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[Sirus]

Yeah, don't trust cops or doctors. They have this magnificent way of making any possible crisis worse.

I disagree. I might have died at a certain point in my life if I hadn't gotten medical aid. And the cops I've met have been nothing but helpful, if honest enough to tell me that I'd probably never see my stolen GPS again.

I didn't say not to seek medical aid, I said not to trust doctors.

And trust me, cops are very different when you are their target instead of their burden.

But if I hadn't trusted the doctor who told me "come in, this sounds serious", I'm not sure what would have happened. And in the years that followed, the doctors were very nice and did their best to treat me.

Would asking a cop for directions only for them to make sure I wasn't drunk be considered making myself a target?

[kaijyuu]

As always, behind the uniform, these are people. There are good and bad ones. There are institutionalized behaviors that can royally screw you over and are worthy of much rage. But they're not soulless monsters out to get you.

[nenjin]

Just your money.

[Loud Whispers]

Just your money.

-Free healthcare.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I don't know why everyone brings that up. The Hippocratic oath doesn't mean anything. It is a tradition to take it when you graduate from med school, but you by no means have to and it is not at all binding.

Because you shouldn't need to have someone telling you what's right and wrong when you're working in the freaking health sector-who gives a crap if it's legally binding or not, your job is to make people's lives better and to protect them from injustices, not put them in harm's way.
I suppose it says a lot when morality isn't even considered a valid motive for actually helping people anymore.

The Hippocratic oath doesn't mean anything.

I seriously winced a bit.

My point is that you shouldn't expect anything based off the existence of the oath.

But if I hadn't trusted the doctor who told me "come in, this sounds serious", I'm not sure what would have happened. And in the years that followed, the doctors were very nice and did their best to treat me.

Very fortunate for you, then.

Would asking a cop for directions only for them to make sure I wasn't drunk be considered making myself a target?

Probably depends on the cop. Lot of power freaks and psychopaths to be found there.

[Aklyon]

Just your money.

-Free healthcare.

In the 'cause huge arguments in the usa' way, or somewhere else?

[nenjin]

Just your money.

-Free healthcare.

The same thing about free lunches applies to healthcare.

My point is that you shouldn't expect anything based off the existence of the oath.

In case anyone didn't get enough Orwell in their diet today, eat up.

[Reudh]

Yes, but Kaijyuu, you have to admit that at times it really does seem like that.
I go through phases of utter misanthropy because of things that people do, then someone does something nice and I don't hate humans anymore.

[Loud Whispers]

My point is that you shouldn't expect anything based off the existence of the oath.

Yes, you should expect healthcare from a healthcare worker based off the expectation of them being an actual decent human being.

The same thing about free lunches applies to healthcare.

They're readily available to all who need them?

[nenjin]

No. It's a complete and total misnomer. Available =/= free.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

My point is that you shouldn't expect anything based off the existence of the oath.

Yes, you should expect healthcare from a healthcare worker based off the expectation of them being an actual decent human being.

I expect unnecessary expensive tests based off the expectation of profit margins and pain based off the expectation of incompetence.

You want to take the risk of stepping into a hospital, be my guest. But I'm not following you unless I am clearly dying.

[GlyphGryph]

Ninjax10

Yeah, I know, people. Although admittedly a lot of the "people" in both professions are insufferable dicks. But still just people.

But don't trust them. Especially the administrators who make the actual decisions, who almost assuredly will not be thinking of YOU as a person when those decisions are made.

But if I hadn't trusted the doctor who told me "come in, this sounds serious", I'm not sure what would have happened. And in the years that followed, the doctors were very nice and did their best to treat me.

And if my brother had trusted his doctors, he'd be dead. I didn't say you shouldn't use doctors - they do have information you don't. But I think it's a bit foolhardy to trust that they have your best interests at heart, care about you beyond your appointment time, or have structural incentives to create the best health outcome for you instead of the place they are employed by.

Sometimes, one is lucky enough to find exceptions. It can take a long time, but it's incredibly nice when it happens. It's not common though, and they key there is that you can trust that doctor without treating "being a doctor" as inherently any more trustworthy for medical advice than the helpful sales associates at Circuit City or Best Buy are for which technology you should buy and what things go best with it.

[GlyphGryph]

although, we technically have to pay a tax which acts as insurance, so...

This person was insured, mind you, but the US has a special system where that doesn't mean anything is going to be paid for.

Edit: Whoops, didn't mean to make this a separate post.

No. It's a complete and total misnomer. Available =/= free.

Except we are talking about free, as in "You don't pay for it".

I take a couple bus rides for free every day - each ride costs me nothing. However, I do purchase a transit pass - this is what /allows/ me to ride the bus for free. But each individual bus ride is still very much free. I could ride the bus a hundred times, right now, without paying a penny. That's how free works.

[Loud Whispers]

No. It's a complete and total misnomer. Available =/= free.

Ok then. Replace "free" with "costs distributed evenly amongst the entire populace." It has the same effect, the healthcare business becomes about the healthcare, not the profits.

You want to take the risk of stepping into a hospital, be my guest. But I'm not following you unless I am clearly dying.

I've stepped into hospitals multiple times with no bills, happy to be healthy or treated. This just sounds so horrifically wrong, a part of me dies inside to realize it is

[nenjin]

Ok then. Replace "free" with "costs distributed evenly amongst the entire populace." It has the same effect, the healthcare business becomes about the healthcare, not the profits.

I just hate the term free given the world we live in. Nothing we make or provide as a species is free, and yet culturally we throw that word around a lot to make something more enticing, disguising what goes on underneath.