Ok, I really need everyone's help for an English paper. I need to interview people and what not. Please, PLEASE answer the following questions.

1) Do you think that socialized medicine is government involvement in healthcare related decisions or is it something the government just pays for? Or do you think it is either or?

2) What would your reaction be if a socialized medicine government chose to do a surprise "weigh in" and decided to financially fine you if you are overweight or over BMI?

3) Do you think socialized medicine is right for America? Please explain....

FYI: there is no right or wrong answer. This is a completely unbiased interview. Thank you for your help, ladies! I really need it!!

EDIT: I do know the specifics on the different countries and different socialized systems. My report is on how much the public knows... Did not want to give to much info in the beginning because some people do not know about the different systems. Please keep em coming!

Sounds like an interesting paper! Can we pm you with answers? I don't like to debate.

1) Do you think that socialized medicine is government involvement in healthcare related decisions or is it something the government just pays for? Or do you think it is either or?

I think that socialized medicine can be any number of those things, because it really depends on how you define socialized, and which system you are looking at... For example... Canada, UK, Denmark, Sweden, Germany... all have "socialized" medicine, but all have a different view-point of what it entails, and a different system/structure for implementation.

I think government involvement in medicine to a certain extent would be OK, and would probably regulate a lot of care and coverage disparities we have across the nation and with the individual health insurances. It honestly, if the gone about the right way, would be no worse, and potentially loads better than the current situation we have where HMO's dictate standards of care anyway.

At least with government involvement, in the right situation, it can be mandated that people who have medical background be in charge of the units that decide what is an acceptable standard of care, and things like that.

2) What would your reaction be if a socialized medicine government chose to do a surprise "weigh in" and decided to financially fine you if you are overweight or over BMI?

I would think that they would be over-stepping their boundaries, as they currently stand, and using a scale which is grossly erroneous and subject to interpretation. That being said, we are one of the most obese countries in the world, and do not do much in the way of preventative care... which is an absolute necessity if we wish to improve. If we had far reaching socialized health care... and the government had guidelines and requirements for preventative care and lifestyle steps, that would be a different story.

3) Do you think socialized medicine is right for America? Please explain....

Well... we all ready have socialized health care in certain sectors of the country. State medicare and medicaid programs are "socialized." Even though the majority of how the program is run is up to the state, they are funded in part by the federal government, and have to meet basic guidelines.

Socialized medicine also exists for military members and their dependents, as well as Federal employees and Congressional members (who are federal employees as well, but their plan is a bit different)

As far as how "right" it is for this country... well again, that depends on what you are looking at in that particular context, what you are wanting to accomplish, and which currently existing system you are wanting to use as a model, if any.

There are pros and cons to socialized health care just as much as there are to privatized health care... and those pros and cons come with implications from all sorts of areas, from economic, to social, to political and otherwise.


*I don't know exactly what your paper is on, but I would advise you to research research research and narrow down your scope a bit. I did a comparative study of the US v. Canada, and researched all those countries I listed in answer number 1 along the way. It was quite an undertaking. I just want to make sure you are clear in understanding that "socialized" is not clear cut, and is very multi-faceted.

Good luck with everything. :hugs

Well, I'm Canadian... so I can help with any specifics you might need if you wanna PM me. But...

1) Do you think that socialized medicine is government involvement in healthcare related decisions or is it something the government just pays for? Or do you think it is either or?
Well, back home, the gov't isn't that involved with it. It's still like medicine here (the US) in a lot of ways, it's just free. The gov't can't tell me what to do with my medical... but I'm sure it has some bureaucratic involvement... but the gov't does that anywhere. So I don't think it's either or, necessarily.

2) What would your reaction be if a socialized medicine government chose to do a surprise "weigh in" and decided to financially fine you if you are overweight or over BMI?
That's a ridiculous idea. If the gov't wants us in better shape, it should be promoting education into how to eat healthier. It should be fining companies / whatall that make unhealthy food... Fining the individual makes no sense and is too much personal involvement in my weight. Besides, BMI's can be very inaccurate depending on bone structure. The only person who has to know my weight is me.

3) Do you think socialized medicine is right for America? Please explain....
I think it was working fine in Canada before we got a tidge backed up. The system needs an overhaul, but it does work, and it worked really well for a long time. So I don't see why the US would have any problem with it. Healthcare costs are outrageous over here, and you still can't get anything done. Might as well have it free and not be able to get anything done. ;)

Ok, I really need everyone's help for an English paper. I need to interview people and what not. Please, PLEASE answer the following questions.

1) Do you think that socialized medicine is government involvement in healthcare related decisions or is it something the government just pays for? Or do you think it is either or?

2) What would your reaction be if a socialized medicine government chose to do a surprise "weigh in" and decided to financially fine you if you are overweight or over BMI?

3) Do you think socialized medicine is right for America? Please explain....

FYI: there is no right or wrong answer. This is a completely unbiased interview. Thank you for your help, ladies! I really need it!!

*******************************************
You know more about socialized medicine than you realize.... the military medical system is socialized medicine. Everyone gets care, it's done in order of need, and the "I wants" are handled when space is available.

Now, for my opinions,

1. I think that socialized medicine is a system that focuses on preventive care, because as we know, preventive care is much less expensive and traumatic than repair-and-rehabilitative care. It's a lot cheaper to give women free paps every couple years than it is to provide indigent care while she rots away after 10 years of untreated cervical cancer. The government pays for it, but my ideal would be that the government pays for necessary care (preventive, immunizations, emergency, medically recommended, etc), and anything beyond medically-based needs would be covered by private insurance (i.e. cosmetic surgery that's purely cosmetic, not based in medical need).

2. I think that the idea of "surprise weigh-ins," along with "surprise cabinet inspections" and "surprise lunchbox inspections" is a way of generating fear of a government-run health care system. I think that "surprise weigh-ins" would be far too costly for this government to undertake, and despite what is happening in Japan, it's distinctly against American values and freedoms for Government to be this intrusive.

3. I do think socialized medicine is "right for America." In the country that is supposed to be a world leader, there is no excuse for 40 million people to have inadequate health insurance. It's craziness that people making minimum wage can't get suitable health insurance for their families.

Hope that helps- good luck on your paper!

Sounds like an interesting paper! Can we pm you with answers? I don't like to debate.

Of course, love to hear from you!

Well, I'm Canadian... so I can help with any specifics you might need if you wanna PM me. But...

1) Do you think that socialized medicine is government involvement in healthcare related decisions or is it something the government just pays for? Or do you think it is either or?
Well, back home, the gov't isn't that involved with it. It's still like medicine here (the US) in a lot of ways, it's just free. The gov't can't tell me what to do with my medical... but I'm sure it has some bureaucratic involvement... but the gov't does that anywhere. So I don't think it's either or, necessarily.

2) What would your reaction be if a socialized medicine government chose to do a surprise "weigh in" and decided to financially fine you if you are overweight or over BMI?
That's a ridiculous idea. If the gov't wants us in better shape, it should be promoting education into how to eat healthier. It should be fining companies / whatall that make unhealthy food... Fining the individual makes no sense and is too much personal involvement in my weight. Besides, BMI's can be very inaccurate depending on bone structure. The only person who has to know my weight is me.

3) Do you think socialized medicine is right for America? Please explain....
I think it was working fine in Canada before we got a tidge backed up. The system needs an overhaul, but it does work, and it worked really well for a long time. So I don't see why the US would have any problem with it. Healthcare costs are outrageous over here, and you still can't get anything done. Might as well have it free and not be able to get anything done. ;)


Thank you, I know the specifics, just looking to see how much the public knows.

*NOTE: I have deliberately not read the above responses because I don't want to become biased or learn something I didn't know (and skew your report data).

A little background- I am English and grew up there until I moved to the US in 2001. So I've spent most of my life under "socialized" medicine.

1) Do you think that socialized medicine is government involvement in healthcare related decisions or is it something the government just pays for? Or do you think it is either or?

Because of the funding, yes the government is getting involved. It doesn't matter if a doctor says you need whatever test or treatment, if there isn't the funds for it, it's not going to happen.

2) What would your reaction be if a socialized medicine government chose to do a surprise "weigh in" and decided to financially fine you if you are overweight or over BMI?
I don't think it is right for a government to impose such standards, however they could give "perks" to those who maintain certain healthy levels. Frankly it's very easy to be over BMI if you work out a lot (particularly men).

3) Do you think socialized medicine is right for America? Please explain....
The short answer is "no." What people want in this country when they talk about "socialized medicine" is the same standards we currently have, but without paying for it. It's just not going to happen. The NHS in England is going under, there's not the funding for all the population. And in the UK we DO pay for it, it's called "national insurance" and it's taken out of our pay checks from the moment we start working, even if it's a Saturday job when you're a kid you pay it. And then there's the waiting lists. My Uncle waited for 8 months for open heart surgery because he was in his early 60s and not a high priority. He died in surgery when they dislodged a blood clot that went to his brain. Who knows if that clot would have even been there 8 months earlier. I don't know if it's still this bad, but kids with special needs were not getting diagnosed accurately because once they have a diagnosis they have to get treatment. So the speech therapists and other professionals who gave these diagnoses were limited to only so many "statements" (i.e. diagnoses) per year. So only the really severe cases were getting diagnosed and many kids were falling through the cracks who could have benefited. It also meant that a lot of parents had to pay out of pocket "private" rates to get the care their kids needed. Private rates in the UK are very high. And not everything is covered (vision tests and dental care are covered up to age 18 only, orthodontics are not covered, etc.).

With all the complaints I've heard about military medicine, I have to say it's 100 times better than any care I received in the UK. The system would go bankrupt within very little time over here. People want free care, but they don't want the tax hike that would be needed, and the reduced level of care they would end up receiving.

Nope, I think it's a horrible idea for the country.

I disn't read the other anwsers since you want unbiased view. I'm off to read now though :)
1) Do you think that socialized medicine is government involvement in healthcare related decisions or is it something the government just pays for? Or do you think it is either or? I think it is goverment paid for and realted to desicions as far as not covering non-medically necss. procedures (i.e. a nose job, botox)

2) What would your reaction be if a socialized medicine government chose to do a surprise "weigh in" and decided to financially fine you if you are overweight or over BMI? I do not think the goverment has a right to fine you for your weight.

3) Do you think socialized medicine is right for America? Please explain....
I honestly am not sure. It really would depend on the ins and outs and how things are going to be handled. Being in the military we are already under a form of socialized medicine, I think it may work, but I'm just not sure.

I am loving the feedback.... The paper is supposed to be an investigative paper with quotes. There are some great ones! Would you all mind if I use some? Please keep the feedback coming!!

Sorry, but just wanted to kinda bump this along... Anyone else? Would love more feedback!

I am loving the feedback.... The paper is supposed to be an investigative paper with quotes. There are some great ones! Would you all mind if I use some? Please keep the feedback coming!!

You're welcome to quote me if you found something particularly profound,..... or if you found something that's totally, completely off the wall. :D

welcome to quote, nothing really quoteable in mine....:)

I'll :bump you to the top again though :)

I am loving the feedback.... The paper is supposed to be an investigative paper with quotes. There are some great ones! Would you all mind if I use some? Please keep the feedback coming!!

You're welcome to quote anything. If you want to use something that I said really long-winded, I can condense it (I'm used to quotes, lol). Likewise, if you have any other questions, or follow ups, feel free to PM me.

Thank you so much, ladies. I really got quite a bit to work with. I love hearing all your opinions and for once I get to look at everything more objectively.... LOL.... I always try, but sometimes it can be difficult when you are set in your opinion. Thank you again. If you have anything you all want to add, please feel free! I think the paper will be extremely interesting!

You can feel free to quote me, if I said anything remotely interesting, :lol I love talking about this kind of thing. I had so much fun doing the paper I did... even if the prof did not agree with the outcome... :teehee