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Congressional Budget Office: 24 million would lose insurance under RepubliCare

Political Discussion
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  • Average premiums here are apparently a little over £1k. So not exactly the crippling amount people have been citing as criticisms of either the 'affordable healthcare act' or the 'american healthcare act'

    As for your 'certain level of service' - does that mean you go to the doctor when you have a sniffle and get 'treated' right away? Because you can probably live without that. If you have things actually wrong, you're taken care of pretty well, despite what the horror stories would have you believe.

    @gftchris said:

    Average premiums here are apparently a little over £1k. So not exactly the crippling amount people have been citing as criticisms of either the 'affordable healthcare act' or the 'american healthcare act'

    As for your 'certain level of service' - does that mean you go to the doctor when you have a sniffle and get 'treated' right away? Because you can probably live without that. If you have things actually wrong, you're taken care of pretty well, despite what the horror stories would have you believe.

    People can certainly live without the ability to go to the doctor immediately with a sniffle. And that my friend applies more to those on Medicaid than it does to those of us who pay for healthcare, they pay nothing and we'll take the kids to the Stat Care Clinic at the drop of a hat.

    As for myself as you know I've had some recent serious problems and service was the best in the world and amazingly fast.

    WSS

  • If you mean stories of inconvenience and not actual horror stories we've experienced those and our money working trips to Canada.

    U.s. Hospital make a lot of money from Canadians coming over for Orthopedic Service.

    WSS

  • And UK hospitals lose a decent chunk of money to healthcare tourism. It goes both ways. If you're a US citizen with insurance, but like a $15k deductable or whatever, you're not going to go to a doctor who says "ok sir, I can see you have the sniffles, but to be sure I want to send you for a CAT scan, MRI and a series of biopsies" and come out with a bill for thousands. So maybe you cross over and get checked out by the Canadians, then go American if it's something serious.

  • If you can't pay for medical supplies or medicine step back to the end of the line. If there's some left over you'll get your handouts. If you don't like it then get a job and pay like everyone else.

  • But that's the problem. The orthopedic work is usually meant to relieve something extremely painful sooner rather than waiting months or years. My deductible for a case of the sniffles would be a reasonably small amount of money certainly not worth A2 or 3 hour drive to Canada and a hotel room and a multiple hour wait to see a physician or a nurse or a nurse's aide.

    My father-in-law lived in a retirement Village on the Texas border and many people crossed into Mexico to see a doctor or a dentist. Mexico pays for their citizens to go to medical school or dental school in the US but they have to work in Mexico for at least 2 years, maybe more. So they set up shop right across the border for older retired Americans to visit. Still we are talking about Minor medicine. Not cardiac surgery or knee replacement or hip replacements.

    WSS

  • Another thing is that few years ago I read that there were more MRI machines in Greater Cleveland than there are in Canada.

    So I don't know how feasible it would be to drive up to Toronto for a quick MRI.

    WSS

  • Obamacare will pay for an open MRI, but the health insurance I pay $5500 annually for will not.

    Sound fair?

  • Obamacare will pay for an open MRI, but the health insurance I pay $5500 annually for will not.

    Sound fair?

    @canton-dawg said:

    Obamacare will pay for an open MRI, but the health insurance I pay $5500 annually for will not.

    Sound fair?

    5500 is pretty cheap. That's half what I pay just for premiums.

    Did you qualify for a subsidy?

    WSS

  • WSS, the $5500 is for single coverage, not counting my $6k deductible.

    I work at a large company in NEO, and there are guys that work here with a family plan that is costing them $1100 a month.

    No, I don't qualify for a subsidy.

  • Okay. So the 5500 is just your portion of it. Understood. Mine's almost 900 a month and 7150 out-of-pocket maximum.

    WSS

  • So, single payer must be sounding fairly appealing in comparison... $10k just for coverage, and then you have to pay $7k before they'll kick in? So, this year and last I'm guessing you came near that kind of scenario, paying $17k for your treatment? Don't feel obliged to answer, I'm just curious.

  • So, single payer must be sounding fairly appealing in comparison... $10k just for coverage, and then you have to pay $7k before they'll kick in? So, this year and last I'm guessing you came near that kind of scenario, paying $17k for your treatment? Don't feel obliged to answer, I'm just curious.

    @gftchris said:

    So, single payer must be sounding fairly appealing in comparison... $10k just for coverage, and then you have to pay $7k before they'll kick in? So, this year and last I'm guessing you came near that kind of scenario, paying $17k for your treatment? Don't feel obliged to answer, I'm just curious.

    Hard to tell Chris I must admit there's an appeal there. I just don't know how much different our system would be if it were single-payer. I was in the Cleveland Clinic for 12 days. Cancer surgery and a heart catheter. The cancer center is one of the best of America and the cardiac center the best in the world. The place is state-of-the-art and the doctors the best anywhere. There's probably never a 30 minute. In which I didn't interact with a medical professional starting from nurses aides and going up the ladder to the heads of the Departments. Rather than to fuck with radiation my oncologist got me right into surgery with a woman who has the reputation as one of the best surgeons anywhere. My entire out-of-pocket for the year will probably be about $20,000. I could not ask for better care.

    Is it possible somewhere else I might have had to wait a few weeks for the surgery and taking the chance that the tumor metastasized? Or that the collapsing stent wood close up completely and do serious damage to my heart if I've waited? I don't know but if either of those situations were possible do you two even a minor wait time I don't know if saving the money would be worth it to me. Maybe 20 more Grand to spend on my wake......

    But it stands to reason if I got the exact same care and didn't have to pay for it oh, well sure that would be great.

    But I can't imagine the Cleveland Clinic would be as good as it is if it were run by the government.

    WSS

  • PS when kings and princes and Queens from oil-rich Middle East countries have chest pains they come here. Not Havana. Not Mexico City. Not Brazil.

    Not Lithuania. Not Slovenia.

    WSS

  • liberals dream socialism and they don't care that the money will run out

    and the country will be crashed and broke. When the worst happens, they

    will just bitch that they could have avoided it, but they weren't allowed to

    overspend it faster....

  • I guess I could live with that kind of two tier medical system. When I was in college and broke I remember sitting for hours at the free clinic. How long do you suppose it would be before the left, well the American left, makes a giant issue of the fact that the rich get better treatment then the poor?

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    I guess I could live with that kind of two tier medical system. When I was in college and broke I remember sitting for hours at the free clinic. How long do you suppose it would be before the left, well the American left, makes a giant issue of the fact that the rich get better treatment then the poor?

    WSS

    To be fair you can sit for hours in the Cleveland clinic.

  • @westside-steve said:

    I guess I could live with that kind of two tier medical system. When I was in college and broke I remember sitting for hours at the free clinic. How long do you suppose it would be before the left, well the American left, makes a giant issue of the fact that the rich get better treatment then the poor?

    WSS

    To be fair you can sit for hours in the Cleveland clinic.

    @the-cysko-kid said:

    To be fair you can sit for hours in the Cleveland clinic.

    Sure you can. Just talking about my experience and everything has gone as close to Clockwork as possible.

    And if you do wait it's for the finest facility in America unlike waiting for a nurse's aide in Hamilton Ontario.

    Bottom line if you never get sick who gives a fuck how good the health care is?

    WSS

  • My wife slipped on ice and broke her wrist in 2005. She had surgery at the Cleveland Cinic. I remember it was a huge waiting area, like a atrium. After she checked in I went with her to pre surgery, then they gave me kind of a beeper to wear around my head. They said they would beep me when it was done. I hung out in the atrium, checking out the nurses and about 1.5 hours later the beeper went off. I went up stairs and the surgeon was there with xrays and told me he had put eight screws in her wrist, she would have to stay over night, and I could pick her up the next morning. The surgery was over $20,000 and then she had to go thru occupational therapy for about two months to work her right wrist. All in all my out of pocket for everything was about $600.00 through Tricare, but that was paid for by the apartment as well as her missed work, etc. I should have sued the fuckers. Oh, and when I picked her up the next morning, they gave her a prescription for percocets. (spelling). She also ate breakfast, pancakes with maple syrup. We had just left the clinic and headed toward 77 south when she said she felt like she was going to throw up, I told her wait, wait......too late. Puked all over the passeger seat and floor. I swear, I washed, vacuumed, you name it for months. And could never get rid of that fucking smell of maple syrup and puke completely.

  • Another thing is that few years ago I read that there were more MRI machines in Greater Cleveland than there are in Canada.

    So I don't know how feasible it would be to drive up to Toronto for a quick MRI.

    WSS

    @westside-steve said:

    Another thing is that few years ago I read that there were more MRI machines in Greater Cleveland than there are in Canada.

    So I don't know how feasible it would be to drive up to Toronto for a quick MRI.

    WSS

    A couple of decades ago I was all in on socialized medicine, I thought the Canadians really had something.

    Then I started seeing the people across the border who were diagnosed with a 3/6 month life expectancy, who couldn't get the life saving surgery needed fast enough. They were coming to the states for our world class health care, where they could have their procedures in less than a week's time.

    If the government takes over our health care, it will go to hell in a hand basket.

  • When I had my knee replaced, it cost huge bucks. Many thousands. But I had retired and was on medicare,

    and Aetna supplemental insurance. Out of pocket - about 169 bucks or something. Amazing. The best surgeon,

    the staff at the hospital were wonderful ,you can't go anywhere in the world and have better health care.

    Until our VA health care is fixed, I have a complete lack of respect for the idea of government health care.

  • When I had my knee replaced, it cost huge bucks. Many thousands. But I had retired and was on medicare,

    and Aetna supplemental insurance. Out of pocket - about 169 bucks or something. Amazing. The best surgeon,

    the staff at the hospital were wonderful ,you can't go anywhere in the world and have better health care.

    Until our VA health care is fixed, I have a complete lack of respect for the idea of government health care.

    @calfoxwc said:

    Until our VA health care is fixed, I have a complete lack of respect for the idea of government health care.

    Amen Cal!