Things missing from the health care debate

[JohnMOhio]

I thought I would put in my 2 cents. The doctor charging $79 a month plus $10 co pay per visit seems to me as being no different than having an attorney on retainer. If he can make a go of it and provide the care he wishes to provide I say good for him. It is his practice and should be allowed to run it as he sees fit regarding payment for his service. The attornies have their set fees and percentages and we the client are stuck with it unless we shop for another attorney. These folks shop for a doctor that would work with them. What is the difference? I see none. The state always seems to get their nose into things when it is different than the usual and when it works. Another small business will bite the dust for being different.

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[Hal O'Peridol]

OK guys, maybe I can clear up a few things and misconceptions. I am in a unique position to comment on much of the above. First, why I feel I can comment..... I am an RN, currently working at a regional hospital approximately 25 miles south of the US/Canadian border. So I have a good background in both US healthcare and Canadian use of our facilities. My wife is also an RN, she is Canadian, and works in a large Canadian hospital in North Vancouver, and has, in fact, worked as an RN there for almost 25 years. So I also know quite a bit about the Canadian health care system, since she and I have used it also.

So here we go.........

#1. Single payer system. Won't go in America, at least not without significant cultural change. People here in the states complain about it taking 4 hours to see the doctor, what do you think will happen when it takes 4 weeks??? The Canadian system is single payer, and continues to be fraught with long wait times for procedures and treatment, sometimes running into months.

#2. To Mark in Ottawa....... Yes the Canadian system has problems, and so does ours. I do not think we need to exchange our current problems for an entirely new set of problems with the single payer system. Yes, your daughter may have cost 5 bucks to deliver, as did both my daughter and son (both born in Vancouver area hospitals), but that is not the total cost, which brings us to.........

#3. Most Canadians, including my wife, have a total tax withholding from their paycheck at a rate of 50%......that's right, half the paycheck is gone even before it gets into their hands. And that does not include GST and PST (sales taxes that run appx 13-14%) on most retail sales, high taxes on booze and cigs....it is actually much cheaper to buy Canadian beer in the US than it is in Canada....taxes ya know. Most Canadians don't realize that they pay in taxes the equivalent of a very expensive medical insurance policy every month, and only get mediocre care in return. And don't be old and very ill in Canada, your care WILL be rationed, even though the government will not admit it. In BC as in most provinces, there are shortages of doctors, nurses, equipment and hospital beds. Even as costs for health care increase, and the population increases, cost saving measures put in place by the government often result in shutting down of clinics and smaller hospitals, resulting in a diminished supply of both care beds and care givers.

#4. Jon, contrary to popular belief, the Canadian health care payment is NOT portable to other countries. If you get sick or injured in another country, even the US, the Canadian system WILL NOT PAY. In fact, since each province runs its own system, the health care is often NOT portable from provine to provine WITHIN Canada itself!!! All Canadians going out of country are encouraged to purchase travel insurance, and I an my wife have often purchased same through BCAA (British Columbian version of AAA).

#5. One of the major problems facing US hospitals now is that reimbursements for patients that have Medicare or Medicaid are not nearly enough to actually cover the care given. And the reimbursement rate for Medicare/Medicaid just got cut again. So who pays the Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements???? Why the GOVERNMENT of course! If the Gov can't afford to pay the proper price for medical care now, what makes anyone think they will be able to when they control healthcare????? Can you say MORE HIGHER TAXES??

#6. As a final aside, two years ago, my wife asked me if I could put her and our two kids on my US medical insurance. So if a person who has been on the inside of Canadian health care for over 20 years has no faith in the system........why should we have faith in the same type of system??

[Louis of PA]

The state always seems to get their nose into things when it is different than the usual and when it works. Another small business will bite the dust for being different.

I don't think the reason is "being different". I think the reason is campaign contributions from regular insurance companies to the people who write the laws, in order to stamp out honest competition.

In the old days, we called it "corruption".

Louis of PA

[Louis of PA]

This is part of what a doctor from Colorado recently posted on HughHewitt.com:

"Finally, a word about the "uninsured". These folks, estimated to number ~46 million, are one of the big drivers pushing the nation to a one-payer system.

"Study after study has shown that most of these patients are 1) eligible for gov't programs already,2) transiently uninsured because of job change, 3) making good money but have elected not to buy insurance, 4) illegal aliens.

"The hardcore long-term uninsured only number 10 to 15 million. In a nation of 300 million, this really should not be a big problem. Providing some level of care for the 3-5% that are truly uninsurable should not be a justification for screwing things up for everybody else."