Hosp. now cutting jobs!!

That's interesting. FoxNews online recently said that that was the one proffession that was still hiring: that nurses were still of great need around the country.

You can tell how bad the times are getting when now even Seasame Street is laying people off ( or at least, their production company is ).

The healthcare debacle really worries me as it is, I'm so afraid the government is seriously considering socializing medicine- then we'll have to wait 6 months to even get an appointment with a doctor...

Amaranth, While I agree 110% I Don't want government anymore near the health care system than what it is, they are going to use the "economy" as a way to get it pushed through. They will say it will benefit everyone even those who are laid off because they will no longer have to worry about their health insurance.

I've delt with government BS both from SSI though not quite as bad but i've had to deal with them almost every month because they won't (Or their system won't) update my ex-roommates health insurance. I think FINALLY after three-four months it's finally straightened out. I deal with the government for her since I'm pretty good with dealing with governmental agencies (I don't take no for an answer.. and involve our county supervisor if need be.. where she can't function at that level) So i advocate for her. I also food stamps. My ex roommate makes 737/month pays 310 in rent plus electric etc and they will only give her 50/month towards food. While the government minimum standard for full foodstamp consideration is little over a grand.

Look, I am canadian and I live for the day when I dont have to worry about having to file bankrupcty again for medical expenses. The US is the only socialized country in the world that doesnt have government managed healthcare. Meanwhile the healthcare exec's are making millions...

But there are also foreigners in the United States who have seen firsthand how socializing medicine doesn't work for them ( them personally ). My fiancee is from England, and one of my best friends from Denmark. In fact, one of my co-workers is Canadian and just because he is Canadian doesn't mean he shares your opinion ( in fact, he doesn't ) I really don't want to start a political debate here cause those kind of debates almost always turn ugly, but why do you think so many Canadian doctors work here in the United States? They are paid for their quality of work and all the years they put into studying their medicinal expertise. While I don't want to say that even the entire field of working to help better and save lives still rotates on greed, if you are paid based on your quality of work and the amount of patients you have, then you do your utmost best to give the best quality of work and time and care to each patient you can. Socializing it all would cause a dip in the quality of healthcare and attention each individual receives.

beli2005- I completely understand where you are coming from. My best friend is disabled, and by a bizarre turn of events ended up on the streets and ended up missing for about a month. I spent every day driving the streets looking for him. I finally found him in a back-alley several towns over, laying on the ground, near dead from exposure and blood poisoning. I managed to help him struggle into my Jeep and I took him to the nearest ER, where he was facing amputation because of the blood-poisoning in his leg. He was hospitalized for months but the staff told me that if I hadn't found him when I did, he surely would have expired.

It's been almost 2 years since then, and now officially disabled and unable to work, I've watched him firsthand struggle with the system. Myself and his brother helped him move into a small apartment for now until his disability checks start arriving, and he too has to go through the process of paying rent vs. food stamps, but he has been on the waiting list for government housing for 2 years now, when he was originally told it would only take 6-8 months, yet I've met a young, healthy, 20 something who always worked 2 days at a job and then walked out on them because "they bored them or weren't cool" take advantage of a free apartment provided by St. Vincent de Paul's and do nothing but use it to bring back girls he met at bars to. The system really needs to be re-examined.

Amaranth, I think people that don't see/deal with the government run health care for the disabled on a daily biases realize what a struggle they go through just to get quality care in some states. Or just dealing with government staff when something that was suppose to be covered, wasn't. All they care for is they don't have to pay. (I'm not saying it's everyone... some)If my doctor orders an MRI for my back to see what's going on.. I want to have that MRI done in a reasonable amount of time. Not 2years later.. to me that's unreasonable, by then my condition could have gotten worse, and need more medical care.. therefore costing more money. Where as if I would've gotten it looked at within (Say a week) found out what was wrong, fixed it therefore costing less. That's just an example.

They don't realize how frustrating it is to get someone to do something when it's government run. I can't tell how many hours I've spent at work talking/emailing our county supervisor because foodstamps hadn't approved her 6month review when it was sent right when they sent it over a month before it was suppose to be due. You can NEVER get anyone on the phone. EVER. It's busy from the time they open (and i've tried calling RIGHT when they were suppose to have opened) and if you try a different extension, you might be lucky to get someone who will put you in their phone queue which is almost always an hour wait to talk to a human being.

My Ex-roommate's bf is Canaidan.. and one time she was on the phone with him he said he had to go to Er and will be back in 6-8hrs. I asked for what.(thinking it was something more serious). she said a "Cold/UTRI". Okay why doesn't he go to the doctor for that? It would take a month to get in or something like that she said. I can't remember her exact words.

I also agree that the health care system in general needs a good over-hall but I don't think socialized medican is the answer.

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