Republican Myth: “The Best Health Care in the World” is getting Old

This headline, “82% Want Major Health Care Changes, Patients Frustrated By Inefficiency,” certainly says a lot about our flawless top of the line health care system in the U.S.

That’s Eighty-two percent of people who think health care should be fundamentally changed, according to The Commonwealth Fund survey.

A Harris Interactive poll of 1,000 people found: nine of 10 people wanted presidential candidates to propose plans that would improve quality, provide affordable coverage to all and cover more people. One in three people said that in the past two years a doctor had ordered a test that had already been done or suggested unnecessary treatment.

I just went through that myself, on a recent doctor’s visit over a minor case of pneumonia. After acquiescing to a CT scan, I was shuffled into the ER without being consulted because lying down was to painful, the whole reason I went to the doctor in the first place. I could have told them that before they ran up my bill by an extra $3000. Needless to say, I was really angry and didn’t pay for their mistake.

So next time you hear a Republican bring up a health care horror story from Canada, remember this survey response: just under half said that they had experienced poor care such as not getting test results or doctors not sharing information. About three-quarters said they were frustrated with trying to get appointments or after-hours information.