Healthcare Reform in the U.S

[UFGN]

I'm baffled by this. The strength of the feeling being vented against these proposals is just madness.

Its frustrating for me as a Brit to see the NHS mis-represented in this argument by people who have so clearly been paid off by the insurence lobby.

And as for the general American public, maybe they dont deserve universal healthcare!! If so many of them are so stupid that they can be brainwashed by the insurence companies and their pet politicians that "social medicine will choose who lives and dies," and other such bullshit.

How can a system where you must pay way over the odds for healthcare, if you are lucky enough to be able to afford it in the first place, be preferable to a partially government run system that doesnt leave you fighting off paremedics to stop them putting you in an ambulance you cant afford?!!

[Forest]

dont quite understand so ill guess:
in the uk 99% of healthcare is free paid for by taxes to keep it simple
in the usa you have insurance which pays for healthcare or you pay yourself? and now they want some of it to be NHS free and some not or?

[UFGN]

dont quite understand so ill guess:
in the uk 99% of healthcare is free paid for by taxes to keep it simple
in the usa you have insurance which pays for healthcare or you pay yourself? and now they want some of it to be NHS free and some not or?

Basically yes. But there are a lot of people who seem to think its some sort of socialist conspiracy.

[Reverend Gooner]

It is mad, you would think that if it was a case of "lottery of who lives and dies" you would think it would be much more controversial over here.


One thing which i just don't get about all the complaints about it and the whole campaign against it is.......


You can still go private!!!!

FFS if you want uber health care you can still pay for it and get it, let the less well off to get the treatment they deserve, unless of course some Americans don't want that............

[CynicalGooner]

I am horrified that the richest nation on earth doesn't offer a form of national health care already, but not only that, many are actually opposing it being brought through.

Baffling

[StLGooner]

My employer pays for my healthcare, so I'm good.

[Forest]

a mate of mine from footy had to wait 14months for a cruciate knee lig operation, would he of had to of waited that long in the states if he had insurance?

just trying to see if USA waiting times are long as ours, sometimes its ridiculous to wait years for an operation, specially as he couldnt walk properly

[Fordy]

a mate of mine from footy had to wait 14months for a cruciate knee lig operation, would he of had to of waited that long in the states if he had insurance?

just trying to see if USA waiting times are long as ours, sometimes its ridiculous to wait years for an operation, specially as he couldnt walk properly

there wouldnt be a waiting time but thats because poor people cant aford to have anything done at all

[StLGooner]

a mate of mine from footy had to wait 14months for a cruciate knee lig operation, would he of had to of waited that long in the states if he had insurance?

just trying to see if USA waiting times are long as ours, sometimes its ridiculous to wait years for an operation, specially as he couldnt walk properly

Most likely not. I've never heard of anybody that had to wait that long. Its usually a few weeks, sometimes less, and in rare cases a bit more.

[Leody]

Was talking to my brother the other day...

Thanks to Obama's health care reform his premiums went up 70% for his insurance. Thanks for the "Hope and Change" Obama.

Note: I choose not to have insurance (for now while I still have a choice)

[Forest]

ouch! so what does he roughly pay per month or annually?

why dont you have insurance? i dont understand it all but if you was to get injured tomorrow how you going to get treatment?

[Leody]

Over $325 (£200) a month for him, his wife and their 9 year old son. Not ridiculous, but alot more than he had been paying.

I don't because of a few factors. I'm healthy and have been very healthy my entire life. Lucky I guess... who knows. I'm out of work right now, could get coverage from the government, but don't want it. I HATE taking medicine. For the most part the human body is more than capable of dealing with most ailments, and more times than not medicines will just trade other problems for fixing your current ailment. If I were to get injured in the most likely situations I have coverage from other forms of insurance. If I were to be in an auto accident for example I would be covered for up to $2m, I believe that's what my auto policy covers.

And well honestly now with the way the system has been changed by Obama it doesn't make any sense to pay for insurance. They can no longer exclude people for pre-existing conditions, so I can just wait till I need insurance to cover something and then go buy it...

That is the fatal flaw in the Obama-care system and why people who have insurance now are going to pay more. Because insurance companies now have to charge more to cover people that they can no longer reject because they're already in poor health. That's a whole different debate that I don't really care to get into, but the system is even more flawed now than it was before.

[Forest]

Ah your partly covered in your car insurance, didnt realise that. So it was meant to do good for the people but ended up costing the average person who pays alot more like normal.

[Leody]

ouch! so what does he roughly pay per month or annually?

why dont you have insurance? i dont understand it all but if you was to get injured tomorrow how you going to get treatment?

To be clear, I would still get treatment regardless of my financial situation... that's an urban legend that people get denied treatment because they don't have insurance. That's illegal. Hospitals are required to treat all patients regardless. They're not going to have people sit and wait while they check their insurance after all.

Also, I technically have a job... just not being paid right now

[Leody]

Ah your partly covered in your car insurance, didnt realise that. So it was meant to do good for the people but ended up costing the average person who pays alot more like normal.

Yep, unintended consequences as they like to call them here.

Here is a great example of why I don't carry insurance.

My dental insurance at my last job was something like $25 a month. If I go to my two normally scheduled annual visits, I have to pay $50 in co-pay, $25 for each visit. So my total annual spend would be $350. My dentist charges $95 with out insurance for a cleaning and screening, the typical normally scheduled annual visit. So why carry the insurance? I can pay $190 a year out of pocket for the visits and if he finds something that needs more work and will cost me more, I set the appointment for some time out in the future and pick up the insurance at work. By the time my appointment comes around, I have the insurance coverage.

It's a little "safer" to do this with dental, because there is less chance of something that needs to be taken care of immediately.

It is also a little more complex than what I make it out to be, but in essence you can easily do that.