worst place ever, called the United States. You people have no health care. I have needed surgery for almost a year, and your system put me on a waiting list, a waiting list, people from america go to canada all the time for treatments instead of being seen in the bloodly united states. Do you know how many americans move to europe to be in one of the best health care systems in the world????? I do not think you do, you are another blind, deaf and stupid american. Oh, and the u.s had sept 11th coming…….. ya ya ya ya ya boooooooooom splat, splat, ya ya ya
Monday, September 14, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Misbrit…you are perhaps the stupidest and maybe even the most evil person to put a comment up on this blog. If you have needed surgery for almost a year, and you have not had it, it is because you have not scheduled it. I don’t believe for one second the bullshit about you being on some waiting list. I have family who are temporarily in Canada now…and one of my family members broke his hand while up there…and he had to wait WEEKS for a simple X-ray! By the time he got the X-ray, it was too late to set it properly. Universal healthcare indeed. What a glorious thing it is (and, yeah…THAT’S sarcasm).
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:40 am
misbrit, you should be banned from speaking ever again. If you think that it is ok to say that thousands of innocent people from any country should have been killed, then you might as well have driven the planes yourself. You are not welcome here, and I would imagine that no one in the UK would welcome you after comments like that. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Friday, June 12, 2009 at 8:35 pm
OK, the crowd may know better than you do…. IF YOU’RE AN IDIOT. You go to the hospital in America and you get the gold standard – regardless of ability to pay – heck, regardless of ability to speak English. If you think otherwise, then you’re ignorant. I’m a physician (yes, a real MD) and have friends practicing medicine all over the country and the world. People aren’t flocking to Finland to get the latest greatest cancer treatments. How many people rush to Turkey to get a life saving procedure done? Did grandpa save up $ to get his bypass done in Slovakia? Give me a break. Get with the program and smell what you’re shoveling….
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:06 am
Thank you RW
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Sorry people, but with the exception of few people, you are STUPID! Let me explain.
My mom was getting her hair done and was talking to her hairdresser (a British man living and working here in the U.S.) He was telling us about how it took UCH in the UK 6 to get this poor old British woman, his mother, a simple hip replacement. And not only that, it took 2 years for the doctor to get her an x-ray. This doctor told her for 2 YEARS to take asprin. I truly felt bad for this woman.
Another instant I heard on Rush Limbah (sry im not sure how to spell his name.) This Canadian man called in and read this Canadian Newspaper about a man you had cancer. There were only 4 places to get treatment done. One was in Detriot, across the river, only 30 minutes away from his house. Yet the government told him that he had to get this treatment done in New York! I’m sorry but if you think that’s ok, there is something wrong with you.
I’m not the kind of republican you hear about on the T.V. I actually do believe we need some change, and I actually have ideas. One is if you make a certain amount of money, then you will be able to choose your healthcare. This also would be fit to your family size and plan. However, if you can’t afford your own healthcare, then you should be cared for. You shouldn’t have to spend money you could be using on food for limited healthcare. This would cover your whole familly. And I know that it’s like the gold standard (my mom is a nurse) but this would be one step better! You wouldn’t have to go to the hospital when you’re sick. You could actually have a doctor you could go to for anual checkups. That’s just my idea! Feel free you idiots to read up on alternets to UHC! It might do you some good.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 4:41 pm
6 years sorry not just 6
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I would like to see us as American stand up as one voice to our government and tell them we want free health care. What I would like to see happen is for all who believe sign a petition and if a million plus people sign this petition I want our government to recognize that we as Americans will not stand for it any longer it is our right as citizen of this country to be giving free health care if other countries can do it why should our country be any different.
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:10 am
You should do more research into what you are asking. You have some right here on this page. Read the postings of RW, AndersonColcord, Anonymous, and Robert the Snowman. You should not just jump on board with an idea because it sounds like the cool thing to do.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 12:25 pm
First, the U.S. does NOT have the healthiest, longest lived people in the world…we rank 24th in healthy life expectancy, behind almost all the “commie” countries with universal health care, and 37th in success of our healthcare system. In overall health, considering 5+ factors, we rank 72nd. Our highest ranking is in expenditure of GNP% on healthcare per capita — we rank 2nd, with over 15%. Mexico is aggressively trying to establish national universal healthcare, with little to no protest from its citizens. Finally, US hospital and MD waiting rooms are far from empty. The above information is not just opinion or political pandering, it is verifiable by the World Health Organization.
Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 2:58 pm
more americans should drop dead, i hate them.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 5:52 am
Do any of you remember amendments to the Constitution that made great and needed changes?
The Federal gov’t is not authorized by the Constitution to provide public health care to the masses, or to stringently regulate transaction of care between you and an in-state provider of medical services of insurance. While long standing instances of federal abuse of power exist, that doesn’t make it proper to become part of the problem.
Do you think the fed gov’t has the right to regulate intercourse in a hotel room… that you must use a condom? How about breast feeding, bunk beds, or home-made roller skates?
What makes your fellow citizen incapable of making choices for themselves? Must all choices be wise? Who shall be the ultimate the arbiter of wisdom?
To advocate the federal implementation of public health care w/o first amending or rewriting the Constitution implies:
1. You don’t understand our form of gov’t.
or,
2. You would willfully choose to live outside the bounds of law imposed by our gov’t, our people, and encourage others to do so.
Neither is typically considered good citizenship in any country. An exception would be when an extremely convincing argument can be made that we should pronounce the gov’t corrupt beyond repair and advocate revolution. Do you really want that?
Your means are providing fuel stock to your opponents, and are a denial of your oath to protect and defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic.
Love your country and respect our form of government, even if you want to change it. Please try to change it by lawful means when available, or you can hardly argue owning the moral high ground over the worst of our public servants.
Monday, September 21, 2009 at 8:00 am
Thank you Mr. Colcord for that wonderful explanation. I agree with you 100%. To everyone else…I work in a restaurant and only pay 50 dollars a month for health insurance. I never go to the hospital or to the doctor. I would hate to have to pay more of my tax dollars for other people to go to the doctor when I myself am not even going. If you think universal healthcare is such a wonderful thing, then you are blind to the list of negative results which come right along with it. These could include: increased taxes, long wait times for treatment, low priority for treatment if you are elderly or too high risk, decrease in quality of treatment, less options for specialized treatment, no ability to go see the best doctor in the country, less focus on developing new treatments due to lack of financial motivation, having the government control yet another aspect of you life, etc. This is not even the tip of the iceburg of problems related to government run healthcare. The beautiful thing about living in the USA is that if you are unhappy about your station in life, then you have the ability to change it. If you think that you can’t afford healthcare, then you can get a better job which will provide you with health insurance. It is your choice to make, not the government’s. Lastly, there are thousands of free clinics across this country. Does anyone, who doesn’t have to, want to go to them? No, because they are free, and the quality of care is sub-standard at best.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 11:49 pm
America’s government was not founded for them to take care of you. That is what the family, church, and community is for. The government was established to protect the people. Now we want them to pay for all our needs, that was not what the government is for!People need to get a job and try practicing some responsability, instead of becoming dependent on the gov. for everything.
Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 3:01 pm
The u.s is a sorry country, run by idiots, con men, back stabers, oh and stay out of my country, more and more americans are moving to europe for our health care, stay in your own bloody, stinking country……….
Monday, September 14, 2009 at 7:21 pm
MisBrit…I truly feel sorry for you. You are a bitter, old soul and you seem to have little more than hatred in your heart for your fellow man. You complain that the U.S. is run by idiots, con men, etc., yet you stay here, obviously enjoying the wonderful things that this country has to offer (including exceptional healthcare). Then, you opine that more and more Americans are moving to Europe, a dubious aim which I question. But even if it’s true, then you should be happy that these people want to be in your wonderful homeland, where they can truly be happy, since this country is so rotten. And I submit that the UK is no longer “your country” since you don’t seem to be too eager to go back there yourself. God bless America!
Sunday, October 11, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Commies, this man is a complete moron or is doctor worrying about not making $500,00a year.
Monday, October 12, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I’m looking at a list from the world health organization ranking each nation according to efficiency of health care. The majority of the nations you named are ranked above the U.S. on this scale. The U.S. is ranked 37th while Canada is ranked 30th, The UK is ranked 18th and France is ranked #1. In short its hard to believe that our health care compares in any way to theirs. I also find it hard to believe that other claims such as people waiting for months or dying while waiting for treatment are grounded in any truth.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 4:14 pm
That is right. More people die because they don’t have health insurance than they do waiting in a line. It’s a remarkably blatant lie.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Who ever posted this is trying to get people worked up, because you don’t put this list here and shame us without the true intention of supporting a public option.
I’m ashamed that the supposed most civlized country in the world is so late to provide health care to our citizens.