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.
Sorry my bad, it's at risk. However in the study commissioned one out of three Americans over the course of 2007-2008 were uninsured at one point. Knowing that things have gotten worse economically in terms of unemployment and availability of benefits through part-time versus full-time work, one has to think the one in three number is pretty accurate overall currently.
While others have stated they've lived in European countries and also refer to obscure questionable sources for examples of the failures of a Universal system in other countries such as Canada, some of us have the opposite perspective to offer.
The reality of living for months at a time and interacting with all walks of life in the U.S. reveals that not only are claims of the American system being superior, false but down right stupid to offer up in any sane conversation. The bulk of tourism to your country reveals to all who visit the complete fallacy of these claims when time after time we are engaged in conversations from your citizens "how does your health care work", Wish we had something like that available here", followed by discussions of the costs of maintaining any kind of care plan for tyheir family that serves any useful purpose whatsoever.
Living in the U.S. for 6 months at a time and maintaining my coverage from Canada being of no cost to me other than the taxation I willingly pay in Canada, I'm constantly queried on the nature and scope of my coverage.
You folks desperately need a single payer system without all of that crap associated with "you expect me to pay for people on welfare or who aren't taxpayers" Dummies don't realize YOU"RE ALREADY PAYING FOR THOSE PEOPLE! You should do whats necessary to bring those costs under control and ALSO provide that safety net to forestall bankruptcy happening to anyone who has the misfortune to experience an unforeseen illness in their family.
The vast majority of Americans already have healthcare provided either through work or through existing state and federal programs. Yes, even people with pre-existing conditions.
Obamacare will tear a swathe through the entire current system and fail quickly due to lack of funding.
To those who believe in so called universal healthcare (single payer) - please move to Europe for 5 years, pay their taxes, get very sick, and let us know how you get on.
I have lived in six countries (including the USA) across three continents. Some of these include the UK, France, Germany, and Japan. I have lived in these countries, I have payed their taxes, and I have gotten sick in them, and the conclusion that I (and my family) have come up with is that the universal health care systems in these countries are far BETTER systems than what is currently in place in the USA. So, there it is, I'm "letting you know how I've gotten on" having lived abroad for years of my life. I could go on and on, but I feel that it would be a waste of my time.
Good luck man!
Peace out
Last edited by CityLover9; 06-02-2012 at 05:14 PM..
Just as a guess, I'd say the life expectancy of Americans with good health insurance is probably near 82. Those people, living to be 82, don't give a damn how many people are dying undiagnosed, as long as they are not in line in front of them to get that quick and high-class and outrageously expensive treatment.
Last edited by CowanStern; 06-02-2012 at 05:06 PM..
In a Canadian National Population Health Survey of 17,276 Canadian residents, it was reported that only 0.5% sought medical care in the US in the previous year. Of these, less than a quarter had traveled to the U.S. expressly to get that care.
In any event, I'm not saying we need an exact carbon copy of Canada's system. What we need is universal coverage for all. There is no reason in the world we can't have the best doctor's, best care, and the best access in the world.
We do have great doctors and great care in the USA if you can afford it. Access sucks for a huge portion of the population. And if you can't see that, you're either blind or just refuse to see it.
"FYI, it's not really that many:"
Why is it any? If they get "free" health care and it is so great why travel to another country and pay the cost of travel and the medical care if it so good?
Who paid for the survey by Canadian National Population Health Survey and are they a gov't org?
By the way, when I googled this, you apparently pulled this from a post on another board in Dec 2009. Sounds like the data may not even be legit...just sayin'
You could be right.
I do have a personal experience with the Canadian system
A very good friend of mine from Canada was married to an American.
She held onto her Canadian citizenship.
Several years after her husband died she got cancer.
She was being treated her with Chemo and was on the road to recovery.
Her family in Canada wanted her to return home to them so they could take care of her.
Unfortunately she agreed.
When she went to the Canadian Health Care facility she was denied chemo because she was to old, 65.
It would be a boon to the economy. People would no longer be tethered to jobs they hate just to keep their insurance. Instead they'd have the peace of mind necessary to enable them to start businesses, further their education, or move into more suitable careers
Also, I'm so sick of hearing about Obama's "radical" healthcare plan. There's nothing radical about it. It started out as a Republican idea years ago. Also, every other Western nation has some sort of universal healthcare system. By definition, when every other country has done it, it is NOT radical. The correct word would be "normal".
Actually, there is something radical about Obamacare. His plan is demanding
folks purchase a private product (health insurance) from a private company
and engage in a private contract, directed from the "federal government"
and failure to adhere and obey, results in "fines" from the IRS without mention
of the word "tax".
I'm an advocate of a single payer, paid for via payroll/Medicare tax.
But that is not what Obamacare is.
It's not only "radical", it's unconstitutional.
Bascailly one can look back at the Clinton administration and look at Hialry's plan and what it came to. Then perhaps ypou will see why Hillary abondoned it in her nomination campaign.REemmeber alos that the main differnce between hillary and Obama in the campaign for the nomiantion was that Obama was against a mandate and he even said that a mnadte would be unenforceable and his campiagn esti=mated that 15 millio would not buy insurance.Search hard enough and you might be surrised by who rejected one payer and who also rejected paying for any part of thsi healthcare called Obamcare.
People traveling to Canada for medical reasons are mostly from the United States. Medical care in United States is almost double the cost of what it is in Canada, making Canada an attractive medical tourism destination for Americans.
Canadians have lower rates of in-hospital mortality (1.4% Canada vs. 2.2% U.S.).
I do have a personal experience with the Canadian system
A very good friend of mine from Canada was married to an American.
She held onto her Canadian citizenship.
Several years after her husband died she got cancer.
She was being treated her with Chemo and was on the road to recovery.
Her family in Canada wanted her to return home to them so they could take care of her.
Unfortunately she agreed.
When she went to the Canadian Health Care facility she was denied chemo because she was to old, 65.
2 months later she died.
That is a bald faced lie...Canada does NOT deny treatment because of age.
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.
