Canadian Health Care Vs. United States Health Care (health insurance, how much)

[SoCiEtY's ReBel]

It's sad that in the US money is more important than human life, but that is the truth... Sure people with lots of money may have excellent health-care here... But for the majority of us that are living on $1,500 - 2,000 a month, we don't. We make too much to be on Medicaid and too little to afford a good health insurance policy. Sure some employers offer to pay part of the premium (usually around 60 - 80 %) but a lot of them don't... And no one has mentioned the fact that employers wont even offer you health insurance until you have been employed for 90 days; what if you fall ill in the mean time? Also a lot of these so called insurance policies cost upwards of $500/month per person and only pay 80% of the medical bills. So we in the US pay a monthly premium, a co-pay or deductible which can be up to $300 for emergency room, and then we make payments on the remaining 20% that wasn't covered. I would much rather pay $54 a month and get it over with.

And to those who say everyone in America has access to "health care," my mother-in-law's friend took her infant daughter to an emergency room because she was ill and they told her that because she didn't have insurance she had to take her daughter to another hospital; sadly her daughter didnt make it to the other hospital.

Also, remember the woman in Los Angeles who died in an emergency waiting room because no one took her seriously and she wasn't covered by any insurance; it was on CNN. Also, what about kaiser Permanente putting patients without insurance out on skid row?

Sure there may be laws in place that mandate hospitals to provide life-sustaining care to anyone regardless of their situation, but what people fail to realize is that people (and hospitals) in the United States do not always follow the law, and the government doesn't always enforce it!

The problem with our health care system is it is run for profit, that is why people get turned down for pre-existing conditions, because they know that these people will be more of a liability than an asset. If you already have coverage and get terminally ill watch how high your premiums will be.

When it comes to peoples lives profit shouldn't matter but in the US it does, in Canada it seems everyone is covered, in the US only the wealthy are covered and Medicaid/Medicare is a joke so don't even go there...

These corporate health insurance companies also pay off our politicians and lobby Congress to keep things the same, it is corrupt as hell here in America, you remember the Jack Ambronoff scandal? Just the tip of the iceberg...

In the US, the dollar is valued over the life of a human being and these companies will do anything to save money including letting you die.

Canada's health system may not be perfect either but at least they are putting the people's health above profit!

[ZX14TJ]

There are pros and cons to both systems. Having lived in both countries, I prefer the American system. However, if I was in a lower socio-economic group, my thoughts would probably change.

I am certain the media in both countries overstate the problems. US media often cites a problem with insurance, which isn't really all that common. Here in Alberta, we always hear about doctor shortages, long wait times, etc. In reality, neither situation is really all that bad.

There are example of things going bad in any system. Here is a story of a Calgary woman that had a miscarriage in a crowded hospital waiting room.

Calgary officials apologize for 2nd waiting-room miscarriage

[djf863000]

honestly i prefer the system France has.

[ZX14TJ]

Originally Posted by djf863000

honestly i prefer the system France has.

The topic of the thread is a comparison of Canadian and US health care systems. However, you are right, there are probably systems in world that are better than both.

[edk]

I hate to say it, but Cuba. It's free for everyone, and the quality is astonishingly high.

[hindsight2020]

it's a question of valuation. Socialized medicine fundamentally believes that health care should be a utility whose burden should be shouldered by society. In a for-profit such as the US the goal of providing health care is to capitalize. This motivation goes against the interest of society and we as americans have a love-hate relationship with the issue which ultimately boils down to class warfare, i.e. your views on it will ultimately graviatate towards a reflection of your social status, again another contention socialized medicine lacks by defintion, other than those who want to abolish it of course. In america, society is torn between fundamentally allowing a system that applauds an individual's ability to capitalize over his peers in ANY endeavor, and retaining a sense of social responsibility over the community. It's quite disfunctional actually. My only heartburn with the american way of thinking about health care is that we seem to want the cake and eat it too. We are self-rigtheous domestically when it comes to the haves and have nots and whose entitled to health care but we get indignant when social systems call us out in our elitist practices about what they have considered a dead horse (health care as a utility) for decades. It's retarded and we need to get our head out of the sand about that.

[Sandyusa]

Well, here is a question. If you are paying $2,000 a year, plus $25 co-pays for yourself, your spouse and 3 children - would you say it is cheaper to have coverage in Canada. We have an excellent plan here in the States but are thinking of relocating. How much will come out of our pay checks if we relocate.

[nickjbor]

Originally Posted by Sandyusa

Well, here is a question. If you are paying $2,000 a year, plus $25 co-pays for yourself, your spouse and 3 children - would you say it is cheaper to have coverage in Canada. We have an excellent plan here in the States but are thinking of relocating. How much will come out of our pay checks if we relocate.

Nothing. and Everything. Healthcare in canada is funded from general government revenue, so you dont actually pay any "healthcare", but the taxes are higher.

[FlyGuy_ca]

Watch the movie 'Sicko'

[airhead]

Originally Posted by edk

I hate to say it, but Cuba. It's free for everyone, and the quality is astonishingly high.

you might want to research the Cuban health care system again, there are some parts of it that are good but also some that are bad if your basing this on the movie sicko you better do more research, i am not disagreeing with the movie here but lets face it Michael Moore does like to stretch things,(P.S. I'm not a Michael Moore hater i actually like his movies just stating the truth) like all people who are trying to make a point but I'm super glad he made this movie so people can have a peek on the pros and cons of American health care but i wish there were more movies like this so i could get a better look at all the other countries health care. By the way between Us Vs. Canada i choose Canadian health care but I am bias because of two things the movie sicko and the fact i am a Canadian citizen .also Ive never had to deal with American health care myself so that could be another reason.by the way i know this is completely off topic but on a post in the top right after it says how many post you have done what does read mean? how many times people have read your posts?