Canadians on US Health Care reform

[Emancipation 2]

I have a physician friend here who was a pro Obama supporter.. she's completely angered by his race to health care. The US system is hurt more by the huge costs of healthcare than the fact that there are loads of uninsured. The problem of price gouging has to be solved first (her suggestion).

Example: my uninsured friend in Canada has to pay 3 thousand dollars to have a baby in a TO hospital (total cost). My friend (physician who just had a baby) was charged 13 thousand for JUST the 1.5 day hospital stay (not including delivery charges). There is something REALLY messed up when CDN health care costs so significantly less..

I think the reform the US system needs first is cost reform. THEN you can talk about insurance for all. I think the President is going at this backwards.

[Arabella 4]

I have a physician friend here who was a pro Obama supporter.. she's completely angered by his race to health care. The US system is hurt more by the huge costs of healthcare than the fact that there are loads of uninsured. The problem of price gouging has to be solved first (her suggestion).

Example: my uninsured friend in Canada has to pay 3 thousand dollars to have a baby in a TO hospital (total cost). My friend (physician who just had a baby) was charged 13 thousand for JUST the 1.5 day hospital stay (not including delivery charges). There is something REALLY messed up when CDN health care costs so significantly less..

I think the reform the US system needs first is cost reform. THEN you can talk about insurance for all. I think the President is going at this backwards.

I've had two babies in the US, both were by c-section. My first was born at an Army base so it was free (again this is the closest thing to socialized medicine we have in the US- military hospitals and pharmacys which have been in place for a long time). My second was born at Tucson Medical Center which is a really good hospital (I had a private room, was catered to by the staff and even got a massage!). When I got the "bills" in the mail (my copies of what the government paid the hospital) it was only $3000 for my 3 day stay and c-section. I keep hearing that other people pay many times that, so I find it interesting that the government paid the civilian hospital so little . . .

Edit: I had my second at a "civilian" hospital because the nearest military base does not deliver babies.

Edited July 26, 2009 by Arabella

[thetreble 19]

I've heard a lot of varied things about all of that. It worries me. But I agree with E. First and foremost the astronomical costs have to be looked at. IF you break your leg and it costs 5K to fix, why is it THAT expensive? There has to be something going on there in my opinion. I just don't like the fact of the same people pocketing such large sums of money over and over again. Which, in the US, seems to happen in just about every industry.

Like Flames said, there are good and bad in both systems. I think reform is necessary here, not necessarily a complete overhaul.

Also, I think it's a myth that every one out there in the US is getting procedures and being billed for them. I know in NJ, there are many hospitals that treat people with no insurance and when they bill them, they basically end up excusing the costs. It's almost like charity I think. I went to a hospital here years ago before I lived here for strep throat. (No walk in clinics really, not ones you'd want to visit any ways...) The hospital billed me but my dad got the charges dismissed out of charity. It was weird. But the hospital explained to my dad that in certain circumstances that they have forgiven the costs due to poverty, no insurance, or people like us who were out of country. In an area like NJ where we probably have a lot of uninsured people, there is just no way that they would all be made to pay.

[BermyCat 1]

I have a physician friend here who was a pro Obama supporter.. she's completely angered by his race to health care. The US system is hurt more by the huge costs of healthcare than the fact that there are loads of uninsured. The problem of price gouging has to be solved first (her suggestion).

Example: my uninsured friend in Canada has to pay 3 thousand dollars to have a baby in a TO hospital (total cost). My friend (physician who just had a baby) was charged 13 thousand for JUST the 1.5 day hospital stay (not including delivery charges). There is something REALLY messed up when CDN health care costs so significantly less..

I think the reform the US system needs first is cost reform. THEN you can talk about insurance for all. I think the President is going at this backwards.

I wonder how much malpractice insurance and the man-hours spent sorting out billing and insurance issues contributes to healtcare costs down here.

~ Catherine

[JillA 2]

I think it's scary for the millions of Americans without insurance. For example, I just got a bill in the mail yesterday for some blood work I had done a few weeks ago. The total before insurance was $701.57 for routine blood work!! After insurance I owe $18.01. Can you imagine someone without insurance needing blood tests and having to pay over $700?! That's insane. It's really scary to think if you have a heart attack and need an emergency bypass, how many years you'll be paying off the debt without insurance.

A few months ago, when my husband was in fear of being laid off, we were both most worried about having no insurance. I think Americans have a fear of the unknown, and since they don't know or understand what Obama is trying to implement, they are automatically against it.

[SapphireDreams 71]

I have a physician friend here who was a pro Obama supporter.. she's completely angered by his race to health care. The US system is hurt more by the huge costs of healthcare than the fact that there are loads of uninsured. The problem of price gouging has to be solved first (her suggestion).

Example: my uninsured friend in Canada has to pay 3 thousand dollars to have a baby in a TO hospital (total cost). My friend (physician who just had a baby) was charged 13 thousand for JUST the 1.5 day hospital stay (not including delivery charges). There is something REALLY messed up when CDN health care costs so significantly less..

I think the reform the US system needs first is cost reform. THEN you can talk about insurance for all. I think the President is going at this backwards.

I wonder how much malpractice insurance and the man-hours spent sorting out billing and insurance issues contributes to healtcare costs down here.

~ Catherine

I think you've hit the nail right on the head Catherine. We have a friend who is a Dr. and he has to spend a lot of money every year on malpractice insurance, employing people to take care of all the lawsuits and insurance stuff and all that. He's an anethesiologist at a Hospital too, so he doesn't even have his own office.

[Sprailenes 47]

I think it's scary for the millions of Americans without insurance. For example, I just got a bill in the mail yesterday for some blood work I had done a few weeks ago. The total before insurance was $701.57 for routine blood work!! After insurance I owe $18.01. Can you imagine someone without insurance needing blood tests and having to pay over $700?! That's insane. It's really scary to think if you have a heart attack and need an emergency bypass, how many years you'll be paying off the debt without insurance.

A few months ago, when my husband was in fear of being laid off, we were both most worried about having no insurance. I think Americans have a fear of the unknown, and since they don't know or understand what Obama is trying to implement, they are automatically against it.

Exactly.

One of the managers at the hotel I used to work at would get phone calls every day from collections about a 10,000 bill she was never able to pay because her and her daughter needed some shots after being bitten by a stray dog. I also talked to someone else who had a family member mortgage their home to attempt to pay bills for a sick family member.

It's pretty scary out there for a lot of people.

I just don't think health care should be about profit.

Oh and about the copays, I just think that it makes you think before you go to the doctor. If you know you have to pay 20 - 50 dollars you'll think before going in.

My health care now is aetna and basically we have 1500.00 a year and then we have to pay 1000.00 and then our deductible kicks in. Basically Aetna is asking us to find the best priced health care, the places that have the cheapest medication. If we know that we only have 1500.00 a year we're going to try to stretch it out as best as possible. If something happens to us, oh well. But they've turned it around to make us think about the costs.

It's just another stress I would rather not have.

Deductible, copay.. blah blah words I never had to worry about when I lived back home.

Edited July 26, 2009 by Sprailenes

[Flames9_RN 358]

co-pay for ur dr visit, is no different than the co-pay one would have to pay if you were in an auto accident and had to use ur insurance. lol Belive if all goes well, that a heart by-pass surgery runs around $250,000!!

[endoftheroad 1]

I've experienced both the American and Canadian versions of health care. Neither one is perfect, but if I had my choice, I'd go with American health care. It does cost more, but as with most things in life, you get what you pay for.... the Canadian health care system -- everyone gets it, but expect long wait times, extra costs in premiums and higher taxes and the need for private insurance if you require medication.

Thanks deadpoolx. I agree. I hope we can get what we pay for at a lower price.

... What the US decides to do with healthcare may or may not mimic what Canadian healthcare is, health care for all is certainly not free. Like someone else said, the US likes minimal government involvement in their daily lives. ... I have no idea.

USA healthcare, the best in the world, will not look like Canada health care. What we want to do is get the crooks out and lower costs, make it universal and change the onus to quality over quantity. And Americans like government involvement/regulation, hence the landslide elections the past two times. Conservatives want government out of the way (minimized) so they can rule the roost and divvy up the money with their cronies (USA is also the richest country in the world). Same thing in Canada. Thank goodness for Obama and the Democratic party that will deliver a new healthcare program for the USA soon!

[Marilyn. 340]

back in 2006 our baby was in neonatal care for about 12 days.. the total cost was around 100,000 dollars but we only had to pay a $150 dollar copay..

this was back when my husband's work covered 100% of everything...now they only cover 90% of hospital stays...

[DeadPoolX 9]

One quick question: when some of you say that health care shouldn't be out profit, do you mean the system (such as insurance) or doctors, nurses and technicians? If it's the former, then I can see what you're saying, but if it's the latter, that doesn't really make sense.

Of course doctors, nurses and technicians are looking for a profit. Anyone who says they should "treat patients simply for the love of helping others" without worrying about income is naive at best. I'm not suggesting anyone here has necessarily said that. But I've know quite a few people to say that and go so far as to expect medical professionals to work for free.

[endoftheroad 1]

One quick question: when some of you say that health care shouldn't be out profit, do you mean the system (such as insurance) or doctors, nurses and technicians? If it's the former, then I can see what you're saying, but if it's the latter, that doesn't really make sense.

Of course doctors, nurses and technicians are looking for a profit. Anyone who says they should "treat patients simply for the love of helping others" without worrying about income is naive at best. I'm not suggesting anyone here has necessarily said that. But I've know quite a few people to say that and go so far as to expect medical professionals to work for free.

Watch the movie "SICKO." What people say about expecting staffers to "work for free" is just propaganda.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I mean that the obscene profit margins of the insurance companies get in the way of providing reasonable health care costs. Absolutely, providers of health care services deserve to earn a decent living - however, I know of a receptionist in a doctor's office who doesn't have health care! She isn't earning a big wage either. Wherever the money is going it is not necessarily going to the health care providers who have a far better right to it than the insurance companies.

An example - I see a chiropractor. My insurance has a $40 co-pay and a $40 deductible before I can claim anything - but the chiropractor only charges $35. I don't bother to file a claim. If I filed a claim, however, the rate for that $35 goes up to $50 and that is the claim amount that they submit (I discovered this all out when I first arrived and didn't realize how the insurance angle worked and ended up having to pay the $50 visit fees myself and the insurance claims provided nothing.) Out of that $50 fee, however, because of the 'agreement' between the doctor and the insurance company the chiropractor only gets $23.10 for the claim if it is accepted. The rate hasn't been increased for over 4 years and the rate medicare reimburses him for eligible patients has actually gone down. So, it is easier and cheaper for me and easier and more profitable for him for us to bypass the insurance company altogether.

Insurance companies aren't interested in providing reasonable medical services for their clients - either the doctors or the patients - they are only interested in making as much profit for the shareholders and company officials as they can.

[MrsCat 6]

I've never heard anyone say that medical professionals should work for free.

[DeadPoolX 9]

One quick question: when some of you say that health care shouldn't be out profit, do you mean the system (such as insurance) or doctors, nurses and technicians? If it's the former, then I can see what you're saying, but if it's the latter, that doesn't really make sense.

Of course doctors, nurses and technicians are looking for a profit. Anyone who says they should "treat patients simply for the love of helping others" without worrying about income is naive at best. I'm not suggesting anyone here has necessarily said that. But I've know quite a few people to say that and go so far as to expect medical professionals to work for free.

Watch the movie "SICKO." What people say about expecting staffers to "work for free" is just propaganda.

How can it be propaganda when I personally know people who've said that to me?

Besides... SICKO is propaganda itself.

I mean that the obscene profit margins of the insurance companies get in the way of providing reasonable health care costs. Absolutely, providers of health care services deserve to earn a decent living - however, I know of a receptionist in a doctor's office who doesn't have health care! She isn't earning a big wage either. Wherever the money is going it is not necessarily going to the health care providers who have a far better right to it than the insurance companies.

An example - I see a chiropractor. My insurance has a $40 co-pay and a $40 deductible before I can claim anything - but the chiropractor only charges $35. I don't bother to file a claim. If I filed a claim, however, the rate for that $35 goes up to $50 and that is the claim amount that they submit (I discovered this all out when I first arrived and didn't realize how the insurance angle worked and ended up having to pay the $50 visit fees myself and the insurance claims provided nothing.) Out of that $50 fee, however, because of the 'agreement' between the doctor and the insurance company the chiropractor only gets $23.10 for the claim if it is accepted. The rate hasn't been increased for over 4 years and the rate medicare reimburses him for eligible patients has actually gone down. So, it is easier and cheaper for me and easier and more profitable for him for us to bypass the insurance company altogether.

Insurance companies aren't interested in providing reasonable medical services for their clients - either the doctors or the patients - they are only interested in making as much profit for the shareholders and company officials as they can.

Yeah, it sucks for everyone. I'd love to see health insurance -- in that capacity -- receive a massive overhaul. I'm just not convinced that a health care plan emulating Canada's (or any other country) is the way to go.