living in canada, i like reading posts like this. the differences are very interesting. obama's health care has been a huge issue of debate for everyone in the US from what i hear. the interesting part is everyone here doesn't understand why. we all, of course, have our government funded health care system. i have a problem, i go get it checked out and don't worry about the cost. i'll be the first to admit that our system has its problems....oh boy does it have problems...but the care is available when i need it. there is no such thing as someone getting better care in a hospital than another simply because of how much money they have. i've always felt that someone should not be denied the right to live weather they are rich or penniless - that means not denying healthcare because of cost. and yeah i pay higher taxes for that - i'm also happy to do it. i also don't have to pay for medical insurance.



but that's just one part of this whole discussion here. we have similar problems here, and mostly it comes down to one thing: waste. every government in the world wastes taxpayer money. the politicians that decide where our money goes are not held accountable for their actions enough, same all over the world. same when people complain that their freedom/liberties are being taken away. why aren't politicians being held accountable for this?



i think one that enraged me the most was when i was still in highschool back at the turn of the millennium. the school system was hurting for money (what else is new) and i was sitting in an advanced math course with no textbook. the teacher was forced to photocopy everything for the class because the government wouldn't give him the money to get new textbooks! the rest were worn out and unusable. meanwhile the government decided it would be a good idea to have some 'commemorative millennium books' made up and sent around. they were to contain artwork, essays, etc. from students of all grades and to be given to everyone! this cost several million dollars....that money could have bought me a f*cking textbook so that i could have learned my math course properly.



end result was awesome. everyone sent them back and the mail carriers piled them in front of the entrance to the house of commons first thing in the morning so the politicians couldn't get in the door. that almost made it worth it.

 

The biggest problem, there are many, with Barry's health plan is that they are forceing you to get insurance or you will be fined, f*ck THAT!

 

zero_gravity, national law already forces hospitals to provide lifesaving care whether patients can pay or not. Obamacare mandates coverage for birth control, hair transplants, drug rehab therapy, etc. regardless of if the individual would use the services. It's a killer of profits, the first step to driving private health care payment insurers out of business, so there will ONLY be a "government option."



Besides, as Hotblue_02 said: this is Murrika and nobody is going to tell me what I HAVE to buy!



Then, if they can't force you to buy it, the whole house of cards is so underfunded it collapses immediately vs. in a decade.



P.S. nobody holds government accountable because nobody holds government accountable. When is the next time you run for office? When is the last time you called/wrote your elected representatives?

 

The Insurance companies wrote the US health care bill. That's what's wrong with it.

 

I think we should double the current terms and limit everyone to one term. This way, every election is new candidates... no incumbents.

 

Two terms, one in office the other in jail.

 

Double terms means 12 years for Senate. F that.

 

It takes about 3 years just to learn all of the procedural crap and actually get to where you can do anything. I think 12 years is perfect.

 

They're all crooks. I think 12 to 20 is better for them.

 

now this is the kind of info that we don't often get, thanks for that stocker. the way our system is set up is any (well most) necessary expenses are covered under the provincial health care plan. all drugs are your problem, most of us have some sort of coverage through work. so yes we do have insurance companies for health care but that's about all they cover. meds, dental, eyeglasses, physiotherapy, some even cover chiropractors and so on. but at the same time anyone can go to a doctor and not worry about insurance at all.



but i agree having a government only option is not the way to go. especially for unnecessary things such as hair transplants. i'm not sure if our plan would pay for drug rehab...probably not. i'm guessing some basic care to get you off the junk and nothing more.



at the same time, there is something to be said for going beyond lifesaving care. this allows doctors to find and treat problems before they become life threatening. for example, you could have argued that my mom had a non-life threatening disease and she should have covered it herself...kidney failure. just wasn't in the end stages yet. she managed to get over 15 years not on dialysis so far. obviously i don't understand your system fully and i don't pretend to - but what would they currently cover now? does it vary state by state?