Comments on: Tales of Health Insurance

By: Cold Spaghetti :: The Best of the Just Posts for 2009: Semi-finalists!

Cold Spaghetti :: The Best of the Just Posts for 2009: Semi-finalists! — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:59:45 +0000

[...] Tales of Health Insurance by Neil at Citizen of the Month [...]

By: Best of the 2009 Just Posts: The Semifinalists « collecting tokens

Best of the 2009 Just Posts: The Semifinalists « collecting tokens — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:10:36 +0000

[...] Tales of Health Insurance by Neil at Citizen of the Month [...]

By: Cold Spaghetti » Blog Archive » Better Late Than…? Just Posts: September 2009

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:56:53 +0000

[...] Neil of Citizen of the Month with Tales of Health Insurance [...]

By: Ren

Ren — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:33:43 +0000

In your last comment you alluded to something I’ve heard referenced before which is that America has the best health care for wealthy or well-covered people. I’ve been wondering recently how much the rest of the world, particularly the countries with government-provided health care, benefit from the high end advancements allowed by the private (and expensive) system in the US.

I think it is a reasonable concern that moving to government run health care system has a large risk of greatly reducing the amount of innovation that occurs in the health care field. The evidence of how well it has worked for other countries doesn’t mean much if they are simply benefiting from innovation that occurs in other countries.

I honestly have no idea if this is truly a valid concern or not.

By: Neil

Neil — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:36:12 +0000

I actually do find all sides of the stories interesting, even those who oppose health care reform for whatever irrational reason. Despite what some Canadians tout as their wonderful medical system, I also hear stories of patients waiting months to see a doctor. I can understand the fear that some have, especially those who worked hard to get where they are, about “socializing” medicine and how it would affect their health care. I think America DOES have the most sophisticated health care and equipment in the world, but only those who are well-covered get to use it. I think if everyone understood where the other was coming from, it would be better.

By: Diana

Diana — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:27:29 +0000

You do have a point, Neil. I like your outlook. Everyone DOES have a story. But let’s face it, those that aren’t “sob” in nature don’t get the airtime and never will. Why? Because they don’t help elicit irrational and emotional knee-jerk reactions to win votes.

I have no doubt you find both types of stories valuable, you’re an incredibly genuine person. But when it comes to the politics of the situation, you’re just not going to hear them without going to the people.

And even then, I think a lot of people are scared to tell that story. When they do, after all, they’re called “morally reprehensible”… or worse. It’s assumed they have never struggled with health care costs, etc.

Funny, I’ve never seen “reprehensible” listed in a thesaurus as an alternative to “different”. We’d better run and tell the Buddhists that they’re reprehensible. And the Muslims. And the Taoists. And the Hindus. And… well, I think you get my point.

By: Anne Arkham

Anne Arkham — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:18:39 +0000

My health care is covered almost 100% by my employers. This is a huge part of the reason why I am so pro-union.

By: Nat

Nat — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:26:35 +0000

Just to compare. I’m Canadian. We pay roughly $40 a month to get extended health care/life insurance at work for the family. (It was a $25 deductible on first prescription and includes dental, drugs and things like physio, and massage therapy — things considered allied health care. It also includes Long Term Disability — if we’re off for more than 13 weeks. LTD is mandatory, there are levels of coverage.)

In terms of taxes… because this is how I pay for health care. In the high income bracket,I pay roughly $800 a month in tax. (This includes the cost of Employment insurance and Canada Pension Plan.) But there is no deductible, and I’d pay less if I earned less, I’d pay nothing if I wasn’t employed. Health care does not include prescription drugs, which are generally cheaper than down south. This is my entire federal/provincial tax bill and includes all other government services as well.

By: gorillabuns

gorillabuns — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 06:38:05 +0000

well, with my bills for my son who subsequently died after two days, the total came out to $64,000.00. and we payed over $950.00 in insurance premiums.

luckily, so many strangers and friends alike helped us to pay off our part of his medical bills. yet, he’s still not buried as we can’t seem to afford $3000 + in this area.

By: Otir

Otir — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:32:07 +0000

Neil, yes, I don’t have insurance (I love when I use a positive to agree to a negative sentence, does that make you crazy too?

And yes, it’s because I can’t afford paying for an insurance premium with my income. Does that make me a gambler? I bet.