Why the US needs universal health care coverage
Retitled: Why Universal Health Care Isn’t As Scary As You Think It Is
I am frustrated with Obama. I am frustrated that he told us he would make changes (saying that the health reform bill must have a public option), and now he’s backpeddling. But what makes me even angrier is all of the misinformation and paranoia out there about universal health care and that scary “socialism.”
* The wait times are not for life-threatening problems! If you need immediate help, you get immediate help. You walk in to an ER and get whatever you need. Yes, there is a wait to get assigned a “family doctor.” I didn’t have one for a couple of years. But you know what I did? I went to a walk-in clinic. I would walk in, sit down, and wait to be called. At bad times it could take a few hours, but usually it was about an hour wait. I personally never had anything major to deal with, but aunts had mammograms, family friends had cancer treatments. The people who had cancer treatments survived, by the way. They got the treatment they needed, they beat the cancer, and they never paid a dime. Not a single penny.
* In Universal Health Care the government doesn’t decide what to approve or deny you. Your doctor does. Yes, there are a very few things excluded from universal coverage (unfortunately infertility is one of them, in Canada – which needs to be changed) – but there is no government committee that sits and reviews claims by doctors to accept or reject them like our insurance companies here do. If your doctor orders a test because he or she thinks it’s necessary, then you get the test. If you need to see a therapist, your doctor refers you and you get it. The control is back where it should be: the doctors.
* We are all paying money into our health insurance companies through our exorbitant premiums. But where is a bulk of that money going? To the insurance companies, of course! They’re getting rich off of our money, while denying claims because we didn’t send in the right form, or we had a pre-existing condition. The decisions these companies are making for our health are NOT based on what is best for us, it’s based on what will save them money. I find it deplorable. Something this important should not be a money-maker. Our lives should not be in the hands of people who see dollars and cents.
* Right now employers are shouldering a large burden. There are a lot of small companies out there that are having to not provide health insurance for their employees, or are losing money. It’s a HUGE expense and I think it’s entirely unfair, especially at a time when this when so many small businesses are struggling. And it’s not fair to their employees who have to go without health insurance while working a good job, bringing home money to their families. You shouldn’t have to choose your job based on what health insurance they offer. You should be able to accept a job that works for you, for whatever employer, and know that regardless of where you work that you WILL be taken care of.
* There is a HUGE number of uninsured in America. These are people who go bankrupt because they broke a bone. These are often people who work hard, but have employers who can’t afford health insurance for their employees. Some of my very best friends cannot afford private health insurance – hell, I don’t think I could, if we didn’t have it sponsored through work. This is just not okay. It is not okay that people are sick and dying because they can’t afford the care they need. Think about what would happen if you or your husband lost your job – which is happening to many, many people right now. To people with children, people who don’t have a spouse to rely on. These people need some kind of coverage to get them through until they find a job.
* US has the second worst infant mortality rate in the developed world. That is atrocious. Beyond atrocious. The US lags way, way behind all of the countries with socialized care. There are other issues that play into that, but there is obviously something that we are doing very, very wrong here.
* Universal Coverage is not an “experiment”. It is implemented – successfully – in all other industrialized countries… except the US. WE are the experiment – and it is failing. So many Americans have this huge kneejerk reaction to the very thought of it, because we are different and they insist that this system is working. It’s working for half… and utterly failing the other half. That is not an acceptable system, in my mind.
What we should be aiming for is a Universal Coverage that is AS GOOD AS what the best people get now. You shouldn’t have to be rich to see a specialist for your condition. We should not be sitting on the phone arguing with insurance companies who want to keep our money and not pay our claims. We should be able to have our babies without worrying about how we’re going to pay for the hospital bills. I know people have fears, because nothing is perfect and there is going to be growing pains. But let’s fix what’s wrong. Let’s improve this. Let’s make sure ALL Americans are healthy.
Disclaimer/Notice: What the US government is currently mulling over is NOT universal healthcare – not even close. But I’m tired of hearing people freak out about the concept. Universal Healthcare works GREAT for a lot of countries. Maybe it wouldn’t in the US, maybe we’ll find something else that works well (what we have now? doesn’t). But people are not dying left right and center in Canada or any other country with a single-payer system. The fear mongering on TV and radio is just that – it’s twisted half-truths and misquotes. And as a Canadian living in the US I’m sick of it!
Man, do I ever disagree with a lot of the stuff in here. Not all – you are very right that it’s messed up that we have the second worst infant mortality rate, and the insurance system is boofed. I do love to see all the thought here though, and the other side.
We agree on a lot too, though. ;)
Thank you for posting this.
It’s utterly frustrating to me to see the opposition to health care reform of ANY kind in the US, and everybody’s screaming universal healthcare!!!! from the mountaintops like it’s some sort of horrible disease. And just – first of all, the reform they’re working for ISN’T universal healthcare, and even if it was, there’s nothing wrong with it – it works better than our own system, and usually for less money.
Blargh.
Very interesting discussion. I want everyone to be able to have access to doctors and appropriate health care. However, with our system unbalanced in costs and insurance, I don’t think that the President can effectively implement a system that won’t be bogged down in political favors and paperwork. Thanks for putting your thoughts out there. I love to read people with other opinions. :)
Jen, I’m not entirely sure of that, either. It’s a very big messed up system right now and I’m not sure there’s any easy way out of it.
President Obama never promised “Universal Health Care.” In fact, he has promised reform and specifically said he didn’t want to move us in the direction of universal health care. We need reform.
However, reform isn’t going to help our infant mortality rate. Every state in the union has a program that offers free or low cost health care to pregnant women. However, they don’t show up at someone’s house and force them to get prenatal care.
When I was pregnant and waiting to be examined in L&D a gurney came crashing into the room. The woman’s water broke all over my husband’s pants and shoes. Dirty water. Bad sign. Baby was sideways. An arm and a leg were already on their way out. How did it get so bad? She had zero prenatal care. Zero. And she HAD health insurance. Happy ending in that the mother and child survived. Unfortunately, according to my L&D nurse, this happens more than anyone wants to think about. Universal health care won’t help if people chose to ignore health care in the first place.
Well said, Natalie. There is so much misinformation out there about the Canadian system, it would be laughable except that too many people really seem to BELIEVE it!! Our system is not perfect… but neither is America’s. All I know is my American cousin recently lost his house, in large part because of medical bills (& he does have some insurance), and many of my mother’s cousins & friends (who are in their late 60s & 70s) are still working because they want to hang onto their medical benefits.
Michelle – Oh, I know Obama didn’t promise Universal Heathcare, and I also know that that’s not what is on the table right now in the health care discussions… I actually think it would be next to impossible to push something like that through in this country. But universal care isn’t the crazy evil thing that people make it out to be, either. What I’m irritated with Obama about, specifically, is promising that no reform bill will be signed by him unless it includes a public option… and now he’s not so sure that’s really the important part. That ticks me off.
About the infant mortality rate, I don’t know, maybe Americans are just really super dumb, far more than other countries. I don’t know. But I tend to think that’s not the only reason for such poor numbers, though. There is something wrong with our system that it’s that bad, and we need to figure out what it is – whatever kind of healthcare system we have and end up with.
My biggest frustration with the whole Universal Vs American health care systems is how little a lot of people seem to understand the way different systems work. After spending my entire life living in Australia with it’s universal health care and then coming to America, I am mostly shocked that most people I know just don’t understand it. I have had so many friends, inlaws and even my husband go on about how terrible Universal Health Care is and NONE of them have ever experienced it and for the most part none of them even know how it works. I am fine if people think American health care is better than Australia, but at least have a clue what they are arguing rather than spouting off the usual crap that people are made to believe.
Something I usually tell people in the USA when they bag universal health care is that in Australia I actually grew up my entire life (until I moved out) with private health insurance. Private health insurance that covered dental, vision, hospital stays, specialist. I stayed in private hospitals, never waited to see a doctor. And my parents paid less than $200 a month for 5 people. I know people who pay 4x that a month here in the USA for their family and they still end up more out of pocket than we ever did. Once I moved out I went public and still never had to wait to be seen or ever received a bill. Yet with my American Health insurance I had a 2 month wait on a Nephrology visit during my pregnancy.
We all know there is no such thing as a perfect health care system, but I just don’t see America implementing any changes that will have a huge positive impact any time soon. I’ve always gotten the feeling since moving to America, that making a big change in health care in a way is admitting defeat, admitting that their own country is failing at something that other countries are possibly doing better is just something that a lot of people I know in real life could not wrap their heads around. Then you throw in that whole “socialism” stigma.
I’m just rambling, but I really gave up ever talking about this in real because I don’t know anyone who understands where I am coming from.
Natasha, yes, yes, yes! At all of it. I’m totally fine with having a thoughtful debate about pros and cons – obviously there is no perfect system and there needs to be a lot of consideration put into it – but the kneejerk reactions and ignorance just drive me nuts.
Lurker here, delurking. =) I agree with almost all of what you said. I agree that there definitely needs to be a change. I shouldn’t be paying $500 or more per month for medical bills (and that is WITH insurance).
But just wanted to say that I really don’t like the idea of having to wait so long for a family doctor. That would be ok if it was just me. But I have kids (one of whom has severe developmental delays due to prematurity) and I don’t want them seeing some doc they have never seen before who doesn’t know their history. Also, at a lot of the clinics you see a physicians assistant or nurse practitioner and I’ve had some bad experiences with incompetant people. I realize that doctors can be incompetent too and that not all PAs and Nurse Practioners are bad, I just would prefer to see a real doc.
Also, like you said above I don’t like how the government could just make a blanket decision to deny coverage for certain things like fertility. At least some private insurance companies or states allow coverage for that. Unfortunately my insurance company/state wasn’t one of them. =( But I still like the fact that there were choices.
I also like the fact that I can see a specialist now without a referral. With government healthcare a lot of times you have to get a referal from a doc which delays things a little bit.
Oh and one thing you didn’t mention. I’ve heard that there is talk about limited coverage/no coverage for some elderly members of society depending on their age and condition. And that there is also talk about limited or no coverage for certain people with special needs that the government deems do not contribute significantly to society and would constitue a huge cost. This really scares me.
Anyways, not disagreeing with you at all that we need change. I just think that our government is trying to rush through this. We really need to think things through and make sure we are not going to cause additional problems. We have the chance to improve on what other countries already have. I just don’t want to see us mess this up because we are in such a hurry.
Oh and my ex-sister in-law was from Canada and received excellent care there. But I’ve heard from her and others that many times there are huge waits to see some health specialists, like REs.
Thanks for posting this. It really makes you think.
Whoops! Didn’t realize I was posting annonymously. I wrote the comment above. Just wanted to leave my name. =)
One last thing and I promise I’ll shut up. =) I don’t like the fact that we would probably be assigned doctors if they ever were to put a government healthcare system in place. Right now I can choose from a huge list of doctors. We had a terrible pediatrician at first who was not picking up on our sons delays. We switched and are so happy we did. I’m afraid that the government would make you jump through hoops if you wanted to change. Ok I’m done. Promise! =)
Well said Nat! The Canadian system is far from perfect. We have wait lists. We have a lack of GP’s. BUT we’re not going broke for care that is a right. I don’t mind waiting two to three weeks to see my doctor when I’m not paying for the visit, or a copay for the visit! I don’t mind waiting an hour or two to be seen at a walk-in for a sore throat, because I know the only cost to me is the prescription if I need one. And for that I have private insurance through work. Things could be better, but I’d not trade what I have right now for anything.
Hey Kat! Some good thoughts there. The wait is one of the significant issues people are concerned about, but part of that reason is because there are so much more insured people in Canada. In the US we are starting to see some wait times (my husband had to make an appointment 3 months out for a physical!). And that will get worse when more people are insured and seeing the doctor, no matter which plan it happens under. This is certainly a problem that needs to be addressed. There absolutely needs to be enough doctors to adequately support the population and the government does need to take care of its doctors.
As for assigned doctors, I don’t agree with that either. That’s not how it works in Canada – at least not in BC where I lived. I absolutely think you need to be able to choose a care provider who fits best with you!
I also don’t agree with limited/no coverage for any segment of the legal population. But there currently exists a plan to care for seniors – Medicare. Which as I hear it functions quite well. My concern right now is how on earth do we continue our great employer-sponsored insurance after we retire? I don’t think there’s any way to do that under the current system. You would either have to get a individual plan through an insurance company, which there is NO way I’ll be able to afford that at that point, I can’t afford it now, or go on a government-sponsored plan like Medicare.
I just wrote a big rambling comment that probably didn’t make a lot of sense, so I’ll try and make this short!
I live in Australia where we are lucky enough to have Medicare. I honestly believe had we lived under the American Health care system, my husband and I would be in debt up to our eyeballs and he possibly wouldn’t even be here. He had a 7 week hospital stay and 4 operations. There was no waiting period. He saw his GP, and his GP sent him to hospital. We never paid a cent.
I have had private insurance here and cannot see the benefit. We have excellent care in the public system. A universal system is not something to be scared of if implemented properly. People having access to medical care if they need it is not something to be scared of.
My husband is a benefits administrator and we talk about health care all the time. Part of the problem is lack of information. We make health care choices all the time without understanding the true cost of the care. When I had my hysteroscopy/laparascopy, even after talking to the doctors, the hospital and the insurance company, I still really didn’t have an idea of how much it was going to cost. It would be like if you went to buy a car and they told you, “Don’t worry about the cost, sign here for the car and we will take care of the payment later.” Who would do that?? But we do it every day when it comes to our health care. We need to be better health care consumers, but to be better consumers they need to make the information available that lets us choose the best doctors and the best hospitals. If the diagnosis and treatment are correct THE FIRST TIME, less money will be spent and the system is more efficient. Doctors need incentives to get it right the first time, not the mentality of just throwing a whole battery of tests at you and hope one of them gives the right answer. But people are so litigous that there is a lot of incentive for doctors to go overboard. So that leads me to my question…how often are doctors in Canada sued compared to the US? Does the health care system protect the doctors from this in any form?
Another Aussie resident (but not citizen) here, just astounded (and saddened) at what I read about happening in the US. I’ve lived in many countries – NZ, Japan, UK, Switzerland – that all have some sort of universal form of health coverage and all the systems are varied. However it just seems insane that any first world country can have so many of it’s citizens unable to access adequate care. I really just don’t get it. I can’t imagine having to make the kind of decisions about staying in a job for benefits or all the calculus you guys have to. I was made redundant before Xmas (found something a couple of months later) and remember thinking how glad I was to live here in terms of not having to worry about paying/accessing healthcare in that period.
I have never had trouble seeing a GP in a timely manner, the couple of times I (or family) have presented at hospital I’ve been most impressed at the quality of care. Certainly a huge supporter of universal healthcare here!
Being British and living in the US – I’m sick of it too. I’m sick of seeing it NOT working. I’m sick of seeing people loose everything because of medical bills. The American Healthcare system only works for part of the population. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer (or die).
I’m Canadian, and I realize that there are many flaws with our system, but like others have said,there are many good things about it as well. I live in Alberta, where there are NO health care premiums whatsoever, all of the other provinces have some sort of small quarterly payments (around $200 every 3 months). I have recently found out that I am BRCA1 (breast and ovarian cancer gene). This means that I have a 85-90% chance of getting breast cancer, as well as a 50% chance of ovarian cancer. I have had my ovaries and uterus removed recently, and am undergoing a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction in the fall. Everything, every last thing from all the diagnostic testing that I have had over the past few years, as well as all the surgery and follow up care is 100% covered by my government. I know that from talking to Americans, that all the care involved with this would cost several 100 thousand dollars, IF your insurance company even covers it. I think that it’s very sad that you have to make so many sacrifices and choices just to get the basic health care that you need. Many women cannot afford to get the surgeries (if that is what they choose to do) and have to live with the daily fear that cancer could strike them at any moment. What an unfair think to make someone have to live through. I have to wait about 2 days to see my family Dr. and I can choose any Dr that I wish to see. I have had to wait to see specialists for my genetic issues, but that is ONLY because I don’t have cancer right now. If I did, I would be seen immediately (less that 2 week wait). I have been to Emergency rooms before, and i have NEVER had to wait if it was urgent. If I need something done right away. I have never had to wait for an egregious amount of time. I know how much of a privilege it is to live in Canada based on out health care system, and it amazes me that so many Americans have a problem with universal health care coverage.
Well said Natalie!
Another Canadian, with another story of how great our system is:
My Step-dad is 61 years old, and was having problems walking up the stairs and breathing, despite being in great health generally. He went to see his GP, and was referred to a cardiac specialist, and his symptoms normally indicate a heart problem. It was found out that he was actually very low on blood…like had lost 5 pints, which means it was a bit of a marvel that he wasn’t losing consciousness on a regular basis.
He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease 13 years ago, they thought that maybe it was his Crohn’s that was causing him to lose so much blood. He was send to Internist, who stuck that tube-scope down his throat. They didn’t find anything, so ordered a colonoscopy. During the colonoscopy, they found a large cancerous tumor, which was very scary.
He’s been in the hospital for 16 days, and is about to be discharged. He needed a second unexpected surgery, and ended up with a temporary ostomy bag, which will be taken out in a third (minor?) surgery. He’s going to be undergoing 1-2 rounds of chemo as well.
Oddly, they’ve not found any sign of the Crohn’s in his system. It’s possible that all his symptoms have been caused by a slow-growing tumor.
… from what I understand of the US medical system, it’s possible that since he switched jobs in the past 13 years, he could be denied coverages for a “pre-existing condition” (or at the least, it could be argued as such, even if it’s not really true).
The funny part? He has extended medical coverage. The only difference in his treatment? His insurance covers semi-private and private rooms…but if someone else needed the bed for medical reasons, they’d get it…for free. In fact, he was moved into a “ward” (4 beds) out of his private room because another patient had medical need of it.
The cost of everything other than the private room, including the 2 surgeries and 16 night hospital stay?
$94 dollars per month. That’s what a family pays monthly into MSP.
As a Canadian, I breathe a *huge* sigh of relief when I cross back over the border after a visit to the States. I know that, once again, I won’t lose my townhouse if I need medical assistance… I still worry about that in the US even though I buy traveler’s insurance.
I wish everyone in the US could feel the same.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for posting this!! I completely agree with you and I love having the Canadian perspective because so many want to scare people about “Socialized Medicine” and everything- even though that is NOT what we will be getting! It has been driving me crazy. I was also listening to the news yesterday and apparently now the administration is saying that the public option IS on the table. They need to have a meeting and make sure EVERYONE is on the same page before people speak. We need this to pass.
And hell, I switched family doctors and I had to wait a couple months for an appt. since I was a “new” patient. Everyone has wait times.
Daleth, thanks for sharing that story!! I might pass it on to some people who are fixated on the horror stories.
Heather, I heard that it’s back on the table (or rather, was never off the table, just seriously downplayed), which lets me breathe a sigh of relief. A small one. And Den made an appointment for a physical with his GP – he is not a new patient – and he had to wait 3 months for it!! Oh, and then they called him a month and a half into the wait to re-schedule because of some conflict, so he had ANOTHER three month wait (total of 4.5 months from when he made the appointment to when he will actually get to see the doctor. He has some minor health concerns, they’re not life threatening or urgent, but they are affecting his health and does want it looked into. Wait times exist everywhere. I’ll talk more about that later.
Very very good points Nat. Thanks so much for posting these. I’m not sure if I think this plan is great or not as honestly, I don’t trust the govt to get their shit together enough to put it in place to begin with. HOWEVER, I am also VERY sick of people calling it “Govt run health care” or “Universal Health Care” when it’s not even close. ANNOYING. At least get those facts straight if you’re going to be pissed about it. I may not have all my info, but then again I’m not ranting and raving either. I just don’t know.
I read your disclaimer to Canadian Hubby and he just said, “Well said, but what she said won’t matter to people who are afraid of shit. It won’t change their minds.” I agree with him, but it’s good to put more info out there for people who actually want it.
Barb, unfortunately I think he’s right. But I like to try. I think maybe I would also enjoy banging my head into a brick wall, I might want to try that sometime…
One more thing.. I think one of the big concerns for the U.S. is the sheer numbers in our population and can we make a new system work with a bunch of alterations to it, or does it need a complete overhaul. And are we even capable of that overhaul with the stalemates and inefficiency plaguing our govt?
Damn us idealists huh? haha
Yep. And any change we make is going to have that same concern. But I think we’ve reached a point with health care that we can’t not do something, so we’re just going to have to figure it out. Big changes are always scary, and always have things to work through… but Americans survived big changes before and have come out for the better. This won’t fix everything. But just because it’s not perfect doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing. (I tell myself this every day about pretty much everything.) We have to start somewhere.
And yes, damn us idealists, LOL.
I think people are crazy to not want it. There are so many lies and scares floating around at the moment.
I am from Australia. Our health system isn’t perfect, but as far as I’m aware it’s a million times better than the US. I hope change can happen for you guys and that those who are scared by it can calm down and start listening to the facts.
Perhaps it should have gone bit by bit and would have been more successful? I don’t know.
Last comment, I swear. In my early morning pregnancy can’t sleep brilliance, I came up with a thought. (which will probably end up being early AM babbling when I rethink it later. ;-) In the U.S. you DON’T often have to wait long if you can afford the best doctors with the best insurance etc and have lots of money. Perhaps that’s what people are chasing.. a chance at the top. (as if they really have that chance). The average American still believes that this is a country where anything is possible if you just pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and that if we turn anything, “socialist” as they say, that it will bring us all to a more level playing field and make that really high goal unattainable. Then, even if we make tons of money, we won’t be as yards ahead of the little guy. I think the same mentality applies when we fight higher taxes for the richest even though the poor and middle incomes would be getting a break. Many of us still see ourselves as that potential “richest” and don’t want that threatened even though the possibilities of it are ridiculously small. I blame right wing fear mongering and misinformation for that too.
Barb, I think you hit the nail on the head. Which relates to another thought I had yesterday: how come here in america everyone believes they could be that one at the top, that lucky one that gets rich and can afford everything, that one that wins the lottery…. but no one thinks they could be that one at the bottom, when all the shit piles up and they lose their jobs and their insurance and their home? It seems to be far more likely to fall into the latter category, yet they dismiss it as too unlikely… but the first option they cling to? Seems highly illogical to me. It’s one of my biggest frustrations.
I have no idea why. I wish I did. I think we have almost a mythology of that here in the U.S. from the big wave of immigration on. It’s what people think we ARE even though it’s so much more unattainable than it was in our parents’ or grandparents’ time.