Originally Posted by
MaxQ
Pause,
You can't be serious with that statement? I have NEVER met someone who had access to either Canada's or their native country in Europe for the system we have in the USA.They all would much rather keep theirs, thank you very much!
We, in the USA, have a superb system for an elite few. We have a decent system for those with good group plans through their employer. For the rest..not so much.( we are the only "advanced" country in the world where you can go bankrupt by getting sick)
Assuming you are the average Joe working for a big employer with a decent group plan, it still will cost you a fortune for your health care over the course of your career. No other country pays anywhere near what we do for health care and gets so little in return. (healthcare absorbs 15 to 18% of GDP, depending where you read). Health insurance cost is the number one reason as to why people quit their small business experiment and return to the "mainstream" job market. It is also a driving force as to why large US companies have difficulty competing with foreign companies. Volkswagon doesn't have to worry about how to fund it's employee and retiree health plans..its already built into the mix. It is also a huge incentive for Ford, GM etc to build plants in Canada and Mexico..they don't have to pay extra for their employees health insurance in those countrys.
I could go on..those are just a couple items.
The point is that the idea that we have a better health care system than Canada or any European country I am familiar with is simply ludicrous.
Many small businesses quit because they cannot afford all of the taxes, required workers comp, Social Security among other things and still expect to compete with huge companies and make a profit.
On the healthcare issue....you say the other Countries system works fine?? Really?? A person waits on a "board" to decide whether the Patient is "worth" spending the money on them for treatment. THAT is not good healthcare. THAT is a society run by a Gov't board deciding who lives and who dies. When did it become MY resposibility to make sure the other folks in this Country (including illegals) get medical care? It is NOT my responsibility. If you can't afford health care than you need to change jobs to an employer that has some or better benefits or take a second job to pay for your own. I did. That is one of the large problems in this Country. Everyone thinks he/she has a "right" to EVERYTHING. Boo Hoo That is NOT how this Country was founded but that is certainly will be the death of it.