From examples given by friends in the UK, France and Spain (most all of them retirees from the medical field so can give accounts with a bit more sophistication than “free” eyeglasses) and who’ve themselves had brushes with serious medical issues, it seems that just the opposite is the case.
My bestie from dental school days whose issues with ASCVD are on a par with mine (right down to family history/genetic predisposition)…slightly worse, if anything…appears to be receiving a similar quality of care and similar intervention strategies to me now that the diagnosis has been made. Minus the cost.
A point to remember … or be aware of if you weren’t already … “universal healthcare” is not an identical product from one country to another. Delivery and financing between countries is as different as from the US
In particular, Ireland. As a senior with something terminal, you won’t get the operation you need. Say a major heart problem.
Other aspects of care for seniors are limited. For instance, minor surgeries on an ankle. Medical care for seniors is secondary in Irish culture.
The UK is just cheap.
Germany and France might be the opposite.
Each EU culture is different, but seniors are allowed to die in peace. That said, the seniors die at an older age than in the US.
Then again there is a divide in the stats in the US. Rich dying later than their EU counter parts. Poor in the US earlier. The divide is much more extreme in the US.
However, that’s not too different from here with some interventions. Liver transplant, for instance…and presumably other organs too. 70 years was effectively the age cut off at husband’s former gig. 65 … unofficially … at the University hospital (the other show in town)
I will add, though, that I took a leaf out of your book and consulted Google concerning the cardiac procedures that @WendyBG and my husband underwent as Real Grown Ups … specifically asking if bio Bentall procedures are performed on the elderly in Ireland (I know you didn’t have the full shebang, @WendyBG but close enough) For some extraordinary reason the AI overview oracle didn’t seem to agree with you.
Whilst I’m down this rabbit hole, I’ll dump this link on the history of this spectacular surgery for anyone interested (and as a repository for me to get back to in depth)
The big difference now with Ireland is the wealth in Ireland. My history or knowledge is perhaps outdated. I am citing different times with my grandparents and an uncle. He went to Scotland for a major heart operation in the early otts. Ireland would not pay for it.
That said good luck in Dublin finding a provider or hospital bed. That is uptodate. It can be done but good luck nonetheless.
I must be the odd one out here. I have MA (Humana) and have never had an issue with finding a doctor, being treated, or with billing being denied. The only preauthorization I need was for a couple of spinal surgeries abut 8 years ago and those came through without a glitch.
Meanwhile Mrs. Goofy is on traditional Medicare. She pays more than I do, has had some (minor) trouble finding a provider for certain things, and pays more for (some) prescriptions.
That’s great…for you. Enjoy in good health, as they say. However, you’ve surely read that there are others (not necessarily on this board) that have not been so fortunate.
You’ve also had the opportunity to read that managed Medicare, as much as it’s controlling cost and providing satisfactory care for you, it’s doing so with subsidies from the rest of us. I can’t say I gave too much thought to this until I started digging a bit deeper over the course of this thread…and I’m going to blame @intercst for planting that seed … but given the way the insurance companies are bilking taxpayers and us trad Medicare beneficiaries, I’m starting to think that MA plans are most definitely due for an overhaul.
I know that in the UK you are much less likely to get long term kidney dialysis, especially if you’re elderly.
You are significantly more likely to receive long-term kidney dialysis in the United States than in the United Kingdom. The treatment rate and overall prevalence of end-stage renal disease patients on dialysis are substantially higher—often double—in the U.S. compared to Western European nations including the U.K. [1, 2]
Key Differences in Dialysis Rates
Higher U.S. Incidence: The U.S. has a much higher rate of patients starting and staying on dialysis per million population. [1]
Patient Demographics: American dialysis populations include a higher percentage of elderly patients and individuals with complex multi-system medical complications who might face tighter access limitations or conservative management pathways in certain European systems. [1, 2]
Underlying Health Factors: Higher local rates of diabetes, hypertension, and demographic health disparities drive up the absolute number of people needing kidney replacement therapy in the U.S. [1, 2, 3]
That’s actually amazing. Brits are living 3 years longer than Americans, even though they are dying from treatable diseases.
That doesn’t mean that Medicare Advantage patients are receiving more health care (“prior authorization” makes sure they get less.)
That’s a measure of the extra cost of involving a for-profit insurance company in your health care, and the $50 Billion worth of documented fraud being perpetrated by insurance CEOs.
Not so amazing when you read through the list of differences there. The Brits…and especially a good many European countries…don’t yet have the extended history of overeating to the degree that Americans have.
Fine, but we do agree that there are both positive and negative experiences. The negative ones tend to be noisier.
“Enjoy in good health, as they say. However, you’ve surely read that there are others (not necessarily on this board) that have not been so fortunate.”
Just had another thought on these managed Medicare plans and “upcoding” in the context of my past experience of erroneous diagnostic codes finding their way onto my medical history. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this happens quite frequently (for the reader to define as they wish) as a way to increase revenue right down to practice/primary care level.
I bet a judiciously constructed prompt for the Google search box will clarify that a bit more.
Yep. Which is why they should be illegal. It costs 22% more per enrollee TO THE TAXPAYERS. For no additional benefit, and -as intercst mentions-, lots more red tape (like pre-auths). Insurance is basically taking a government benefit and monetizing it to their advantage (maybe that’s why they call it “Medicare Advantage”?), and -as usual- the taxpayers subsidize the corporations.
It’s just another skim that victimizes vulnerable people.
Did you manage to wade through the articles…including the hyperlinks (and the hyperlinks contained therein?)? Sober reading indeed. The suggestions for reform of the whole managed Medicare Advantage bamboozle offer a the potential to make these plans unattractive enough … with “guardrails” in place to stymie the obvious fraud … that I reckon enough folk would voluntarily steer clear of them to make true outlawing unnecessary.
Mind you, given that these insurance companies are adept enough to find the tiniest exploitable loophole to charge through, maybe that’s wishful thinking.
Since I am still stuck down this rabbit hole, I asked “The Oracle”…i.e. husband, not Google … if the folk with managed Medicare were likely to have those erroneous diagnoses on their patient portals that I inadvertently found on mine. “Of course!” was the answer…“How else do you think they’re able to get prior approval for anything that costs money?”