Hugh_Hoy Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Excellent coverage. Is it national coverage or a combination of national and private? Head-to-toe coverage like that here would cost about 10x here. I'm not sure it would work here due to the size of our country...really spread out. Plus, I don't know how many illegals you have to treat, but we have between 9-13 million (depending on who is counting) that we have to treat and build schools for also. Takes away a lot of funds for citizens/legal residents. How easy is it to get treated and are you treated at only government facilities (clinics/hospitals)? Are you able to pick, chose, and stay with the same primary care doctor? Are doctors all government employees or do some have private practices? I've heard stories out of Canada and the UK that it can take months to schedule non-emergency surgery that can be acquired here in 2 or 3 weeks. HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 The stories about Canada and the UK taking months to see a doctor are total bullshit spread by the AMA and the health insurance industry in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 HH said: Most people only need catastrophic insurance. Not employed, pick up a first aid kit and a bottle of aspirin at some clinic. The only problem with catastropic insurance is people with it don't get regular doctor visits and don't go in for check ups. So, things like cancer, diabetis, etc., which if caught early, can be treated and/or cured, go unchecked and can be fatal, with much higher medical costs because in their advanced stages require much more medical treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 HH, Lots of questions, I'll try to reply all.... Excellent coverage. Is it national coverage or a combination of national and private? The USD 826 is a national coverage, I pay privately, workers and employees pay through their employer. A private one is actually an upgrade that covers extra stuff like a private room. Head-to-toe coverage like that here would cost about 10x here. That is full coverage, including dental. By full coverage I mean that one pays for services rendered, health cover refunds you most of it, in some cases 70 % for me, in others 100 % like my mom who is a warinvalid. I'm not sure it would work here due to the size of our country...really spread out. sorry, lame argument, size does not matter Plus, I don't know how many illegals you have to treat, but we have between 9-13 million (depending on who is counting) that we have to treat and build schools for also. 10 million people in Belgium, and estimated 80K illegals, about the same (mass)numbers as you have, and yes, they all ge the strict min as well....did I forget the 3rd world (legal) immigrants, unemployed, a.o. ? How easy is it to get treated and are you treated at only government facilities (clinics/hospitals)? Very easy..... dentist, call any of your choice, make an appointment and go same week... we have too many dentists, doctors, specialists that we export them ! Most have private practices as well as work in a hospital. I am sure that if I am in urgent need of hipsurgery, I can find a hospital to schedule it for me for next week. Surgery, hospital stay and all would cost me no more that a few 100s of $$$.... Are you able to pick, chose, and stay with the same primary care doctor? Are doctors all government employees or do some have private practices? Yes, of course. I moved 5 years ago to this new small town, aound me are 5 MDs with private practices. First time I choose a young guy, but it did not click, next time a middle aged lady, and it clicked.... she have visiting hours daily, I just call ahead to know how long the cue is in order not to wait too long ......ALL of them have only private practices. MDs working for the governement are controlling the hospitals. I've heard stories out of Canada and the UK that it can take months to schedule non-emergency surgery that can be acquired here in 2 or 3 weeks. Different story there, different system. Here we are in paradise. Hope this helps. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 oops, I messed up the quote thingie......mods ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 The stories about Canada and the UK taking months to see a doctor are total bullshit spread by the AMA and the health insurance industry in the US. From my personal experience, it takes months to see a dotor here in the USA. I think it took me 9 months to get to see a specailist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 When I was just out of school all I cared about was my salary. If I could get away with removing medical benfits I think I would. I was young, never got sick, why do I need to pay health insurance? Later on as I got older, I chose jobs based on the benefits package. I would take a slightly less salary over another company if the benefits were much better. I had $2,500 worth of dental work done last summer and it cost me $156 of copay money. The company paid well. I could have gotten another 5k a year to start when I was negotiating but I didn't want to push my luck because the medical/dental package was so good. Health care I think is a great concern even for those who are against national healthcare. Whether we have it or not, we do need to find some way of making the system better. We can all agree on that. I don't think anyone, liberal, conservative and inbetween are happy with the status quo. I also think all can agree that the influence of the major players (HMOs, Pharmaceutical companies, AMA, etc.) on Congress needs to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted February 12, 2009 Report Share Posted February 12, 2009 Now with over 7M unemployed in the USA, that adds to the uninsured! One can not afford health insurance on the meager unemployment pay! Plus, that farkin gov taxes the skimpy unemployment pay WTF...like stealing from a blind man!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 The dentist that I used to see in Kansas City was probably average in what she charged for her work. Probably at least 75% of her patients had insurance coverage for their dental work. I saw her once in the last 8 years and that was for crown that poped off. I just had her glue it back on, even though it had a small hole in it. I've had all dental work done for the last 8 years done in LOS. This mainly consisted of 5 enlays and two fillings and cleanings. On a related note, my 14 month son went to his first doctor's appointment in the U.S. this morning. I had forgot what a joy it is to wait to see the doctor. Also, since it is covered under his insurance, she is repeating all the immunizations/shots he had previousley by his Thai doctor. Her rationale is one can't trust the reliability of foreign medicine. I guess she is going by past experience, as she was born in the Phillipines. By the way, her credentials are very good so I'll defer to her judgment in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted February 13, 2009 Report Share Posted February 13, 2009 Now with over 7M unemployed in the USA, that adds to the uninsured!One can not afford health insurance on the meager unemployment pay! Plus, that farkin gov taxes the skimpy unemployment pay WTF...like stealing from a blind man!!! Of that 7 million unemployed figure, how many will have medial expenses they can not pay for? And how many of them will file bankruptcy which will effect everyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.