Comments on: Universal Health Care Around the World: Reader Experiences http://www.amiexpat.com/2009/08/21/experiences-with-universal-health-care-around-the-world/ life, the universe, and Germany Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:26:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: rositta http://www.amiexpat.com/2009/08/21/experiences-with-universal-health-care-around-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13276 rositta Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:41:45 +0000 http://www.amiexpat.com/?p=1842#comment-13276 Christina, no I wouldn't choose the American system over the Canadian one with one exception. Private insurance ought to be available to all and if I have the money I should be allowed to pay for an MRI without traveling to the U.S. A purely socialist system doesn't work since the very rich travel elsewhere for care anyway...ciao .-= rositta´s last blog ..<a href="http://theviewfromher.blogspot.com/2009/08/were-weve-been.html" rel="nofollow">Were We've Been</a> =-. Christina, no I wouldn’t choose the American system over the Canadian one with one exception. Private insurance ought to be available to all and if I have the money I should be allowed to pay for an MRI without traveling to the U.S. A purely socialist system doesn’t work since the very rich travel elsewhere for care anyway…ciao
.-= rositta´s last blog ..Were We’ve Been =-.

]]> By: Christina Geyer http://www.amiexpat.com/2009/08/21/experiences-with-universal-health-care-around-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13268 Christina Geyer Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:41:05 +0000 http://www.amiexpat.com/?p=1842#comment-13268 @Sherah: Thanks for commenting. I didn't know anything about the Israeli system, so it's nice to learn about it. @rositta: I'm wondering what you think of the American system. Would you choose it over the current Canadian system? @Isabella: Thanks, I put a ton of work into these. I'm working on ideas to keep this series going. Gotta see what I can scrape together. @rhona: Thanks for writing in your experiences. It's difficult to make a post covering a large country, especially if health care differs from state to state. @Sherah: Thanks for commenting. I didn’t know anything about the Israeli system, so it’s nice to learn about it.

@rositta: I’m wondering what you think of the American system. Would you choose it over the current Canadian system?

@Isabella: Thanks, I put a ton of work into these. I’m working on ideas to keep this series going. Gotta see what I can scrape together.

@rhona: Thanks for writing in your experiences. It’s difficult to make a post covering a large country, especially if health care differs from state to state.

]]> By: Rhona http://www.amiexpat.com/2009/08/21/experiences-with-universal-health-care-around-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13267 Rhona Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:35:39 +0000 http://www.amiexpat.com/?p=1842#comment-13267 Rositta, thanks for the comments on my post however as I said, repeatedly, this is from my experience alone and some people I know. I did not say and know the services are not perfect however.,I think Canadians are lucky. There is too much to point out and I would be writing a 20 page post. That piece was written purely on my stance. .-= Rhona´s last blog ..<a href="http://251319.blogspot.com/2009/08/things-for-sale-and-packing.html" rel="nofollow">Things for sale and packing</a> =-. Rositta, thanks for the comments on my post however as I said, repeatedly, this is from my experience alone and some people I know. I did not say and know the services are not perfect however.,I think Canadians are lucky. There is too much to point out and I would be writing a 20 page post. That piece was written purely on my stance.
.-= Rhona´s last blog ..Things for sale and packing =-.

]]> By: Isabella http://www.amiexpat.com/2009/08/21/experiences-with-universal-health-care-around-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13223 Isabella Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:12:06 +0000 http://www.amiexpat.com/?p=1842#comment-13223 You can keep these blog entries coming on this topic because they are <i>really</i> great! Again, thanks for taking the time to put this together :-) You can keep these blog entries coming on this topic because they are really great! Again, thanks for taking the time to put this together :-)

]]> By: rositta http://www.amiexpat.com/2009/08/21/experiences-with-universal-health-care-around-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13220 rositta Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:42:32 +0000 http://www.amiexpat.com/?p=1842#comment-13220 I have to comment on Rhona 's comment on health care. Two things stand out immediately one of them is that she has private insurance (which pays for drugs, dental, semi private hospital bed, eyeglasses, etc.) and two, she lives in Mississauga which has a fairly good if not superior hospital to most Toronto hospitals. Her insurance however won't buy her an MRI. There is NO public drug coverage unless you are over the age of 65 or on welfare/social assistance and not all drugs are covered. For example the drug Tamiflu for H1N1 is not covered for seniors. Some of the newer cancer drugs are also not covered. Private insurance is not obtainable if one has a pre existing condition or you reach a certain age. Example, my husband had private covered with similar benefits as Rhona but being self employed it cost him $145. per month and he's healthy. I was denied the same insurance and was offered a plan that covered $300 drugs and $300 dental per year with 25% co pay at a cost of $95. per month. It wasn't worth it.. She is lucky that she has a family physician. Many physicians are close to retirement, my own included. He has already cut back on his patient load and I live in fear that he will cut me from his roster. There are currently 1.1 MILLION people in Ontario who do not have a family physician and I will soon be one of them. Wait times, the bane of our existence. Sure we don't have to pay out of pocket but when you wait 18 months for a life changing hip or knee replacement, 16 months for heart surgery, 5 months for retinal surgery, more than a year for foot surgery and one year for gallbladder surgery you really have to wonder if there isn't a better way. The above times are not pulled out of a hat, they are my life. We pay, by the way, it ain't free. We just don't see it out of pocket but our tax load is immense. Rhona just touched the basics, there is more. Elder care, it's a joke. My mother wasn't in the ER more than an hour when they discussed "letting her die with dignity". She did die but not with dignity and totally at the fault of the hospital and doctors there. She was a robust woman who needed a pacemaker. She waited, waited and waited some more. Meanwhile they diapered here (didn't have time to toilet her), she lost all muscle tone and mobility, never did get the promised MRI and SIX weeks later they finally did the pacemaker surgery which took all of 40 minutes. One week later she died which begs the question, had she got the pacemaker the first couple of days would she still be alive and at home with me. So there you have it, Germans are lucky and Americans can be if they model their proposed system on Germany but never on Canada. Ours is broken. Oh yes, almost forgot, I'm on a long wait list for hip number two. Maybe next year some time...ciao .-= rositta´s last blog ..<a href="http://theviewfromher.blogspot.com/2009/08/were-weve-been.html" rel="nofollow">Were We've Been</a> =-. I have to comment on Rhona ‘s comment on health care. Two things stand out immediately one of them is that she has private insurance (which pays for drugs, dental, semi private hospital bed, eyeglasses, etc.) and two, she lives in Mississauga which has a fairly good if not superior hospital to most Toronto hospitals. Her insurance however won’t buy her an MRI.
There is NO public drug coverage unless you are over the age of 65 or on welfare/social assistance and not all drugs are covered. For example the drug Tamiflu for H1N1 is not covered for seniors. Some of the newer cancer drugs are also not covered.
Private insurance is not obtainable if one has a pre existing condition or you reach a certain age. Example, my husband had private covered with similar benefits as Rhona but being self employed it cost him $145. per month and he’s healthy. I was denied the same insurance and was offered a plan that covered $300 drugs and $300 dental per year with 25% co pay at a cost of $95. per month. It wasn’t worth it..
She is lucky that she has a family physician. Many physicians are close to retirement, my own included. He has already cut back on his patient load and I live in fear that he will cut me from his roster. There are currently 1.1 MILLION people in Ontario who do not have a family physician and I will soon be one of them.
Wait times, the bane of our existence. Sure we don’t have to pay out of pocket but when you wait 18 months for a life changing hip or knee replacement, 16 months for heart surgery, 5 months for retinal surgery, more than a year for foot surgery and one year for gallbladder surgery you really have to wonder if there isn’t a better way. The above times are not pulled out of a hat, they are my life. We pay, by the way, it ain’t free. We just don’t see it out of pocket but our tax load is immense. Rhona just touched the basics, there is more.
Elder care, it’s a joke. My mother wasn’t in the ER more than an hour when they discussed “letting her die with dignity”. She did die but not with dignity and totally at the fault of the hospital and doctors there. She was a robust woman who needed a pacemaker. She waited, waited and waited some more. Meanwhile they diapered here (didn’t have time to toilet her), she lost all muscle tone and mobility, never did get the promised MRI and SIX weeks later they finally did the pacemaker surgery which took all of 40 minutes. One week later she died which begs the question, had she got the pacemaker the first couple of days would she still be alive and at home with me.
So there you have it, Germans are lucky and Americans can be if they model their proposed system on Germany but never on Canada. Ours is broken. Oh yes, almost forgot, I’m on a long wait list for hip number two. Maybe next year some time…ciao
.-= rositta´s last blog ..Were We’ve Been =-.

]]> By: Sherah http://www.amiexpat.com/2009/08/21/experiences-with-universal-health-care-around-the-world/comment-page-1/#comment-13194 Sherah Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:48:02 +0000 http://www.amiexpat.com/?p=1842#comment-13194 I really wanted to write in about my experiences on this subject. I didn't have the time to sit down and write everything out though... I am a huge supporter of Universal Health Care. I have been a resident of Israel for 9 years, 5 of which I have paid taxes and been a part of their health care system. My experience has been nothing but good. We have two children and another one on the way. I am glad that when my son developed Pertusis at 2 months old, we could stay in the hospital where he received oxygen and medical support when he needed it, without going into debt to save his life. I'm happy that when my daughter developed a horrible eye infection, it was treated right away because I am part of this society that takes care of it's citizens when they need it. I am glad that I have access to good health care whenever I need it without having to decide whether I can afford it or not. I would never want to live in a country without a universal health care system again. I really wanted to write in about my experiences on this subject. I didn’t have the time to sit down and write everything out though… I am a huge supporter of Universal Health Care. I have been a resident of Israel for 9 years, 5 of which I have paid taxes and been a part of their health care system. My experience has been nothing but good. We have two children and another one on the way. I am glad that when my son developed Pertusis at 2 months old, we could stay in the hospital where he received oxygen and medical support when he needed it, without going into debt to save his life. I’m happy that when my daughter developed a horrible eye infection, it was treated right away because I am part of this society that takes care of it’s citizens when they need it. I am glad that I have access to good health care whenever I need it without having to decide whether I can afford it or not. I would never want to live in a country without a universal health care system again.

]]>