Just a bit of info not covered
I think there are good and bad things about both systems. I personally feel that any country should be judged on how it treats the elderly, the children, the mentally challenged, the uneducated, and poverty stricken souls of its citizens. Comparing two vastly different systems is rather silly, especially considering the huge size of both countries, and the differences in the diversity of its people.
Folks who choose the more remote places to live usually do so because they appreciate that particular style of life, unlike folks who choose city situations where there are other people who take care of the manual stuff, like snow clearing, splitting wood....yadda yadda.
For example, in major cities, many folks walk by someone lying on the streets since homeless people are a part of life. In a rural area, this seldom happens, because such a scene means somebody is probably having a health issue. Comparing two vastly different health systems fits this analogy. Rural, self sufficient folks that go to a city for the first time have to get used to the idea that this occurs, and you would endanger yourself if you scurried around trying to help every person you perceive is in immediate danger. Likewise, a city person moving to the country would be considered heartless if he or she simply ignored a fellow citizen lying on the side of the road.
The interesting phenomenon about the internet is that it brings together people with totally different life experiences, thus causing friction when they compare situations.
In the US, the number of doctors, the health care for those insured, and the medical facilities match those of the best in the world. Many foreigners who have the means often travel here because of the high qualified care. If I had the means, I would definitely choose the US for any intricate surgery where my life depended upon it. The doctors are more experienced, well trained, and up to date on the latest techniques that cause the least surgical invasion of one's body, thus cutting down on the recovery time of major surgery. Canada would have a very difficult time finding as many highly experienced specialists in its own country.
Now for the obvious negatives, especially the ones none of you have really said much about. The biggest point that affects many of US citizens is that healthcare payments are usually the responsibility of employers. In this type of set up, the decisions about what your coverage will be is decided by the health company, and the employer, unless you happen to work where there is a union with a union representative. So healthcare benefits differ from employer to employer, according to whatever deal has been made. Some employers also cover part time workers, but others do not let their workers work enough hours to qualify for insurance. These types of companies hire 3 workers instead of one, which makes the job statistics look sounder, but then these 3 individuals are really doing the job that one full time worker could do. This is beneficial to the company because that saves them from paying healthcare insurance.
In Canada, if a person loses his or her job, one goes home, has the trauma of being unemployed, has to go job searching, decide if a move to another area is needed, and has to deal with all the stress of working through this dilemma. In the US, if a person loses his or her job, one goes home, has exactly the same traumas, but with the added realization that health insurance has ceased. If one is living from paycheck to paycheck, then it is unlikely this jobless person can afford health insurance. Even if he or she can, if a pre-existing condition exists that had been covered previously, the person will usually have trouble finding an insurer who will take them on anyway. So until this person finds another full time job including a health coverage program, the person will not have any healthcare, and will have to pay out of pocket for everything until his or her employment situation changes.
There was a person several pages ago who had no trouble getting medical services in the US while here, and earning a salary in the $20,000's. Yes, clinics and hospitals often will take care of people in this situation, but this person's medical bills were really paid by middle class workers who work full time. The employers along with the employees pay huge amounts to cover this hole in our system. $1400 a month is much closer to what a company and its employee pay together, not the $500 some have mentioned. Yes, there are $500 policies that one can get on their own, especially geared to the younger people who do not tend to have many health issues, but the real middle class sector shoulders the difference to make this all work.
My husband and I have worked in the teaching field our whole lives...around 35 years, and paid insurance premiums every single month of every single year. As you know, teachers are paid very poorly in many countries, but with a union, have had good healthcare. Presently, our school system pays around $1200 per month for us, and we pay the rest. We must go to doctors within our health plan, and cannot seek medical care of any sort beyond our "appointed" doctor without first contacting our insurance company to get its approval. We have co-pays of generic meds of $10, and $30 for non-generic. We have to pay our doctor $15 per visit, and any specialist $25 per visit. If we seek our own doctor, we are not covered. If one of us has to have emergency treatment, someone must remember to call the insurance company within 48 hours or it does not have to cover anything.
I recently had a lump taken out of my breast that was benign. I wanted to go to a surgeon I felt comfortable with, but he was presently not a part of my HMO, so my insurance company told me who I should go to. Since it was a day surgery, it is considered an out patient procedure, thus is only 90% covered. So a $6000 total hospital bill, means $600 is my responsibility. So, my insurance company gets my normal $1400 payment, plus saves $600 that I have to pay, plus saves $30 on the medicine also needed that I paid.
Once you are home from surgery in the US, the bills begin trickling in. These are from the doctors and hospitals for the parts of the procedure the insurance doesn't cover. Please remember that when we retire or ever lost our jobs for some reason, our insurance would cease, and the insurance company also has a record of every ailment we were ever treated for, and if we cannot continue the insurance at $1400 a month, has the right to cancel it immediately. Because our 35 years of payments have gone to a profit making industry, that has no bearing on getting future insurance for retirement. We have to search through all the different policies, just as a young person would do when starting in the work force.
Bush has given the insurance companies to now become a part of the retirement healthcare system. It is so sad to watch an 80 year old person trying to go through 35 different cards and try to figure out what health issues he or she might have for the coming year, and find the card that fits what one thinks might happen to him or her. Older folks have often paid for health insurance their whole lives, and are now having to read document after document of choices, all which of course, have no coverage in the areas not part of that particular program. If you ever observed an older person trying to be independent, operate a push button phone, get an answering machine that has twenty different choices to listen to before ever reaching a person, then you would have an accurate picture of what are the negatives of healthcare in the US.
For those of you who live where you can call 1-800 numbers, try calling a state department that handles medical questions for the elderly, and listen to the choices. The last time I called my state office on behalf of a 90 year old lady, I sat through 22 different topics without being allowed to push a single one of them. The majority of elderly would not comprehend this well at all, yet it is the system.
So I applaud Canada for covering everyone. No, your service is not the best, your doctors have less experience in most cases, and you have to pay much higher taxes than we do. In the US, I applaud the fine medical institutions, the great doctors, and the many employers and middle class folks who keep the system moving along, but I am also disheartened by the lack of basic care of the weakest of our nation.
Being a music educator, and having worked with marching bands....lol....there was always a saying that you are only as good as your poorest marcher. If everyone else is in step, a bad marcher shows up easily. It is the same with healthcare. You can all argue between countries about who is better, flame one another, and bolster your arguments with links, but in reality, it really is this simple. No matter what your healthcare system, you are only as good as your "worst marcher". If a child is waiting 3 years for treatment, this stands out. If a little old lady is sitting at her kitchen table totally confused about how she is going to make the right decision so she can go to her doctor and the hospital when she needs to, then this stands out.
I honestly feel that we folks who shoulder the bulk of these burdens certainly have something to grumble about, but we are living, capable, and strong enough to grumble about it all. A child or an elderly person who is struggling without help is a whole different level of angst. Both sides of the border should be judging themselves, not each other. What "marchers" stand out in your own countries?
Take care,
Beth
, nothing bad to say about Canadian health care.
