w their national healthcare card, receive treatment and go home. Now, consider the same example in the United States, assuming of course that the U.S. citizen is healthy and insured. The person must first attempt to contact their “primary provider” in an effort to obtain a referral to the emergency room. Assuming the doctor is in, the person waits on hold, while the physician’s assistant must interrupt the doctor from his treatment of other patients. The doctor will most likely authorize the visit. Then the injured person must lengthy paperwork at the hospital. After the person receives treatment, there are also follow-up HMO phone calls and paperwork, an arduous and time-consuming task. All of this is done to guarantee that the injured person will not receive a bill, however, there is still a chance that his HMO will not pay in full and the hospital will bill the patient for the balance. The whole process of receiving emergency treatment is approaching the absurd. An emergency is defined as an unforeseen combination of circumstances that calls for immediate action. It is not uncommon for people who are insured, to refuse needed medical treatment to avoid the hassles of insurance.There are also countless horror stories of what happens to people in need of emergency assistance who are uninsured. Elderly citizens often fall in between the Medicare cracks and die leaving enormous medical bills. Then there are citizens who are caught in the surreal world of Workers Comp, where money, if it ever shows up, is often too late.Healthcare is the one asset that affects every United States citizen. US citizens need to realize that the demand for healthcare services starts and ends with individuals. As personal involvement and education increase, people become empowered to make informed healthcare decisions, and that is good medicine for America as a whole....
