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For those of you outside the USA regarding health insurance

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Posted 11/20/2012 2:34 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

My question is regarding health insurance, would it be okay to share in this forum whether health insurance for all is a good plan? I believe Canada and Great Britian participate in this? I would be very interested in hearing your opinion.

Thanks!

Posted 11/21/2012 4:34 AM (GMT 0)
Hi medfree, as a australian we do find your health care system very hard to relate to, and as i respond to this i hope i do not cause offence to anyone.
We choose private health care if we want it, otherwise everyone has the right to goverment healthcare...
I find it soooo sad when you hear stories that people become bankrupt because you had cancer. That just blows our minds.
In the western world I believe we are a supposted to be a beacon of compassion and understanding to all people regardless of money or stature. And to care for everyone...So yes i do think it is a good idea, and we havent gone broke yet because of it.

Great topic, I hope more respond.....You allways come up with the goods medfree, I just hopoe it dosnt offend ayone....
Azumi
Posted 11/21/2012 6:07 AM (GMT 0)
Healthcare is expensive regardless of your financial background. It is especially harder for those who can't afford it. I'm all for government "subsidised" health plan, as well as make drugs cheaper for the masses. Yes, it's important for the drug company to recover their R&D cost, but by pricing it out of the reach of many, they are simply losing out on potential revenue. I really don't understand their logic with pricing their new drugs so high... it just doesn't make sense commercially and medically.
Posted 11/21/2012 11:19 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much for your replies, Azumi and Fibro$ux. Yes, I hope I'm not offending anyone.

I guess my questions are if medications are available to the masses at a much lesser cost in the countries that provide health care for all, is there more of an issue with people wanting to take too many meds?

My second question is I've heard for the people who live in those countries where there is health care for all the wait to see a doctor especially a specialist can be very long?

Thanks!
Posted 11/21/2012 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
In Australia and to some extend in the UK, there's the public and the private system. The public system can get crowded sometimes, that is why some opt for private health insurance. There's still a line, but if they are specialist, there's usually a line... the question would be how long is the line. The public system, the line is at least 3 month... private can be up to 2 months, and with private health you may be subjected to pay a gap fee for your consultation (the gap means any amount of fees that is still due. Some health insurance only cover up to 80% of consultation fee. So you still have to cover the 20%) So having private health insurance doesn't mean that you get fully covered. If you want full cover, you'll need to go to the doctor that does not charge gap, this are usually doctors / specialists that has signed on with the health insurance on agreed fees. It's complicated.

As for the drugs, Australia is one of the most conservative country when it comes to prescribed medicine, esp when it comes to pain killers. It's so strict now, that you have to go to your GP every time your run out of tramadol 50mg, and they come in strips of 20. For me, it doesn't last for more than a week... this is how silly the situation is. Drugs may be subsidised, but they are controlled by the govt database. The doctors can only prescribe them base on what the database allows them to prescribe. Yes, there are doctor shopping... but the system is getting centralised, so you'll get caught eventually. One stupid thing we have here in Australia though is availbility of over the counter codeine based drugs... even then, they are tightening the rules on it as we speak.
Posted 11/21/2012 5:54 PM (GMT 0)
As a Canadian I agree with what Azumi has said. As a cancer survivor I did not have to pay anything at all for tests, procedures or surgery. Living on a small fixed income with no private insurance I am sure if I lived elsewhere my outcome might be quite different.

My husband and I are pensioners, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada we pay a total amount of $116.00 for both. In some provinces there is no monthly fee it comes out of general taxes. We also get a break on prescriptions.

There are private insurance companies here too. Some opt for that as they might get quicker service. I have no complaints about the service I got. diagnosed in September, surgery in October.

All blood work, scans, tests, surgery etc are covered.

To paraphrase a pioneer in Canadian politics, J.S. Woodsworth's prayer, "What I ask for myself, I ask for my brothers and sisters everywhere."
Posted 11/21/2012 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
I like your quote, freddygirl. Thanks for sharing. It must make life much less stressful when a person doesn't need to worry about the cost of health care.

Fibro$ux, it really sounds like you have a good system there.

Thanks for sharing.
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