Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
ha ha ha Hitler was a tweaker with a sick and twisted mind,he musta had a great deal of charisma
and a knack for lieing with out blinking and in the end a STD stole his last rational thought....
if he ever had one, his death was a end to a time of great suffering for him self and hundred's of thousand's
people who fell victim to his rise to power and selfish greed.
ha ha ha Hitler was a tweaker with a sick and twisted mind,he musta had a great deal of charisma
and a knack for lieing with out blinking and in the end a STD stole his last rational thought....
if he ever had one, his death was a end to a time of great suffering for him self and hundred's of thousand's
people who fell victim to his rise to power and selfish greed.
Godfather.
I know... I just find it funny that people call him a socialists... Are the Chinese Republicans because it's the 'People's Republic of China'? Didn't think so...
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
I know this has been said a billion times already, but I'll say it again since it seems to have been forgotten in this thread: Universal healthcare does not mean the government would be providing your healthcare. It only means they would be paying for it.
Right, and this is a major part of the concern. Who is to say that the government is going to be timely with its payments? Ask car dealers who participated in Cash for Clunkers about this. Ask me about my first time homebuyer credit, that I applied for through an amended tax return. It took 3 months for the IRS to even acknowledge that they received it, and 2 months later, they tried to tell me that I was inelligible, since I already owned a house-- this house that they claimed I own belongs to my parents, my dad and I having identical names (although our middle names are different), and was built when I was 1 month old. As much as I hate having a social security number, shouldn't that make these things a lot easier to figure out? I mean, it's not like this unique ID number isn't plastered all over his back tax returns and mine?
Fortunately, this credit was only a potential bonus to buying a house, but not the reason for doing so-- and that's a big part of the problem. Just because the money is supposed to be there, it does not mean it will actually be there. It encourages people to make some hasty decisions.
If doctors, nurses, and hospitals don't get paid... Then what happens?
Basically, OUR government is only going to act like an insurance company when it comes to doling out money. They are going to hold of as long as possible due to either ineptness, or to use this same money for blowing stuff up overseas, or to spend on any other program other than health care-- see Social Security, and how those funds are being spent. I can't speak for Canada or any Euorpean countries, but I would imagine that things could work better in a place like Canada seeing as how they don't have a $1 trillion a year empire to maintain (which, I am totally against-- the empire).
Even if the whole Health Care plan is financed completely by inflation-- no new taxes, just running the printing press, this also destroys what little wealth the poor of this country have through devaluation of the dollar, and it will eventually destroy the nation in general.
As much as I would love to believe that the government could pull this off, I fear that they will only make the problem worse.
It's hard to look forward on this issue without looking back-- once upon a time, hospitals and doctor's offices ran by themselves without aid from the government. With the aid, came a loss of control in how they all operated. "For every tool they lend us, a loss of independence." The poor used to receive free, or at least cheaper care at charity hospitals. What happened? It pretty much became illegal to care for these people for free, mountains of paperwork was added to the process, and a simple solution became all the more complex.
The goal should be to reduce the cost of healthcare in general-- as this should be what is happening. As technology improves costs decline as the technology becomes more available-- but there's something clearly in the way and keeping this from being the case: insurance companies. Their very existence breeds the frivolous lawsuit. Juries have no problem ruling for million dollar lawsuits in cases where maybe $10,000 should be awarded-- they think they're sticking it to THE MAN. They're not. They're sticking it to themselves, and the rest of us-- hence the higher premiums, and the attempts for these companies to worm their way out of providing certain forms of care. Selling risk should be permitted, and that's what these companies do-- and they should be bound to the terms of their contracts. However, they also shouldn't have to pay out anymore than the just compensation for whatever the lawsuit is, either. Tort reform is definitely needed.
Mandatory insurance for anything should also be legislated OUT of everyone's lives-- it should be optional. The reason these companies command so much power is that they had influence enough to require us to purchase insurance for everything.
All medical expenses should be 100% tax deductible (assuming the Income Tax never gets abolished).
Health Care should be available by means of paying as you go. Having personal savings accounts for emergencies would be a good idea-- even insurance for catastrophies ONLY. If people trust the government enough and decide on a personal level that they want Uncle Sam to watch their Health Savings Account or government-offered insurance plan, that should be their choice.
I personally believe that having the government pay all of our bills would be a horrible idea-- I believe that the checks will flow every which way except for the right way, and I believe the potential for exploitation of that system will be somewhere in between our welfare systems, and our military industrial complex.
Vinny, I know the name had socialist in it, but most logical people would define their actions as anything but...
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
Why? Because I would never expect my neighbors to pay for my health care. It's not their responsibility. When I find a job, I will purchase my own health insurance, but until then this is MY problem and not my neighbors and certainly not the government. I've read a lot about the system in England and quite frankly that is WAY more frightening than not having insurance at all. Hitler was a socialist, I am not.
What if you were in an accident and needed emergency brain surgery to save your life? You could potentially be given a bill that you could never pay off in your life? Then who do you think would be stuck with the remainder of the bill after you died?
talking to my roommate today, her employer doesn't offer it so she tried to get it from blue cross & blue shield....she said the only she checked yes to was that she has an inhaler, she has had asthma since she was a kid. because of this preexisting condition the lowest monthly premium they will offer her is $427!!
$427 is insane. I live in Canada, and I have a pretty decent job and my entire monthly income tax deduction is only a couple hundred more than that. And if I want to see a doctor I can go anytime I want to any practising doctor who is accepting patients, or any walk in clinic. There is no deductible, no co-pays and no worring if the doctor who is available is one who is in my network. Plus of course that extra couple of hundred bucks covers everything else you would expect a government to provide.
talking to my roommate today, her employer doesn't offer it so she tried to get it from blue cross & blue shield....she said the only she checked yes to was that she has an inhaler, she has had asthma since she was a kid. because of this preexisting condition the lowest monthly premium they will offer her is $427!!
$427 is insane. I live in Canada, and I have a pretty decent job and my entire monthly income tax deduction is only a couple hundred more than that. And if I want to see a doctor I can go anytime I want to any practising doctor who is accepting patients, or any walk in clinic. There is no deductible, no co-pays and no worring if the doctor who is available is one who is in my network. Plus of course that extra couple of hundred bucks covers everything else you would expect a government to provide.
Not doubting you, just wondering, if you needed to see a specialists or have surgery for something how long would you have to wait?
talking to my roommate today, her employer doesn't offer it so she tried to get it from blue cross & blue shield....she said the only she checked yes to was that she has an inhaler, she has had asthma since she was a kid. because of this preexisting condition the lowest monthly premium they will offer her is $427!!
$427 is insane. I live in Canada, and I have a pretty decent job and my entire monthly income tax deduction is only a couple hundred more than that. And if I want to see a doctor I can go anytime I want to any practising doctor who is accepting patients, or any walk in clinic. There is no deductible, no co-pays and no worring if the doctor who is available is one who is in my network. Plus of course that extra couple of hundred bucks covers everything else you would expect a government to provide.
Not doubting you, just wondering, if you needed to see a specialists or have surgery for something how long would you have to wait?
...
It depends on the serverity of your surgery.
If you have a painful knee condition, for example, it can be treated with pain pills, physical therapy, etc... you'll have to wait until an appointment opens because it is less critical than someone that requires heart bypass surgery.
So... i guess you could always hope you get the worst, life threatening health condition that requires surgery so you can be the first to be scheduled.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
talking to my roommate today, her employer doesn't offer it so she tried to get it from blue cross & blue shield....she said the only she checked yes to was that she has an inhaler, she has had asthma since she was a kid. because of this preexisting condition the lowest monthly premium they will offer her is $427!!
$427 is insane. I live in Canada, and I have a pretty decent job and my entire monthly income tax deduction is only a couple hundred more than that. And if I want to see a doctor I can go anytime I want to any practising doctor who is accepting patients, or any walk in clinic. There is no deductible, no co-pays and no worring if the doctor who is available is one who is in my network. Plus of course that extra couple of hundred bucks covers everything else you would expect a government to provide.
Not doubting you, just wondering, if you needed to see a specialists or have surgery for something how long would you have to wait?
From my experience, it truly depends... If non life-threatening, it could be a while. However, my great uncle nearly had a heart attack one night, drove to the hospital, they ran tests and realized he needed bypass surgery. He didn't leave the hospital and was operated on very quickly.
MRI clinics get a little tough, but if one is willing to go on 'off' hours (ie, middle of the night) the wait is much less.
Believe me, when I was growin up, I thought the worst thing you could turn out to be was normal, So I say freaks in the most complementary way. Here's a song by a fellow freak - E.V
I remember my place of employment merge with another company and my insurance went so high up that I walked out of the meeting that was informing us of the spike. I was asked where I was going and I said that I had to go update my resume 'cuz I couldn't afford that! Well, the CEO was nearby and I tried to talk to him. At first he said he'd talk to me later, but then he agreed to talk to me then. Little did I know that half the employees were behind me at the door.
I went in and we went at it! We were promised the merger wouldn't harm us,etc. The rest of the employess stayed quiet. Theyw ere fearful of losing their jobs, but I didn't care, I couldn't afford it ayway.
He kept saying that a decision couldn't be made by just him. That the board of directors had to meet, etc. within a few seconds he got a call where he was told he also had to pay more. There and then, he grandfathered all of us over and we got to pay only what we were before. The company we merged with didn't get this benefit, but that was on them. Someone on their team should have argued it out.
I was pissed. All the others were happy, but I was pissed that he tried telling us he couldn't do anything about it when in fact he could! He then recognized I was up on my toes better than he thought and I never had an issue with our benefits again.
The government already does pay medical for many people via Medicare and Medicaid and both these systems run like a dream! Why do people always assume that if the goverment has its hands it it, it instantly means it won't work? Medicare and Medicaid works great. I have government insurance and it beats any insurance I ever had via work, or paid for. There is never an issue. Oh, and we are our brother's keeper.
Did John Locke talk about that or do I have the name and story twisted?
The government already does pay medical for many people via Medicare and Medicaid and both these systems run like a dream! Why do people always assume that if the goverment has its hands it it, it instantly means it won't work? Medicare and Medicaid works great. I have government insurance and it beats any insurance I ever had via work, or paid for. There is never an issue. Oh, and we are our brother's keeper.
Did John Locke talk about that or do I have the name and story twisted?
$427 is insane. I live in Canada, and I have a pretty decent job and my entire monthly income tax deduction is only a couple hundred more than that. And if I want to see a doctor I can go anytime I want to any practising doctor who is accepting patients, or any walk in clinic. There is no deductible, no co-pays and no worring if the doctor who is available is one who is in my network. Plus of course that extra couple of hundred bucks covers everything else you would expect a government to provide.
Not doubting you, just wondering, if you needed to see a specialists or have surgery for something how long would you have to wait?
From my experience, it truly depends... If non life-threatening, it could be a while. However, my great uncle nearly had a heart attack one night, drove to the hospital, they ran tests and realized he needed bypass surgery. He didn't leave the hospital and was operated on very quickly.
MRI clinics get a little tough, but if one is willing to go on 'off' hours (ie, middle of the night) the wait is much less.
I have had pretty much the same experience needing to see a specialist. It was for something totally non-life threatening and the wait was 4-5 months. On the other hand I have had family members who have needed life-saving doctors visits and surgery and there was almost no wait. And I think the wait times have more to do with the very low population density in Canada (huge area small population) and the limited number of medical schools (I think there are around 10) and less to do with who is paying the doctors bills.
The government already does pay medical for many people via Medicare and Medicaid and both these systems run like a dream! Why do people always assume that if the goverment has its hands it it, it instantly means it won't work? Medicare and Medicaid works great. I have government insurance and it beats any insurance I ever had via work, or paid for. There is never an issue. Oh, and we are our brother's keeper.
Did John Locke talk about that or do I have the name and story twisted?
...
That's the question I want to ask those Americans at Tea Parties and/or Town Hall screamfests that are 65 and older... are they on the government run, socialist Medicare system?
If so, what do they think about it... and why are they on it if they think it's so terrible and the downfall of America.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
Australian example.My brother broke his collar bone a couple of months ago. All treatment besides the surgery was for free. The Dr told him that if there were no signs of healing in the first 3 weeks he would have to get a plate put in and that would cost him $4000 if he wanted it done straight away. When the 3 weeks were up he went back and was very plaesed to find out that it was healing and he wouldn't need surgery. Now I believe if he was in America not only would the surgery be significantly more than $4000 but if he had health insurance the Dr would have sent him for surgery straight away and not waited to see if it would heal on it's own.
I pay about 22% of my wage in taxes and with medicare it covers me for all my doctor visits and any emergency treatment I need. If I wanted private insurance on top of that for a $40 a month and that would cover me for any other elective surgery I need. I'll take our over the US system any day.
Australian example.My brother broke his collar bone a couple of months ago. All treatment besides the surgery was for free. The Dr told him that if there were no signs of healing in the first 3 weeks he would have to get a plate put in and that would cost him $4000 if he wanted it done straight away. When the 3 weeks were up he went back and was very plaesed to find out that it was healing and he wouldn't need surgery. Now I believe if he was in America not only would the surgery be significantly more than $4000 but if he had health insurance the Dr would have sent him for surgery straight away and not waited to see if it would heal on it's own.
I pay about 22% of my wage in taxes and with medicare it covers me for all my doctor visits and any emergency treatment I need. If I wanted private insurance on top of that for a $40 a month and that would cover me for any other elective surgery I need. I'll take our over the US system any day.
me too.
ive never had any problem with the public health care system here. and ive never had medical insurance. why would you when after paying the premiums you still have to fork out for the gap. whats the point of private insurance again???
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Australian example.My brother broke his collar bone a couple of months ago. All treatment besides the surgery was for free. The Dr told him that if there were no signs of healing in the first 3 weeks he would have to get a plate put in and that would cost him $4000 if he wanted it done straight away. When the 3 weeks were up he went back and was very plaesed to find out that it was healing and he wouldn't need surgery. Now I believe if he was in America not only would the surgery be significantly more than $4000 but if he had health insurance the Dr would have sent him for surgery straight away and not waited to see if it would heal on it's own.
I pay about 22% of my wage in taxes and with medicare it covers me for all my doctor visits and any emergency treatment I need. If I wanted private insurance on top of that for a $40 a month and that would cover me for any other elective surgery I need. I'll take our over the US system any day.
me too.
ive never had any problem with the public health care system here. and ive never had medical insurance. why would you when after paying the premiums you still have to fork out for the gap. whats the point of private insurance again???
Me neither. Just saying their are options for full insurance if you wanted it and it'll still work out cheaper.
The government already does pay medical for many people via Medicare and Medicaid and both these systems run like a dream! Why do people always assume that if the goverment has its hands it it, it instantly means it won't work? Medicare and Medicaid works great. I have government insurance and it beats any insurance I ever had via work, or paid for. There is never an issue. Oh, and we are our brother's keeper.
Did John Locke talk about that or do I have the name and story twisted?
Heather, Medicare is a DISASTER. I'm glad it works for you, but it costs billions a year more than it was supposed to, and according to the New York Times, will be bankrupt in 2017. And that is if the economy doesn't get worse causing tax receipts to drop even further. And BTW, the bills congress is debating right now include $500 billion in Medicare CUTS.
Medicare pays doctors less than 70% of what private insurance does. Does anyone think if the gov't is running health care and reimbursing doctors at the medicare rates, that doctors could afford to stay in business? As your doctor if he could afford to lose 30% or more of his revenue each month. This would force doctors out of work, meaning rationing of health care as described by those in this post who spoke of waiting for weeks for a simple MRI.
The government already does pay medical for many people via Medicare and Medicaid and both these systems run like a dream! Why do people always assume that if the goverment has its hands it it, it instantly means it won't work? Medicare and Medicaid works great. I have government insurance and it beats any insurance I ever had via work, or paid for. There is never an issue. Oh, and we are our brother's keeper.
Did John Locke talk about that or do I have the name and story twisted?
Heather, Medicare is a DISASTER. I'm glad it works for you, but it costs billions a year more than it was supposed to, and according to the New York Times, will be bankrupt in 2017. And that is if the economy doesn't get worse causing tax receipts to drop even further. And BTW, the bills congress is debating right now include $500 billion in Medicare CUTS.
Medicare pays doctors less than 70% of what private insurance does. Does anyone think if the gov't is running health care and reimbursing doctors at the medicare rates, that doctors could afford to stay in business? As your doctor if he could afford to lose 30% or more of his revenue each month. This would force doctors out of work, meaning rationing of health care as described by those in this post who spoke of waiting for weeks for a simple MRI.
I'll gladly take 70% of what an average doctor makes in the U.S.
The government already does pay medical for many people via Medicare and Medicaid and both these systems run like a dream! Why do people always assume that if the goverment has its hands it it, it instantly means it won't work? Medicare and Medicaid works great. I have government insurance and it beats any insurance I ever had via work, or paid for. There is never an issue. Oh, and we are our brother's keeper.
Did John Locke talk about that or do I have the name and story twisted?
Heather, Medicare is a DISASTER. I'm glad it works for you, but it costs billions a year more than it was supposed to, and according to the New York Times, will be bankrupt in 2017. And that is if the economy doesn't get worse causing tax receipts to drop even further. And BTW, the bills congress is debating right now include $500 billion in Medicare CUTS.
Medicare pays doctors less than 70% of what private insurance does. Does anyone think if the gov't is running health care and reimbursing doctors at the medicare rates, that doctors could afford to stay in business? As your doctor if he could afford to lose 30% or more of his revenue each month. This would force doctors out of work, meaning rationing of health care as described by those in this post who spoke of waiting for weeks for a simple MRI.
I'll gladly take 70% of what an average doctor makes in the U.S.
Exactly. It's not like the doctor is going to have to move to a "tent city" :roll:
I know this has been said a billion times already, but I'll say it again since it seems to have been forgotten in this thread: Universal healthcare does not mean the government would be providing your healthcare. It only means they would be paying for it.
Right, and this is a major part of the concern. Who is to say that the government is going to be timely with its payments? Ask car dealers who participated in Cash for Clunkers about this. Ask me about my first time homebuyer credit, that I applied for through an amended tax return. It took 3 months for the IRS to even acknowledge that they received it, and 2 months later, they tried to tell me that I was inelligible, since I already owned a house-- this house that they claimed I own belongs to my parents, my dad and I having identical names (although our middle names are different), and was built when I was 1 month old. As much as I hate having a social security number, shouldn't that make these things a lot easier to figure out? I mean, it's not like this unique ID number isn't plastered all over his back tax returns and mine?
Fortunately, this credit was only a potential bonus to buying a house, but not the reason for doing so-- and that's a big part of the problem. Just because the money is supposed to be there, it does not mean it will actually be there. It encourages people to make some hasty decisions.
If doctors, nurses, and hospitals don't get paid... Then what happens?
Basically, OUR government is only going to act like an insurance company when it comes to doling out money. They are going to hold of as long as possible due to either ineptness, or to use this same money for blowing stuff up overseas, or to spend on any other program other than health care-- see Social Security, and how those funds are being spent. I can't speak for Canada or any Euorpean countries, but I would imagine that things could work better in a place like Canada seeing as how they don't have a $1 trillion a year empire to maintain (which, I am totally against-- the empire).
Even if the whole Health Care plan is financed completely by inflation-- no new taxes, just running the printing press, this also destroys what little wealth the poor of this country have through devaluation of the dollar, and it will eventually destroy the nation in general.
As much as I would love to believe that the government could pull this off, I fear that they will only make the problem worse.
It's hard to look forward on this issue without looking back-- once upon a time, hospitals and doctor's offices ran by themselves without aid from the government. With the aid, came a loss of control in how they all operated. "For every tool they lend us, a loss of independence." The poor used to receive free, or at least cheaper care at charity hospitals. What happened? It pretty much became illegal to care for these people for free, mountains of paperwork was added to the process, and a simple solution became all the more complex.
The goal should be to reduce the cost of healthcare in general-- as this should be what is happening. As technology improves costs decline as the technology becomes more available-- but there's something clearly in the way and keeping this from being the case: insurance companies. Their very existence breeds the frivolous lawsuit. Juries have no problem ruling for million dollar lawsuits in cases where maybe $10,000 should be awarded-- they think they're sticking it to THE MAN. They're not. They're sticking it to themselves, and the rest of us-- hence the higher premiums, and the attempts for these companies to worm their way out of providing certain forms of care. Selling risk should be permitted, and that's what these companies do-- and they should be bound to the terms of their contracts. However, they also shouldn't have to pay out anymore than the just compensation for whatever the lawsuit is, either. Tort reform is definitely needed.
Mandatory insurance for anything should also be legislated OUT of everyone's lives-- it should be optional. The reason these companies command so much power is that they had influence enough to require us to purchase insurance for everything.
All medical expenses should be 100% tax deductible (assuming the Income Tax never gets abolished).
Health Care should be available by means of paying as you go. Having personal savings accounts for emergencies would be a good idea-- even insurance for catastrophies ONLY. If people trust the government enough and decide on a personal level that they want Uncle Sam to watch their Health Savings Account or government-offered insurance plan, that should be their choice.
I personally believe that having the government pay all of our bills would be a horrible idea-- I believe that the checks will flow every which way except for the right way, and I believe the potential for exploitation of that system will be somewhere in between our welfare systems, and our military industrial complex.
:thumbup:
“We the people are the rightful masters of bothCongress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln
Comments
and a knack for lieing with out blinking
if he ever had one, his death was a end to a time of great suffering for him self and hundred's of thousand's
people who fell victim to his rise to power and selfish greed.
Godfather.
NAZI Party = National Socialist German Workers' Party
Right, and this is a major part of the concern. Who is to say that the government is going to be timely with its payments? Ask car dealers who participated in Cash for Clunkers about this. Ask me about my first time homebuyer credit, that I applied for through an amended tax return. It took 3 months for the IRS to even acknowledge that they received it, and 2 months later, they tried to tell me that I was inelligible, since I already owned a house-- this house that they claimed I own belongs to my parents, my dad and I having identical names (although our middle names are different), and was built when I was 1 month old. As much as I hate having a social security number, shouldn't that make these things a lot easier to figure out? I mean, it's not like this unique ID number isn't plastered all over his back tax returns and mine?
Fortunately, this credit was only a potential bonus to buying a house, but not the reason for doing so-- and that's a big part of the problem. Just because the money is supposed to be there, it does not mean it will actually be there. It encourages people to make some hasty decisions.
If doctors, nurses, and hospitals don't get paid... Then what happens?
Basically, OUR government is only going to act like an insurance company when it comes to doling out money. They are going to hold of as long as possible due to either ineptness, or to use this same money for blowing stuff up overseas, or to spend on any other program other than health care-- see Social Security, and how those funds are being spent. I can't speak for Canada or any Euorpean countries, but I would imagine that things could work better in a place like Canada seeing as how they don't have a $1 trillion a year empire to maintain (which, I am totally against-- the empire).
Even if the whole Health Care plan is financed completely by inflation-- no new taxes, just running the printing press, this also destroys what little wealth the poor of this country have through devaluation of the dollar, and it will eventually destroy the nation in general.
As much as I would love to believe that the government could pull this off, I fear that they will only make the problem worse.
It's hard to look forward on this issue without looking back-- once upon a time, hospitals and doctor's offices ran by themselves without aid from the government. With the aid, came a loss of control in how they all operated. "For every tool they lend us, a loss of independence." The poor used to receive free, or at least cheaper care at charity hospitals. What happened? It pretty much became illegal to care for these people for free, mountains of paperwork was added to the process, and a simple solution became all the more complex.
The goal should be to reduce the cost of healthcare in general-- as this should be what is happening. As technology improves costs decline as the technology becomes more available-- but there's something clearly in the way and keeping this from being the case: insurance companies. Their very existence breeds the frivolous lawsuit. Juries have no problem ruling for million dollar lawsuits in cases where maybe $10,000 should be awarded-- they think they're sticking it to THE MAN. They're not. They're sticking it to themselves, and the rest of us-- hence the higher premiums, and the attempts for these companies to worm their way out of providing certain forms of care. Selling risk should be permitted, and that's what these companies do-- and they should be bound to the terms of their contracts. However, they also shouldn't have to pay out anymore than the just compensation for whatever the lawsuit is, either. Tort reform is definitely needed.
Mandatory insurance for anything should also be legislated OUT of everyone's lives-- it should be optional. The reason these companies command so much power is that they had influence enough to require us to purchase insurance for everything.
All medical expenses should be 100% tax deductible (assuming the Income Tax never gets abolished).
Health Care should be available by means of paying as you go. Having personal savings accounts for emergencies would be a good idea-- even insurance for catastrophies ONLY. If people trust the government enough and decide on a personal level that they want Uncle Sam to watch their Health Savings Account or government-offered insurance plan, that should be their choice.
I personally believe that having the government pay all of our bills would be a horrible idea-- I believe that the checks will flow every which way except for the right way, and I believe the potential for exploitation of that system will be somewhere in between our welfare systems, and our military industrial complex.
What if you were in an accident and needed emergency brain surgery to save your life? You could potentially be given a bill that you could never pay off in your life? Then who do you think would be stuck with the remainder of the bill after you died?
$427 is insane. I live in Canada, and I have a pretty decent job and my entire monthly income tax deduction is only a couple hundred more than that. And if I want to see a doctor I can go anytime I want to any practising doctor who is accepting patients, or any walk in clinic. There is no deductible, no co-pays and no worring if the doctor who is available is one who is in my network. Plus of course that extra couple of hundred bucks covers everything else you would expect a government to provide.
Not doubting you, just wondering, if you needed to see a specialists or have surgery for something how long would you have to wait?
It depends on the serverity of your surgery.
If you have a painful knee condition, for example, it can be treated with pain pills, physical therapy, etc... you'll have to wait until an appointment opens because it is less critical than someone that requires heart bypass surgery.
So... i guess you could always hope you get the worst, life threatening health condition that requires surgery so you can be the first to be scheduled.
Hail, Hail!!!
MRI clinics get a little tough, but if one is willing to go on 'off' hours (ie, middle of the night) the wait is much less.
I went in and we went at it! We were promised the merger wouldn't harm us,etc. The rest of the employess stayed quiet. Theyw ere fearful of losing their jobs, but I didn't care, I couldn't afford it ayway.
He kept saying that a decision couldn't be made by just him. That the board of directors had to meet, etc. within a few seconds he got a call where he was told he also had to pay more. There and then, he grandfathered all of us over and we got to pay only what we were before. The company we merged with didn't get this benefit, but that was on them. Someone on their team should have argued it out.
I was pissed. All the others were happy, but I was pissed that he tried telling us he couldn't do anything about it when in fact he could! He then recognized I was up on my toes better than he thought and I never had an issue with our benefits again.
Did John Locke talk about that or do I have the name and story twisted?
:thumbup:
I have had pretty much the same experience needing to see a specialist. It was for something totally non-life threatening and the wait was 4-5 months. On the other hand I have had family members who have needed life-saving doctors visits and surgery and there was almost no wait. And I think the wait times have more to do with the very low population density in Canada (huge area small population) and the limited number of medical schools (I think there are around 10) and less to do with who is paying the doctors bills.
That's the question I want to ask those Americans at Tea Parties and/or Town Hall screamfests that are 65 and older... are they on the government run, socialist Medicare system?
If so, what do they think about it... and why are they on it if they think it's so terrible and the downfall of America.
Hail, Hail!!!
I pay about 22% of my wage in taxes and with medicare it covers me for all my doctor visits and any emergency treatment I need. If I wanted private insurance on top of that for a $40 a month and that would cover me for any other elective surgery I need. I'll take our over the US system any day.
me too.
ive never had any problem with the public health care system here. and ive never had medical insurance. why would you when after paying the premiums you still have to fork out for the gap. whats the point of private insurance again???
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Me neither. Just saying their are options for full insurance if you wanted it and it'll still work out cheaper.
Heather, Medicare is a DISASTER. I'm glad it works for you, but it costs billions a year more than it was supposed to, and according to the New York Times, will be bankrupt in 2017. And that is if the economy doesn't get worse causing tax receipts to drop even further. And BTW, the bills congress is debating right now include $500 billion in Medicare CUTS.
Medicare pays doctors less than 70% of what private insurance does. Does anyone think if the gov't is running health care and reimbursing doctors at the medicare rates, that doctors could afford to stay in business? As your doctor if he could afford to lose 30% or more of his revenue each month. This would force doctors out of work, meaning rationing of health care as described by those in this post who spoke of waiting for weeks for a simple MRI.
I'll gladly take 70% of what an average doctor makes in the U.S.