Healthcare... America and the rest

[Forty Two]

Due to Obamacare, many available plans are moving from 80% coverage to 60% coverage, plus high deductibles. So, the Affordable Care Act, basically tripled our premiums and reduced our coverage, and left 30 million people still uninsured.

[Forty Two]

...dupe

[Tero]

If I get with emergency room only then the heart attack is only$350 plus cost of ambulance.

Obama did not invent the costs. They are made up by the insurance co and each state's regulator.

[JimC]

When I had emergency eye surgery a few years back, it was absolutely free, aside from about $20 for post-operative eye drops.

[Rum]

Our famous NHS, which kicked social medicine off is really struggling at the moment. The usual pressures of an ageing population and higher demand are there but fundamentally the prevailing government is unwilling to spend what is needed to make it fit for purpose - or maybe a bit more than that - fit for a decent 'experience'. .

My dad was terminally ill two years ago and his bed was moved 6 times in two days to juggle the demand. Ambulances queue up to drop off patients - hours sometimes it seems and become unavailable for the next emergency. Doctors leave and work abroad where the conditions are better.

Sadly our system - once the pride of the country - feels like it is on its knees at the moment.

[Scot Dutchy]

When I had emergency eye surgery a few years back, it was absolutely free, aside from about $20 for post-operative eye drops.

Emergencies are covered 100% as is hospital care.

[Scot Dutchy]

Our famous NHS, which kicked social medicine off is really struggling at the moment. The usual pressures of an ageing population and higher demand are there but fundamentally the prevailing government is unwilling to spend what is needed to make it fit for purpose - or maybe a bit more than that - fit for a decent 'experience'. .

My dad was terminally ill two years ago and his bed was moved 6 times in two days to juggle the demand. Ambulances queue up to drop off patients - hours sometimes it seems and become unavailable for the next emergency. Doctors leave and work abroad where the conditions are better.

Sadly our system - once the pride of the country - feels like it is on its knees at the moment.

Our health care is outside of politics. It is one of the fundamentals that is never argued about. Costs are scrutinised and strictly monitored by the Health Inspectorate. Because of our political system we dont have violent swings from left to right or the other way round. The coalition system means it is always fairly centre road. It is very easy to sack the coalition.

[pErvinalia]

When I had emergency eye surgery a few years back, it was absolutely free, aside from about $20 for post-operative eye drops.

Emergencies are covered 100% as is hospital care.

Everything is free here in our system (except ambulance fees).

[pErvinalia]

...

[Scot Dutchy]

When I had emergency eye surgery a few years back, it was absolutely free, aside from about $20 for post-operative eye drops.

Emergencies are covered 100% as is hospital care.

Everything is free here in our system (except ambulance fees).

You dont pay for health insurance?

[pErvinalia]

No Dutchy. You are as clueless about other systems as the Americans are. We of course have a private health system as well, and people are free to pay up for that. Everyone who pays tax pays a certain amount towards the public health system. I haven't paid taxes for years, but from memory it is about 1.5% of taxable income.

[Hermit]

No Dutchy. You are as clueless about other systems as the Americans are. We of course have a private health system as well, and people are free to pay up for that. Everyone who pays tax pays a certain amount towards the public health system. I haven't paid taxes for years, but from memory it is about 1.5% of taxable income.

The medicare levy has been 2% for a while now. You pay nothing if your income is below around 21k/pa. If you're single and earn more than 90k or a family with an income over 180k you also pay a medicare surcharge.

Most people also have to pay the difference between what a doctor charges and the amount the government reimburses them for. It's called the gap payment. There also often is a gap between what pharmacies/chemists charge for prescription medicines and what the government pays them.

[Tero]

Gap payment ah? They love the terms. Deductibles. Lifetime caps. New thing in Trump plans will be caps on how much your can sue for, for malpractice.

[Sean Hayden]

My out of pocket is some $6000 for heart attack.

That's expensive but still several thousand less than what I could end up paying.

I still can't figure out why I thought the Netherlands used some other system.

[Forty Two]

No Dutchy. You are as clueless about other systems as the Americans are.

You see, this is where you come across as such a total douche.

Dutchy is Dutch. He doesn't know all about about the 190 odd health systems in the world, much less Australia's. Why would he? That doesn't make him "clueless." He doesn't know how your system works, and he just fucking inquired about Australians not paying for health insurance there. You could have just answered him - of course he doesn't know the details of the Australian health system. But, no, you have to -- like in so many of your posts -- add the pepper of an insult.

Look - you, pErvin - don't know anything substantively about the American healthcare system. You pretend to, but you don't. Does that make you "clueless?" The not knowing much about it part does not make you clueless. You really have not much of a reason to know. And, your knowledge is pretty much based on blog posts and commentary, maybe the odd news article here and there. It's not enough for you to really know how it works.

Most of us do not know how the systems in Romania, Latvia, Colombia, Chile or Madagascar work. That doesn't make us "clueless." And, if the topics came up for discussion, and someone said "oh, you don't pay for health insurance in Latvia?" It's not necessary to insult the guy/gal before you answer. You can just answer it, if you care to discuss the matter.

That's your thing, though. Insult, insult and insult. You can hardly involve yourself in a discussion without personally attacking the "opposition." Heck, in this case, Dutchy wasn't even an "opposition." He didn't argue about it - he hasn't said that Oz doesn't have a good system or that something's wrong with it - he just commented about whether you pay for health insurance there or not. FFS, man.

And, shit - Dutchy hates my ass, but I have no problem coming to his defense here, because this just illustrates the poison you are to most discussions....