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Health Care and Inequality: Canada vs United States

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Which Country has the Better Health Care System?
United States of America 10%  10%  [ 2 ]
Canada 90%  90%  [ 18 ]
It is a tie 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Total votes : 20

BokeKaeru
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02 Aug 2008, 6:58 am

Posted a long rant and then deleted it. Suffice to say, I've been through medical hell and back and thankfully been young enough and with parents well off enough to have it covered. If I went through that again AND had debts to pay, especially with the abysmal care I got, it'd simply be insult to injury. If medical offices and companies want us to pay as much as it is for basic life-sustaining or functional treatment, I'd suggest they'd become a lot more.... customer service oriented. Right now one gets shafted by the medical establishment treatment-wise AND financially, rather than just treatment-wise. Not acceptable.



pandabear
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06 Aug 2008, 4:12 pm

One thing that scares me about the American system is the very American "gouge where you can" attitude.

When my mother died, the hospital wrote up a bill for over $50,000, for about 2 weeks in the hospital.

They only got about $15,000 from Medicare.

So, what kind of suckers wind up paying $50,000?



fallensamurai
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15 Aug 2008, 8:46 pm

I live in America, am a citizen here, and voted for Canada. Our "healthcare" here sucks! If you counted the people who don't get care until they end up in an ER halfdead in the wait time, US would win out hands down!



Kilroy
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15 Aug 2008, 11:36 pm

pandabear wrote:
http://www.bepress.com/fhep/10/1/3/?sending=10252


your health care is terrible

paying to have to stay alive
yeah that's fair :roll:



Anubis
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16 Aug 2008, 5:52 am

Awesomelyglorious wrote:
Right, one of the health care systems I hear promoted by free market advocates is Singapore's.

http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/200 ... _heal.html


I like that idea, and I actually support variable, affordable patient fees, to cover a percentage of the costs, for public healthcare, alongside a private healthcare system, and compulsory national or private health insurance. It would definitely ease the burden on the taxpayer.
Going to an absolute system one way or another will not solve the problem. There needs to be public healthcare and private healthcare, ideally with compulsory, affordable insurance. That way, the poorer can get treatment, and the wealthier can opt out if they wish, whilst taxes can be cut, and also spent on other ordnances.


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patternist
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16 Aug 2008, 11:50 am

Quote:
your health care is terrible

paying to have to stay alive
yeah that's fair


Not just "paying", but possibly going into so much debt you might lose your home. WITH medical coverage you spend about 10% of your monthly salary for. In other words, if you live the the USA, don't get sick!
If you do get sick, and don't seek treatment, your children will at least have an inheritance....