US unemployment rate DOWN!

[tracy]

Sounds like a lousy health care policy to me

It may have to do with your 'temporary status' Tracy - that you are not getting some more long term and certainly more advantageous benefits.

Just to clarify, I didn't have to pay 20K. I have insurance. I had to pay my yearly deductible ($3500) and my insurance premiums (about $150 a month) and I have to pay for meds myself because I don't have coverage for that (another couple hundred a year not covered because it's for a pre-existing condition). I'm not thrilled to pay that much, but it isn't going to break me and I'm happy with the medical care I've received so it's definitely worth it. It doesn't have anything to do with my temporary status, they don't even know I'm Canadian or anything like that. It's just that I have to buy my own policy. My employer plan is crap. We used to joke about the fact that we worked in a hospital and really couldn't afford to get sick there They cover 80% of this and 70% of that as long as you use the doctors from this list and have your first appointment with them on a Tuesday and wear a red hat and use the secret code word "bulldog" when you make your appointment with them... OK, it's not that bad, but the small print is really killer. A nurse's husband relied on those benefits and it was ridiculous how much they had to pay out of pocket for treatment.

I would rather pay for my ppo coverage and the yearly deductible than have to use their hmo plan. I've been working in hospitals long enough to know I want to be able to pick my specific doctor and hospital without a hassle, cause those things matter a lot. I know that the hmo would have been cheaper, but I don't regret my decision to go with the ppo at all. IMO, it was the best thing available to me. I realize there are a lot of variety in health care plans and several types of health insurance plans that Americans qualify for that I wouldn't (like the VA system, Medicare, Medical, etc), but mine is just a run of the mill large health insurance company.

 

[crit13]

I've been working in hospitals long enough to know I want to be able to pick my specific doctor and hospital without a hassle, cause those things matter a lot.

But in Canada, we don't get a choice. We go to the specialist that was given to us by our GP.

 

[tracy]

But how much do you pay per year for your insurance? That was the point I'm sure.

The $18,000 in tax savings could afford anyone the cadillac of all health care services for 2 or 3 families.

I pay about $150 a month for premiums (I'm single, no kids, have one pre-existing medical condition which requires medication but no other treatment and is not covered by the plan). My deductible is high ($3500 a year), which means I have to pay that much before my insurance kicks in. My hospital coverage is 100%, which means if I am admitted to a hospital I do not have to pay anything and I'm covered up to $500 000 I think. That was the most important part to me. Outpatient procedures like my gall bladder add another $500 to my cost, but after that and the deductible, they are also covered 100%. My regular doctor's office visits cost me a $20 co-pay. I don't have any pregnancy coverage at all and no medication coverage.

You can change the amount you pay for premiums by adjusting any of those variables. If I wanted pregnancy coverage for instance, the rate would go up. If I wanted a lower deductible, the rate would go up. If I wanted less hospital admission coverage, the rate would go down.

You're right that for $18000 a year I could buy a rockin' plan, but our taxes go to pay for a lot more than just health care.

I don't know of any plan that covers more than $1 000 000. Some of our families have great plans, but they tend to cap at that amount.

 

[tracy]

But in Canada, we don't get a choice. We go to the specialist that was given to us by our GP.

If you don't like your specialist you have every right to get refered to another one. No doctor in Canada can require you to see a certain specialist or deny you treatment. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know their rights as a patient.

In the HMO plan, they won't cover any care I seek from a provider that isn't in their network and that I haven't been refered to by my GP. That's why I chose a PPO plan. You get a better rate for providers in their network, but they still cover visits to other MDs and hospitals.

 

[crit13]

If you don't like your specialist you have every right to get refered to another one. No doctor in Canada can require you to see a certain specialist or deny you treatment. Anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know their rights as a patient.

That's easier said than done. There is a growing number of Canadians that can't even find a family doctor as there are shortages of GP's.

The wait is so long to see specialists now a days that you are pretty much forced to stay with the first one that you are referred to becuase it could be several weeks before you can go see another one.

 

[tracy]

That's easier said than done. There is a growing number of Canadians that can't even find a family doctor as there are shortages of GP's.

The wait is so long to see specialists now a days that you are pretty much forced to stay with the first one that you are referred to becuase it could be several weeks before you can go see another one.

Shortages are a problem in a lot of places, I realize that, but it doesn't change the fact that you can in fact choose your doctor. Depending on the problem, that can be a fast referal or a longer wait. My dad changed his internist and that was done in one day because he was in the hospital at the time and didn't want to be treated by the MD because of his previous dealing with him. Changing your orthopedist can take months because it isn't life threatenning or anything. My mom was given the option of choosing which surgeon to be refered to (one had a longer waiting list than the other). You can tell your GP which doctor you want to be refered to ahead of time if you know.

I use a walk in clinic as my GP and I waited a few weeks to see the gastroenterologist here only to find out it was a surgical issue and get refered to the surgeon. It would have taken longer to get another specialist, but I would have done it if I didn't like my doctor. IMO, that would have been worth the wait, even if it wasn't ideal. You're not going to get ideal care anywhere. I'm more than happy with adequate.

All kind of off topic though because it's only focusing on one thing our taxes pay for. What about all the rest (education, the military, social services, etc)? Would you be willling to give all those up to keep 100% of you income? I don't think that's a good deal in the long run.

 

[Toro]

Here is my MATLAB code for the above graph:


clear all
data={'Austrailia', 28.3, 16.0, 4.6;
...%'Austria', 47.4, 35.5, NaN;
'Belgium', 55.4, 40.3, 7.7;
'Canada', 31.6, 21.5, 6.1;
'Czech Repulic', 43.8, 27.1, 6.4;
'Denmark', 41.4, 29.6, 3.4;
'France', 50.1, 41.7, 8.8;
'Germany', 51.8, 35.7, 7.1;
'Greece', 38.8, 39.2, 8.6;
'Hungary', 50.5, 39.9, 7.9;
... %'iceland', 29.0, 11.0, NaN;
'ireland', 25.7, 8.1, 4.4;
'italy', 45.4, 35.2, 6.5;
'Japan', 27.7, 24.9, 4.0;
'Korea', 17.3, 16.2, 3.2;
'Luxembourg', 35.3, 12.2, 5.0;
...%'Mexico', 18.2, 18.2, NaN;
'Netherlands', 38.6, 29.1, 3.5;
'New Zealand', 20.5, 14.5, 3.7;
'Norway', 37.3, 29.6, 2.7;
'Poland', 43.6, 42.1, 11.8;
'Portugal', 36.2, 26.6, 7.5;
'Slovak Republic', 38.3, 23.2, 11.0;
'Spain', 29.0, 33.4, 8.6;
'Sweden', 47.9, 42.4, 6.7;
'Switzerland', 29.5, 18.6, 3.9;
... %'Turky', 42.7, 42.7, NaN;
'United Kingdon', 33.5, 27.1, 5.4;
'United States', 29.1, 11.9, 4.5 }

x=[data{ : ,2} data{ : ,3}]
y=[data{ : ,4} data{ : ,4}]
plot(x,y,'.')
A=[x ( : ) ones(length(x),1)]
theata=inv(A'*A)*A'*y( : );
lambda=linspace(0,60)
hold on;
plot(lambda,lambda*theata(1)+theata(2));
hold off;

That's not a tight fit.

A better graph would be restrictive labour laws and unemployment.

 

[Numure]

Exactly.

Me having to pay that much $$ is rediculous.

I mean if I had all that money back, I could afford my own darn health care.

Our 1st world nations are pouring our hard earned money into the governments and a big chunk of that is wasted through corruption and other means.

Sponsership Scandal?

My money going to Liberal Parties's Friends?

I don't think any country should take anymore than 15% of a man's wealth.

Americans have a 29% tax rate, and have to pay for the most expensive Health Care system in the world. Yea, I prefer the wait list.

 

[Toro]

Americans have a 29% tax rate, and have to pay for the most expensive Health Care system in the world. Yea, I prefer the wait list.

Not me.

As one of the 87% of US residents who always have healthcare, and of the 97% who are not chronically without coverage, I have access to the best healthcare in the world, and don't have to wait for anything that I need.

 

[westmanguy]

I would rather buy health insurance plans like in the USA.

And have lower taxes.

 

[I think not]

Oh man here we go again with "who's got the better health insurance" crap. :roll:

I don't understand why it's difficult to believe unemployment rate has dropped in the US. Everywhere I turn business is booming.

 

[s243a]

Oh man here we go again with "who's got the better health insurance" crap. :roll:

I don't understand why it's difficult to believe unemployment rate has dropped in the US. Everywhere I turn business is booming.

It reminds of a story someone once told me. Someone was saying about how fast this guy named Scott could run the 100 m sprint. The other guy turned to him and said, “Scotty how much can you bench?". Bragging is human nature.

 

[tracy]

I would rather buy health insurance plans like in the USA.

And have lower taxes.

Then you should probably move here sooner rather than later. You may very well be better off in a system like this. Some people will definitely be better off financially down here. You may want to consider going into a profession that makes you an attractive immigrant for the US. Any NAFTA covered job can get you here in under a year.

The funny thing is, you'd probably still be complaining about your tax rate here. In Canada, it's always healthcare people complain about paying for. Here, I listen to complaints about having to pay for services for illegals, the war in Iraq, etc. There is always something we resent the government buying with our money.

 

[Walter]

180 000 jobs were created in the good 'ol USA last month.

And they have an unemployment rate of 4.4% now.

Canada is 6.8%, (2005 EST), thats coming down though thanks to Alberta

Compared to EUROPE:

8.4% in Belgium (2005 EST)
9.2% in Spain
10% in France (2005 EST)
11.7% in Germany (2005 EST)

Guess left-leaning, Liberal, secular, nations do not have it that great, hmm?

Just immagine how low the jobless rate would be if the Dems were in power? We all know that Bush's policies are ruining the US economy.

 

[darkbeaver]

A third of the US economy is government spending.

That's hardly the Chicago School.

Which, BTW, is pretty widespread in conventional economics taught today.

Why? Because much of it is correct.

No, you're wrong on all the points.:lol: