Canadians and Europeans, what do you think of your national health care ? (page 2)

Finkelstein

The issue with health care in the US is that prices are set with the expectation that the insurance companies will pay. This is why a hip replacement costs $35,000 +.

Thats correct and that's why Obamacare struggled, it didn't create enough funds to cover those high exorbitant costs.

For government sponsored health care to function properly it has to regulate what medical procedures and drugs cost.

Thats how things operate in Canada .

Here is the premium costs for HC in British Columbia, this doesn't include drugs or dental, you can get private insurance for those at a reasonable cost.

This a per month basis

Adjusted Net Income	One Adult	Two Adults in a Family
$0 - $26,000	$0.00	$0.00
$26,001 - $28,000	$11.50	$23.00
$28,001 - $30,000	$17.50	$35.00
$30,001 - $34,000	$23.00	$46.00
$34,001 - $38,000	$28.00	$56.00
$38,001 - $42,000	$32.50	$65.00
Over $42,000	$37.50	$75.00

redvip2000

For government sponsored health care to function properly it has to regulate what medial procedures and drugs cost.

That's correct. Now if the prices were set with the goal of having the patient pay, then the market itself would regulate this. There would be not need for government to do this.

Btw, you even see a similar logic when you have an accident and go to the body shop. As soon as the shop realizes your insurance will pay, they inflate the amount of parts and costs needed to repair, as opposed to being a lot more judicious if they realize the cost will be paid by you.

snugglebunny

UK Health care is pretty good IMHO. I need 4 different daily medications. 2 for blood pressure, 1 for cholesterol and one so I don't need to pee all the time. Being over 60 years old I don't pay a penny for my meds. Part of getting older is that joints can wear out, I have a fallen arch and need an orthotic, that too didn't cost me anything although I had a 12 week wait to see the guy at the muscoskelatal clinic.

RubaDub

Our Medicare has worked very well for my wife and I here in the USA since we received it when we turned 65..... we are now in our 70's. We paid into it for some 50 years and I still pay for it.

Giordano ...

Very interesting post and insightful.

I just want to make people from other places aware that the "We paid into it for some 50 years" could be misleading to some.

Here in the US, your payroll taxes, medicare taxes and others are not going into some lock boxes with our name on the account like we would do at a bank. All the money ends up in the general fund. We do get some more back, in the case of payroll taxes and Social Security, based on what we have paid in. But in the end, once we pee into the pool, the pee is gone.

But you gave a very interesting perspective on your move to Medicare and the related issues.

Thank you.

Rub a Dub

snugglebunny

Point of interest: My 3 sons all seem to have had romantic liasons with American gals at some time in their lives. Whenever those ladies required the services of a medic or doctor, they all turned up at a NHS hospital and received treatment without question, again no charge was made.

RubaDub

Finkelstein ...

If you still have time to correct, you obviously got your numbers wrong for health care premiums for a family of two in BC ...

$28,000 - 30,000 for $35/month ?????????

$34,000 - 36,000 for $56/month ?????????

Over $42,000 for $75/month ?????????

Obviously, you were quoting the rates for cab fare or parking.

Rub a Dub

Theonlyoneleft

I agree with all the uk citizens comments about. NHS is a fantastic service when goes wright... when hoes wrong... goes REALLY wrong. There’s fantastic staff that are working under very difficult situations and conditions at the moment.

Nhs is only free to those that haven’t paid taxes on the United Kingdom, all taxpayers are paying for health tourism and that is wrong. We need a better system here.

If I need to go to the hospital or GP I tend to see my local pharmacy first, they have a wide knowledge of health care that can help.

I get very annoyed when friends take their kids to A&E with a minor problem, I just feel that there’s no need to clog up emergency services if there’s another way of dealing with it, of course if it’s serious then by all means, must go and see a doctor.

another thing that gets up my goat is how youngsters get so drunk these days... then end up at the hospital with sometimes huge problems due to Atheir own stupidity.

where I come from we pay on delivery of service, such as GP appointments etc, but if you need a certain test you can always have it done but pay for it. Some stuff it’s not that expensive, depending on what’s needed, and if you can’t wait you can see s private doctor. In the uk the same service would cost hundreds.

i think we should introduce a pay fee in the emergency room, as I can almost guarantee that the attendance of stupid people that waste the doctors time would soon diminish. They would soon learn to make smart decisions.

i have been treated well when I have attended the uk healthcare services. They are a dedicated bunch but I really feel for them as they need to work really hard and under pressure due to the lack of funding, too many people attending it, not enough staff and long hours.

Cadellin

I haven't lived in Canada for many years but my experience with Canada's healthcare has been very good. Both of my elderly parents received prompt and high quality care. Mind you, there are elderly people in the US who also received such care from Medicare.

However, the problem is for people like me--mid-fifties. My husband and I are both very healthy, nonsmokers, runners, no complications, etc. But for us to get health insurance, it would be somewhere around $1200-$1500/month and that with a very very very high deductible (I want to say around $10,000-$15,000 per year). So essentially, we would be paying $1,000/mos. and STILL have to pay for doctor's visits, prescriptions, etc. Keep in mind, too, that the private insurer gets to say what it considers "covered" and not, so even if we did go to the doctor and have a bill for $3,000 that we idealistically think will be applied to our deductible, the for-profit insurer could easily say, "Sorry, only $1700 of that will count toward your deductible."

The US situation is an unmitigated disaster unless you are poor (Medicaid), old (Medicare) or rich. Or, unless you have a wonderful employer (like I do, thank God) who subsidizes a decent comprehensive plan.

Irony: The only reason my elder husband and I have good health insurance is because I went to university! The very thing that the WBTS forbids!! HA!!

Finkelstein

Oh darn ......

Haven't the time, got to run

You have to separate the columns from / adjusted income/ , /one person/ , / two adults and family

In any case if a single person or family makes under $26,000 a year the cost is free

and goes up proportionately as income increases.

BluesBrother

As a Brit in the U k, we love to moan about the NHS but we fight like hell to keep it. The idea of a private scheme is intolerable.

Employees and Self Employed do pay, of course a fixed contribution is stopped from wages . For me though as pensioner I no longer pay, and the older you get the more you need it.

Canadians and Europeans, what do you think of your national health care ?

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