National Health Care

I find myself becoming more and more frustrated with health care as a whole but don't have a position as far as whom to blame for it. Recently, I went to the physician I have had for over 10yrs and when I told her of an ailment she put her hands up and said, 'Oh dear, I have no idea where you would go for that!' And that was it! I couldn't believe her lack of help. I called my health care person and they found several names of Dr.s who could help me. However, since that time, we have gotten endless bills that are supposedly unpaid for, and we had thought we paid for everything at the time of our visit. The paperwork, the different offices our test results come from, is all so varied it is creating a complex web that makes me just want to turn into a tree hugger who only wants to find healthy leaves that can make me feel better. I am now taking my diet more seriously, exercising regularly, and taking vitamins everyday. I find the entire health care industry so frustrating, I would like to avoid it all together.

 

What' surprising to me is how much this varies from country to country.
We have the extreme of the USA where if you don't have health insurance you're basically out of luck if you need medical attention, and at the same time you have in Europe countries like the UK and Sweden where you basically have most medical procedures financed by the State, at least a large part of it.
Why can't the USA do the same kind of thing? There seems to be plenty of money available whenever a country needs some "freedom"...

 

I agree. Even unemployed people pay taxes so it doesn't make sense. I get free healthcare having no job of course but there's a reason it's free. I avoid going to the doctor when I can. I don't know how she got to be a doctor.
Now I understand that everyone needs to make money so if everybody got the best healthcare doctors would probably be hurting but that's where the taxes come from and it doesn't have to be best but it should at least be better.

 

We live in Canada where there is a universal health care system (UHC) and we really like it. UHC in Canada is administered by the Provinces so it's slightly different in each Province but everyone, everywhere is covered. In our Province (B.C.), we pay $125.50/month for family coverage, about half that for individuals. Those that can pay do so and those that can't still get the health care they need. It's based on annual income so street people on welfare obviously don't have the money to spend on health care but get it anyhow. Of course some of the costs of health care are downloaded from general taxation revenues but our taxes are certainly not onerous. The result is noticeably better community health and a more productive population. Many critics point at this and call it "Socialism" that big old scary label frightens many away from the concept of UHC.

Since it is a single-payer system, our Doctor's, Hospitals, and Pharmacists seem to be happy enough with the system, they always get paid and don't require the extra expense of a billing department to deal with reluctant insurance companies and even more reluctant patients. The province set's the rates they will pay for each procedure and how much they will pay for prescriptions. They are the only insurer authorized to do this. Our Province looks at our taxable income for previous years and sets our annual pharmacy deductible based on income. After we burn through that deductible, they cover the full costs in any year so we will never be faced with ruinous pharmacy bills.

I think the critical difference between our system and that in the U.S. is that we have eliminated the huge profit motives from healthcare by not permitting private health insurance to dominate the industry,and our hospitals are public, not privately owned so there is no corporate board of directors to answer when profits are lower this quarter. I know that my wife and I get excellent health care that isn't ruinously expensive and we are not restricted in any way as to the Doctor's we choose or the treatment regimens. There are wait times for non-essential treatments and surgeries. Four years ago, my Optometrist decided I was a candidate for cataract surgery in both eyes. He referred me to an Ophthalmology Surgeon who put me on a waiting list and it was a year before my turn came up but I did get new soft lenses and I had the utmost confidence in his skills and the way I was handled in hospital. The next day, my eyesight was perfect in both eyes, I was bragging that my new eyes were high-definition because everything was so clear and sharp.

 

No matter where you are and what you do you will be paying for healthcare one way or the other. Where I live if you visit a public hospital for basic care or primary care as it is often called, there are no fees or cost for the visit. If you need an operation you will have to pay for it yourself or part of it.

 

Even in my country the tax collected is really high from all kinds of people, but the government service provided is very meagre. I do not understand why such a situation exists and it looks as if the entire group of politician live and breathe on peoples money.

 

Health care is so confusing here in the US and so many people get screwed. Some people have benefited a lot from the ACA but most people complain about it. For me it is hit or miss. It is better health insurance than I had before, and a fraction of the price per month (it's only around $100 for both me and my mom). Basically, it is a private health insurance plan, but a large chunk of the premium (monthly payment) is subsidized by the state government. This is great on the surface, but a lot of doctors now refuse to take the subsidized type of insurance. There shouldn't be any difference between the private plan and the subsidized private plan but I guess the doctors get reimbursed less from the subsidized plans, so they just refuse to take the insurance. Trying to find doctors that take the insurance has been difficult but doable. The plan website is no help because it is outdated and messed up. You have to call each doctor's office manually and explicitly ask them if they take the insurance, else you might wind up with a big bill. You also have to do this whenever you get any extra services like labs or x-rays. It's a huge hassle but the savings difference is worth it. Luckily I am not one of those people who was attached to a particular doctor before the ACA, since I guess a lot of people can't see their old doctors now.

I would much rather live in a country where I simply get taxed for my health insurance and know I am always covered no matter what. I would gladly pay a little bit higher in taxes to ensure I won't get hit with huge bills of thousands of dollars. I currently have about $3500 in medical bills owed to debt collections... I'm actually lucky in a way because this is far less medical debt than many people have! People go bankrupt over this all because they had some bad luck and had a hospital stay. It's an absolute travesty.

 

Here is what I do not get: I am a federal employee and am on the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan--Congress, USPS and all Federal employees/retires are entitled. I pay $150 per month, and the USPS pays like $300 per month for me (single plan). We get to choose from dozens of plans, but the one in my area BCBS is the best. The same BCBS plan options I have, my self employed friend had and paid $2500 per month for family. He was not on a "group" plan which is why it cost so much. He did not have enough employees.

What I have written to Congress/Senate is that the entire country should be offered to join the Fed Employee plan. The employee and employers should split the costs, and the government would not have to pay anything at all. The more enrollees on the various plans would cause the premiums to go down, and everyone would be entitled to the same insurance as our politicians. It isn't perfect, and vision/dental would cost a few dollars extra, but I hav been talking about this for years, and no one listens.