National Health Insurance Now, Not Later

[Caladan 19]

I grew up with catastrophic insurance only. It had a $10,000 deductible. So we were fine if we got in car crashes. And it cost my parents an arm and a leg, and we never went to the doctor because it was $100 a visit. They were very fortunate that none of us had any problems. Well, except the time my sister had an intestinal problem and it cost $4000 for a test.

You know what sucks? Having your little sister cry because she's sorry for costing mom and dad money rather than worrying whether her appendix bursts.

The problem with catastrophic coverage is that it doesn't provide for the smaller expenses that can *prevent* needing the gigantic hospital bill covered.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

You know what sucks? Having your little sister cry because she's sorry for costing mom and dad money rather than worrying whether her appendix bursts.

That's exactly what I was getting at, and exactly the vibe I got from others when I told people that I needed an exploratory surgery...

Edited February 4, 2007 by erekose

[de_sjiem 0]

I'm just afraid that a national healthcare system would lower the quality of healthcare

for everyone, not just the people without health insurance.

50-60% of Americans are currently insured through their employers. I imagine if there

was a 'free' system, these employers would no longer want to buy private insurance coverage

for their employees.

Not true.. Plenty of people who are insured through government funded healthcare also get additional health care coverage through their employer.. My parents get additional coverage through his employer, and it covers quite a bit.. And that's not an unusual occurence...

And perhaps on the whole, health care may go down a little bit, but for those who dont have healthcare, it would not, since they would actually be getting it.. its difficult to have healthcare quality go down when you dont get any in the first place.. There are too many people without it, that can't even afford the extra 65 a month or whatever it is for the catastrophic insurance.. And maybe it wouldnt go down, since all the bills would actually be paid, and the healthcare people wouldnt have to raise the price of other health care to cover those that cant pay..

Another problem is how many people go bankrupt over health care costs.. Not sure what the stats are on that, but we know one person ourselves who lost his house because he had to pay previous health care bills.. There is something really wrong with that scenario..

[dalegg 143]

We are so great.

We can force employers to pay their workers a living wage- 2 to 3 times the current minimum wage- PLUS institute a national healthcare system, and none of this will affect the economy one bit. In fact it will better it.

Not only that, but we can keep all foreigners out of this country so that our wages don't go down, and the additional costs of goods we have to pay because of higher wages, will not affect our ability to pay the extra taxes to insure everyone has healthcare.

We can force other countries to raise the wages they pay their employees AND buy OUR exported goods so that we in America can continue to live the good life

But, our abilities to create a great society don't end there. We can also do all of this while shutting down all factories and vehicles that emit fossil fuels, and pay for more expensive clean energy burning vehicles and power plants. We can do this without nuclear energy! Universal healthcare is but a solar panel and a wind mill away.

We Americans rock.

[kitkat1 5]

I grew up with catastrophic insurance only. It had a $10,000 deductible. So we were fine if we got in car crashes. And it cost my parents an arm and a leg, and we never went to the doctor because it was $100 a visit. They were very fortunate that none of us had any problems. Well, except the time my sister had an intestinal problem and it cost $4000 for a test.

You know what sucks? Having your little sister cry because she's sorry for costing mom and dad money rather than worrying whether her appendix bursts.

The problem with catastrophic coverage is that it doesn't provide for the smaller expenses that can *prevent* needing the gigantic hospital bill covered.

I agree but it's better than nothing if you are in a car accident or have a cancer diagnosis and usually does not cost a fortune or didn't used to. I had a policy for $50 a month not all that long ago. I just can't grasp not having any insurance at all, but maybe that's just me.

[Fandango 1,439]

Totally against national health care...yes, it's 'FREE' but quality will suffer. Look at the UK....D's been on a list for over a year to get a hernia operation. He finally broke down and bought private coverage.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I have to disagree that you will loose quality with a national health care system. I have an existing health problem and have had medical treatment in both Canada and the US including regular doctors visits, specialists vists, hospital visits and ongoing medication. I had to wait much longer to see my family physician here in the US than in Canada; the same for the specialist. When I had an emergency room visit last summer (and a 1 1/2 day hospitalization) I had to wait much longer for treatment even though it was considered one of those 'absolutely immediate emergency care' situations than I ever had to do in Canada. To top it all off, we do have insurance but we still had to pay on top of it our co-pays and what is not covered for the hospitalization - which includes most of the doctors fees since they are above and beyond the hospitalization costs. One other interesting observation - US medicine over tests - every time you turn around they are throwing another test at you with expensive equipment - whether it is necessary or not they offer the most expensive test first then back down to the still effective but cheaper alternative. You want to talk about prescription costs? I had to pay for my prescriptions back in Canada and then I would be re-imbursed by my employer's health plan. There was an annual deductible there - just like there is here with our insurance. Our insurance however has a co-pay that in some cases costs more than the actual prescription. (I don't go through the insurance for those). The cost of my medication is substantially lower in Canada than it is here even though it is exactly the same brand - not a generic - and when you work in the exchange rate the Canadian is even less expensive. My $150 a month prescription requirements in Canada before my employer reimbursed me is less than my $225 co-pays for exactly the same thing here - the actual medication is more than that. Someone is making a killing - but I think it is the patients who can't afford health care who are doing the dying.

Edited February 4, 2007 by Kathryn41

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Just a correction - my co-pays were $195 - my husband's is the extra $30.

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

I didn't think that the quality of my care suffered in Canada. If someone was really ill or required specialized care they would receive it (even if they had to go to Michigan to get it).

I read somewhere that health care in the US costs 4x's the amount of health care per capita than in Canada. I'm sure there has to be a better system then the one the US is currently using.

[DelcoCouple 1]

Totally against national health care...yes, it's 'FREE' but quality will suffer. Look at the UK....D's been on a list for over a year to get a hernia operation. He finally broke down and bought private coverage.

Which will have done him no good at all as pre existing conditions are not covered by a private insurance policy

[deathbydalbhat 0]

I realize health insurance is outrageously expensive in this country but I cannot understand how someone could choose to go without insurance and take their chances. There are all levels of health insurance available. Catastrophic coverage for emergencies and accidents with a high deductible has reasonable monthly payments. Not having it seems unbelievably risky to me.

.

Do you have any plans you could recommend(PM me if this would be considered spam)? I just realized it would cost me $300 per month on top of everything else to put K on my crappy HMO plan at work, which there is no way I could afford, wish I could find some sort of catastrophic plan which would only cost $50-60 until hopefully he gets a job with benefits...otherwise K will be one of the uninsured, it's either ins. premiums or food...

WOOT - with this post I am a Senior Member now, does this mean I get Medicare????

Edited February 4, 2007 by deathbydalbhat

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There are advantages to having a private system, at least in some aspects of healthcare. The UK NHS isn't that great for minor operations like, ingrowing toenails for instance - the only time (other than when I saw the dentist) that I paid for private care in the UK.

Of course some will say that the UK NHS isn't that great for major operations either. There is of course some truth to that. Everyone seems to have a horror story, regardless of what system they use.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Totally against national health care...yes, it's 'FREE' but quality will suffer. Look at the UK....D's been on a list for over a year to get a hernia operation. He finally broke down and bought private coverage.

Which will have done him no good at all as pre existing conditions are not covered by a private insurance policy

The insurance industry is inherently untrustworthy in that regard. Their only guiding principle seems to be to pay out as little as possible. I know several people that happened to - including myself. Luckily for me, they couldn't "pre-existing condition" me as it was a diagnostic surgery, otherwise I'd have been looking at a $20K bill for a "home same day" procedure.

[Fandango 1,439]

Totally against national health care...yes, it's 'FREE' but quality will suffer. Look at the UK....D's been on a list for over a year to get a hernia operation. He finally broke down and bought private coverage.

Which will have done him no good at all as pre existing conditions are not covered by a private insurance policy

I don't remember the details but he found a policy that covered him and the pre-existing. Your response was the same as mine when I heard about it until he explained it, lol

[Heracles 417]

Who is going to pay for covering illegal immigrants??