A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer • Hacker News Board

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#91

Post by unreal37 » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:18 AM UTC

mtrn wrote: post #12

gambiting wrote: post #6

Say whatever you like about EU, but I can't think of any country here that would not help this man, or let him die simply because he can't afford surgery. In the worst possible case he would still have the surgery done straight away ,but he would have to pay afterwards,not before - he might end up in debt because of that,but better than being dead for sure. Anyway, donated some money, really wish he gets all the help…

* Germany: In 2005, Germany spent 10.7% of GDP on health care, or US$3,628 per capita. Germany has Europe's oldest universal health care insurance system, with origins dating back to Otto von Bismarck's Social legislation, which included the Health Insurance Bill of 1883, Accident Insurance Bill of 1884, and Old Age and Disability Insurance Bill of 1889. * US: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Uni…

That's TOTAL expenditure (public and private). It's misleading to include private insurance and self payments unless you're talking about the total cost of healthcare.[1]

The German government covers 77% of its citizens health care costs. The US government covers 48%.

In countries like Germany, I am sure that 77% number is evenly distributed across the population. I.e. All citizens are mostly covered by government insurance. In the US, I am sure the number is disproportional to the elderly and on government assistance, such that people between 20-60 are not covered by any government insurance. So it's a bit more lop-sided than the Wikipedia chart says.

[1] http://www.oecd.org/health/healthpoliciesanddata/oecdhealthd...

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#92

Post by rytis » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:20 AM UTC

mtrn wrote: post #12

gambiting wrote: post #6

Say whatever you like about EU, but I can't think of any country here that would not help this man, or let him die simply because he can't afford surgery. In the worst possible case he would still have the surgery done straight away ,but he would have to pay afterwards,not before - he might end up in debt because of that,but better than being dead for sure. Anyway, donated some money, really wish he gets all the help…

* Germany: In 2005, Germany spent 10.7% of GDP on health care, or US$3,628 per capita. Germany has Europe's oldest universal health care insurance system, with origins dating back to Otto von Bismarck's Social legislation, which included the Health Insurance Bill of 1883, Accident Insurance Bill of 1884, and Old Age and Disability Insurance Bill of 1889. * US: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Uni…

And what exactly the money have been used for? In this case I suspect quantity != quality.

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#93

Post by edoloughlin » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:27 AM UTC

lgbr wrote: post #49

justin66 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The danger is that people will over-use the public system. How does that work exactly? I'm trying to think of how I could even deliberately overuse health care, in the event that I decided health care were something desirable rather than something I tend to avoid because it's boring. The best I can come up with would be to hit myself with a hammer occasionally, necessitating treatment of the injury. I'm not sure wh…

This is actually a common problem with what is, in practice, an already socialized portion of American healthcare: Emergency Rooms Since emergency rooms cannot turn patients away, there are a lot of people to come to the emergency rooms for things like pains in their big toe, menstrual cramps, and so on. This is why the emergency room is so absurdly expensive in the United States. Health care here really isn't very e…

But ERs already have a system to limit 'abuse' by people with minor complaints: triage.

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#94

Post by ixacto » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:27 AM UTC

streptomycin wrote: post #57

ixacto wrote: post #36

I would gladly pay 5% more income tax to be on par with Canada as far as rates go, if the USA got single-payer healthcare.

It'd cost quite a bit more than that. 5% of the income tax is only like $50 billion dollars, which is dwarfed by our current Medicare/Medicaid spending to cover a fraction of the population. Maybe something like doubling everyone's taxes could do it?

That is if we kept spending at current levels. Canada spends much less on healthcare than the united states. Canadian life expectancy is also higher, which leads me to believe that their gasp socialist healthcare system is actually more efficient.

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#95

Post by masmullin » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:28 AM UTC

Donated. Get well Ken.

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#96

Post by eculver » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:38 AM UTC

Donated $40.

Two days ago, there was a post on HN announcing Watsi, essentially a Kickstarter for healthcare (Sorry if I'm discrediting it's overall value in any way, it's a great idea: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4424081). Most of us in the Western world aren't the target audience for Watsi, but this seems appropriate. Can we not make this happen and see a cohesive case to be made for those asking questions about cause and background?

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#97

Post by slurgfest » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:41 AM UTC

astrodust wrote: post #88

batgaijin wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think our health care is bad? http://abcnews.go.com/Health/US/hunger-children-america-slow... 5% of our 300 million population is starving/malnourished children.

Then there's the worrying proportion that's gargantuanly over-weight, and an even larger proportion in woefully under-performing schools. Sometimes you wonder if the kids in less affluent countries don't have it better.

Then you look at international health statistics and stop wondering.

Lifespan is a good first pass indicator of the quality of health care.

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#98

Post by slurgfest » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:46 AM UTC

FireBeyond wrote: post #87

lgbr wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually a common problem with what is, in practice, an already socialized portion of American healthcare: Emergency Rooms Since emergency rooms cannot turn patients away, there are a lot of people to come to the emergency rooms for things like pains in their big toe, menstrual cramps, and so on. This is why the emergency room is so absurdly expensive in the United States. Health care here really isn't very e…

Firefighter / paramedic (/ IT geek) here: I took a patient today out of the ER (via ambulance) to a skilled nursing facility. There were a lot (for us, 6+) ambulances in the receiving bay. Patient comments: "Wow, busy. Usually when I'm going to the ER, and I see that many ambulances, I say to my friend "we'll come back tomorrow when it's quieter"." Read into that what you will.

Seems clear that if this is a real problem, then there needs to be a system to siphon off those people so they aren't clogging up the ER for those concerns.

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#99

Post by slurgfest » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:47 AM UTC

sseveran wrote: post #72

ixacto wrote: post #36

I would gladly pay 5% more income tax to be on par with Canada as far as rates go, if the USA got single-payer healthcare.

Well I have great news for you. Right on the 1040 form there is a spot where you can elect to pay more. I suggest that you do next year. Or just send the treasury a check.

That won't enact single-payer healthcare or even increase the standard of healthcare by an epsilon. So your answer misses the point in addition to being unconstructively snarky.

Re: A Linux dev who helped thousands needs help to fight cancer

#100

Post by Someone » Sat, Aug 25, 2012, 7:51 AM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #47

justin66 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The danger is that people will over-use the public system. How does that work exactly? I'm trying to think of how I could even deliberately overuse health care, in the event that I decided health care were something desirable rather than something I tend to avoid because it's boring. The best I can come up with would be to hit myself with a hammer occasionally, necessitating treatment of the injury. I'm not sure wh…

Ordering unnecessary scans or tests; being prescribed medicine you don't really need like antibiotics, painkillers, or antidepressants; demanding second/third/fourth opinions.

In a public system, patients cannot order scans or tests; that is the doctor to judge. Also, ideally, a doctor isn't paid more if he orders more tests/does more work.

One thing people can and will do is not so much 'demanding second opinions', but 'revisiting the same doctor to get reassured'. The latter does not have to be that expensive, if the cultural norms are OK. There are countries with costly culture where a visit to a doctor must end with a prescription or treatment. In other countries, patients leave happily with the message "it does not look broken and it isn't infected; if the swelling does not go away in two weeks, come back"