For those of us not old enough yet for medicare?

USA here, sorry I would/will not "TIP" a doctor here, they make enough money as is and have million dollar homes and such that they don't deserves a tip from someone who can't live like them.

So what that they spend 4-6 years in college for this type of job but do they care about their patients? "No"..All they care about is that $$$ in their pockets..

Do you know how many fields of doctors are out there? "Tons" and if one doctor can't tell what is wrong with you they sent you to another doctor in a different field, so if I gave out tips to every doctor I had to see I would be "BROKE"!

Some people here in the U.S. are turning to concierge medicine. Doctors have formed corporations that will give excellent, 24/7/365 coverage. You pay anywhere from $1500-2000 up front to become a patient, and then you have access to a live professional all of the time--even on holidays and weekends. Their offices are always open, and their practices include specialists of all kinds. Of course this means you may have to give up the dr. you've been seeing for years and see their drs., but these are not third-rate people we're talking about. Some of the top drs. in Dallas are doing this to protect themselves from Obamacare. They have hospital privileges, they write prescriptions, and do everything drs. ordinarily do. The difference is that you don't have to wait in line for 2-3 hours to have an appointment. A person still has to buy some kind of medical insurance per the government mandate, but knowing that a reputable dr. is available at all times takes some of the sting out of it.

I'm pretty sure America would finally revolt over something, if tipping doctors started. It might have worked had it been all along, but it's too late now.

Until January, I paid $174(ish) dollars a month to get a supplement insurance plan to go along with my Medicare (government sponsored) plan. Medicare paid my supplemental insurance plan the $100(ish) per month taken out of my Disability money to that insurance company. That gave me the ability to pay $5 copay for each prescription (only have three), $10 copay to see my primary doctor and $40 co-pay to see specialists and get test done. (Can't afford that, so try to avoid that. lol)

Out of the $275(ish) spent each month to the insurance company, they spent roughly $120(ish) for my prescriptions and $5 a month ($60 a year) to my doctor just for keeping me as a patient, therefore it doesn't benefit him to actually see me other than to help pay the woman in the office who answers the phones, fills out all the insurance work for all patients, keeps the files up to date, does his bookkeeping and answers his phones. That means he'd rather not see me often, and I got that message.

Now that Obamacare has gone into effect, I will only be paying $7 a month (along with that $100-ish that comes out of my Disability funds), my copays increases by $5-$20 (depending on if it's primary or specialists), the doctor only gets $3-$4 per month for having me as a patient, so he'll probably want to see me even less. (Oh, and I don't know what my deductible will be this year. A deductible is how much the insured has to pay before the insurance kicks in at all.)

Is it better than your system? I marvel that you only pay $30 a month for insurance, but I'd love to just have to fork over $25-$100 for the extras, especially since with my insurance it would cost me $100 a day to be admitted into a hospital, plus 20% of the rest of the cost (not including TV and phone use, which would also come out of my pocket.) The last time I was in the hospital it cost $8000 just for the anesthesiologist. That was back in 1999. Who knows how much they cost now? And they simply knock people out for the surgery!

No one in the U.S. can wrap their mind around that custom. I have told them about what you are saying .

I do think anytime a govt program gets between the doctor and the client you will have graft. Those who know their worth will find a way to get what they feel they are worth.

EVERYONE is a capitalist no matter what. We all only have so many hours in a lifetime to earn enough for our security for when we can't work.

A lady came back from living in China and gave a talk to us. EVERYONE over there finds a way around the governments rulings.

One lady ask about the welfare system over there . There is NONE. What about health care over there she asked.....Everyone can go to the hospital BUT all hospitals charge to open their doors in order to get inside...... no money ...no admittance.

No matter what anyone says I think our way of life is better even though some would like to destroy it. They just haven't been to the countries that have what some over here see as the promised way.

EDIT: The fact is that before insurance was wide spread the doctors made less , They accepted what the ( traffic ) person could pay in may cases and they also took payments of a few dollars a month. My friend paid $50.00 for the doctor caring for her when her first daughter was born and he took payments of $7.00 a month. That relationship is long gone because of insurance coverage.

U.S. health care is not a system. It is a patchwork of private insurance companies subject to their own state laws. They charge people premiums based on many factors. But in addition to monthly premiums, people have co-payments, co-insurance and must meet annual deductibles before insurance will even cover the bills. Most employers offer group rates on health insurance which the employee pays a part of.

The basic problem has been employees who cannot afford their share of the cost and adults and children who were rejected for insurance coverage due to their medical condition. That will disappear in 2014 for adults and has for kids in 2010.

Pres Obama has kept insurance in private hands as Americans wanted. In 2014 the law requires that everyone be insured in some way or you pay a fine. That is a financial decision based on A. that the government has had to chip into cover the cost of patients who dont pay the ER bill due to no insurance and B. that insurance premiums can only stop rising if everyone is included in the risk pool.

The big problem for many peoples' inability to pay medical bills has resulted in bankruptcy filings and bad credit. That should lessen in 2014.

Many Republican states filed lawsuits against the Dept of HHS and the Obama law because they dont want the federal government making this type of law. However, the high court ruled in favor of the law and it is going ahead.

If you follow the discussion you must learn how difficult the problem is. People cant afford insurance so they dont get health care. Lab tests, CTs, MRI can cost $1000. Who has that kind of spare cash? A general practitioner visit is $150, a specialist visit is $300, and that's just a consultation. Hospital charges are separate from doctors charges for surgery, which costs thousands. That why we have insurance.

The social plan is that people should be individuals and not rely on government charity. The taxes in the US are not high enough to pay for good health care for everyone. In other countries there is a spirit of cooperation and sacrificing for the common good. In the US people are ego-centric and have a need to be independent. It is an American characteristic.

In America, there is the marketing of brand names which is more influential on Americans from a young age and advertising of products like insurance. Everything that is normally a social policy in other countries is controlled and peddled by a handful of corporations which keep people indoctrinated to mass merchandising their entire lives. One would think their own identity is wrapped up with product identity.

Hi Marilyn - As you know I am functioning in a different system too - and sometimes there are just cultural differences that feel uncomfortable to us as westerners, but actually, in the long run, work out ok - I bet your husband would not have gotten that operation for $200 in the USA - and sometimes we benefit by looking at the larger picture -

In ten years of driving here, I have been "caught" speeding a couple of times - there was no radar, no proof, just a cop on the side of the road waving me down - coincidentally just before a holiday when he might need some extra cash - I was probably speeding a little, but not much - he greeted me pleasantly and asked if i knew why he stopped me - yes, I spoke with him in Thai which pleased him tremendously. He asked me if i understood that i would have to pay a fine - and I said yes and asked how much, knowing it would go directly into his pocket - he smiled, we had a pleasant exchange of words, and he finally told me I could pay whatever I wanted - I gave him abt $3 - he smiled, was pleased as much by having such a friendly exchange, greeted pleasantly my entire family in the car - and everyone was pleased htat all went along politely and with good will -

the protocol is not the same as in USA - some might even feel like they were unjustly "shaken down" - but if the alternative from home was paying $150 in fines to a court after being clocked on a radar gun from a cop hiding in the bushes w/the similar intent of fund raising - well, I will smile and hand over hte $3 and feel better about it.

Adjust to the system - it is not necessarily wrong or right - it is just the ways of the culture you chose to live in.

My original memories. Wearing a pink satin long line brassiere that had a elastic on the front of it and one at the rear. Padded sanitary towels were hooked on to the hooks for monthly problems. The corsets would be laced over the top of the pad. Being attached to the bottom of the brassiere, as you walked the pad moved between the thighs making me wet. Haven't seen them for a while.

No. Here in the USA doctors don't get "Tips" our insurance pays for the office visits, we pay 15.00 for a co-payment. I like it that way, because we have a lot of doctor visits here between my husband and me. You're right they should do away with the Tip System there. My husband gets his insurance through his shop. It also pays for half of our prescription drugs which is important. I don't think doctors here would like it.

Doctors in America drive Teslas and LandRovers. They don't need a tip on top of what they already make. I'll save that for those making minimum wage or less.

The problem here is not Doctors it is insurance companies. As long as all elected officials receive "gifts" from insurance lobbyists things are not going to get better.