Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

It isn't exactly free, but if you need a quadruple pass surgery, or a hip or knee replacement, or cataracts done, or if you have to be intubated for covid, you won't pay for those, you will pay sky high hospital parking rates and a high rate to have a TV in your room.....but, still better than a few $1000s a night to stay in the hospital.

Yes, it's all good until you die in an emergency room because of overcrowding, or can't get in to see a family doctor because they are not open to taking new patients, or if you already have one, the nearest appointment is 2 months away, or your cardiologist won't see you for 6 months. Free indeed. You get what you pay for.

All true, but it has only recently really gone down hill. Having a family doctor is getting hard to find, doctors get paid more and work fewer hours if they are specialists. The waiting times are even longer because of covid. Hospital staff are overworked and in short supply, and that is a problem as kydfx pointed out, in the U.S. too. Still, it is nice to know that if you do have heart surgery you won't be getting a bill for $150000!

roadburner

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

It isn't exactly free, but if you need a quadruple pass surgery, or a hip or knee replacement, or cataracts done, or if you have to be intubated for covid, you won't pay for those, you will pay sky high hospital parking rates and a high rate to have a TV in your room.....but, still better than a few $1000s a night to stay in the hospital.

Yes, it's all good until you die in an emergency room because of overcrowding, or can't get in to see a family doctor because they are not open to taking new patients, or if you already have one, the nearest appointment is 2 months away, or your cardiologist won't see you for 6 months. Free indeed. You get what you pay for.

Robert Heinlein referred to it as “TANSTAAFL.”

mjfloyd1

Cheap, fast or good. Pick two.

ab348

mjfloyd1 said:

Cheap, fast or good. Pick two.

Unfortunately in Canada now it's none of the above.

henryn

It would seem that Canadians are relatively happy with their health care system. Not as happy as Americans with Medicare, but relatively so:
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/canadians-largely-satisfied-healthcare-system-eager-increased-access

Montreal, QC, December 2, 2021 — Amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Canadians continue to show relatively high satisfaction in their healthcare system, as revealed in a recent Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of the Montreal Economic Institute. Among the 1,168 adult Canadians surveyed, two-thirds (66%) report being satisfied (55% somewhat/12% very) with their province’s healthcare system. However, Canadians remain critical of several aspects of the health system, with seven in ten (71%) agreeing (29% completely/43% somewhat) that the system is too bureaucratic to respond quickly or adequately to the needs of the population and over half saying that recent investments in healthcare have either worsened (19%) or had no effect (35%) on the system.
These concerns have raised the question of the availability of private healthcare, where almost six in ten Canadians (58%) think the government should allow increased access to private entrepreneurs, as long as medically necessary care is fully reimbursed by the government.

So, if I’m reading this right, Canadians would prefer a system like Medicare here in the U.S.

roadburner

When my wife and I hit 65 this year we got shunted off into Medicare; we went from paying $0 monthly to $744 a month. The state does pick up the Part D premium and my prescription drug bill dropped a bit(it was already under $50 per month), so overall that "benefit" is essentially worthless.
All of which brings to mind this quote from P.J. O'Rourke:
"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free."

stickguy

You are in the lucky small percent that have government supplied Cadillac health care already. Huge numbers of people in their 60s have squitola and Medicare is a godsend.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

You are in the lucky small percent that have government supplied Cadillac health care already. Huge numbers of people in their 60s have squitola and Medicare is a godsend.

Exactly.

henryn

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

You are in the lucky small percent that have government supplied Cadillac health care already. Huge numbers of people in their 60s have squitola and Medicare is a godsend.

Exactly.

+1

driver100

@henryn You did some good research. Yes, we wait for some things longer than we should, yes the system isn't perfect, yes people and things fall between the cracks. But, would we give up our universal healthcare....I doubt it.
I would like to see a premium service for people willing to pay for it.......that might help the system overall.
One big problem right now is the lack of family doctors, almost 20% of the population has to rely on walk-in clinics, not enough family physicians.
A friend passed out on the golf course while in Florida. The ambulance came, he had every test done overnight in a hospital in Tampa. They couldn't find anything, it was probably a TMI ( transient ischemic attack), like a quick stroke....cost of one night stay in the hospital $12000 - covered by travel insurance. If it happened here the cost would be $0 (that's zero). We pay more for everything, especially gas and alcohol, but to me that is like paying a small amount for some very impressive insurance.
I think most Canadians would definitely be for, universal health care.

laurasdada

Road trip this afternoon, including Costco. RUG $4.20; PUG $4.96! Holy delta, Batman!
But, PUG <$5.00. Yay.

explorerx4

Due to my wife still working, My IRMAA doubles my medicare premiums, including Part D.
I also an paying for a supplemental plan. Total is about $600 a month. It's still worth it.
Next year, I think will avoid IRMA.

carnaught

@driver100, don’t forget that you pay higher yearly taxes so it ends up not being free for you. A colleague’s mother in Canada had quite a wait for retinal detachment surgery which lead to blindness - not cool.

jmonroe1

laurasdada said:

Road trip this afternoon, including Costco. RUG $4.20; PUG $4.96! Holy delta, Batman!
But, PUG <$5.00. Yay.</p>

———————————————
Yep, I noticed the price of gas is falling around my hood too. Not quite as cheap as you mentioned but it’s going down.

I think the next time I’m out I’ll be able to afford a couple gallons.

jmonroe

driver100

carnaught said:

@driver100, don’t forget that you pay higher yearly taxes so it ends up not being free for you. A colleague’s mother in Canada had quite a wait for retinal detachment surgery which lead to blindness - not cool.

Carnaught, Stories like that could happen, but that type of case is very rare. Most people might wait longer than they really should, but they will rarely wait until something really bad happens. However, I will say, covid has really slowed down the system for doing procedures that would have been done sooner.

I think most of the really negative stories should be discarded, unfortunately people use the information they think builds their case. And, doctors hate our universal system, because they are not as free to bill whatever they want to......costs are controlled by the government. And, doctors don't like following the government rules and paperwork, and getting paid via the government. Was it a doctor who told that story?

abacomike

GasBuddy shows my Costco is selling PUG for $4.45.9 per gallon. Big drop over a week ago. Going to fill up tomorrow.

dino001

I noticed ever increasing RUG-PUG spreads in last 10 years, not just by cents, but percentagewise. I suspect it's due to increasing share of fancy turbocharged engines requiring premium. PUG is definitely falling slower than RUG, probably partially due to slower replacement cycle, partially just because they can. Media always focus of RUG in their reporting, so PUG can be whatever they want.

dino001

abacomike said:

GasBuddy shows my Costco is selling PUG for $4.45.9 per gallon. Big drop over a week ago. Going to fill up tomorrow.

Wow, I just checked it shows $4.25 here in Brandon. I also filled up on Sunday and it was almost five bucks. So, who said prices won't fall when oil falls? I knew it happens, eventually, perhaps just not as fast as sometimes we think it should.

I heard an advise to look for not very stations during price hikes and busy ones during drops. It makes sense, prices at least somewhat reflect the cost for the station, so they'll make biggest adjustments around new supplies.

driver100

I saw a Genesis today, about a 2020 with the hockey stick on the side, and it looked really nice in red. JMonroe should get rid of his old mans colored G70 and get get something more youthful.

The downside is the Little Wannabe stole the rear end from my car;

explorerx4

Transporter for the Mustang said 5 day window to pick it up.
Today is the first day it could be picked up and that will be done in a couple of hours.
It's supposed to be delivered in OH tomorrow.
Much different than the movers.
I told my wife we should have gotten a big uhaul truck loaded it up and just had that transported.

henryn

explorerx4 said:

Transporter for the Mustang said 5 day window to pick it up.
Today is the first day it could be picked up and that will be done in a couple of hours.
It's supposed to be delivered in OH tomorrow.
Much different than the movers.
I told my wife we should have gotten a big uhaul truck loaded it up and just had that transported.

That's already been done, I think they call it "pods".

explorerx4

You have rent a special truck(expensive) to transport the pods.
My comment regarding the movers was mostly about how hard it is to pin them down to any dates for moving.

roadburner

@stickguy said:
You are in the lucky small percent that have government supplied Cadillac health care already. Huge numbers of people in their 60s have squitola and Medicare is a godsend.

I did have a very good plan; if the Medicare with Part D is a Cadillac plan then it is definitely the Cimarron edition.

henryn

explorerx4 said:

You have rent a special truck(expensive) to transport the pods.
My comment regarding the movers was mostly about how hard it is to pin them down to any dates for moving.

My understanding is that you do not transport the pod(s). They deliver the pod(s) to your address, and leave them in your driveway or whatever. You pack the pod(s), and the company then picks them up and delivers them to your new address. Or at least that's how I understand it.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

I saw a Genesis today, about a 2020 with the hockey stick on the side, and it looked really nice in red. JMonroe should get rid of his old mans colored G70 and get get something more youthful.

The downside is the Little Wannabe stole the rear end from my car;

————————————————-
Just for your info I don’t have a G70. I bought my Genny in ‘15 and it was the second edition of the original Genny that came out in ‘09 and that was my first Genny.

In ‘16 Hyundai decided to rename the Genny lineup. So they are now called the G70, G80 and G90. Mine would be a G80 if I purchased one today. @abacomike has the G90 which was called the Equus (top of the line model) before the new naming. The G70 is smaller than the G80 and the G90 but it is supposed to be a more sporty car and didn’t exist until ‘16 when the new naming went into effect.

Two weeks ago Son #1 decided to take my Genny when he participated in the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Rallye Race since most of the cars entered were not the run of the mill ordinary cars. They have a car cruise of sorts before the race starts so folks could get a close up look of what cars are in the race. He figured my Genny would gather some interest (that’s why he borrowed it) but he didn’t think the reaction would be as high as it was. Believe it or not he said almost everyone that commented on the car said they liked the color and it fit that style of car to a T.

FWIW, they did very well in the race and came in quite high (well within the top 5) out of 102 entries and no one could believe that his youngest of 3 sons (my youngest grandson, #4, soon to be 16) could navigate the course as well as he did since he never did that before. Obviously he was quite excited about that. I could tell for years he was a car nut like his Dad but I didn’t know he was that serious about it. Wants to do it again next year to come in even higher than this year. I can’t imagine where he got that kind of enthusiasm.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

henryn said:

explorerx4 said:

You have rent a special truck(expensive) to transport the pods.
My comment regarding the movers was mostly about how hard it is to pin them down to any dates for moving.

My understanding is that you do not transport the pod(s). They deliver the pod(s) to your address, and leave them in your driveway or whatever. You pack the pod(s), and the company then picks them up and delivers them to your new address. Or at least that's how I understand it.

———————————————
I’m pretty sure you’re right about how the POD thingy goes. But, I have never seen a POD that was close in size to a 26 foot U-Haul. Of course you could get a half dozen POD’s but whose going to do that?

jmonroe

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

I just saw this in one of my newsfeeds, the picture is from Indio, CA. The story was about the drought conditions in California. This definitely says something about California. I'm not sure exactly what, but something.

ON EDIT: Looking at that picture, the word "surreal" kept coming into my mind. I looked up the definition of "surreal":

marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream

Yeah, that fits.

I’d go nuts living that close to my neighbors. Why bother to have individual houses? I’ve visited people in California and that density isn’t unusual.

Have you ever lived in an apartment or condo with shared walls?

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

@andres3 said:

Tesla.... young boy.... residential streets.... no, speed was not a factor. After all, even the frivolous law suit parents say the fire killed the boy, not impact. Of course, what started the fire? That boy needed a speed limiter set at 0.00 MPH to save him.

So it would have ended better if he was in a Mustang?

I don’t think it was a residential street from reading the article. It seems that he needed practice with high speed drifting.

But speed was not a factor? Just the rate at which he achieved speed because it was a Tesla?

Please enlighten me

Going too fast for conditions is a driver error unrelated to speed or speeding, but related to poor judgment. You can go too fast for conditions at BELOW the speed limit, for example. It's called being stupid.

explorerx4

Mustang was picked up.
Picture is a bit fuzzy, guess I was kind of nervous.

mjfloyd1

@andres3 said:
Going too fast for conditions is a driver error unrelated to speed or speeding, but related to poor judgment. You can go too fast for conditions at BELOW the speed limit, for example. It's called being stupid.

🤦‍♂️ He was driving too fast for conditions but speed had nothing to do with it? That makes sense

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:

That all could have happened at 70mph. We'll never know.

In any case, what's the point here? Lower the speed limit in that area to 15mph? Sure, that would have prevented this from happening.

The point is whatever you want it to be.

Odd that the Tesla was supposed to be speed limited to 85 mph after a prior speeding ticket. I didn’t see that that was ever taken off although I only skimmed the article.

My point would be if you want to drive 116 MPH in a 35 zone at least get an Audi instead of a Tesla so you don't crash on every curve

andres3

explorerx4 said:

A water heater in the garage wouldn't work for us unless the garage was heated, too.

You can put an insulation wrap on the water heater in colder climates, or at least they used to do that.

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

@andres3 said:

Going too fast for conditions is a driver error unrelated to speed or speeding, but related to poor judgment. You can go too fast for conditions at BELOW the speed limit, for example. It's called being stupid.

🤦‍♂️ He was driving too fast for conditions but speed had nothing to do with it? That makes sense

Here's another example. If Lewis Hamilton could take the same Tesla on the same curve at the same speed without killing himself, is the real cause of the crash fatality the speed or the driver?

mjfloyd1

But he was only going 86 mph over the posted speed limit on a bright sunny day with no adverse weather conditions and in traffic that was going 35 mph. Speed was clearly not a factor

The driver died. It was not Lewis Hamilton

andres3

roadburner said:

As I posted in CCBA...
So I received the following email from an out-of-state BMW dealer:
My team has discovered an opportunity for you to drive home a pre-owned BMW. Trade in your 2014 BMW M235i Coupe and enjoy the updated benefits of a newer 2020 BMW 230i xDrive Coupe.
Call me crazy, but I don't consider giving up 72 hp and being saddled with AWD to be "benefits."
But that's just me.

Kids these days. It's almost the same with the B9 S4 generation. Kids will say I upgraded from the B8 S4 not realizing they may have given up a ton of performance for the latest gadgets and doodads.

In my mind, I'm thinking if all you want is the tech, why not get a new Hyundai/Kia or Camry? Why an Audi?

I bash the latest generation S4 too much though; it's apparently a competent car on paper.

But these are outliers anyway; most are getting the heavier, taller, and more lumbering SQ5. Now for an SUV; it's certainly quick.

andres3

Gas just hit 4.99 at Costco in CA; time to go out and drive 116 MPH. What a bargain!

mjfloyd1

We need to start a go fund me for gas😇

roadburner

@mjfloyd1 said:
But he was only going 86 mph over the posted speed limit on a bright sunny day with no adverse weather conditions and in traffic that was going 35 mph. Speed was clearly not a factor

The driver died. It was not Lewis Hamilton

The law of natural selection in action.

mjfloyd1

Too bad that he didn’t learn from his prior speeding ticket

jmonroe1

mjfloyd1 said:

Too bad that he didn’t learn from his prior speeding ticket

————————————————
What’s that old saying…”you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”.

It’s a horrible waste when kids die before they’ve had a chance to live.

jmonroe

henryn

roadburner said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

But he was only going 86 mph over the posted speed limit on a bright sunny day with no adverse weather conditions and in traffic that was going 35 mph. Speed was clearly not a factor

The driver died. It was not Lewis Hamilton

The law of natural selection in action.

Which made me think of the "Darwin Awards", which caused me to remember the original Darwin Award for the guy who killed himself by mounting a JATO rocket on his car. So I went looking for the story, and wouldn't you know it, it has been debunked, an "urban myth".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JATO_Rocket_Car

You all know about the Darwin Awards – it's the annual honor given to the person who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way. Last year's winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out of it.


And this year's nominee is:


The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded into the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. the wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. The lab finally figured out what it was and what had happened.


It seems that a guy had somehow gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off – actually a solid fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy military transport planes an extra 'push' for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. Then he attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!


The facts, as best could be determined, are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles [4.8 kilometers] from the crash site. This was established by the prominent scorched and melted asphalt at that location. The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum thrust within five seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of 350 MPH [560 km/h], continuing at full power for an additional 20–25 seconds. The driver, soon to be pilot, most likely would have experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners, basically causing him to become insignificant for the remainder of the event. However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles [4.0 km] (15–20 seconds) before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles [2.3 km] and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet [38 m], leaving a blackened crater 3 feet [0.9 m] deep in the rock.


Most of the driver's remains were not recoverable; however, small fragments of bone, teeth and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.

roadburner

henryn said:

roadburner said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

But he was only going 86 mph over the posted speed limit on a bright sunny day with no adverse weather conditions and in traffic that was going 35 mph. Speed was clearly not a factor

The driver died. It was not Lewis Hamilton

The law of natural selection in action.

Which made me think of the "Darwin Awards", which caused me to remember the original Darwin Award for the guy who killed himself by mounting a JATO rocket on his car. So I went looking for the story, and wouldn't you know it, it has been debunked, an "urban myth".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JATO_Rocket_Car

You all know about the Darwin Awards – it's the annual honor given to the person who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way. Last year's winner was the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out of it.


And this year's nominee is:


The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded into the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. the wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it was a car. The type of car was unidentifiable at the scene. The lab finally figured out what it was and what had happened.


It seems that a guy had somehow gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off – actually a solid fuel rocket) that is used to give heavy military transport planes an extra 'push' for taking off from short airfields. He had driven his Chevy Impala out into the desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. Then he attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, got up some speed and fired off the JATO!


The facts, as best could be determined, are that the operator of the 1967 Impala hit JATO ignition at a distance of approximately 3.0 miles [4.8 kilometers] from the crash site. This was established by the prominent scorched and melted asphalt at that location. The JATO, if operating properly, would have reached maximum thrust within five seconds, causing the Chevy to reach speeds well in excess of 350 MPH [560 km/h], continuing at full power for an additional 20–25 seconds. The driver, soon to be pilot, most likely would have experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners, basically causing him to become insignificant for the remainder of the event. However, the automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles [4.0 km] (15–20 seconds) before the driver applied and completely melted the brakes, blowing the tires and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface, then becoming airborne for an additional 1.4 miles [2.3 km] and impacting the cliff face at a height of 125 feet [38 m], leaving a blackened crater 3 feet [0.9 m] deep in the rock.


Most of the driver's remains were not recoverable; however, small fragments of bone, teeth and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.

Does anyone besides me remember superchargers and rear axles powered by rocket fuel?

fintail

If you paid what we pay per capita and had not uncommon medical bankruptcy etc, maybe some of that would change

I wonder what those stats are for the US, with its likely less healthy population and definitely lower life expectancy.

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

It isn't exactly free, but if you need a quadruple pass surgery, or a hip or knee replacement, or cataracts done, or if you have to be intubated for covid, you won't pay for those, you will pay sky high hospital parking rates and a high rate to have a TV in your room.....but, still better than a few $1000s a night to stay in the hospital.

Yes, it's all good until you die in an emergency room because of overcrowding, or can't get in to see a family doctor because they are not open to taking new patients, or if you already have one, the nearest appointment is 2 months away, or your cardiologist won't see you for 6 months. Free indeed. You get what you pay for.

oldfarmer50

laurasdada said:

Road trip this afternoon, including Costco. RUG $4.20; PUG $4.96! Holy delta, Batman!
But, PUG <$5.00. Yay.</p>

RUG finally dropped below $4/gal. to $3.96 in a village 20 miles away. The difference between local and distant is now $0 .49/ gal so it is worth the trip if I buy 15 gallons or more.

oldfarmer50

mjfloyd1 said:

Too bad that he didn’t learn from his prior speeding ticket

Sometimes speed is relative. Yesterday we were on I-287 in NJ where the speed limit was 65. I was just keeping up with traffic and occasionally hit 87. It was like driving on a race track but if I was doing 65 I would have been rear ended or run off the road.

ab348

henryn said:

explorerx4 said:

You have rent a special truck(expensive) to transport the pods.
My comment regarding the movers was mostly about how hard it is to pin them down to any dates for moving.

My understanding is that you do not transport the pod(s). They deliver the pod(s) to your address, and leave them in your driveway or whatever. You pack the pod(s), and the company then picks them up and delivers them to your new address. Or at least that's how I understand it.

A year or so back when the house across the street sold, those folks used PODS to pack up. It was actually quite interesting to watch how the truck dropped off what is essentially a small shipping container in their driveway and then some days later came to pick it up. The truck has (for want of a better term) a "carriage" of sorts that extends off the back of the flatbed almost like a giant door slide but with wheels on struts below it supporting the weight. Then they have some sort of motorized system that drops it to the ground and retracts the carriage. Removal is the reverse. No idea of the cost, but the engineering is impressive.

ab348

henryn said:

It would seem that Canadians are relatively happy with their health care system. Not as happy as Americans with Medicare, but relatively so:
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/canadians-largely-satisfied-healthcare-system-eager-increased-access

Those types of surveys are essentially worthless since the sample of those surveyed is based on the general population and not necessarily those who actually have to use the healthcare system here. Relatively healthy people who seldom actually try to access the system are happy of course (unless they want lower taxes, but it is remarkable how many people do not make that connection mentally, still believing it is "free"). Once you get to those people who are actually trying to get care it is a very different story. The system has essentially collapsed over the past year for a variety of reasons.

tjc78

We use PODS all the time for business purposes. Very convenient when we need temp storage or when the LL won’t allow a permanent container on the property.

stickguy

I priced pods. Not particularly cheap. Most cost effective was renting a truck and hiring loading help (no different since somebody has to load the pod) then just driving it yourself.

Also more control of when it arrives.

Though pods are good if you want to start loading weeks in advance.

ab348

driver100 said:

A friend passed out on the golf course while in Florida. The ambulance came, he had every test done overnight in a hospital in Tampa. They couldn't find anything, it was probably a TMI ( transient ischemic attack), like a quick stroke....cost of one night stay in the hospital $12000 - covered by travel insurance. If it happened here the cost would be $0 (that's zero).

If it happened here he probably would have recovered before anyone even saw him in the emergency room, assuming he could actually get in there. He would consider himself lucky because he didn't die in Emerg while waiting to be seen as happens now.

https://vancouversun.com/health/north-van-patient-dies-in-waiting-room-of-overcrowded-understaffed-hospital

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/witness-who-spoke-out-after-fredericton-er-death-receives-outpouring-of-support-1.5995531


The sacred cow that our system here has created really needs to be replaced as it is crumbling rapidly and there isn't enough money to throw at fixing a badly broken model. What that would be nobody knows since it seems health care in most countries is struggling, but I can only think there must be a better way.

One thing that I've heard floated that might be an improvement is the concept of "Urgent Care" clinics as we see in the US. They fit somewhere between Emergency (which nowadays here are supposed to do everything from routine suture removal to life-and-death measures) and family doctors who are no longer readily accessible. These days going to an emergency room here is the last thing you want to do unless it is indeed an emergency, and even that is no guarantee you will be seen in time.