NWR: Universal Health Care

kaesha

I was watching the Daily Show last night, and it had some clips of some Republican senators talking about the evils of Canada's "socialist" health care system. The system is, by no means, perfect, but I didn't realize that ours gets vilified as much as yours does up here.One of the things that gets drilled into us is that the American health care system is terrible. I would LOVE to know if everything the people tell us is an exaggeration! Our understanding of the system is it bankrupts people, it's elistist so that only the rich get good care. If you can't afford to have life-saving surgery, you won't get it. True? Untrue? Dispel some myths for me!

peachmango

Honestly, I don't know much about the Universal Health Care that is being promoted right now.  I am very worried about the overall cost of the proposed system.I'm fairly healthy and the one time that I had a minor surgery, the insurance companies paid for it.  I didn't have to do anything.  So I'm pretty happy with my healthcare right now.  But I do understand that there are people who have issues with it.  Whether or not your insurance company will pay for the life saving surgery I think depends on the type of surgery and why you're getting it.  I've heard that insurance companies have turned down surgeries for people who are terminally ill and the surgery will only extend their life for a short amount of time. 

vanilla15

I would have to agree that I don't know nearly as much as I should I our current and potential health care system.  I think everyone hears mixed reviews of both systems.  Fortunately, I have always had a job that provided health insurance, but I know in the few months b/t moving from LA back to New Orleans & getting a new job, I had to pick up COBRA which was around $400/month! Luckily I had savings, but not sure what I would have done if I hadn't.  When I tried to get my own individual plan, I was denied coverage b/c of a pre-exsisiting, albeit minor, condition.  To me, it seems the really poor can get Medicaid & obviously the rich can afford the costs...the problem falls in those that make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but their job doesn't offer any coverage & they can't afford an individual plan or get denied coverage.I am not sure what it is...but there must be a happy medium!

jujubee96

If you have a good employer (or one that has a lot of employees), your health care is better obviously than some others... I've seen that depending on the plan that your employer wants to pay for, you either have better benefits or worse.  That's why I said if the employer has a lot of employees, it can help - it gives them leverage I guess to buy better deals or something.  DH's emergency room visit had a co-pay of $150 (he works for a small firm).  Mine is $0 I'm pretty sure. The rich definitely can get better care since they are willing to pay for it.  I think many of the problems can arise when (a) ppl don't have insurance at all through their employer and buying it on their own is too expensive, and (b) when a person's health coverage is not adequate because of what I mentioned above - employers not buying as much coverage, and not covering certain procedures, conditions, etc. You def have to pay more for better care - especially with a good employer - there are 2 types of coverage, PPO and HMO - you have to pay more for PPO, but it usually covers more medical conditions/surgeries, etc.  That is, for example, a PPO might allow you to have a knee surgery that will allow you to be able to run again - but you still have to pay around 20%, PPO covers 80%.  The HMO just wouldn't cover the procedure at all.  The procedures it does cover, however, you usually don't have to pay as much as 20%, just a co-pay or something like that.Well, that has been my experience with it anyway, and I've had at least 3 different providers since I've been an adult.

jujubee96

".....You def have to pay more for better care - especially with a good employer  ..."scratch that part I said esp with a good employer, I don't know what I meant, it doesn't make sense.

kaesha

Interesting! See, I've never paid for anything (well, that's not strictly true, we pay through our taxes) and I've had minor surgeries, physiotherapy, specialist doctors, a family doctor that's super accessible.So, if you don't get insurance through your employer is 400$ a month usual? What's this about pre-existing conditions - they won't cover you if you already have something?

jujubee96

My experience with pre-existing conditions: if you have insurance before your new insurance provider (no lapse in coverage) - then pre-existing conditions are covered. If you do have a lapse of coverage, a new provider once told all of us (teachers meeting, when I was a teacher) that it will be covered after 6 months of being on the plan.

mdjs

My FI doesn't have insurance through his employer and pays $180 a month for insurance.  With that, he gets basically "catastrophic coverage," meaning that all the little things you get from a doctor cost him a lot of money.  X-rays?  That will be $400.  Physical therapy?  Try $600.  People do go bankrupt.  My mom was uninsured when she broke her leg and was in a wheelchair for 2 years.  Her medical bills totaled over $500,000.  She is responsible for those bills herself.Traditionally, the US health care system was centered on employer-based insurance, and most employers provided health coverage.  Throughout the last 50 years, as people have become more mobile in employment, the risks of health coverage (as well as a lot of other things--like retirement) have shifted onto individuals.  This is a disadvantage, because individuals don't have the same bargaining power as an employer or any large group trying to negotiate. This is why some type of health reform is essential in the US right now.  There isn't really any finalization of the current proposals, but essentially they are putting forward a hybrid of a "socialist" plan like Canada's and an employer-based plan.  So, people who have employer coverage will be able to keep it.  People who don't will be required to get coverage, either through private insurers or a public plan.  Those individual costs will be subsidized based on how much money you make. People talk a lot of crap about Canada's system, but a lot of that is politics.  Americans hate the word "socialist!"Sorry this is so long!  I was a researcher on this issue all last year so it is close to my heart!

burichan

I know one of the reasons why health care can be so expensive is due to insurance fraud. This spikes up the health care costs.

kaesha

Yeah, it seems like the word socialist sends many Americans into a tizzy. I'm still surprised that even Alberta (which many Canucks call Texas North), which is very much an oil/cattle place with capitalist values freaked out a few years ago when the premier suggested introducing a two-tier health care system, where you could pay for procedures if you wanted them faster. Socialism (in terms of health anyway) seems ingrained in the Canadian identity.Of the money insurance companies take - how much of that is profit? As for fraud - would having universal health care help prevent the defraudation of the system?Sorry, so many questions! It's a subject I'm really interested in. The man who introduced universal health care to Canada (Tommy Douglas) was voted the greatest Canadian ever a few years ago, and I've only just realized how much I view universal health care as part of my cultural identity.

peachmango

Seeing how the government can't even stop fraud of the current welfare system, it is doubtful that universal health care will stop fraud.  This is a really interesting subject and I really wish I knew more about it!Regarding $400 a month for health insurance, I think the amount of money paid by my employer and myself adds up to between 3-400 a month so if someone were not employed, paying $400 a month for insurance is probably about right.  My company does have PPO though so it's supposed to be more expensive.  Interesting thing.. I live in Massachusetts and they started instituting a plan where health care insurance is required by ALL.  If you don't have health care insurance, then you ahve to pay a penalty via taxes.  Because I've been employed (luckily), it really hasn't affected me.   I haven't seen taxes go up because of health insurance or anything.  Nor have I heard that the system is dramatically improved. 

jujubee96

somewhat related: California seems to balance budget ...http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-california-budget22-2009jul22,0,1856950.story but some of the effects of the cuts:an excerpt:Tens of thousands of seniors and children would lose access to healthcare, local governments would sacrifice several billion dollars in state assistance this year and thousands of convicted criminals could serve less time in state prison. Welfare checks would go to fewer residents, state workers would be forced to continue to take unpaid days off and new drilling for oil would be permitted off the Santa Barbara coast.I have no idea how Cal's budget got into such a deficit, the whole thing sucks.