Don't get me started. I find it (showing my libertarian views here) but it is amazing to me that a terminal cancer patient can't smoke a joint. But they'll gladly fill your body with chemo and what ever other mind/body killing drugs that they bribed the govt to legalize.

A funny thing about the drugs though is that people get upset when they become OTC. When they become OTC people must pay out of their own pocket and insurance is not paying. People get in a knot about paying for their drugs.

I remember when one of the allergy meds went OTC there was a big brew-ha-ha and people were mad because their insurance would no longer pay.

I swear it seems it is a damned if ya do and damned it ya don't. Nobody is happy.

My nephew went to India and other people I know visited India. From the pictures I don't think I'll be rushing there for any operations anytime too soon.

I'll check out that Frontline show.

I do know that I saw a blog from someone working with Obama health care team. The blog was on Japan. His blog mirrored many of my Japanese stats but left out the some of the negatives.

Does this mean that 64 cents of every dollar the federal government spends comes from *current* tax revenue?

Or does it mean that for every $1 of current tax revenue, we're spending $1.46?

The second would be far more worrying than the first.

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Executive compensation is inversely proportional to morality and ethics.

I give credence to think tanks on each side of the debate. Neither has the gold ring for 100% correct or 100% wrong. The just landed site is a useful site that gives information about visiting different countries (not just about medical) and I think they give it a good shot to be correct.

If it was the British Medical Journal, I give them a pass because they are European and not an American Journal. I try to use as much non American sites as possible but sometimes it is not possible.....but I try.

Getting free treatments in different lands is always confusing. Like Canada. I hear anecdotal reports of free care for foreigners. But maybe it depends on the Province? The official Ontario Health Insurance Plan site says:

Ontario residents are eligible for provincially funded health coverage (OHIP). To be eligible for Ontario health coverage you must :

• Be a Canadian citizen or have immigration status as set out in Ontario's Health Insurance Act, and
• Make your permanent and principal home in Ontario, and be physically present in Ontario 153 days in any 12-month period.
• OHIP coverage normally becomes effective three months after the date you establish residency in Ontario. The ministry strongly encourages new and returning residents to purchase private health insurance in case you become ill during the OHIP waiting period.

My sister was visiting in the UK and needed an ambulance trip to the ER.  She received an $1,100 bill for the service.  But then I read people saying they, as a visitor, received free care.   I've never had the $$$ to globe trot to foreign countries to investigate so I can only use what I hear or read.

Canada has been trying their best to work on those wait times.  They initiated the the Wait Times Reduction Fund.

 It took a lot of time to research the different plans and I tried my best to have things correct.  I want to know if someone can point out sites to show any flaws, I want to know.  I don't want to present incorrect information.

I do know that countries are always changing the rules.

Link

I didn't need to read this post to know that. The fact that the S&P is increadibly overbought by every measure says so.

"Sell in May and go away"

While I agree with your fashion police statement can detract from the message.

You, should be the last one pointing fingers with that green and yellow eyesore color scheme. ;o)

I would like to see some quotes and references from the OECD for one and probably other more objective analysis. I checked some of your links and they are think tanks, for the profit of the medical business sector.

The OECD has done a lot of studies on health care systems.

Also, I've written a few pieces on health care costs.

And this health care tags.

In the documentary Sick around the World, Frontline, they list a host of additional resources, experts for analysis.

For example, I actually lived abroad, I did get ill and no one checked my citizenship status or anything and it was free. The prescription, which I had in the U.S. to the tune of $130 bucks cost $11 dollars for me and I believe that was because I did not have some sort of insurance card from Finland. So, something isn't adding up here in your analysis.

In Canada, this is from about 10 years ago, I did hear about long waiting lists for necessary heart surgery. People were driving to the U.S. to get it because they could not wait.

Ya all, look at your blogs like your significant other would look at you decorating the house. Does bright red go with a brown red? Does blue go with a fall color scheme?

If your SO is female, would you think she looked great with massive blue eyeshadow, bright red cheeks of blush and purple lipstick?

Think about it when you format your posts. Instead of enhancing what you want to say, you can detract significantly from the content.

I note may are now referring to the "W" type of recession instead of the "V" which you have mentioned many times.

I hope all of those believing their 401ks are recovering read this. That's the problem with gambling retirement on the stock market. So many get burned by these crashes.

More I think about it, that would make an excellent blog post. Just how many people lost everything in retirement savings from 2000-2001, 2008, now, since these 401ks came into being? What is also the real return on them, IRAs, SEPs, etc. for the last decade.