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I do not "hate the federal Government" I have a healthy distrust of their ability to successfully run a national health care program. Medicare is suffering about $40 trillion in unfunded liabilities, if Medicare was a private insurer they would be out of business, and their CEO serving time in prison.
We have ten times the population of Canada, what works there may not work here. Canadians also use our country as a medical treatment relief valve, so their plan is not even operating in a bubble, it siphons off our medical system.
A health care system that works in Maine, may not work in Texas, or North Dakota, with over 300,000,000 people, 50 separate and independent states, a one size fits all, UHC system will not serve this country well.
We need a common sense approach to solving our rising health care costs, so we can make it affordable to all, and we will need good federal regulations to get there. But tossing in the towel and begging the federal government to take care of us is cowardly and foolish.
Who will be the nameless faces in government that decide what health care you will get in ten or fifty years from now? Who will these people be who decide upon the health care of our children and great grandchildren? What will their qualifications be? Will they be bureaucrats or doctors, will they be motivated by ideology, or will they have concern for our health? Who will these people be who decide our fate, do you know? No, there is no way you can Know, but you trust them with your health none the less.
I'm sorry, but we are not a socialist country, nor do we have centrally controlled government, even if progressives in both parties are trying to get us there.
The federal Government already runs a national health care program. Most vets. , Military , Government workers including Congress , like their health care. So , when you say you do not trust the Government to do the job , they are already doing successful and to the liking of the people who receive it...well , your thoughts just do not match with reallity.
Medicare is not all bad ether, I am glad I have it. It needs to be better , and it will be under the new Bill. Closing to donut hole , additional funding of medicare , and hopefully more people in the system.
The Canadian system is working . The US can do the same , even better , by including a lot more folks into the system, thus spreading out the cost. The other thing we can start getting rid of , is all the legal costs connected with all the private Insurance , just adds to the cost unnecessary....There is no reason to have a for profit private insurance....Whats wrong with non-profit ? That change alone could go a long way in funding the health care of the American people.
I think many of you are misunderstanding how health care insurance works in Canada. We are not taken care of as you say "cradle to grave". The program is simply an insurance program, run like any other....The difference is, and it's a big one from what I have read about US insurance companies is that it is NON PROFIT, and only covers those who pay their premiums. Since profit is removed from the equation the premiums are affordable for almost everyone.
Emergency care is available (as it is in the US) for all, paid up or not.
The MSP ( Medical Services Plan) does not invade my bank accounts, but send me a bill monthly...I have no idea why you would say that....Fear mongering perhaps?
They are afraid to address your coments directly , cause they know they can't present any defence that holds water. They won't address Big Insurance profits ether.
Some one mentioned that because the US has ten times the population of Canada the would make public health care more costly. I do not see how it would. I would have thought that because Canada is larger in terms of land mass the opposite would hold true.
Not withstanding that why not boil it down to per capita cost differences...I didn't find recent figures, but I suspect the the ratio of cost difference probably has not changed much.....In 1999, health administration costs totaled at least $294.3 billion in the United States, or $1,059 per capita, as compared with $307 per capita in Canada. After exclusions, administration accounted for 31.0 percent of health care expenditures in the United States and 16.7 percent of health care expenditures in Canada. Conclusions The gap between U.S. and Canadian spending on health care administration has grown to $752 per capita. A large sum might be saved in the United States if administrative costs could be trimmed by implementing a Canadian-style health care system.
Some one mentioned that because the US has ten times the population of Canada the would make public health care more costly. I do not see how it would. I would have thought that because Canada is larger in terms of land mass the opposite would hold true.
Not withstanding that why not boil it down to per capita cost differences...I didn't find recent figures, but I suspect the the ratio of cost difference probably has not changed much.....In 1999, health administration costs totaled at least $294.3 billion in the United States, or $1,059 per capita, as compared with $307 per capita in Canada. After exclusions, administration accounted for 31.0 percent of health care expenditures in the United States and 16.7 percent of health care expenditures in Canada. Conclusions The gap between U.S. and Canadian spending on health care administration has grown to $752 per capita. A large sum might be saved in the United States if administrative costs could be trimmed by implementing a Canadian-style health care system.
A big part of the problem is that many are deathly afraid that some of their tax money will go for people they deem "unworthy". They prefer, instead, to spend money for those "unworthy" people thru Ins premiums, at triple the cost. Kind of short sighted, I think.
Compare this to BC's annual cost of premiums....$1,368 for a family of three or more, ( almost ten times less)...... and $ 684 for a single person. (more than seven times less) http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/premium.html
I have no dog in this race. It is you folks in the USA that have to make a choice, but to me it's a no brainer.
Take out the third party, for profit and you save $$$
Quote:
Originally Posted by darstar
They are afraid to address your coments directly , cause they know they can't present any defence that holds water. They won't address Big Insurance profits ether.
You sincerely have to wonder how many of these posters work for or in insurance related fields,... they're so adamant.
The physicians among us have come out and told us that they are physicians....
If they aren't part of the insurance industry, do they have stock in these companies?
We are the only 1st world country that DOESN'T have Universal Health Care... how can this concept be so frightening to so many people?
There are many countries other than Canada that we can learn from. (As Sanspeur said, France is a good example)
Quote:
Originally Posted by sanspeur
Upon further research here are some more up to date figures....
Compare this to BC's annual cost of premiums....$1,368 for a family of three or more, ( almost ten times less)...... and $ 684 for a single person. (more than seven times less) http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/premium.html
I have no dog in this race. It is you folks in the USA that have to make a choice, but to me it's a no brainer.
It should be a no brainer.
If these same people were looking to buy a television set, they would have no problem taking out the middle man ...
There is no reason to pay a third party, for profit entity to do this service. We could pay our health insurance money into the government, cut out Wall Street, quit paying Millions and Millions of dollars to CEO's and others...
Medicare is not all bad ether, I am glad I have it. It needs to be better , and it will be under the new Bill. Closing to donut hole , additional funding of medicare , and hopefully more people in the system.
Additional funding of Medicare? Who is proposing that? All I've heard is a plan to cut Medicare by billions of dollars...
A plan to slash more than $500 billion from future Medicare spending -- one of the biggest sources of funding for President Obama's proposed overhaul of the nation's health-care system -- would sharply reduce benefits for some senior citizens and could jeopardize access to care for millions of others, according to a government evaluation
You sincerely have to wonder how many of these posters work for or in insurance related fields,... they're so adamant.
The physicians among us have come out and told us that they are physicians....
If they aren't part of the insurance industry, do they have stock in these companies?
We are the only 1st world country that DOESN'T have Universal Health Care... how can this concept be so frightening to so many people?
There are many countries other than Canada that we can learn from. (As Sanspeur said, France is a good example)
It should be a no brainer.
If these same people were looking to buy a television set, they would have no problem taking out the middle man ...
There is no reason to pay a third party, for profit entity to do this service. We could pay our health insurance money into the government, cut out Wall Street, quit paying Millions and Millions of dollars to CEO's and others...
We would all save money. It's really that simple.
Their safety in numbers mind set is the Conservative talking points...disclosure does not seem to be in their DNA.
They are afraid to address your coments directly , cause they know they can't present any defence that holds water. They won't address Big Insurance profits ether.
I don't think the profits are out of line when compared to other businesses in the US. It's the administrative costs that are the killer....I would guess that there are a heck of a lot more people per insured person working in the industry in the US than there are in Canada, and those CEOs need to be paid big bucks right?
Because medicine in the US is for profit the companies have things like "recision," where insurance companies hire people to figure out ways to deny you coverage when you get sick, even though you've been paying into your plan for years. No such thing exists in Canada. We cannot be denied for "pre-existing conditions" or any other reason.
Additional funding of Medicare? Who is proposing that? All I've heard is a plan to cut Medicare by billions of dollars...
A plan to slash more than $500 billion from future Medicare spending -- one of the biggest sources of funding for President Obama's proposed overhaul of the nation's health-care system -- would sharply reduce benefits for some senior citizens and could jeopardize access to care for millions of others, according to a government evaluation
Its in the bill, at lest five more years of medicare funding directly. The numbers being put out by the Republicans are their own forcast predictions. Until its all in , we will not know what the final Bill contains. Single payer would bring down cost the most by cutting out the Insurance Companies profits. Public option will help....this at lest ...must be in the Bill , in MHO...Just more fear tatics by the Righties, tring to scare our Senior Citizens.
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Take out the third party, for profit and you save $$$
