Comments on: What Obama Win Means For Health Care

Experts Say Financial Crisis Could Hamper Obama's Plans For Health Care Reform

[erasmus81]

Posted by WogerWabbit at 12:59 AM : Nov 06, 2008

If you were living in Canada, you would be paying approximately $90 a month for you and your wife. And that is not EACH, that is the "total" amount. You wouldn''t have to be coming up with more money for chemo or bloodwork. You would never see a medical bill.

[incog-nito]

In conclusion: The U.S. health care system is fiscally and MORALLY bankrupt. It hits people the hardest precisely at a time when they need help the most. And we''re talking about people WITH health insurance.

There are health care systems in other countries that work very well AND cost less than the U.S.''s. Hopefully with the new administration we will be moving in that direction (with undoubtedly intense resistance from the insurance industry and overpaid doctors).

[wogerwabbit]

I''m a small buisness owner and I pay $788 a month to a major health insurance company for garbage coverage because of pre-existing conditions. My wife''s coverage just went up 15% to just under $400 per month for something she never uses. Let''s not forget the hefty deductibles and co-pays either. Something needs to be done... there''s too many middlemen taking a cut and getting rich off of the misery of others. Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege of the monied few. I don''t mind paying my way, but I despise getting bent over and drained of my hard earned money at a staggering rate because I''ve had cancer for 17 years... and outlived the original 5 - 10 year prognosis. I''m radioactive to insurance companies and there''s nothing I can do about it. I go for checkups and blood tests 3 or 4 times a year and get tapped for another $400+ every time I go. The chemo therapy I should be doing would cost me $700-$800 a month out of pocket so I do without. Doesn''t that suck! And I ain''t poor... but I''m not rich enough to stay alive with today''s system. That''s what needs to change.

[incog-nito]

Think universal health care will mean sub-standard care and no coverage for pre-existing conditions? AU CONTRAIRE. Here''s yet another excerpt from the Boston Globe:

The French system strongly discourages the kind of experience rating that occurs in the United States, making it more difficult for insurers to deny coverage for preexisting conditions or to those who are not in good health. In fact, in France, the sicker you are, the more coverage, care, and treatment you get.

[incog-nito]

Will universal health care deny people the right to buy private insurance? NOPE. Here''s another excerpt from the Boston Globe:

French legislators also overcame insurance industry resistance by permitting the nation''s already existing insurers to administer its new healthcare funds. Private health insurers are also central to the system as supplemental insurers who cover patient expenses that are not paid for by Securite Sociale. Indeed, nearly 90 percent of the French population possesses such coverage, making France home to a booming private health insurance market.

[incog-nito]

Think universal health care will restrict your choice of doctors? Here are some excerpts from an article in the Boston Globe:

...the French share Americans'' distaste for restrictions on patient choice and they insist on autonomous private practitioners rather than a British-style national health service, which the French dismiss as "socialized medicine." Virtually all physicians in France participate in the nation''s public health insurance, Sicuriti Sociale.

The French system is also not inexpensive. At $3,500 per capita it is one of the most costly in Europe, yet that is still far less than the $6,100 per person in the United States.

Moreover, in contrast to Canada and Britain, there are no waiting lists for elective procedures and patients need not seek pre-authorizations. In other words, like in the United States, "rationing" is not a word that leaves the lips of hopeful politicians.

[birdyspice7]

I hope they outlaw the pre-existing condition clause. My husband was just recently diagnosed with a lifelong disease and his doctor warned him to never lose his job and never lose his insurance.

This is ridiculous. When my husband was in grad school he was caught without insurance when he came down with meningitis. He''s got 150,000 of medical bills. We can''t buy a house. They don''t have problems like these in Canada and Europe. They have better health systems with longer average life spans.

[incog-nito]

Will universal health care cost the U.S. a ton of money? Here''s a comparative list of health care spending as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product):

Australia 9.5%
Canada 9.8%
Germany 10.7%
Netherlands 9.2%
N. Zealand 9.0%
UK 8.3%
US 16.0%

[incog-nito]

Here is the ranking of world''s best healthcare systems, by country:

1. France
2. Italy
3. San Marino
4. Andorra
5. Malta
6. Singapore
7. Spain
8. Oman
9. Austria
10. Japan
11. Norway
12. Portugal
13. Monaco
14. Greece
15. Iceland
16. Luxembourg
17. Netherlands
18. United Kingdom
19. Ireland
20. Switzerland
21. Belgium
22. Colombia
23. Sweden
24. Cyprus
25. Germany
26. Saudi Arabia
27. United Arab Emirates
28. Israel
29. Morocco
30. Canada
31. Finland
32. Australia
33. Chile
34. Denmark
35. Dominica
36. Costa Rica
37. USA

By the way, the U.S. spends more per capita on health care by any other country by large margin.

[zev99]

In short, what Canada has now.