Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Some Medicare Advantage plans cover most things under one plan, if you're in the plan's network. They are offered by private health insurance companies, approved and paid by Medicare. It would probably be a good idea to have Medicare Advantage for all.
NO to Advantage which ONCE AGAIN puts the patient in the hands of the FOR-PROFIT private insurer who can say yes or no to a Medicare mandated procedure. Absolutely NO. Especially NO for those needing a lot of medical services. Advantage is NOT Medicare. Advantage delivers Medicare benefits - maybe - but not without scrutiny - far more scrutiny than Medicare, itself. It's that pesky bottom line again. With Advantage plans, it is ALWAYS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY - not what is best for the patient. There are some local medical systems which run their own Advantage plans which are better actors, but beware the large national behemoths.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aus10
maybe the USA could come up with it's own version that gives the most important part of health care to those who need it most, but does not completely cover ALL health care.
AFAIK Canada and most countries with UHC have some sort of private option. Pay more, get more.
Americans, Canadians, Europeans, or Klingon, anyone with money goes to the head of the line no matter where you are from.
Medicare has a private option with the supplement policies by private insurers. I don't hear anyone screaming to get rid of either.
I have always thought this is sensible.
I believe the purpose of UHC is to make sure that 90% of what people face is covered. It is not supposed to be perfect health care. If you want perfect health care, you will have to pay more for it.
Status:
"“If a thing loves, it is infinite.â€"
(set 18 hours ago)
Location: Great Britain
27,163 posts, read 13,449,232 times
Reputation: 19454
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katarina Witt
IME, which isn't everyone's, I nor any of my family have had to wait four weeks to see a specialist. Nor have we waited two weeks for a necessary MRI or CAT scan, let alone three months. 4 weeks for surgery seems about right again, IME.
Medicare is similar in the US. You can buy supplemental policies to cover what Medicare doesn't. It won't cover something Medicare does. Even with private insurance, if you have coverage from two policies, one is considered primary. https://gusto.com/ask-gusto/health-i...lth-insurance/
What happens in most countries is that MRI and CT Scans are prioritised , in terms of being urgent and non-urgent.
A sports injury will be non-urgent, however a supected serious condition would be scanned very quickly.
In many countries with universal healthcare, there are private scans available from £249 ($325) if you want a check up or don't want to wat for a non-urgent scan.
You can also take out private health insurance in some countries with Universal Healthcare, which is very cheap if you are young and healthy however it becomes more expensive in terms of age and the amount of coverage.
Private health insurance is especially cheap in the UK, as most serious medical conditions are dealt with by the NHS, leaving the private sector with a lot less to deal with. However only around 10% of people in the UK have private health insurance, a figure that hasn't changed much over the years.
And I'll counter with being a Canadian in his mid 70's experiencing all those things typical for a normal lifestyle of early sports involvement and military service.....I've had various surgeries over my lifespan for things such as ligament damage in both knees one of which was done within hours of the damage occurring because the ligament had intruded into the joint locking my knee in the bent position, from event to operation completed was less than 6 hours. That one happened at work, I was taxied to hospital where a specialist was on call, had me X-rayed, informed me he had a theater available and could operate immediately....all done and sent home a few hours later.
All of the intervening years normal childhood things like measles, flu's, one bout of pneumonia, one false heart related event, and a bunch of doctor's visits for stuff I cannot even remember with the normal two yearly check-up visits occurring throughout my lifetime have passed without any delays at all, either in making appointments with my GP to scheduled appointments with a variety of specialists occurring with no more than a couple of weeks delay for non-emergency issues.
Any of those visits required by a call to my GP for an illness in progress usually happened later the same day.
I've NEVER seen a bill, never had costs of whatever enter into any thought process regarding healthcare delivery for anything. Not once!
Never had to fill out a form for a third entity scrutiny. Never had to consider whether I had adequate coverage. Never had to think about denial of coverage for some stated reason of "failure to disclose" or not within "network". Pre-existing condition is a phrase no one ever hears in Canada.
Wherever I might be in Canada, I can see a specialist and undergo a procedure without concern for being within a group of service providers sanctioned by an insurance company.
NO DEDUCTIBLES....NO COPAYS. Just git-er-dun and never see a bill...never.
I have to admit I do/did have co-pays with Dr. visits and meds, although not that high, I would have preferred no co pay at all. I have just gone on Medicare and had to pick a supplemental insurance to Medicare and it is not nearly as good as the my pre 65 insurance. Premiums have gone up and co-pays have gone up which is bad because right now I am on a fixed income. I honestly don't think there is a problem with health care its self, but I do feel there are major problems with the insurance industry.
Because of the bullcrap that comes up routinely bashing the Canadian system, that's why. STF up about Canada and I'll STF up about the fubarred U.S. where I've lived months at a time every year since 2000 and witnessed a slew of medical events undergone by American friends. It's a disgrace by comparison.
Have you lived in Canada and personally experienced it's healthcare delivery system? It isn't perfect but it's light years ahead of the U.S. on universality of coverage.
I have no criticism of the Canadian system, but am sure things could be improved on both sides.
I have no criticism of the Canadian system, but am sure things could be improved on both sides.
Yep. I think too many in the U.S are wanting to run towards single payer without taking the time to examine the issues with it in those countries that have single payer. You will always need private options.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
