Are you going to sign up for Obamacare?

Great post.

Just to expound on something you alluded to, it seems many Americans think our healthcare is run and administered by the government. It is more accurate to say that the bill is paid for by the government, but that the program is administered by doctors and healthcare professionals. In fact, the College of Physicians negotiates fees for services, which is the reason why service rates are essentially standardized. After all, there really is no reason why an MRI should cost $2000 from one provider and $14000 from another. This is a fundamental flaw in US healthcare.

Something else I've seen US politicians spout on about is that in Canada we are told (by the government, presumably) what doctor we have to go to. This if course is a tenet of the communist health system, not universal healthcare in general. Of course we can go to any doctor we want, which is ironic given the fact that many US health insurers actually tell you that you can only see doctors in their network....lol.

 

This is true. Our pharmacare used to cover older people to the same degree, until someone realized that a lot of old people are pretty freaking rich, and don't really need any subsidy.

Now we have income based coverage.....Fair Pharmacare. Seems reasonable.

 

It's funny cause i hate the concept of income based coverage. Basicaĺly your saying that if you take care of your finances throughout life and provide yourself with a retirement income then you have to pay your costs plus the guy in the bed next to you. if you don't then it's free. It's a disincentive to good planning.

 

I lived in CA for 6 years and as such had CA health care. I still chose to purchase insurance in the States out of my own pocket and drive three hours to the border to get healthcare. What does that tell you?
There is a reason the Saudi royals fly to the US for health care.

 

LOL...umm, you don't wanna know.

So if we have this right, you had to come to Canada to get a job to make money to pay for your US health insurance...lol?

 

I didnt have to do anything. I chose to start a business in Canada and as such applied for and was granted Canadian residency. I chose to spend money out of pocket to purchase a medical policy for my family from the US.

I get the fact that Canadians are proud of their health system and they should be. However Canadian medicine is pretty bush league compared to the US when it comes to anything other than ordinary medicine.

 

Might add that the US could be made much better if the laws(Thank you R.Reagan.)were repealed requiring doctors to treat people that can pay. As it sits now those with insurance subsidise people that dont pay a dime into the sytem, which leads to higher costs for thise who do pay. Obummercare altera this slightly, but really is just a givernment gimme to the insurance industry.

 

Ben, I think the system that is now in place under Obamacare is going to be a huge windfall for the health insurance industry. My broker tells me to buy health insurance mutual funds as they are about to get a huge influx of taxpayers' dollars. Most people are not aware that under the current and prior law that the health insurance companies were receiving huge subsidies for the add-ons to Medicare.

Obamacare will be a major subsidy for those on the lower end of the economic scale. Perhaps this will help provide some relief for those who dumped the entire cost of their healthcare on the taxpayers. At least they will be paying something into the system, although much of the costs they are incurring will be borne by those who are higher up on the economic totem pole.

 

World Health Organization disagrees with you:

World Health Organization ranking of health systems in 2000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canadians live longer than Americans

List of countries by life expectancy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia