Like Anything Else, With Health Care You Get What You Pay For

Did you hear about the man in Sweden who got sick of waiting for his gaping wound to be sewn up, so he did it himself?

The Local: A 32-year-old took the needle into his hands when he tired of the wait at Sundsvall hospital in northern Sweden and sewed up the cut in his leg himself. The man was later reported to the police for his impromptu handiwork.

An hour might not seem like too long a wait, unless you’re bleeding and in need of stitches! But hey, you get what you pay for, as one commenter on the above linked article pointed out.

In defense of the health system in Sweden I have the following to say. Delays happen because there is shortage of staff. Medical procedures take a long time to complete. Doctor’s appointments for surgery that are not life threatening can take one year because specialists are few in number.

Should you however like to see a faster hospital service, you have to accept to pay more tax so that the present number of hospitals could increase from 66 to say 100 and staff size would increase likewise. The problem with this proposition is that it is so expensive that Swedish people will have to cut their consumption of other things, e.g., less clothing, travel and dinner in resturants. (sic)

I’d like to say this is what we can expect once all of Obamacare’s provisions kick in. But I’m afraid it’s going to be worse, much worse.

Via Memeorandum

Tags: cost, ER, give up, hospital, Jonas, leg, man, obamacare, sewed, Sweden