Gov Funded Healthcare

[Pepipony]

I am in favor of it, but there are many strings attached. I think that we pay for it anyhow with all the people that do not have health insurance, that while it would be a big jump, I feel its needed especially with the skyrocketing cost of it. We have no OB-GYNs around here, closest is 70 miles away and that is because of the cost of malpractice insurance. Which we voted to put a cap on a few years back to stop inreases, think we got taken on that one

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I am against welfare for life, I think that there should be a limit of a few years. Period. Get up and get a job or move to where you can get one. Cut that and healthcare would be a managable thing for the masses. Least that is what I think and not know.

It seems hypocritical that we pay for healthcare for other nations peoples, but dont for our own. I do not think that we should allow non-citizens free access, emergencys yes, day to day stuff, nope. Because of all this I think our system is currently set up to fail.

If you dont think we should have gov run healthcare, why not?

 

[Pandora]

I say no. Lookat the mess Canada has now with their healthcare since it went public. My best friend lives in Scotland and she cant' even get into the dentist without paying for extra coverage!!!! I think we need to cut healthcare costs down toa reasonable level and make INSURANCE affordable to everyone.

The reason you probably don't have an OB/GYN available is because of malpractice lawsuits which is an entriely different topic!

And I see how the government runs the healthcare for the military. It's a joke! I would hate to see how they would run insurance for the entire county. Less government is what I say!

 

[Ashley]

I think the cost needs to be less. Now that I have no job I will have no insurance of any sort( my luck I will need it to). It simply is way to expensive for a person to afford now adays.

 

[Pandora]

I just wanted to throw in that a gov't funded system will really detoriate what healthcare we have available. The gov't pays next to nothing for Medicare and TRICARE beneficiaries. Add that to the whole country and there will be no incentive for doctors to exist since they would have no chance to make alot of money. It sucks, but it's the way capitalism works.

 

[Miniv]

I am VERY Leery of government provided Health Care......just for the reasons stated above.

Now, if there was:

A) Affordable Health Insurance.

B) A National Cap on Medical Lawsuits. (This would have have to be worded carefully, so not to protect a doctor who is totally a quack.)

C) A National Cap on Medical Charges for necessary care, not voluntary or cosmetic situations.

Perhaps all of that listed could work hand in hand together.......Unfortunately we are dealing with PROFIT and GREED -- from insurance companies, attorneys, and the medical profession as a whole. :no:

MA

 

[kaykay]

for sure there are pros and cons. i have a friend living in canada. his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. It took 3 months to get her into surgery. She ended up dying after the surgery. 3 months is a long time to wait. Here in the states you would never go that long. Days count when you have something as aggressive as cancer. Also everything in Canada costs a lot more then it does here.

As for caps on lawsuits thats a bad situation too. When my sister had cancer her doctor misdiagnosed an allergy she had to meds he put her on. After I took her to see him, he actually upped the dose. She ended up in the burn unit and had to have skin transplants from the allergic reaction. (all this while still fighting cancer) We tried to sue him but no lawyer would take the case. This dr lived i a county that has passed caps and made it very hard to sue any doctor in that county. This dr's carlessness took about 6 months of my sisters life and made it sheer heck. The pain she was in during that time was horrible. It also was 6 months of pain lost that she didnt spend quality time with her young daughter. we did also file complaints with the health board but that was all we could do. He got a slap on the wrist from the board and that was it.

I guess I dont know what the right answer is but have seen what the wrong answer does

 

[Jill]

The main reason I would not be in favor of Government funded health care is that I'm not willing to give up the choices I currently have when it comes to doctors, treatments, medicines, etc. Also, I think there'd be a decline in the quality / caliber of doctors if there were caps on how much they can make or "saleries" vs. income from their private practices and ventures.

Additionally, I'd rather not pay any more in taxes than I already do and that's where the government funding would come from -- higher taxes.

I'm not saying there's not room for improvement and it is not fair that not everyone is able to get the care that they should, but I do not think that socialized medicine is the answer.

And, as a side note, the insurance lobby is HUGE. HUGE!!! It would be a force with which to be reckoned before any kind of government funded health care would happen in this country.

Really, I feel that this is the kind of thing that may sound good at first glance, but upon further reflection the negatives out weigh the positives (in my opinion, of course).

 

[susanne]

I agree that there are many potential pitfalls with government funded healthcare, but I'm not convinced that these are a foregone conclusion. We need to look at this with fresh eyes, and instead of saying that it can only be a bad thing, look at how it might possibly work. Oregon has a health plan for those without insurance...it's not perfect, but at least people were willing to try something different.

In a country as wealthy as ours, there is NO excuse that adequate education (college or trade school) and healthcare are not a given. The lack of each costs us much more in the long run.

 

[Sue_C.]

Myself, I appreciate not having to pay "up-front" for my medical care. I have heard of folks in the States having to pay huge amounts for Medical Insurance...what is the average cost?? Here, I have gone for various surgeries, and not had to worry about what it would cost, or if I could afford it.

One of the biggest problems with our system is the lack of Doctors and Surgeons...there is a lot more $$ to be made in the US, and that is where we lose them to. Were you to go to a system similar to ours...it would be fought tooth-n-nail by your medical peoples...as they would certainly lose huge amounts of money.

So yes, some people, sometimes, unfortunately do have to wait, because of a lack of Doctors...but we don't have people turned away at our Hospitals for lack of Health Insurance.

 

[Jenn]

for sure there are pros and cons. i have a friend living in canada. his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. It took 3 months to get her into surgery. She ended up dying after the surgery. 3 months is a long time to wait. Here in the states you would never go that long. Days count when you have something as aggressive as cancer.

That may be true for some areas, but not for all. When I was diagnosed with a stone in my liver, I went into my local doctor on a Thursday and I was in surgery in the big city under another doctor the following Wednesday. Then to get my gallbladder removed (related to the first surgery), it was less than two months later - and that was a non-life threatening situation, certainly the more pressing surgeries were done ahead of mine. My gall bladder surgeon is also a breast cancer guy, and I know my surgery wasn't scheduled until he had the more important ones out of the way.

My grandmother had breast cancer last year and she had her mastectomy within a few weeks of being diagnosed.

 

[Pepipony]

Wow, everyone made good points! Dont know if it was just statewide ( here in TX) , thought it was national but guess not, we voted for a limit on malpractice lawsuits. This was to keep malpractice insurance low and Drs really banded behind it stating that over 1/2 would be forced to leave the state if we didnt vote for it. Someone lied

: Their insurance hasnt stayed low, some are still leaving and we have shot ourselves in the foot.

Forgot about the militaries Drs, they are the first ones to misdiagnos me and we are pretty sure that they misdiagnosed Dad as well. One had put an I.V in mom wrong and limited the use of her rt arm, she couldnt sue. After a Cardiologist missed my silent heart attack ( never listened to my heart, or to me) and gave me Pepto for my 'indigestion' , we thought about sueing, but it was a lost cause. Didnt care about the money, just wanted this Dr stopped.

Dont know what the answer is, just know that what we have isnt really working. We had great health insurance untill 3 years ago when they started charging employees for some of it. Then they changed how they paid claims. you have to fill out numerous forms for every visit, have to get them back in a short amount of time, then they may take months ( took 2 years for my first visit after this started) to pay. I think they are hoping that we will mess up or forget so then they wont have to pay afterall.

 

[tagalong]

Well...having dealt with BOTH systems - or the lack of one here - I would go for Canada style health care any day. Sometimes the wait can be longer for some procedures - but as was stated earlier - the $$$$ calls some doctors south of the border. Also consider that Canada has 1/10 of the population the US has to support the system - thus some care will be more spread out and less available. The old supply and demand thing...

Now that I am south of the border, I pay what I can afford for health insurance - not much when it comes to getting any kind of decent coverage. And it only covers what my insurance company deems "emergencies". Which most stuff is NOT. No coverage for regular doctor visits. No coverage for any day surgery - unless you start out in Emergency = and even then... iffy. So what I pay for ONE MONTH here for the basics - and guarding against a Trauma case - was 6 months worth in Canada - where basically EVERYTHING was covered. I have had some recurring skin cancer issues here - with many trips to the dermatologist for excisions. You guessed it - NONE of that is covered. Thousands and thousands of dollars later... my nest egg is gone.

I love my job and home and friends here. But the health care insurance? A resounding NO. Unless you are in a situation with a company that provides extensive coverage - or you can afford the higher $$$$$$$ on your own... as a single person you better dang well hope that nothing ever happens to you - or that you even need a doctor.

As I said - I have experienced it both ways. And even where I last lived in Canada - where the nearest MRI was at least an hour and a half away... where serious cases had to be airlifted over the Rocky Mountains into Calgary to the bigger hospitals there... where every year of my life the demise of the health care system has been predicted... where yes, changes and adjustments have had to be made and some things are now charged that were not before... it worked a heckuva lot better. And I have the empty bank account and the debt to prove it.... :no:

Just my opinion... and my experience.

[SIZE=8pt]edited after the fact for typos![/SIZE]

 

[Minimor]

Like Sue, I appreciate not having to pay out cold hard cash every time I need to see a doctor or have a medical procedure done. I also appreciate not having to pay huge insurance premiums. There are draw backs to "free" health care--definitely long waiting lists for elective surgery. Waiting times for cancer surgery/treatment (as one example) can vary greatly. Some people do seem to wait a long time; others get taken care of immediately. What the differences are I don't honestly know. When I was diagnosed with a low grade cancer in one lung--this was years ago but even then there were bed shortages in our hospitals--I went in for surgery less than 2 weeks after diagnosis--that diagnosis was made by way of a broncoscopy, which I had done 8 or 9 days after my family doctor put in the request for the test. I know someone who went in for surgery last month--two weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

It's also not true that public health care means no good doctors are available. Right now, yes, Canada does lose some excellent doctors/surgeons/nurses/etc to the US, where pay is much higher. However, there are many top notch health care professionals who prefer to live and work in Canada. The surgeon who did my lung surgery is a brilliant man. I assure you he could practice anywhere and be among the best--he IS among the best. He is still here in Manitoba. He is just one I could name; there are others. We have some wonderful family doctors. We also have some really bad family doctors. However, that is not limited to Canada. I assure you there have been some really bad doctors that have left here to go and practice in the US. Did they become better doctors once they went to work elsewhere for higher pay? I'd very much doubt it--now they are just bad doctors who are extremely overpaid!

 

[Relic]

Seniors are also now exempt for the past few years from paying any premiums but retain full coverage. We also have extra coverage with BlueCross which costs very little that covers 80% of all drugs dental eye and a bunch of other services. We have first rate hospitals in Edmonton a super hospital for just cancer patients and a first rate childrens hospital where kids from around the world come for treatment. And like anywhere we have good and not so good in the medical field..

 

[Pandora]

In a perfect world with a perfect gov't, it may work. But I've seen how the US handles Medicare and TRICARE patients and gives them the run around on getting treatments. Not for me. And those of us in the insurance business would be jobless also. I think our whole economy would change. That is why I'm for affordable insurance and lower what doctors can charge vs. gov't funded health plan. The more gov't that is in our lives, the sooner Big Brother will take over.

And for affordable insurance, I think it's ridicoulous how much a single person pays that does not have insurance thru their jobs. I don't see why they can't say group people in a zipcode and have them pay out like one big group if they elect to because they don't have a job with insurance or whatever. And I don't want to have to pay for insurance for peopel who refuse to work either. I pay enough in taxes for welfare and whatnot.

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

Pandora, I agree COMPLETELY with your statement on not liking to pay for the " people who dont want to work",... but can run to the doctors/hospital for every little sneeze--because the majority of the really lazy ones also have kids under the age of 18 (guess they wern't too lazy to do that!!!) and qualify for good old Wisconsin BadgerCare. We live around some that are on it and it is just plain disgusting to see what they can all afford to do and have ..while we're supporting there butts with medical, and at the same time paying thru the nose when we need to go to a doctor (on those very rare occassions) I am not against state funded programs, for those that NEED THEM, but they were made for a reason, and so many people ABUSE them. I also know of someone on this forum who has been diagonased (sp) with cancer about 2 yrs ago--in Sept. she went to a Madison hospital, her cancer is back and she was refused treatment because she has a bill to pay off. She cant get any help because they have no kids under 18 and own a home, and also PAY TAXES. I think I would like having gov. funded healthcare like Canada does...at least EVERYONE would be treated fairly, and us tax payers wouldnt be paying for the lazys who like to just sit at home and smoke and drink..but they cant afford to pay a doctor --ohh nooo they just --go on a welfare type program and let everyone else support there butts! Like I said these type of health care programs (like Badger Care and others) are there for a reason,,if someone needs help give it to them until they can get back on there feet, for 2-3 months and cut them off..let them try paying like we all have to do. Our health care system sucks and is so unfair to those who have to pay insurance and them pay off huge doctors bills which insurance dont cover. YES, I think I would be for the Canadian healthcare way, what would be the differance if we pay a little extra in taxes for it, at least we would all be treated fair. Corinne

 

[Pandora]

I know alot of people in different countries and them trying to get health care is hard unless they buy more benefit coverage, so what's the point of having gov't healthcare? I know Scotland is like that for sure. I've heard other horror stories too from other forums I belong to. I would like to think if the US went that way everythig would be fine and everyone would get the care they need, but i have no faith in the people that run the government. Look at what amess Medicare Part D is......Until we get a perfect government, I can't jump on the bandwagon.

 

[susanne]

Sadly, the "working poor" make up a large number of the uninsured. Honest people who work long hours and barely remain afloat. Many employers do not provide benefits of any sort, often by hiring employees at just below full-time employment to avoid providing insurance, sick time, etc.

Nobody wants to subsidize those who milk the system, but more often it is the super wealthy and the big corporations that cheat the rest of us.

 

[shminifancier]

If people think that Government run medical care is so good just Take a look at what has happened the past few years to the Veterans and the VA, or for that matter how Medicare has been rapped, and cut back etc.

Yes the SS went Up of wow a WHOLE 33 Dollars this year Medicare ALSO Raised to 8 bucks 96 a month. So that BIG BIG SS raise is now Cut back to a WHOPPING 24 Dollars~!! WOW~! And Supplemental insurance went up as well some even dropping some coverage starting in Jan/ costs me now 96 for Medicare and 96 for supplemental insurance and 60 a month for drug coverage that is with my prescriptions also, STILL Better then getting a policy by ones self and paying 350 to 550 a month. One prescript I am getting at Walmart 4 dollar prescript way to go Walmart~! Let this go to the PUBLIC section THEY can do WAY better then any Governmental agency can~!!!!!!

That 60 a month for Prescript WOULD be costing me had I taken it, but yet I have not signed up for it so one of my drugs I am getting free from the drug company. The one that is $1.500 if not insured~!~

 

[Pepipony]

Sadly, the "working poor" make up a large number of the uninsured. Honest people who work long hours and barely remain afloat. Many employers do not provide benefits of any sort, often by hiring employees at just below full-time employment to avoid providing insurance, sick time, etc.

Nobody wants to subsidize those who milk the system, but more often it is the super wealthy and the big corporations that cheat the rest of us.

HERE HERE!!!! :aktion033: :aktion033: The super wealthy/big corps are also the ones that cannot or will not see what is happening around them. If they dont see it, it must not be happening.