i really feel blessed to live in canada for the health care..... i find it funny though how the media tells americans how it doesnt work for us!
i have been hospitalized 5 times
3 operations
2 ultra sounds
1 ct scan
specialists (ent, surgeons, obgyn, etc etc)
drs appointment
er visits
lab tests
psychiatrist
psychologist
at the low price of ZERO dollars. no long waits like most people think.
i think they say it cant work for the US because of the money it generates.
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TickledPink-- what services are covered in your universal health care? I ask because my health plan covers stuff like naturopaths, chiropractors, infertility treatments and so on, because we have the option of negotiating for those services. In a universal health plan system, you don't have the option of negotiating for squat, you just get what the gov't gives you and that's it. I don't like the lack of options involved there...
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I personally, get to negotiate nothing with regard to my private, corporate US based health insurance. I get what I get, if anything. If I can't afford the premium, no insurance at all.
My friend who is from Canada says the media here lies about how it works up there (wait times, people dying while on waiting lists, etc). She also says that there are services up there for people who don't want to wait for non-urgent procedures and also private imaging services which can be paid for in cash. As far as waits here, I've seen patients wait 10 days for an MRI or CT scan. I personally had to wait 3 weeks for surgery once (not elective but also not emergent), waited 6 days for a semi-urgent surgery (still, not emergency), and 25 days to get in to see an endocrinologist.
__________________ DH 29, Me 30, married since 2003 Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis Current meds:
B-12 1500 mcg daily
Vitamin D3 2000 IU daily
Aspirin 81mg
Multivitamin
Apple Cider Vinegar 900mg daily
Metformin 1000mg daily
Spironolactone 50mg BID
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Calmwaters-- you get corporate health insurance, which means you have an insurance rep in your corporation which you can lobby to, which can negotiate changes with your corporation's health plan. Ours works the same way.
I agree that insurance here can and does get overpriced way too easily, but at least we have options with our plans. It's not just "take what we give you or pay full price for everything!"
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PCOS+IR, Hypothyroidism
Sleep Apnea (cured by tonsillectomy)
Age 30, DH 37, 4 furrball babies!
Logan Scott born April 9, 2004!
Conor James born Nov 1, 2006.
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...at least we have options with our plans. It's not just "take what we give you or pay full price for everything!"
At least 'you' have options with your plans...
Not everyone with health insurance in the U.S. has options... Even worse, too many Americans have no insurance at all - either they can't qualify, or can't afford it.
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Hey, SoulCysters! Need to eat more veggies, but can't find recipes??
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at the low price of ZERO dollars. no long waits like most people think.
Glad to hear you got good care, but not all of the horror stories coming out of Canada are lies made up by our media and a cabal of evil American health insurance companies.
And you might have paid the doctors and hospitals ZERO for your care, but you paid elsewhere. Sometimes citizens pay almost $5000 a year in taxes, which is more than some families annually pay over here.
What I don't like is how good health insurance is tied to a job. Some people stay at jobs they aren't happy at or are afraid to take chances and move up because their family depends on that good health package.
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"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." ~ John F. Kennedy
Not everyone with health insurance in the U.S. has options... Even worse, too many Americans have no insurance at all - either they can't qualify, or can't afford it.
Yes I've been there Kat. I agree that insurance companies are overpriced and that not all Americans can afford it. I think the issue is more complicated that that, though. It's not all the insurance co's fault. Some people just don't budget appropriately (I know a few people with fancy cars with huge monthly payments but no health insurance). A lot of states have plans that are priced on a sliding scale, but there's often a waiting list to even get on the plan!
I'm not saying the current situation is ideal, but I disagree that the answer is a national health plan. That's an extreme that has its own set of failures and I'd rather have more freedom than that.
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PCOS+IR, Hypothyroidism
Sleep Apnea (cured by tonsillectomy)
Age 30, DH 37, 4 furrball babies!
Logan Scott born April 9, 2004!
Conor James born Nov 1, 2006.
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My situation REALLY sucks. I took a promotion at my job from non-management union job to an eventual management position. (right now i'm in a six month transition period). Once I switched, I lost my bargained union plan, which was about $15 every two weeks for my husband and I. It had decent coverage for a HMO.
Now. I pay twice as much in premiums and have no HMO. My deductible is $2200!!! I don't know about you guys, but it really sucks paying every single penny to $2200 and then paying 20% percent after that. I can't afford to go back to the RE or take any meds.
So much for the promotion, which doesn't even pay out any extra money until *after* my six month training.
BTW, I work for an ENORMUS money making company that continues to thrive because people want the service, and they have been in service for a *really* long time.
I am so for the insurance system like Canada has -- after all, I can't imagine who'd negotiate insurance that sucks this bad!!
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Diagnosed 03/02
I'm a WLS Diva now. Surgery was 7/29/2008
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Yes, some of us don't have those benefits such as naturopathy, etc. My state will NOT pay for:
infertility treatment of any type--not even Walmart Clomid
male infertility diagnostics
WLS
nutrition counselling
naturopathy, accupuncture, herbs
inpatient mental health treatment OR detox
most birth control pills--only a few generics covered for medical necessity
endometriosis medications (i.e. Lupron)
preventative wellness care for children and babies
chiropractor--unless related to accident directly
And people this isn't fly-by-night sleaze insurance, this is the insurance you get while fighting fires, catching criminals, or teaching other people's little hellions--the state insurance
As for waits, I have seen the UNinsured DIE from waiting 3 weeks while in the ICU for an MRI or CT in the US--burst anyerusms, trauma, etc.
As for the insured, my cousin had to wait 6 months for an eye operation. I suffered through 2 YEARS of a UTI before our HMO would give us a referral to the urologist, and needed surgery to remove the bacteria-infested lining by them. My old RE had a wait of 4 months for an appointment for the not ttc. Well-listed endocrinologists have a wait of 6 months just to see the NP. Shoot, I tried a new OB office and had to wait 8 weeks just to see the doctor--and then they fobbed me off on her incompetant NP that day anyway. So waiting isn't as uncommon as it's made out to be here. It depends on what kind of care you need.
And our deductible and bills are horrific, also.
__________________ Nuvaring--stopped due to mood swings & some TMI issues. waiting to try cerazette!
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Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.
its horrible for ppl without insurance. it breaks my heart. I guess i just find it weird because here in canada we all get treated the same no matter who we are....and never get turned away. here we can also go to any doctor we want as many times as we want. as far as medications go, my hubby pays about 50 bucks a month and we get all our prescriptions for free, stop smoking aids free, orthopedics,glasses, message, etc....
about 3 years ago i suffered horrible dizziness etc my doctor was worried that i had a brain tumor! I was so scared! 5 hours later I was at the hospital had a CT scan and 2 hours after that I had the results.......no one should wait if its a matter of life or death.....
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I've found that the majority of problems people have with doctors is because they don't advocate for their own health care. They just sort of meekly accept whatever people throw their way. When my son was a baby he needed an eye surgery and his doctor said he needed it done before he was 6 months old or he might have permanent damage in his vision. I left the appointment being told that surgery would be scheduled and I'd be called with a date.
Several days later I called and asked if the surgery had been scheduled, and they said it had, but for over a month away (my son was already almost 6 months old at the time). I called the doctor immediately to complain and he apologized and called to change the appointment himself within minutes. He got us in the next week.
If I had not called or complained or done anything, they would have just let me keep that appointment and my son may have had permanent vision damage. This type of thing happens all the time, miscommunication between departments, between the hospital and the doctors, and things slip thru. You have to pay attention to what is going on and demand proper service.
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PCOS+IR, Hypothyroidism
Sleep Apnea (cured by tonsillectomy)
Age 30, DH 37, 4 furrball babies!
Logan Scott born April 9, 2004!
Conor James born Nov 1, 2006.
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I am uninsured. My dh has a great job at a very small company and he is covered but to cover me it would cost over $600/month. We cant afford it.
Right now I go to the doctors at a clinic for the uninsured and I pay $25/visit. It's great and I love my doctor but what happens to me if I have to be hospitalized, I'm screwed. I am looking into catastrophic medical policies...wish me luck!
I dont quite know how we will fix the insurance problems in our country. Something needs to be done though. It's very scary not being able to afford insurance!
__________________ PCOS Dx 2003
Diabetes Type 2 Dx 2007
Trying to get healthy in 2008 Start:207lbs Current:148lbs
Goal:150lbs
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-2 pounds to goal! I DID IT!!!!
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America stinks where it comes to healthcare. There are no two ways about it.
I've lived with and without insurance coverage and know how it feels to try to ignore pain in my body because I'm too fearful of the hospital bill. I've watched those that I personally knew and loved put off medical care until it was too late and die as a result because they had no insurance coverage and were worried they couldn't pay for it.
I think that anybody who wants to defend U.S. healthcare is uninformed. The tactics that insurance companies use to deny applications and the ways they go about avoiding payments for the those that they actually cover are deplorable.
It's jealousy-provoking to see the way that countries like Canada, England, and France take care of their citizens where it comes to access to healthcare and medicines, when there are millions of Americans with no coverage for themselves or their families.
I live right on the border of Canada. I can see it from my house. I know tons of Canandians. I ask about their healthcare because I want to know if the long waits and control over what doctor they see is true. It never has been.
My sister-in-law married a man from Canada and became a citizen. She went from having no insurance coverage her entire life to free, prompt, good medical care whenever she needs it. I've heard far more "horror" stories about American healthcare than ever from Canada.
We've been indoctrinated into thinking that socialized medicine is evil . . . yet how can providing free, accesible healthcare to every American be evil? It really can't be accomplished in any other way. The only opponents of such a change are the insurance companies who stand to lose billions upon billions of dollars.
Just watch the Michael Moore movie Sicko. Any argument against socialized medicine is acknowledged and pretty much decimated by that movie.
what i know is i dont what a unv. healthcare. i have heard both good and bad things about. what about fixing what we have first? we cant always replace one broken one with something that can be broken years later.
i dont like michel moore. he has known to take things and twist them around to the way he sees it and take things for what they were. even had a someone say that he misused what a person said so it would benfit him. also his facts are not always right is what was said on a report i saw.
__________________ me 27
dx 1993
dx with
diabetes type 2
fibromyalgia
cts
oxy for pain thats it
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i dont like michel moore. he has known to take things and twist them around to the way he sees it and take things for what they were. even had a someone say that he misused what a person said so it would benfit him. also his facts are not always right is what was said on a report i saw.
What I think is not based on Michael Moore. Honestly, I don't care for him much. I take what he says and does with a grain of salt.
I will say that the movie "Sicko" in particular certainly reinforced my views. I recommend everybody see it. I don't believe he had any agenda in making it, other than to try and make Americans see what is greatly lacking in their lives that is freely enjoyed by others in other countries.
I can't afford to go back to the RE or take any meds. 
