Quotes Shark

Posts Tagged ‘reform’

Health Care Reform, Here is what I would accept

O .K .Mr & Ms slick politicians. You want  to change the health care rules.

Not a problem. The Federal Government is no more qualified to monitor my health than it is qualified to bring back the Are of Dinosaurs.

But, if you insist. Here is the only way that I would accept your new rules.

Ready.

Are you really ready for a solution that will turn out equitable for all Americans.

All right, here it is.

Put all politicians, civil servants, union employees & bosses, Congress, the Judges, the President, everyone and all their families into the same program that you want for us.. If what you propose to do to the health care system is so wondeful then we must all share these wonderful benefits.

No exceptions.

No alternates.

What is good enough for me is good enough for all.

This must be unchangeable for at least 25 years. What affects my health care should also affect yours. Your families as well as mine.

This program must be exclusively for Citizens of the United States, who pay the freight and deserve to ride the train. When they become legal naturalized citizens through existing immigration laws then of course all citizens will be covered.

What do you think oh mighty elite. If its good enough for the people I love, then it should easily be good enough for your loved ones, after all you are JUST public servants.

This plan will guarantee a fair and equitable reform of health care that will protect all the citizens of the United States.

Mess this up and you will be messing up your own family,  so be careful and do a righteous job ,

As an independent broker , I have never faced the question about comparing the pros and cons of the Canadian & US health care system more times than now, when the US congress is debating on a huge change concerning the system. Although non of them is perfect, I absolutely detest some of the lies that are spread about the Canadian system. Let’s have a look at some of them.

“The health system in Canada is much more costly than the American system.”

Firstly there’s this faulty assumption about the cost. Compare the numbers yourself: US spends 15% of GDP, leaving at least 15% of its population with no coverage, while Canada spends 10 percent of its GDP, covering all of Canadians. An example from 2005 indicates that the US government spent US$6,401 per head, which is almost twice as much as the Canadian expenditures.

“In Canada, it’s up to the government to decide who gets the treatment.”

Why should the government be responsible for such decisions? It’s only up to the physicians to determine who gets treated and when and how. On the other hand, the situation is quite different in the US, where in fact it is up to your insurance administrators to decide what treatment you are allowed to get, never mind what you doctor thinks.

“You pay much more than the basic insurance anyway, because it doesn’t cover all the procedures.”

Every province has its own rules concerning what is and what is not covered by the public health insurance. But mostly it’s all the physician’s fees, tests and everything that happens in the hospital is included. It mostly doesn’t cover the medical equipment, dental and vision care and other extras. Because all these extras can be quite well estimated (all the really expensive stuff are included by the national insurance), some private plans are offered (i.e. FlexCare Program from Manulife) with low-cost premiums to cover them. All in all, you end up having access to any treatment you might need, paying much less for the public & additional health insurance combined than any of the US citizens have to deliver for the same kind of services.

“In Canada, you’ve got to wait for so long to get the treatment you need. In fact, Canadians rather travel to the US for their treatment.”

The infamous wait concerns mostly a specialist treatment (up to four weeks because of the staff shortages – the US have a similar situation). Of course the times required for selective surgery could be even longer. But if you need an imperative treatment, you get it fast. And the best part is that no one is interested in your financial situation: whether rich or poor, you are treated the same. In those cases when the waiting list might be too long and it is not possible to access the treatment in an urgent situation, the patient is sent to the States, but you don’t pay a cent: the insurance covers it all. If you spoke to somebody from Canada who rushed to the America for their treatment and had to cover it themselves, they most likely didn’t need the treatment as fast as they wanted it.

“The doctors are employed by the Canadian government. And the government chooses the physicians for you!”

Not true. The doctors have, just like in the US, their private practises, and only have to handle one insurer, which is the provincial government. Don’t worry: you get to choose your physician yourself.