Swedish healthcare is a bureaucratic nightmare.  China is better

Malcolm Lerider

I am Swedish and enjoy free healthcare in my own country. I still prefer Chinese healthcare way above Swedish healthcare.  Why?

This is what I do in Sweden:

I go to the health clinic (not allowed to see someone directly at a hospital). I only get to see a general practitioner. The general practitioner will diagnose and often get it wrong. After 2-3 visits (probably 3-8 weeks), the general practitioner will put me in the system to see a specialized doctor at the hospital. I then have to wait weeks or months to get a time with the specialized doctor. The specialized doctor will diagnose, often without any scan, because the scan is paid by taxes and should not be used unless "really needed". After a few visits to the specialized doctor without improvements, they may allow an X-ray, CT scan, or whatever. Then I need to book a time for the scan, and another time to see the doctor again. This process continues with time booking back and forth. I have a good diagnose after ~4 weeks at best, often it will take months or even years.

This is what I do in China:

I go directly to the hospital and tell the nurse at the entrance what kind of problem I have. She tell me which specialization I need to see. I go to a counter, pay about 1 USD for a ticket (with number) with the specialized doctor, then go directly to that department and queue. I usually get to see the specialized doctor within 30-60 minutes. The doctor will always let me do X-ray, CT scan, or whatever, if they think it will help to diagnose. I pay for that myself, ~70 USD, and I can go queue for that scan directly the very same day. After the scan, I go back to the specialized doctor again (no need to re-queue, just go directly). Doctor will look at the result and give a well informed diagnosis.

So with Swedish healthcare, it takes months to achieve what I can achieve in one day with Chinese healthcare.

And yes, not everyone can afford good healthcare in China, but there are very reasonable health insurance packages to buy there that the vast majority can afford.

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Trump: ‘We Are Getting Such Praise’ for Our ‘Common Sense’ Stance on Immigration

President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration is receiving praise for its “stance of common sense” when it comes to immigration, adding that he will not allow terrorist attacks that have occurred in the United States and around the world to happen in the U.S. on his watch.

“We are getting such praise for our stance, and it’s a stance of common sense - maybe a certain toughness, but it’s really more than toughness. It’s a stance of common sense, and we are going to pursue it vigorously, and we don’t want to have our country have the kinds of problems that you’re witnessing taking place not only here, but all over the world,” he said in a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“We won’t stand for it. We won’t put up with it. We’re just not going to let it happen. We’re going to give ourselves every bit of chance so that things go well for the United States, and they will go well,” Trump said.

The president said he wants the U.S. to have “a big beautiful open door,” but his administration cannot let “the wrong people in.”

“We want to have a big beautiful open door, and we want people to come in and come in our country, but we cannot let the wrong people in, and I will not allow that to happen during this administration, and people, citizens of our country want that, and that’s their attitude too, I will tell you,” Trump said.

Trump said he already knew the U.S. national security situation was not good when he was campaigning.

“When I was campaigning, I said it’s not a good situation. Now that I see it, including with our intelligence briefings, we have problems that a lot of people have no idea how bad they are, how serious they are – not only internationally, but when you come right here,” he said.

“Obviously, North Korea is a big, big problem, and we will deal with that very strongly,” Trump said, referring to North Korea’s launch of a banned ballistic missile on Sunday – the first test since the president took office.

“We have problems all over the Middle East. We have problems just about every corner of the globe no matter where you look,” Trump said.

The president said the U.S. has to “create borders” and let in “people that can love our country.”

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Sanctuary cities cave in face of Trump's funding threats

Several towns, cities and counties around the nation are caving to President Trump's threat to pull funding, and abandoning their "sanctuary" pledges to shield illegal immigrants from federal authorities.

Dayton, Ohio, dropped a policy that restricted the city’s cooperation with immigration officials pursuing illegal immigrants arrested for misdemeanors or felony property crimes, according to the Dayton Daily News. Police Chief Richard Biehl said federal authorities will no longer be impeded by the city when pursuing illegal immigrants being held by his department.

Other communities that have dropped policies of shielding illegal immigrant suspects from Immigration and Customs Enforcement include Miami-Dade and Dayton, are Saratoga, N.Y., Finney County, Kan., and Bedford, Penn., according to The Center for Immigration Studies, which keeps a list of sanctuary communities.

“We are reviewing policy changes at a multitude of other jurisdictions as well,” said Marguerite Telford, CIS’s director of communications, who said the organization is “being inundated” by officials on its sanctuary map who want to be taken off.

The mayor of Miami-Dade County, which was considered a sanctuary community, made headlines recently when he changed a policy that called for refusing to hold arrested immigrants for immigration officials unless they committed to reimbursing the county for the cost of detention.

Telling reporters that he did not want to imperil hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered jails to comply with federal immigration detention requests.

The changes have come on the heels of President Trump’s executive order giving the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security the power to cut federal funding to communities that are deemed sanctuaries for illegal immigrants. Trump also has authorized the DHS to publish a weekly list of sanctuary communities.

CIS, and other groups that favor strict immigration enforcement, laud Trump’s move.

“Are you really going to pick and choose what laws you’re going to enforce?” asked Telford. “If you want a change [in immigration policy], go to the legislature.”

While some communities are rethinking their sanctuary policies under the pressure of losing funding, public officials of others, particularly major cities, have vowed to defy Trump’s orders.

“We’re going to defend all of our people regardless of where they come from, regardless of their immigration status,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York at a recent press conference.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel also vowed to protect illegal immigrants, including ones suspected or convicted of crimes, from the feds.

“I want to be clear: We’re going to stay a sanctuary city," Emanuel said. "There is no stranger among us… you are welcome in Chicago as you pursue the American dream.”

The "sanctuary" term describes cities that employ a range of uncooperation with federal immigration authorities. Some refuse to hold suspects and even convicts who have completed their sentences for the feds to deport. Others refuse to furnish the feds with information on illegal immigrants who land on their radar through more benign activity.

Forbes contributor Adam Andrzejewski reported that more than 300 government jurisdictions claim to be sanctuaries, of which 106 are cities and “the rest are states, counties or other units of government.”

Supporters of sanctuary communities say that people who are here illegally but have not posed a danger to others or had trouble with police should not be turned over to immigration authorities.

Some police and town officials further argue that working with immigration officials will make people fearful of turning to them if they are the victim of a crime or have information about one.

“It’s incredibly disappointing to see cities and counties scaling back so-called "sanctuary" policies, which were largely adopted to further public safety and ensure immigrants weren’t afraid to call the police,” Grace Meng, a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, told Fox News.

Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, predicted many more communities will be dropping or dramatically modifying their sanctuary stances.

“We’re going to see more of this,” Mehlman told Fox News. “Faced with the possibility of losing federal dollars, they’ll choose to keep funding public services rather than protecting illegal aliens.”

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Gallup: 62% of Americans Say Trump Keeps His Promises

A new Gallup survey shows that strong majorities of Americans believe President Donald Trump keeps his promises, is a strong and decisive leader, and can bring about the changes this country needs.

However, only 44% of Americans think Trump "inspires confidence" and "can manage the government effectively," reported Gallup, and only 42% think Trump is "honest and trustworthy."

The survey, conducted Feb. 1-5, found that 62% of Americans believe Trump "keeps his promises." Fifty-nine percent believe he is a "strong and decisive leader, and 53% think he "can bring about the changes this country needs."

"The characteristics that Americans are most likely to say apply to Trump clearly reflect the key message of his inaugural address and his actions since taking office over three weeks ago," said Gallup.  "He made a large number of promises during his presidential campaign, and Americans give him the most credit for following through on those promises."

"His series of executive orders and Cabinet appointments show a president who is decisive and trying to bring about change, also qualities that a majority of Americans (59% and 53%, respectively) say apply to him," said Gallup.

"Americans are, however, less positive about his honesty -- echoing views that plagued both him and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton during last year's campaign -- and majorities are not convinced that he is able to manage the government effectively, that he inspires confidence or cares about the needs of 'people like you,'" said the survey group.

Not surprisingly, there were major differences between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to Trump. The survey found, for instance, that while 91% of Republicans believe Trump "keeps his promises," only 36% of Democrats agree with that assessment. While 94% of Republicans think Trump is a "strong and decisive leader," only 29% of Democrats think that way. Also, only 9% of Democrats believe Trump is "honest and trustworthy," but 81% of Republicans think he is "honest and trustworthy."

"Trump begins his presidency with a majority of the public believing that he keeps his promises, is a strong leader and can bring about needed changes," said Gallup.  "These traits fit well with his steady stream of sometimes controversial executive orders that have reflected what he said he would do during his campaign, continuing to exemplify a 'bull in the china shop' style and persona."

"Overall, it appears that one of Trump's most significant challenges will be to convince Americans that his hard-charging leadership style is ultimately going to be good for them and for the country," said the survey firm.

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