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The Washington Post has reported that there's a new health care system in town. President Obama signed an executive order formally creating the new White House Office of Health Reform yesterday. The office will work with government officials and agencies to provide high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care to U.S. citizens.
As someone who's currently paying COBRA fees, I was ecstatic when Obama enacted the stimulus package, which guarantees the government will cover 65% of COBRA costs for those eligible to receive the benefit. I'm one of those people who goes to the doctor a lot and has prescriptions to worry about, so I have to pay for health insurance. But many people I know, either out of work or freelancing, choose to live without health coverage, keeping their fingers crossed that they don't get into a serious accident.
I recently discussed the pros and cons of universal health care coverage with a friend of mine from Canada who's now living and working in the U.S. She said the main benefit to having universal health care in Canada is not having to worry about co-pays -- you will be taken care of no matter what. The down side, in her opinion, is that doctors don't do as much testing. She finds the doctors in the U.S. to be extremely thorough and focused on prevention. In Canada, doctors usually tackle problems when they arise. For example, she had a sty on her eye that her doctor in Canada told her to treat with warm compresses. In the U.S., a doctor recommended surgically removing that same sty. Though the thoroughness made her feel better at first, the more she experienced health care in the U.S., the more she started to feel like she was at a car dealership every time she went for a check-up -- doctors tried to sell her the necessity and importance of expensive tests that she had to decide if she really needed or not. After all, the costs of tests brings in money. She has started to question whether doctors are really looking out for her best interest or if they're being overly cautious.
Do you think we should have universal health care? Why or why not?
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Comments (17)
I have heard horror stories of the universal health coverage and I don't know if it is true or not but they say that if you are older and find out you have cancer, the governments weighs the odds of your survival and if THEY don't think it is good enough,you don't get treatment. I want that decision to remain in my hands, even if I have to pay for COBRA (I do agree COBRA coverage is very pricey, but I too will need it if I am not working). I have also heard that if you need chemo and the say you are worthy of having it, then you have to wait no matter how long it takes. If you leave you are put at the end of the line when you return. One more thing that I heard is that if you want something like an MRI you could wait months before getting one. I think if you are young, it may be okay but as you get older, it is just awful. That of course is just my opinion.
I think, that like anything, there are going to be good and bad things about having universal healthcare. For me, I personally think that the good may outweigh the bad. Universal Healthcare allows people who otherwise may be unable to afford proper health care to get the proper treatment. Affordable and adequate health care is something that I feel should be readily available for everyone, despite their financial or personal circumstances.
Especially with the economy being what it is, not many people could afford to continue company provided coverage under COBRA if they were to loose their jobs. And we have to remember that COBRA is only offered for a certain period of time...then an individual or famiy is stuck trying to secure insurance again.
I really don't think it's a great idea, but that's JMO. I have many friends who live in Canada (I live near Detroit, so I'm close to the border) and they hate their health care system. My friend who was pregnant was terrified of giving birth in Canada because the care is just not like it is in the U.S. I agree that too many doctors in the U.S. are too quick to push prescriptions and unnecessary procedures, but I'd rather get a "sales pitch" on the rare occasion that I go to the doctor and refuse than to have the doctor blow things off. And, yes, if your survival odds aren't great, the universal health care system sort of waits it out. That's why so many Canadians that can do so will come to the U.S. for cancer treatment.
I'm Canadian and I've lived in Britain, both have universal health care. I have actually refused to live in the US based largely on your health services.
Our systems aren't perfect but then again neither is yours and studies have shown that Canadiansare healthier and live longer than Americans. One of the things our government does to keep costs down is to provide many different screening programs to detect cancer and other diseases early, so that treatment is less costly and more effective, which is a good thing for us.
BTW the elderly are not left to die, they are treated, and waiting times vary from place to place, depending on where you live. Also the more serious your condition the quicker you get in to see a specialist.
I personally cannot imagine having to combine the stress of financial worries with the stress of worrying about your health or worrying about whether you can afford to take your child to the doctor. If someone in my family is sick or injured we go to the doctor without any second thoughts.
Having worked in the Health care profession I really want to see this go through. You say you are worried about elderly not getting treated for cancer yeah it happens, but not in Canada and other countries it is happening here in America because the elderly are worried about being able to eat and pay their bills they do not want to add more bill that they can not afford, and some think well I will die soon any way I don't want the bill to be to huge for those I leave behind.
Speaking of those that get left behind what about people that lose their loved ones? My cousin just lost her 30 year old husband because the doctors did not run any tests on him because he had no insurance. Now he is dead, and do to the medical bills of the one day icu stay, the ambulance to get there, and the er visit from a couple days earlier where they did nothing she might very well lose her house. Is this what people should have to worry about when their spouse dies? How to pay off the medical bills.
No one's figured out a perfect system yet, but I think the kind of health care offered by Canada and Britain is better for more people than the US system, without going to such extremes as Cuba (where apparently manicurists make more than drs!).
Granted, my impression might be coloured by the fact that when I lived in Canada it was near the border and I did know many people who would cross the border into the US (if they could afford it) for treatment of annoying but not life-threatening ailments. Because the conditions aren't life or death, the waits can be long, which is where the aggravation comes in. However, I don't know anyone who did have a serious condition who died due to wait times.
Flip side: in the US one of the top (may be the top?) cause of bankruptcy is health issues.
I think there's a happy medium between those two scenarios. I think we need it. Healthcare should be a basic right for everyone, especially children.
NO!
When does the COBRA bit take affect? My mom and dad would be very happy to hear this.
I'm Canadian, and love our universal health care. I have never had to wait an undue amount of time for medical treatment, nor has anyone in my family. Care is not based on age and old people are not 'denied treatment' (we here in Canada hear similar stories about private insurers in the US!) My grandfather had a triple by-pass in his early 80s- he only had to wait a couple weeks to have surgery in one of the best hospitals in the country (it helps that we live near Toronto, one of the biggest cities in Canada. In the country wait times may be longer.) All in all, I have no complaints, and many of the complaints I do have (including long waits in the ER) are things that I also hear people in the US complain about. On the whole, I have been a big user of health care services in the past eight years of so (mainly due to pregnancy/childbirth/baby visits) and I have no complaints!