You know, I was reading this article on another forum and I couldn't help but to think that Universal Health Care will come to America sooner or later. Here's the article:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic...g0220.html
Bottom line: Health Care costs are SOARING to ridiculous amounts for individuals, more and more of whom are forced to seek individual policies because of job loss or non-coverage by their employer.
Personally, I have to spend over $400 per month on an individual policy because my employer doesn't give it to me, and god only knows how much it will be next year. It's unsustainable but I am lucky to have coverage at all.
So I want to hear people's thoughts on Universal Health Care in the United States? I have heard 'horror stories' of the Universal Health Care system in Canada, can any Canadians confirm or deny these stories?
Health care in the United States is a complete joke. Hell, just passing a law not allowing insurance companies to deny claims would improve it.
Universal Health Care- the sooner, the better.
I hope we get Universal Health Care, and get it soon and reject the fear-mongering the right wing people tell us will happen under a UHC system. I've never understand this "inferior care" crap. How much more "inferior" can it get when millions of people have no coverage whatsoever, and many who do can't afford to use it anyway.
Yeah, I don't get this "inferior care" stuff either. I have family up in Canada, and they've never told me of any of those horror stories-- overcrowded hospitals, crappy doctors, waiting lists-- etc., that I always hear tossed around. If anything, the worse, the absolute worse that I've heard is that sometimes there a long wait in the ER or it was a pain in the butt to see a specialist, which quite frankly is no different from the US.
I'm surprised more companies/employers don't back UHC.
Think about it:
1) Less job benefit/legacy benefit they'll be forced/pressured in to giving.
2) One less excuse for missing work; healthy employees miss less work, and the old "I've got the 24hr bug, can't afford the doc" wouldn't hold much water anymore.
I favor universal health care. If it is the government's responsibility to protect the American people then so be it. I read somewhere that 18,000 Americans die yearly due to lack of access to health care. 18,000. That's six times the number of deaths on 9/11, every year. Those people could be living. Loving. Contributing to society. Paying taxes.
I live in Canada and I'm happy to have universal health care, and I'm also willing to explain and defend how it works and point out the savings and the possibility of improved service if you use those savings for more health care.
That said, we do not have a universal publicly funded drug plan. Folks still have to pay for them out-of-pocket. I don't have a breakdown of costs, so I can't say if the comparisons of costs between the Canadian and American systems, the ones that show we get excellent care at a lower price, factor in drug costs. Private insurance plans that include drugs seems to be the norm in US. In Canada, if you are lucky to get a job that has a decent benefit package, then drugs and dental are included. But that doesn't even cover half the country.
Besides, drugs are generally cheaper in Canada than in the states, so maybe that evens costs out.
(02-24-2009 03:12 PM)Noobie-one Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah, I don't get this "inferior care" stuff either. I have family up in Canada, and they've never told me of any of those horror stories-- overcrowded hospitals, crappy doctors, waiting lists-- etc., that I always hear tossed around. If anything, the worse, the absolute worse that I've heard is that sometimes there a long wait in the ER or it was a pain in the butt to see a specialist, which quite frankly is no different from the US.
Exactly, I don't see the 'Horror stories' of Canada as being anything different than what is already experienced here. Right wing people say Canadians come across the border to get help, but to tell you the truth, I've never seen any and I live near the the US-Canada border (about 60 miles). What they fail to tell you is that many Americans going across that same border to get prescriptions, and even to get normal medical care.
I'm in favor of universal health care. Especially with the way the President's been talking. Besides, it's not going all to a totally government-subsidized system. It will be two-tiered. If you have a plan through your employer, you get to keep it, but providing it for more people will help bring costs down (eventually). With more people insured, they won't need to use the emergency rooms as their primary doctors. Preventive care will be more affordable, meaning health problems can caught and treated before they get more serious, which will help lower costs. It's win-win.
I'd like to ask any Canadians here, are there any waiting lists? And are they ask long as people say? (I've heard a year to see a specialist)
(02-27-2009 03:31 PM)jedimaster4334 Wrote: [ -> ]I'd like to ask any Canadians here, are there any waiting lists? And are they ask long as people say? (I've heard a year to see a specialist)
No one I know has been on a waiting list, even for the trivial stuff. Even my girlfriend was wondering earlier where the whole "Waiting list" thing came from, because she couldn't recall ever waiting for a doctor outside of a emergency room for no more than a couple of hours.
Hope you don't hurt me for bumping this, but I saw this link just now and had to post it.
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_treat...er-15.aspx
Quote:Reconciliation Now Has a Date: October 15
It's been in the works for a while and now, according to senior Captiol Hill staffers, it's a done deal: The final budget resolution will include a "reconciliation instruction" for health care. That means the Democrats can pass health care reform with just fifty votes, instead of the sixty it takes to break a filibuster.
The deal was hatched late afternoon and last night, in a five-hour negotiating session at the office of Senate Majoriy Leader Harry Reid. A trio of White House officials were there: Rahm Emanuel, Peter Orszag, and Phil Schiliro. Also present, along with Reid, were House Budget Chairman John Spratt and Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad.
The reonciliation instruction specifies a date. That date, according to one congressional staffer, is October 15. (The original House reconciliation instruction had a late September deadline.)
In other words, the House and Senate each have until that day to pass health care legislation.
(04-26-2009 03:24 PM)DarthMaul6 Wrote: [ -> ]Hope you don't hurt me for bumping this, but I saw this link just now and had to post it.
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_treat...er-15.aspx
Quote:Reconciliation Now Has a Date: October 15
It's been in the works for a while and now, according to senior Captiol Hill staffers, it's a done deal: The final budget resolution will include a "reconciliation instruction" for health care. That means the Democrats can pass health care reform with just fifty votes, instead of the sixty it takes to break a filibuster.
The deal was hatched late afternoon and last night, in a five-hour negotiating session at the office of Senate Majoriy Leader Harry Reid. A trio of White House officials were there: Rahm Emanuel, Peter Orszag, and Phil Schiliro. Also present, along with Reid, were House Budget Chairman John Spratt and Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad.
The reonciliation instruction specifies a date. That date, according to one congressional staffer, is October 15. (The original House reconciliation instruction had a late September deadline.)
In other words, the House and Senate each have until that day to pass health care legislation.
I'll believe it when I see it, I'm cautiously optimistic.
I have to make a comment about this, but don't believe the stuff that some Americans say about our system. They take a few isolated incidents and make you believe that those are the norm. I (or my family) have never had trouble getting annual physicals, or treatments we needed.
Bottom line: Me and my family have used the Canadian health care system for more than 40 years and never once had any of the issues some Americans peddle as being the norm up here.
I've been iffy about the Health Care debate. On one side, the system needs at least some fixing but on the other side I'm not quite sure if I want a government bureaucrat dictating what kind of treatments I can or can't get (is that true for Canada by the way, or is that another Republican propaganda that isn't true)?
^To tell you the truth, I'd rather have the government bureaucrat than a person who only cares about how much their stocks are doing.