Canadian Health Care

What on earth are these people to do?  And to think this is probably going on in towns and cities across the country.  Small business is suffering.  Fewer people have disposable income to kickstart the economy.  Debt, debt, debt.  Another flimsy tower of cards that will tumble down in the years to come.

Just read the thread where someone said the US government was talking about taxing their payments to healthcare....sigh. They don't have "taxable benefits" in the US???? I truly wish someone would sit them all down and gently explain that their country is killing them! Ruining them financially! Taking better care of other countries...and the soldiers who are fighting there.

So sad....

Rico, I hope you're right.  (About the potential for a simpler - and stronger - bill to emerge from the wreckage . . . not about the consequences of drifting along with the status quo.  I KNOW you're right about that.)  Check out the new healthcare thread that Brenda R has started, where she's posted about her problems affording basic care.   

I'm one of the shrinking number of Americans who has great health insurance now.  And unlike most Americans, I work for an employer who's politically and philosophically committed to retaining good insurance for both active and retired employees.  But I honestly don't know how much longer that's going to be feasible.  We've already been forced to make cutbacks in coverage for future retirees (i.e., me).  And while I sometimes fantasize about striking out on my own and starting a new freelance career, I can't afford to give up my employer-provided benefits.  I've seen stat's showing that supposely-sclerotic Europe actually has a higher rate of small business formation than the free-enterprising U.S. of A . . . probably because of our health care mess.  Crazy, huh? 

Linda

Thanks, Linda, for pointing me to the new thread. When I first joined this site, I had only modest opinions about health care. Single payer, yes, but not foaming at the mouth fanatical.

After a few months reading the horror stories like those on the new thread, I am definitely foaming at the mouth fanatical. To the point where people I work with know not to discuss it with me if they're going to spew nonsense about the evils of government where health care is concerned. 

You are yet another example of how the health care mess is damaging us business-wise. This is the part that I don't understand where my free-market friends are concerned. How many people don't start their own businesses.... How much harder it is for companies like Boeing to compete with foreign companies like Airbus which are located in countries where taxes pay for health care, not corporations? What percentage of corporate profits are lost to the pockets of the health insurance/health care industries? 

The U.S. is losing (has lost?) its competitive edge in the global market but people are unwilling to look at one of the biggest factors. 

I made the mistake of listening to C-Span this morning, which had a Heritage Foundation dude arguing for greater de-regulation of corporations including health insurance companies. I was tempted to call in to the program to ask him where I should send what's left of my 401k savings. I lost a chunk of it because of previous de-regulation. So I guess I might as well bite the bullet and give up the rest in the quest for the greater glory of free markets and limited government. 

Whoo hoo. 

I agree, PIP.

I hate the idea of mandates forcing people to put money in the pockets of private insurance companies.

On the other hand, the whole debate has encouraged Americans to think more deeply about their position on health care as a basic human right. As the number of people who believe this increases, it's only a matter of time. Because we will start to demand it for ourselves, our families, our friends. 

It will be that much harder to claim that only those who can afford it deserve it. 

I always wonder about the 85% who like their insurance.  Is this a poll of only people that have insurance?  Does it include a checkbox for "No, I don't like my insurance because I can't afford insurance"?   I don't mean include the people who prefer to roll the dice and choose not to get insurance, but people who truely can't afford it, like my b/f. 

Oh, re. my b/f, he was laid off this past week which means he can now get health insurance through the state.  For him, job = no insurance.  No job = insurance.  Now how weird is that?!?

About the 85%, aren't only 40% of the country on any type of insurance? 85% of 40% is 34% of the population...

Whenever I talk to someone who expresses enthusiasm for their insurance, I always ask if they've had a significant medical issue. The vast majority of the time they haven't.

My wakeup call was when my insurance company refused to pay for the Oncotype DX test. Although they subsequently chose to cover it, I had a serious taste of what it feels like to be at the mercy of my insurance company. 

The unending stream of co-pays reinforces my distaste for the current system. Although I CAN afford them, everytime I whip out the ole credit card, I think of those who aren't so fortunate. 

I believe the percentage of uninsured is around 15%. Of course, those who receive government insurance (Medicare, VA, etc.) are included in the number of insured. I have not, however, seen stats on the number of underinsured people who either have crappy insurance, can't afford co-pays, or all of the above. 

The case of Elizabeth's boyfriend is interesting. Since he lives in Boston, he's covered by the Massachusetts system which was initiated, ironically, by a Republican governor. I'm curious, though, why the system wouldn't cover him when he was employed. My understanding is that it's supposed to cover everyone in the state. But that's the extent of my knowledge of it - other than it's considered evil by all God-fearing (i.e., conservative) Americans.  ;-)

I sort of remember that around 100 million Americans have government-funded healthcare (medicare, medicaid, VA etc.) so I guess it would not be a stretch to suggest that if 85% (according to that poll) are happy with their health coverage, then around 85% of Americans are happy with their government-funded healthcare.  Hmmmm.... that's around the same percentage as Canadians who were asked about their satisfaction with our government-funded system.

Elizabeth's boyfriend *IS* an anomaly in the U.S. - in most states, childless adults are completely out of luck, no matter how low their income.  There's no public insurance program for them.  (That would change under the health care reform bill, even in its crappy Senate version.)

Interesting question about the number of people who are *under*insured.  That's really hard to get at - in part for reasons already raised . . . if you're lucky enough to stay healthy, you may not realize how crappy your insurance is.  But I've seen stats showing that the majority of Americans who file for bankruptcy because of medical bills do in fact have insurance.  That's pretty telling.

Linda

I have just watched the Dateline show about American health insurance.  I am in tears.  There was one patient who had a sarcoma.  My daughter had a sarcoma.  Another patient was a teenaged girl who had liver failure after a bone marrow transplant.  My daughter had liver failure after her bone marrow transplant but eventually overcame that with very expensive and experimental treatment.  It all just hit so close to home.

But here is the thing.  Not once, never, did we ever have to fight for tx or ask how much a tx would cost. I know there are some who would say that it was money wasted since she did not make it.  I won't even attempt to argue that point.  In my heart I know that everything possible was done to give her every chance to live.  How horrible for those who will never have peace with that in their own situations.  

It all just breaks my heart.  I am so thankful that I am Canadian.  That I live in a country that has made appropriate decisions long ago that has given us the best health care  possible today.  And whatever my own outcome with bc is, I know that I have not been spared any tx.  Nor have my neighbours and friends.  I am a proud Canadian.

Hi PIP..... I can't imagine losing one of my children. Just want to say that I'm sorry for your sadness tonight.

Although our Canadian health care system isn't perfect, it's reassuring to know that regardless of our income bracket, we have a dependable safety net to meet our health care needs should we need it.

I'm so sorry {{{{{PIP}}}}}.

(((PIP)))  I was thinking of you and dh while watching it, and wondering if you were sitting through it too.

It makes me so angry that so many people just won't/can't aknowledge that the insurance companies have them over a barrel; that the insurance companies truly are the gatekeepers of their healthcare in too many instances, and that in order to get care -- as in Nataline's case -- a family has to commandeer a professional organization and the media and create a ruckus to get the attention of the insurance company.  Thankfully there are people with a conscience such as Mitchell Potter to make people aware.  Problem is, he's just one person.  Wouldn't it have been nice if all the Tea Party protesters had put their efforts into demanding healthcare reform.......<sigh>

Edited to add:  I was a volunteer at PMH when they performed their first bone marrow transplant.  If the surgeons had to provide a guarantee that these transplants would work before doing them, well, they just wouldn't ever be performed, would they?