[YOUSUFofSD]

Anyone else seen it? I know we have tons of peeps that live in Canada and the UK....is it as good as he makes it out to be. As far as the medical insurance goes? I live in cali and in general our insurances suck.
They lie and take advantage as much as possible. It's pretty sad actually, but then it is what it is.

[Deel]

yes.......

[hockeychicka]

when they showed those people sitting in the waiting who claimed that they only had to wait 45 min...LIES! more like 45 hours.... and free health care...umm have u heard of taxes.... and then theres this premium thingy ...aka another form of tax..


im actually taking a course about how the canadian health care system works next term.. ill have more info then..

[TariqBinSleepin]

Im confused what happened? What is it?!

[Deel]

wait, i'm all for free health care and everything. and canada rocks,
but last weekend i went shopping with my cousin in toronto,
taxes killed me man!
i mean there was a sale and everything wasn't so expensive..
but i spent a TON!
taxes are like 14% there

ours is only 9%!

[YOUSUFofSD]

Originally Posted by hockeychicka

when they showed those people sitting in the waiting who claimed that they only had to wait 45 min...LIES! more like 45 hours.... and free health care...umm have u heard of taxes.... and then theres this premium thingy ...aka another form of tax..


im actually taking a course about how the canadian health care system works next term.. ill have more info then..

lol yea they were sitting there waiting it seemed like they were waiting a lot longer, but do people get turned down? what about the bums? As long as your working..or have one person in the household working, do they all get medical insurance?

All in all though it seems like a 'better' system then what we have here in the states, even with the extra taxes, that if you add...may actually equal our own.


Tariq:

its a movie showing how bad the American medical companies are...how they have screwed, and even killed many of their insured by denying them coverage because of various reasons. Like its an expiramental surgery, you dont have a life-threatening issue, or trying to pin it on some non-disclosed issue from before you had insurance.

[Deel]

Tariq, you've never heard of the movie Sicko? i still haven't seen it, i plan to though inshaAllah.

All in all though it seems like a 'better' system then what we have here in the states.

i agree. so do all of the amreekan friends i have who plan to move to canada once they grow older

hmm...this reminds me of the movie John Q.
Denzel Washington = awesomeness

[Variable]

Originally Posted by YOUSUFofSD

lol yea they were sitting there waiting it seemed like they were waiting a lot longer, but do people get turned down? what about the bums? As long as your working..or have one person in the household working, do they all get medical insurance?

All in all though it seems like a 'better' system then what we have here in the states, even with the extra taxes, that if you add...may actually equal our own.


Tariq:

its a movie showing how bad the American medical companies are...how they have screwed, and even killed many of their insured by denying them coverage because of various reasons. Like its an expiramental surgery, you dont have a life-threatening issue, or trying to pin it on some non-disclosed issue from before you had insurance.

Well, I think yeh in general our system is better in Canada, I've heard horror stories about the States. But there is still a heck of a lot of room for improvement. For one thing, calling it 'free' is misleading, we definitely pay for it. And our waiting times do suck. I think some of the European models out there may be more effective from what I've heard.

[Jamroll]

I've heard of this movie, but I haven't seen it.

What do they say in it about the UK, that you're wondering about?

[MossadConspiracy]

sicko is a stupid movie, i dont know how anyone could consider it a documentary

[YOUSUFofSD]

Basically its saying that the UK and Canada have pretty good systems of medical coverage.

yea we know its not a documentary, its his viewpoint thats why everything i take from his movies is with a grain of salt. But still he does have points and the American system sucks big time.

[Jamroll]

Originally Posted by YOUSUFofSD

Basically its saying that the UK and Canada have pretty good systems of medical coverage.

Well, you have to have a point of reference I guess. But in terms of value for money, then yes, I think it is pretty good. In the UK, its called the National Health Service (NHS for short) and it's funded through general taxation.

We mostly complain about the very long waiting times for everything, from doctor's appointments to tests like x-rays and MRI's, but in the last few years there's been a concerted effort to reduce these waiting times and improve the service. And I have to say, sure it's not perfect, and it could still be a little faster, but it's improving.

It's when I go abroad, that I realise how good we actually have it in the UK. In some countries I've been to, you have to pay for medical services (either directly or through some sort of medical insurance premiums) - some people even put off going to the doctor for minor problems because of the cost involved!

In the UK, we find this a completely alien concept. We don't pay to go to see the doctor for a check-up or because we have a cold, or our leg hurts. We don't have to pay for X-rays or MRIs or blood tests and so on. We don't have to pay the hospital if we have a broken leg, or need a life-saving operation. These days you can even get cosmetic surgery done on the NHS if there's a valid reason for it.

But just in case you think we have it all good, we have to balance that with the overall picture. The UK has one of the harshest tax regimes in the Western world, so taxpayers do pay for it indirectly.

[ChotooMotoo]

Originally Posted by Jamroll

But just in case you think we have it all good, we have to balance that with the overall picture. The UK has one of the harshest tax regimes in the Western world, so taxpayers do pay for it indirectly.

Of course you pay, nothing is free.

The American system (there is no system) does suck. My dad has an artificial leg. It's a permanent condition. If his prosthesis doesn't fit correctly, he can get these huge sores on his stump that easily get infected. Guess what most insurance companies don't pay for (or pay only pennies for), prosthetics, and prosthetic fixings. His leg broke, and he didn't have money to pay for it to get repaired, so he took glue and screws to keep it together until he had money for pay for it himself.

If you don't have insurance in the US and you get sick, you'r screwed. You can go bankrupt becuase of illness. If you have insurance, you can still end up paying so much in copays and premiums that you can go bankrupt because of illness. It's rediculous.

I had to have my appendix removed. There was a complication so I ended up staying 4 days in the hospital instead of being released the next day. I had insurance. When all was said and done, I probably had to pay $3,000 out of pocket for that. That was 12% of our income. That's just one bill. You bet I got sick some other time that year with a cold or something, plus monthly costs of medicines, not to mention the cost of premium. If you include that, I probably paid close to 20% of my income on medical bills that year. If I could pay even 7% of my income in taxes, and not have any out-of-pocket expenses for medical, that would be wonderful.

[Jamroll]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

Of course you pay, nothing is free.

The American system (there is no system) does suck. My dad has an artificial leg. It's a permanent condition. If his prosthesis doesn't fit correctly, he can get these huge sores on his stump that easily get infected. Guess what most insurance companies don't pay for (or pay only pennies for), prosthetics, and prosthetic fixings. His leg broke, and he didn't have money to pay for it to get repaired, so he took glue and screws to keep it together until he had money for pay for it himself.

If you don't have insurance in the US and you get sick, you'r screwed. You can go bankrupt becuase of illness. If you have insurance, you can still end up paying so much in copays and premiums that you can go bankrupt because of illness. It's rediculous.

I had to have my appendix removed. There was a complication so I ended up staying 4 days in the hospital instead of being released the next day. I had insurance. When all was said and done, I probably had to pay $3,000 out of pocket for that. That was 12% of our income. That's just one bill. You bet I got sick some other time that year with a cold or something, plus monthly costs of medicines, not to mention the cost of premium. If you include that, I probably paid close to 20% of my income on medical bills that year. If I could pay even 7% of my income in taxes, and not have any out-of-pocket expenses for medical, that would be wonderful.

Yeah, and I totally feel for you, your dad and others in this kind of situation. That's why I feel, that despite our heavily burdened tax regime, our medical system is better in terms of providing medical care for all the people. Some people just can't afford even the most essential medical care, and they're not denied it in the UK.

[hockeychicka]

Originally Posted by YOUSUFofSD

lol yea they were sitting there waiting it seemed like they were waiting a lot longer, but do people get turned down? what about the bums? As long as your working..or have one person in the household working, do they all get medical insurance?

All in all though it seems like a 'better' system then what we have here in the states, even with the extra taxes, that if you add...may actually equal our own.

.

keep in mind health care in canada is a provincial juristiction.... but with funding from the federal level.. (or something like that... im not an expert) so as long as u have a health card issued from ur province u should be fine....as long as u are in ur own province.... but im pretty sure if u were in ontario for example, and went to b.c... the ontario government would cover ur expenses.

no one gets turned down.. u just have to wait... they do have this priority thing.. where say if person a has a broken arm and has been waiting for 2 hours..and person b comes in with chest pain.. person b will been seen first..

as for the whole medical insurance.. dont really need it..well u do for physiotherapy, chiropractors, eye doctor etc.. atleast in Ontario … but that’s where work insurance comes in to play..like my dads work pays for that stuff for me