Streetcar
Veteran Member
Canada and britian medical systems are in poor financial shape from reports I saw.rationing will be only way to save this systems
The Insanity Of Medical Costs
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ruffdog
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You have to watch who puts out "independent" studies and reports as it may be financed by a lobbying firm.
Travelover
Elite Member
Maybe these topics would be better off in the "Front Porch" forum. We have a pretty good discussion going on about US medical costs.
Travelover
Elite Member
People will always complain about their services, but I've never met a Brit or Canadian who understood the US system that would trade systems. In fact, the usual comment is that our system is crazy.
5030
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He asked I replied. End of conversation for me.
Medical costs for me are inconsequential anyway. When you only have out of pocket expenses of less than 50 bucks on a million buck tab, I'd say my insurance is pretty darned good and I don't have any desire to change it. Do I find a 900 buck premium a bit high? Not really considering what the coverage is.
Far as being over charged for medicines and procedures, comparing the assessed charges to what the carrier and Medicare actually pays, I'd say they both have their pencils pretty sharp. Bottom line for me is, you can assess anything but what you receive in compensation and what you assess are 2 different things entirely.
Chris616
Silver Member
I guess that I didn't phrase my question in enough detail. I was really asking "Why would you not want Canadian style socialized medicine in your country?", not "Would you want to live in Canada?".
I've lived all of my adult life in Canada except for a few years in the USA earlier this decade. I'm sure that if my wife or I had needed medical care while we lived in the USA, that the insurance through my employer would have resulted in excellent treatment, but we were always aware of the many people around us who were just an unfortunate incident away from catastrophic medical bills and bankruptcy. Even my work colleagues who were the same vintage as me had endless discussions about when they'd be able to retire, with continued work-sponsored medical insurance as the key driver in the decision.
In contrast, here in Canada (and the rest of the developed world except the US), the topic of medicine has a much lower profile. We don't think about the cost of health insurance, except when we travel outside the country. We don't worry about medical costs bankrupting us and it sure doesn't drive our retirement planning. It's far from a perfect system and this post will probably provoke some anecdotes to highlight that. If I eventually need a few replacement parts I'll probably wait longer than someone with great insurance in the USA would. The upside is that even the poor folk get the same (still very good) treatment. That helps to even out some of the disparities between the "haves" and the "have nots" and makes for a society that is nicer to live in.
Chris
Chris616
Silver Member
There isn't just one "Canadian medical system" since each province looks after their own. The provincial medical systems are not in poor financial shape since they are funded through income tax, which governments have the ability to raise (until they overstep the mark and are voted out of office).
I've seen quite a few comments here about those with insurance in the US essentially subsidizing those without because those without can get treatment at no cost to them. It is harder to avoid supporting the medical systems when the costs are paid through income taxes, like in Canada.
Chris
^^^^
Many of the people who don't have medical insurance also aren't paying income tax. Other than that, I agree with most of what you say in your two posts above. Health insurance is the reason why I will work fulltime until I'm 66 2/3, otherwise I would leave my current job in about 2 years when I turned 63, and do some part time work on my own.
Many of the people who don't have medical insurance also aren't paying income tax. Other than that, I agree with most of what you say in your two posts above. Health insurance is the reason why I will work fulltime until I'm 66 2/3, otherwise I would leave my current job in about 2 years when I turned 63, and do some part time work on my own.
goeduck
Super Member
When ObamaCare was being conceived EVERYONE was supposed to pay into it. Then things changed and the lower income people had their care subsidized (IF I understand correctly) which was part of the reason it was a broken system. People were getting free healthcare which meant other people were paying for it. No rocket surgeon needed to grasp that. The US is stuck on lower income getting a free ride by politicians pandering for votes and bleeding heart libs.
5030
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I actually retired at 59 with a full pension, then went to teaching industrial arts for a few years but got tired of the politics of higher education so I retired again to farming. My wife is actually the recipient of our BC / BS high option insurance, I'm just tagging along on her policy. She's retired Federal Government and as a government retiree can carry her health insurance for life. It's Obamacare and I haven't an issue with it at all and yes, a ton of people without health insurance don't pay income tax because they have no income to tax in the first place. I've always maintained that when the tipping point between employed and unemployed (by choice or on public assistance) is reached, the entire country goes down the tubes.
Paid my 40+ quarters so I'm entitled (dirty word) to Medicare and Social Security and I collect both. I worked my butt off for it.
I'm not a sit around person like a lot of people are today. Like being active and I like working but I like working for myself.