Universal Healthcare as Painful as the DMV?
This morning I had an appointment at the DMV in Santa Barbara. I had never received my registration decal that I had paid for two months ago, and instead of them just putting a new one in the mail, I had to go through a whole process of lines, attitude and endless forms. I posted about it on Facebook and it immediately started a discussion.
My friend Manny even went as far as to say:
“Food for thought: experiences at the DMV and Post Office are one of the arguments against socialized medicine. Can you imagine trying to get in to see a doctor under those conditions? I have a feeling it wouldn’t be much different- and I support universal health care…”
Whoa. Wait. Hold the phone. You simply cannot compare the DMV or the Post Office with what healthcare coverage for everyone might be like. First off, we have no frame of reference because we’ve never had universal healthcare in this country and second, you’re talking about professions that are night day.
Generally, people that go to work in the medical profession do so because they want to help people. They invest a large portion of their lives studying things like biology and chemistry and eventually they head off to medical or nursing school. Beyond the sacrifices it takes to learn the medical profession, you spend an exorbitant amount of money on school and training. In short, you don’t get into the medical field because it’s “easy.”
Don’t get me wrong, there are scores of good people that work at the Post Office and I’m sure (although I’ve never personally met one) at the DMV. But, let’s be realistic here – how many people go to “DMV School” or “Postal Academy?” My guess is that the vast majority of the people that occupy these jobs do so because it is a form of income. It probably wasn’t their goal in life from an early age.
Comparing the DMV and the USPS to what universal health coverage *might* be like simply because they would be under some sort of government oversight is just silly and short-sighted. Schools are publicly controlled as well, are you comparing teachers to DMV employees? No, because teaching is another profession that you generally don’t happen into by accident. You have a passion for it.
Agree? Disagree? Let’s chat in the comments.
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11 Comments, Comment or Ping
Manny
Cool- two conversation threads! To clarify a bit, I’m not talking about employees per se, I’m talking about the whole “experience”. A big part of my beef with the DMV/Post Office is the bureaucracy that’s associated with it. I think there are very few government institutions that are streamlined and pleasant experiences, and although universal health care is definitely needed, I can imagine the red tape and waiting rooms that will come with it…
Dec 11th, 2008
Scott
Fair enough – red tape, yes. The attitude that everyone at the DMV seems to walk with? Don’t think so.
Red tape and government shouldn’t mean that you’re an asshole.
-S
Dec 11th, 2008
Manny
Certainly, if you’re serving people, you shouldn’t be an asshole. To be honest, I’ve never really run into anyone with attitude, either at the PO or DMV, except maybe “underly-enthusiastic”.
Dec 11th, 2008
Chad
The new site design is great. Good job guys.
I grew up in a small town of 40-50 thousand people. My memories from the hospital were pretty good. you went to the emergency room, maybe sat for at most an hour if you weren’t gushing blood, then you were taken care of. However now i’ve moved to the Chicago land area and a few months ago visited a friend at Rush hospital. The waiting room there was like something you see on tv. sickly looking, low income/educated (assuming… based on the way they were dressed and spoke). They were all piled on top of each other. I can’t imagine the government trying to take over that process and improve it at all. The lines would be even longer. you would have to see 5 different people and file out multiple forms…and if you messed up a form you’d have to resubmit it. I can’t see any friendly service from a front desk person who’s getting minimum wage for handing out forms. I think the doctors and nurses would still be the same but it’s the initial experience that would be affected.
I also never had a problem with the DMV until i moved to a more densely populated area.
Dec 11th, 2008
Filip
Hey Guys,
I think a big problem is the system in place by hospital management. These people work all their young adult lives to get a medical degree they then turn up into a public hospital, where they hope they can do the most good. But they get poorly paid and have to send people off due to a lack of insurance or ability to pay. No wonder they get demotivated. It’s also no wonder a lot of doctors go into a private practice.
Now I don’t know about how hospitals are run in the US-is there a hospital oversight board? But by not having to worry about if people can or cannot pay they don’t have to become depressed at the thought of what will happen to rejected patients. Further more there needs to be some kind of government pay rise/support system for health care workers. They work long shifts; in high stress environments. In my opinion these professionals deserve to be paid extra for their invaluable contribution to society not minimum wage. (Don’t even get me started on minimum wage)
Dec 16th, 2008
Ryan
“You simply cannot compare the DMV or the Post Office with what healthcare coverage for everyone might be like. First off, we have no frame of reference because we’ve never had universal healthcare in this country and second, you’re talking about professions that are night day.”
Really?
Go spend a day at a veteran’s hospital- it is a great “frame of reference,” and it’s not one that gives me any confidence having been “served” by it for the last 12 years.
Dec 26th, 2008
Kara
Just listened online for the first time today, so I’m catching up on the website. I have to say that, in my experience, the DMV and the USPS are not comparable. I’ve moved quite often and the visit to change licenses, etc., at the DMV is pretty universally miserable. This is due to the lines, the paperwork bureaucracy, and, sorry to say, very often the attitudes of the employees.
On the other hand, I’ve had a lot of pleasant interactions with USPS employees. Just a couple of days ago, I waited in line at the post office nearest my house and watched all of the employees (there were 4 of them, I think) address each customer kindly and attentively. The line was long, and might have been annoying if the atmosphere hadn’t been so calm and warm due to the employee’s attitudes. My day was actually made better, not worse, by my errand there. Add to that the fact that, for what is really a relatively small fee, I can send anything practically anywhere around the world efficiently. I don’t know — I just don’t see the reason for cynicism with the USPS.
Whether universal healthcare would mimic the DMV or the postal service — I have no clue. I’d like to give it a try, though!
(It does occur to me, also, that perhaps the fact that I interact much more often with the USPS than the DMS weighs in favor of the postal service — perhaps I’ve had just as many bad experiences, but they’ve been outnumbered by the good over the years? Hmm.)
Jan 24th, 2009
Robert
They do get paid a lot more… for now.
Mar 11th, 2009
flash game
I think there are very few government institutions that are streamlined and pleasant experiences, and although universal health care is definitely needed, I can imagine the red tape and waiting rooms that will come with it.
Mar 20th, 2009
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