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[stealthava]

Reading this article made me angry. It's an article about "America in decline" that takes a look at the healthcare system, foodstamps, the economy, and so forth, especially in comparison to Europe. The writer says he is an ex-patriate American who has been living in Europe, but the unrealistic way he imagines that things happen here make me wonder

Comments

[ginni_tamez]

Jo, I love you and I love this.

I have a really difficult time understanding the mindset of entitlement that so many people seem to have. When did it become normal to think you deserve something simply for existing?

PS, if you wrote a political blog it would be huge. Your writing is fantastic.

[stealthava]

Thank you!

[cjthrills]

I think I'm obligated, at least a little bit, to defend health care. I get my insurance for free since I'm a student and still included in my parents' benefits, but if I weren't I'd be paying $90/year for basic coverage, and ~$40-50/month for extended health and dental IF my workplace didn't offer it and IF I wanted it in the first place. $50/month really isn't that much. Most people pay that much for cable or a cell phone without thinking twice. My prescriptions alone cost $25/month and they're covered by it, as well as any medical procedures and new glasses every year. I may overpay sometimes by a little bit, but I can't express how great it is to know that if I get into an accident or need surgery, I won't end up $20K in debt or have to make monthly payments for it. And I don't know how it is in Europe, but we get criticized for long waits for procedures sometimes too, but I really think those are just extreme cases that get publicized, just like crazy stuff about people in the US getting turned away from hospitals or losing

[stealthava]

I'm not saying that healthcare itself is bad, I just think that the way it's been implemented is bad. My main problem with the US health insurance reforms is the forced-purchase aspect of it. I don't have health insurance because I can't afford it; forcing me to buy something I can't afford doesn't help me out any.

From a non-Canadian, non-European perspective, it seems like socialized healthcare isn't really that different from the new US healthcare reforms. Except instead of paying monthly insurance, they pay high taxes. I don't know the numbers, but I'm curious if other countries' citizens' monthly tax bill (the portion of tax that goes toward healthcare anyway) would come out as more or less than a US citizen's monthly insurance bill.

[stealthava]

I wish LJ allowed editing posts. I just thought of a bunch of questions about Canadian healthcare.

You said that if you weren't covered under your parent's plan, then you'd be paying $90 a year for basic coverage. Would that be paid to a private insurer (like Aflac or Allstate or whoever), or would it be paid directly to the government? Does the government run hospitals directly? If you weren't insured would you be expected to foot the bill yourself? Does Canada have a mandatory insurance program? Sorry for all the questions!

[cjthrills]

It's okay. I'm probably not the expert though, since all I do is fill out forms saying I don't have to pay. =P The $90/year is mandatory and paid to the government. However if you're a student or just really poor you can apply to not have to pay. It's also a sliding scale on the payment. You pay more if you make more, and more for how many dependents you have. Essentially, everyone is insured and it's up to doctors to make claims to the provincial government for basic care. The government funds ~70%