Over here (UK) we moan about about our National Health Service but, reading these messages here, reminds me that we don't have those problems. Whatever happens the NHS is there to pick up the pieces, free at the point of use.

Someday the US will join the list of developed countries that consider access to healthcare a right, not a privilege.

 

Over here (UK) we moan about about our National Health Service but, reading these messages here, reminds me that we don't have those problems.

I certainly do not complain about the National Health Service here in Canada.
Upon being diagnosed with a heart problem, I was admitted to a local hospital within 2-3 months wait and operated on by a top surgeon.
Complete with excellent care after a quad bi-pass.
Cost Incurred: Gas to get to the Hospital!
Note: See 'Sicko' by Michael Moore.
Max.

 

Healthcare is something I believe everyone is concerned with and the more we age the more concerned we become. My wife and I were fortunate in how everything played out. Healthcare cost here in the US are increasing as is just about everything else. While our neighbors to the north in Canada enjoy a very good National Health Service as do those in Great Britain it does come with a cost. Nothing is "free" so the cost comes from somewhere and generally it comes from taxes. The end result is someone who is somewhere is footing the bill.

About 7 years ago, at age 63 my wife thought she had a urinary tract infection, when the antibiotics failed to change things she was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer and her left kidney was disintegrating. Within 48 hours she underwent some major surgery which fortunately went well. My medical plan coverage at work covered things. Early this year she was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. and with early diagnosis and great oncologist things have gone well. Cleveland, Ohio is fortunately home to University Hospitals Sideman Cancer Center. This time between Medicare and our supplemental insurance things were covered. The cost was phenomenal and less the coverage we have would have had me urinating in gutters and poverty.

Among the most humbling experiences in my life was the trips to Sideman with Kathy and seeing little children in their fights with cancer. Kathy and I have enjoyed long and healthy lives till now but seeing children just starting out in life with cancer is humbling as I think about our own grandchildren. Anyway, as a result of good medical insurance and planning we have been fortunate.

Ron

 

The end result is someone who is somewhere is footing the bill.
Ron

Quite true, but the big issue for me is that regardless of income or the ability to pay for health or insurance etc, everyone get the same (excellent) treatment regardless of status in life and ability to afford good health.
I also grew up under the British Health system and remember benefiting by it the same way.
Just as everyone receives basic education through taxes.
Max.

 

The important point to note is that in the U.S.A. it is the insurance companies that are raking it in.
In countries with universal health care programs, there is no middle man.

 

Quite true, but the big issue for me is that regardless of income or the ability to pay for health or insurance etc, everyone get the same (excellent) treatment regardless of status in life and ability to afford good health.
I also grew up under the British Health system and remember benefiting by it the same way.
Just as everyone receives basic education through taxes.
Max.

Another member, Audio Guru has benefited through the Canadian plan, much like you heart surgery. I agree that the plan works great and across the board. Here in the US, as I mentioned, my wife and I were fortunate to have the coverage we had and have today while others less fortunate are stuck.

I also agree the insurance companies down here are setup to win and when someone wins someone else loses. .

Thinking back, quite some time ago, my mom was placed on a rather expensive medication. I called BS and found the drug in Canada for under 1/2 the US cost. I began buying the drug through Canada for my mom. Been years ago but I wish I could remember what that drug was.

Anyway, I think we can all agree that healthcare is high on the list of concerns for anyone retiring in the US. Shall I buy food or medications with my money? Pretty sad choice to have to make.

Ron

 

Thinking back, quite some time ago, my mom was placed on a rather expensive medication. I called BS and found the drug in Canada for under 1/2 the US cost. I began buying the drug through Canada for my mom. Been years ago but I wish I could remember what that drug was.
Ron

I remember in the news a few years ago, many groups of US OAP's etc were even renting coaches and coming here across the border to fill their prescriptions because of the much lower cost.
Max.

 

I remember in the news a few years ago, many groups of US OAP's etc were even renting coaches and coming here across the border to fill their prescriptions because of the much lower cost.
Max.

I was able to have my mom's prescriptions filled with a simple fax and send to a great Canadian pharmacy and mailed directly to my mom. While I think I was in violation of some US law I wasn't concerned. Point was the cost, as I recall was well below 50% of the best deal I could fine here in the US.

While I do not want to see this subject take a turn to politics there are things down here which need some serious fixing. I will let it go at that.

Ron

 

Several people from USA I met in the recent past, all of them asked about the cost of dental treatment in our country. Having completed some, not long before, I was able to give actual values.

They were surprised by the low costs vis a vis those in USA.

Later I learnt that there is a steady flow of them coming to receive attention locally. My daughter, after spending a semester in the university (Richmond), confirmed that it is a real concern.

Go figure.

Here, as far as I know, it is not very common a company paying you medical services as a part of your salary, so to speak.

 

I don't often feel pangs of patriotism. I did about two years ago.

I was attending the trial of a woman whose 7 year old son died because she tried to treat him with "natural" remedies instead of taking him to a doctor. She had never registered her son to get an Alberta Health Care number/card for him. It would have cost her nothing. She lived in poverty, so perhaps part of her reason for not taking him to a doctor was that she wouldn't have money to pay, though that wasn't really examined at trial. There was an emergency healthcare centre quite near her house where the boy would have been treated regardless of her ability to pay. She could have taken him to the Alberta Children's Hospital.

At the trial, one of the doctors from the ACH was asked if the boy would have been treated without having a Health Care card. I don't remember his precise words, but they were very close to Yes, we do it all the time. That's the way we do things in this country. That inspires patriotism for me.

The boy almost certainly would have recovered fully if he had received simple penicillin in time. The mother was convicted of failure to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing death.

 

I have a handful of relatives in Canada and have visited many times. Two are MDs, a third a nurse now retired and another MD before passing. I have had many, many discussions about the different healthcare systems (US and Canada).

I also fully support the US military and have for many years.

I mention those two points so that there is no misinterpretations of why I post the two graphs below.

Add that to what @MrChips correctly noted earlier in the thread.

It is freaking complicated and I do not know the answers. I do know that 1) I believe that it is a sign of an advanced culture/civilization/country that all medical needs for all citizens is provided and 2) While I do not have the solutions, I know very clearly which "side" of the issue I am on and how important it is.

Note: I know these charts are similar to "idiot lights" but I hope the point is made regardless.

 

The mother was convicted of failure to provide the necessaries of life and criminal negligence causing death.

In some states here, a guilty conviction for that is a mandatory life sentence. There was a recent story where a 28 year old man was accused of causing the death of a 4 month old infant by not changing his diaper for 1-2 weeks (meaning the child hadn't been bathed in that time). The boy had maggots and larvae in his diaper and he died from diaper rash that allowed Ecoli bacteria to enter his blood stream.

The 21 year old mother is either awaiting trial or sentencing.

 

I was able to have my mom's prescriptions filled with a simple fax and send to a great Canadian pharmacy and mailed directly to my mom. While I think I was in violation of some US law I wasn't concerned.

One of the meds I need to take I get from Canada. But for some reason that no one can explain to me, the company that is doing the billing is in Texas. This med used to come out of Singapore, then they shifted it to come from the UK, now it comes directly from Canada. It looks in all cases like the same capsule that was given to me as samples when I was started on it.

Now to why I get it this way. One 30 day supply from the local pharmacy, even with my medicare plus insurance is $145. A 100 day supply from Canada, shipping included, is $35. Why can this be???? I am friends with one of the pharmacy assistants where the rest of my pills come from, and took the "not for retail" bottle to her. It is the exact same bottle they have on their shelves in the pharmacy, according to her.

 

One 30 day supply from the local pharmacy, even with my medicare plus insurance is $145. A 100 day supply from Canada, shipping included, is $35. Why can this be????

US consumers are subsidizing the US pharmaceutical industry, that develops most of the new drugs, for the rest of the world.

https://www.drugcostfacts.org/drug-price-controls

https://www.drugwatch.com/featured/us-drug-prices-higher-vs-world/

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-us-pays-more-for-prescription-drugs-2016-8

 

 

Health insurance is a big concern for a lot of people who have to buy it on their own. My Market Place plan went up 40% this year. My Daughter, who is still living at home, started working and her income is counted as part of the household income, so we lost part of our subsidy. That resulted in the cost of our insurance doubling. Will most likely drop to a lower level coverage again...

For the last few years I was able to work, I was on a high deductible plan and the company paid 100% of my premium.

I just seen this, have her get a postal box. I'm not sure if that will correct her address, my sons income isn't counted as our household income, he and his girlfriend file separately.

I'm not sure if that would help or not, maybe someone else has a take on it that could lower your costs a little.

kv

 

I just seen this, have her get a postal box. I'm not sure if that will correct her address, my sons income isn't counted as our household income, he and his girlfriend file separately.

I'm not sure if that would help or not, maybe someone else has a take on it that could lower your costs a little.

If you're using healthcare.gov to sign up, and you answer the questions they ask truthfully (as required), income for anyone being insured is counted. It's a flaw in their system because when you file, their income won't be counted.

I talked to three different people and they all said the same thing. Either claim them as a dependent and count their income, or don't insure them. That isn't how I understand the law. My Daughter ended up getting the free medical coverage through her work. It would have cost me $7k/year to insure her.

 

Ouch, I haven't retired yet. I'm hoping the University will keep me on since I began a new project which may offer more time on the clock, I can't pull wire anymore, the Doctor won't let me on ladders. When they moved me over from another Dept my previous job was Management.

Now I'm just a Tech doing Tech support calls and trouble shooting. They added system device tracking since the state of Utah declared an annual audit of devices at or over $300 so, that is over 1,700 devices not excluding what we have in storage which I haven't even began to track. They finally discovered a job I can do before this tracking job, I was watching the clock going crazy with nothing to do. Thank god for the State of Utah's over site.

I thought I would be 63 in March but, I just figured out last night, I will only be 62, sure feels like 63 to me though.

Hope all is well on your neck of the woods this Christmas season.

kv

 

Hope all is well on your neck of the woods this Christmas season.

Same to you.

I'm hoping for little, or no, snow this year. My Daughter has no experience driving in snow, so I had to driver her to school whenever we had snow last year. I don't like driving in snow with my bad back because I don't relish the thought of getting stuck and having to walk miles. Or having an accident.

She's working, so needs to go out every day because they won't close for bad driving conditions. She'll have to deal with it from now on.

It's been unusually warm, but that means a bad apple crop and a lot of insect pests next year.

I've been on the Marketplace exchanges since 2015. Pay more for less just about every year. The plan I had this year went up 40%, so I had to drop to a lower level of coverage (as I've done every year I've been on the exchange). When you work, you're spoiled by good, inexpensive medical insurance.

 

I retired in 1986 when I was 59 1/2, not because I was rich but because my future wife ( No 2 ) was already retired & working did not fit with travel plans. A really good 15 years until cancer struck. More good living for another 7 years with wife no 3. It has been 10 years now with a really nice lady. Time is filled with beer can airplanes, AAC, projects for friends, AM Legion & then house requires some attention. Did paint the roof last Spring; 5 gal. pails are sure getting heavy. Next month I'll turn 92.