Canada's socialised medicine
Aug 13, 2016 09:32:59 #
A lot of the US cant afford insurance. yet they are taxed by the irs for something they cant afford. Many bought the lie if you like your doctor you can keep your doc , if you like your health plan you can keep your plan, and people are believing the same BS lies the Left is telling the truth this time I just know they are. It is very hard to get a full time job in the US anymore. They may have to treat you in an emergency room, But you will get a bill you can never pay , like a school loan. People here even believe politicans who promote free college as if that were possible. US healthcare super sucks, I know so many people who cant afford healthcare it was sold as everyone would have healthcare, That was a major lie. many preminums have and continue to esculate each year.
Aug 13, 2016 09:34:51 #
I recently had a sore under my arm. I went to make an appointment with the surgeon who had removed a melanoma last year. He saw me immediately, did a biopsy within two days, a catscan within a week and lymph node surgery two weeks after that. All this happened in the small town where we live. Monday I will go to Toronto (two hours away) for a consultation with a world class specialist on this type of cancer. My only costs are for parking. Even medical travel costs can be claimed on income tax.
Where our system is lacking is dentistry. I had some $3000 worth of dental costs for my wife which were tax deductible but still a major expense. Dentistry is simply one medical specialty. Although our prescription costs are covered (with a small deductible) because we are seniors, people under 65 without private workplace plans are on their own. Also, physiotherapy is no longer covered. One problem is our health care is a federal commitment but it is administered by the individual provinces so there tends to be a patchwork across the country.
Where our system is lacking is dentistry. I had some $3000 worth of dental costs for my wife which were tax deductible but still a major expense. Dentistry is simply one medical specialty. Although our prescription costs are covered (with a small deductible) because we are seniors, people under 65 without private workplace plans are on their own. Also, physiotherapy is no longer covered. One problem is our health care is a federal commitment but it is administered by the individual provinces so there tends to be a patchwork across the country.
Aug 13, 2016 10:02:52 #
I have a couple of examples of 'when health care is needed'
Canada - my daughter slipped in a shower at her hotel in Quebec. Pushed front teeth backwards almost knocking them out. Lobby personnel were asked to call an ambulance so they checked. Told my daughter she would have to come up with $4,000.00 cash (no credit card accepted). She took a cab to hospital with boy-friend and hospital said big bucks cash to treat. Told her she was better off driving back to New Hampshire for treatment. No pain killers given for 5 hour drive back home.
US: I had 2 heart attacks over a weekend in April, treated, found veins blocked and treated and released with appointment for treatment for surgery. In June I went in for open heart surgery and had a quadruple bypass. Total charges $88.00 for aspirins given. I have medicare and military retiree Tri-Care. I am well taken care of and pay nothing for my medications through E-Scripts as a military retiree.
Why can't the system handle health care in a similar manner for all citizens?
Sarge69
Canada - my daughter slipped in a shower at her hotel in Quebec. Pushed front teeth backwards almost knocking them out. Lobby personnel were asked to call an ambulance so they checked. Told my daughter she would have to come up with $4,000.00 cash (no credit card accepted). She took a cab to hospital with boy-friend and hospital said big bucks cash to treat. Told her she was better off driving back to New Hampshire for treatment. No pain killers given for 5 hour drive back home.
US: I had 2 heart attacks over a weekend in April, treated, found veins blocked and treated and released with appointment for treatment for surgery. In June I went in for open heart surgery and had a quadruple bypass. Total charges $88.00 for aspirins given. I have medicare and military retiree Tri-Care. I am well taken care of and pay nothing for my medications through E-Scripts as a military retiree.
Why can't the system handle health care in a similar manner for all citizens?
Sarge69
Aug 13, 2016 10:30:29 #
sarge69 wrote:
I have a couple of examples of 'when health care i... (show quote)
Sarge:
You are one of the lucky few that are in the system and being taken care of. For every one of you, there are dozens that are not. I'm glad being a vet, they are taking care of you; you earned it, but you know as well as I do, there are thousands of vets who are not. I can tell you this, and that many states are illegally denying those who got hurt on the job under workers comp and they do it by not paying the doctors who are treating them, so the doctors refuse to take comp patients and they are left in the cold literally to die. I know for a fact, two of the biggest violators are New York and Texas. It brings a point to question, especially in New York and since both candidates running for president have connections in New York and what New York's doing to the claimants (judges out right violating the laws, screwing people out of medical care and benefits, giving the insurance companies free reign to do as they please and the politics are so bad, even attorneys say they can do nothing about it); why is it not a campaign issue?
Aug 13, 2016 10:36:19 #
I am in total agreement with you and it has always been my belief that all human beings deserve to have health insurance a the lower minimum cost.
I am not familiar with socialized medicine in Canada but I am with that in Spain. They see the patient for whatever condition, no questions asked and never a bill to the patient.
I think my country has a lot to learn yet when it comes to health care in general.
I am not familiar with socialized medicine in Canada but I am with that in Spain. They see the patient for whatever condition, no questions asked and never a bill to the patient.
I think my country has a lot to learn yet when it comes to health care in general.
Aug 13, 2016 10:43:33 #
ole sarg
Loc: south florida
The US has 2.3 MDs per 1,000
Canada has 2.1 MDs per 1,000
We have found that with the additional OBama care patients, the system has not collapsed as predicted by right wing naysayers. Indeed, the health of the populace in the US has gone up and costs have not increased at the rate as they would have without OBamacare.
Canada has 2.1 MDs per 1,000
We have found that with the additional OBama care patients, the system has not collapsed as predicted by right wing naysayers. Indeed, the health of the populace in the US has gone up and costs have not increased at the rate as they would have without OBamacare.
mas24 wrote:
I get the impression that you are saying that Canada has a great Medical System. It probably is. Canada, with land extending as wide as the USA, has a population of about 36 million people. The US has over 300 million people. Which country do you think has the most sick people?
Aug 13, 2016 11:04:40 #
I have mixed feelings about the comments here. I do know a lot of Canadians come to the USA for medical treatment, so why is that? I also know a number of Canadians who tell me "no way, Jose!" to Canadian socialized medicine. The same is true for socialized medicine in UK and Iceland (a neighbor of mine who is from Iceland and who was visiting there had an asthma attack and almost died while she waited 3 days to see a doctor).
If the Canadians can afford such first-rate national medical coverage maybe it's because the USA is paying the bill for most of the military forces which also protect Canada. This country has military in almost 200 other countries and if only 1/4 of that budget was taken I am sure we could provide excellent medical care for all U.S. citizens and still have plenty of protection for our people. Let other countries provide their own military protection. The USA is way past broke and only survives by printing more funny money. Our Congress and President are totally irresponsible clowns who look out only for themselves and use our hard-earned tax dollars to buy votes and keep themselves in office and in a life of extreme luxury.
If the Canadians can afford such first-rate national medical coverage maybe it's because the USA is paying the bill for most of the military forces which also protect Canada. This country has military in almost 200 other countries and if only 1/4 of that budget was taken I am sure we could provide excellent medical care for all U.S. citizens and still have plenty of protection for our people. Let other countries provide their own military protection. The USA is way past broke and only survives by printing more funny money. Our Congress and President are totally irresponsible clowns who look out only for themselves and use our hard-earned tax dollars to buy votes and keep themselves in office and in a life of extreme luxury.
Aug 13, 2016 11:13:17 #
the average wait time for an MRI here in NE FL is: how quickly can you make it to the Radiology room? Doesn't sound like such a great system to me.
Aug 13, 2016 11:17:46 #
I cannot tell you how much the UKs NHS has done and is still doing for my wife and it is free.Keep your US system I know where I would sooner be when sick.
Aug 13, 2016 11:49:15 #
There is nothing "free" in Canada, USA or anywhere else. Here's what the non-right-wing Huffington Post had to say about "free" Canadian health care (and the figures cited are higher today).
"Many Canadians and commentators in other countries lauding Canada's government-dominated approach to health care refer to Canadian health care as "free." If health care actually were free, the relatively poor performance of the health care system might not seem all that bad. But the reality is that the Canadian health care system is not free -- in fact, Canadian families pay heavily for healthcare through the tax system. That high price paints the long wait times and lack of medical technologies in Canada in a very different light.
In 2013, a typical Canadian family of four can expect to pay $11,320 for public health care insurance. For the average family of two parents with one child that bill will be $10,989, and for the average family of two adults (without children) the bill comes to $11,381. As a result of lower average incomes and differences in taxation, the bills are smaller for the average unattached individual ($3,780), for the average one-parent-one-child family ($3,905), and the average one-parent two-child family ($3,387). But no matter the family type, the bill is not small, much less free.
And the bill is getting bigger over time. Before inflation, the cost of public health care insurance went up by 53.3 per cent over the last decade. That's more than 1.5 times faster than the cost of shelter (34.2 per cent) and clothing (32.4 per cent), and more than twice as fast as the cost of food (23.4 per cent). It's also nearly 1.5 times faster than the growth in average income over the decade (36.3 per cent).
And what did these substantial funds buy?
Despite talk of wait times reduction initiatives (backed with substantial funding), Canadians face longer wait times than their counterparts in other developed nations for emergency care, primary care, specialist consultations, and elective surgery. Access to physicians and medical technologies in Canada lags behind many other developed nations. And things have improved little since 2003. For example, the total wait time in 2012 (17.7 weeks from GP to treatment) is every bit as long it was back then.
Don't be fooled by claims that health spending isn't high enough or that transfers for health care to the provinces have been insufficient. Canada's health care system is the developed world's most expensive universal-access health care program after adjusting for the age of the population (older people require more care).
Canadians aren't suffering from health care underfunding; they're suffering from health care underperformance.
And it gets worse. Changing demographics mean Canada's health care system has a funding gap of $537 billion. While health care is costly and underperforming today, in the absence of reform the future will either hold large increases in taxes, further reductions in the availability of medical services, further erosion of non-health care government services, or all of the above."
"Many Canadians and commentators in other countries lauding Canada's government-dominated approach to health care refer to Canadian health care as "free." If health care actually were free, the relatively poor performance of the health care system might not seem all that bad. But the reality is that the Canadian health care system is not free -- in fact, Canadian families pay heavily for healthcare through the tax system. That high price paints the long wait times and lack of medical technologies in Canada in a very different light.
In 2013, a typical Canadian family of four can expect to pay $11,320 for public health care insurance. For the average family of two parents with one child that bill will be $10,989, and for the average family of two adults (without children) the bill comes to $11,381. As a result of lower average incomes and differences in taxation, the bills are smaller for the average unattached individual ($3,780), for the average one-parent-one-child family ($3,905), and the average one-parent two-child family ($3,387). But no matter the family type, the bill is not small, much less free.
And the bill is getting bigger over time. Before inflation, the cost of public health care insurance went up by 53.3 per cent over the last decade. That's more than 1.5 times faster than the cost of shelter (34.2 per cent) and clothing (32.4 per cent), and more than twice as fast as the cost of food (23.4 per cent). It's also nearly 1.5 times faster than the growth in average income over the decade (36.3 per cent).
And what did these substantial funds buy?
Despite talk of wait times reduction initiatives (backed with substantial funding), Canadians face longer wait times than their counterparts in other developed nations for emergency care, primary care, specialist consultations, and elective surgery. Access to physicians and medical technologies in Canada lags behind many other developed nations. And things have improved little since 2003. For example, the total wait time in 2012 (17.7 weeks from GP to treatment) is every bit as long it was back then.
Don't be fooled by claims that health spending isn't high enough or that transfers for health care to the provinces have been insufficient. Canada's health care system is the developed world's most expensive universal-access health care program after adjusting for the age of the population (older people require more care).
Canadians aren't suffering from health care underfunding; they're suffering from health care underperformance.
And it gets worse. Changing demographics mean Canada's health care system has a funding gap of $537 billion. While health care is costly and underperforming today, in the absence of reform the future will either hold large increases in taxes, further reductions in the availability of medical services, further erosion of non-health care government services, or all of the above."
Aug 13, 2016 11:55:38 #
While I was in practice I sat on a hospital committee charged with vetting insurance companies. Private insurance companies averaged 30% of premium dollars for "administrative" costs and 30% of premium dollars for profit. That is 60% of premium dollars NOT PAYING FOR HEALTH CARE. When interviewed before the Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress, Insurance Company Spokesman stated that if the legislation passed premiums would rise. Further they said if the legislation did not pass premiums would rise.Single payer plans already existing in the US such as Medicare, Military Health Care, V.A. and Congressional health care average 8% costs for Administration with no profit charges to premium for profit. Why does the Affordable Care Act include for profit insurance companies as the administrators of health care care insurance? Perhaps the fact that the Insurance Lobby was instrumental in writing the law.
Aug 13, 2016 12:05:59 #
ole sarg wrote:
The US has 2.3 MDs per 1,000
Canada has 2.1 MDs per 1,000
We have found that with the additional OBama care patients, the system has not collapsed as predicted by right wing naysayers. Indeed, the health of the populace in the US has gone up and costs have not increased at the rate as they would have without OBamacare.
Canada has 2.1 MDs per 1,000
We have found that with the additional OBama care patients, the system has not collapsed as predicted by right wing naysayers. Indeed, the health of the populace in the US has gone up and costs have not increased at the rate as they would have without OBamacare.
But it is on the way no matter what .
Obama care was design to fail from the get go, EATNA is moving out with 300 millions loss. If, Obamacare was so good, a lot of insurance will be still in business !!
The idea being is that the government want to establish a one payer system (be in charge ) by scaring the crap of almost everybody who want's to believe it , when the vast majority will complain enough , then we will have a government run "security" and the rest of the plan will be able to go forward !!
Aug 13, 2016 12:24:35 #
Worked with many Canadians...they all laugh at the American healthcare system. One quoted that Americans were too worried about making a profit and the returns on their 401k rather than having a healthy life.
Furthermore, the Afordable Care Act is not socialized healthcare. It is making sure someone will profit from someone else's misfortune. It doesn't have enough wording in it to ensure that people get the coverage they deserve over the insurance provider's quest for high profit.
Furthermore, the Afordable Care Act is not socialized healthcare. It is making sure someone will profit from someone else's misfortune. It doesn't have enough wording in it to ensure that people get the coverage they deserve over the insurance provider's quest for high profit.
Aug 13, 2016 12:25:10 #
JADAV wrote:
I guess we could try and get our local churches to help, as you suggested. Perhaps they can remove "damned stitches" by exorcism?
Stitches are incredibly easy to remove. Most 3rd graders can do it blind folded.
Actually stitching is not too hard either, 8th grade perhaps skill level?
Aug 13, 2016 12:27:40 #
Architect1776 wrote:
Stitches are incredibly easy to remove. Most 3rd graders can do it blind folded.
Actually stitching is not too hard either, 8th grade perhaps skill level?
Actually stitching is not too hard either, 8th grade perhaps skill level?
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