I wanted to ask some of you guys from Canada and New Zealand and other guys from out of the U.S. how your health care is. I'm writing a paper on the Health Care Reform and were having this huge debate Thursday and I would like to have the views of people outside of the US. I know Canada has a 70% Pubilic and 30% private health care and I wanted to know how you feel about it and the quality of the healthcare. I personally believe that America needs a Health Care Reform but not a government take over which I fear that. Any imput would help guys. My professor is super liberal and it makes me sick so I need some good points.. Thanks Fellas.
-Brian

 

Ummm.... One problem is the wait times... Sometimes people spend the night/day in the ER trying to get looked at (if it's minor)...

One REALLY REALLY REALLY good point is that you don't have to take out a second mortgage on your home to pay the medical bills.

Example, I was watching Dr. OZ (I know, my mom had it on) and he was holding a free clinic, and one guy came in and he had a tumor growing on his lip for the past three years. He couldn't get it treated because he had no health insurance. So because he couldn't PAY, he eventually would have died from cancer.

My grandfather spent the last 6 months of his life on a respirator in the ICU at the hospital, supposedly 1 week of him staying there cost nearly above 100,000 dollars, between meds, nurse wages, oxygen, blah blah blah... could you imagine if WE would have had to pay?

 

I agree that health insurance is too high and I've looked at the factors that have made to so high. I just believe the last thing we need is more government regulation and that government should stay out of free enterprise. We need a cap on tort reform, allow no territorial restrictions in states, and most importantly in my opinion is looking at why its gone so high and realizing that we have made it that way by claiming everything under the sun. Government has never run anything efficently by any means.
Sorry to hear about your Grandfather.

 

I just wanted to say that i agreed with you on your last post concerning less gov, tort reform and increased competition between insurance companies.

 

Thank you sir.

 

I know you are looking for outside opinions (outside the US) but I have a semi unique outlook on this particular issue. You see I have universal health care (universal for me suckers!) and my family. If you want an interesting model, look into Tri-Care. It's what the military is on 9tri-care PRIME i believe) anyway, it is what people have been throwing around as a success story for government run health care. i can't tell you if it is gvmt run or not, but i can tell you it has RULED for me.

i have a 3 1/2 year old daughter who is a medical mystery. she has only recently (last 6 months) been given a proper diagnosis. they thought she had cerebral palsy, but it turns out to be a genetic disorder. She is one of one in medical recoded history.... no other 'hers' around....

Long story short in the first 6 months of her life, not counting her birth, or the 2 months before we found something REALLY wrong and had her looked at, (so 4 months billed) she racked up just over $250k dollars in medical debt... a guy can only sell his kidney once.... Then wtf am i supposed to do? She has a luandry list of problems, but to illustrate only a few, we have an in-home respite nurse 5 days a week, 8 hrs a day. She eats 6 cans of high-calorie pediatric soy forumla through a tube in her stomach every day (95% of her caloric intake) @ $6 a can (just over $1000 a month for her food lone), she has 3 $3k pumps to susatin her feeding, an $8k augmentive communication device, weekly physical/occupational/and speach therapy, severe developmental delay, it takes 2 adult sized sedative to put her to sleep each night, and another 1/2 dose at 2 am to keep her down until 7:30 am, etc, etc, etc.

I know what you are going to say, "but you're in the Army, army docs and all..." nay sir. the army can stuff your guts back in, and get you back in the fight. what they cant do is take care of F-ed up little kids. 2 trips to Charlotte, NC and 1 trip to Childrens National medical Center in D.C. PER MONTH from Fayetteville. just for the tests and re-tests, and new tests, and re-new-tests.... in the end, they don't know why she is the way she is, how it happened, or what it means for her life. Litterally ANYTHING could go wrong at any time. She has already stopped producing red blood cells for no real reason.... you may remember those guys as what carries oxygen through your body. she was a vampire for 45 days before they jump started her bones again making her make new blood.

It was a running joke that my "daughter was trying to die on me again" while i was deployed this last time. also, i looked into it. There is no lemon law for kids in NC... it was laugh a little, or kill myself...


Anyway i share all of that with you for 2 reasons. of EVERY thing she has been through in the last 3 years and 6 months, we have had to foot the bill for her perscriptions (up to $3 per medication) and a $3k helmet to reshape her skull. Period. Tri-Care has eatten litteraly every single dollar to include travel and hotel stays for my wife and I. It is a very BROKEN system, but it's hands down, the best i can think of. I am still in the Army due to that reason; free health care for a screwed up kid. i can not get her health care on the outside. With out being a bazillionare, or putting myself through medical school to be a pediatric genetisist, or finding a legally blind insurance rep who signs off anything put in front of him, there is no way to get her covered on the outside.

If you get nothing else from this, focus on these three points: 1) tri-care is worth looking into for your examples. 2) tri-care is a government run (i think) health care system that works (ish) 3) i hope you're still reading.

BONUS: they cover me 100%, all of my dependants (family members) 100% (except $3-$6 co-pays for scripts)
DRAW BACK: Only certain doc's accept it. it's a good tax write off as they bill the insurance for say $368 for a test, and the insurance allows $67 for the pay out

also that is some of the reason i drag my feet on fixing my ride from time to time.

Why are you still reading this?!

 

Thank you for the imput. Im going to have to look into Tri-Care. I know those who serve or have served in the military reciever great incurance benifits. My bet would be its a private owned company but ill look it up. I can see where with all the bills it could be outragious. I hope your daughter does better and thank you for your service.

 

New Zealand has a national health system. Not too sure how it works though. I've only been here 8 years & not had much to do with it but I know you can hang around in hospitals waiting to be seen & treated (and there's always a shortage of beds). Having said that, I had a scare about 2 weeks ago & went to the hospital to join the queue & they wisked me in & 4 hours later a doctor came to see me. No beds were available but they found one in a consulting room & kept me in overnight. I was released the next day & now await an appointment to have tests done. That could take weeks!

 

appreciate the support man. and she is improving day by day.

aslo as a dad, i can tell you going to the ER is no joke no matter where you are in the world. I have camped out over night and tagged out with the wife in the morning before. Dont get hurt on a friday or saturday... thats all i'm saying

 

On a quick side note, I didnt think Curtis could be this serious about anything. I have seen a new side of you my friend. Much love for you and your family.