Charles Schwab Article: Demystifying Medicare

Status
Not open for further replies.
OneEyedDiva

OneEyedDiva

SF VIP
Location
New Jersey
"Choosing the right Medicare coverage is critical because it affects the doctors you'll see, the hospitals you'll go to, and the costs you'll pay out of pocket—often over the remainder of your lifetime," says Chris Kawashima, CFP®, a senior research analyst at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. "To maximize coverage and minimize out-of-pocket costs—which can be substantial—there are really just two main options."

The article goes on to break down what those options are, the pros and cons of each choice, the costs and when to apply.
https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/demystifying-medicare-retirement
 

OHIP covers most of the major illnesses/ operations in Canada you will need.

My work insurance covers dental, eye care, affliction medication for both me and my wife...etc. If you get very sick in Canada you won't have to mortgage your home to pay the bill.

The Canadian public healthcare system, known as Medicare, is funded by taxes. It covers all care deemed “medically necessary,” including hospital and doctor visits, but generally does not provide prescription, dental, or vision coverage.
 
But at the same time, our military is woefully lacking. We've always ridden the coattails of the Americans. So we have the luxury of having Universal Healthcare for our citizens because much less is spent on Defense.

My own theory anyways.
 
Beezer said:
OHIP covers most of the major illnesses/ operations in Canada you will need.

My work insurance covers dental, eye care, affliction medication for both me and my wife...etc. If you get very sick in Canada you won't have to mortgage your home to pay the bill.

The Canadian public healthcare system, known as Medicare, is funded by taxes. It covers all care deemed “medically necessary,” including hospital and doctor visits, but generally does not provide prescription, dental, or vision coverage.
Click to expand...
Is it true that you have to wait longer for care, though? I think someone posted about that in another thread quite awhile ago.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Is it true that you have to wait longer for care, though? I think someone posted about that in another thread quite awhile ago.
Click to expand...
Yes, you have to wait and take your lumps in our healthcare system. The Boomers are getting up there and putting a strain on the system...also not enough up-and-coming doctors...and not many who are willing to work 60 hour weeks.
 
Beezer said:
Move to Canada.

We've had free health care for all for many decades.
Click to expand...
Thanks, but no thanks....

Waits are interminable. In 2022, Canadian patients waited a median 27.4 weeks between referral from a general practitioner and receipt of treatment from a specialist, according to the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver think tank. That's nearly two weeks longer than the median wait time in 2021—and almost triple the 9.3 weeks Canadians waited on average in 1993.
And since private health insurance is illegal for care the government deems medically necessary, patients can't pay a premium to escape the queue.
Nor, for that matter, can doctors. They have one customer—the government. And that customer is committed to keeping a lid on costs. Canada spends 12.2% of GDP on health care; health care accounts for 18.3% of U.S. GDP, by comparison.

So Canadian doctors have to do more with less. And that's pushing many to the brink. More than half of Canadian doctors reported burnout in 2021, up from just 30% in 2017, according to a recent Canadian Medical Association survey.
Forbes Daily: Get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday.
Sign Up

By signing up, you accept and agree to our Terms of Service (including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and Privacy Statement.
Another survey found that over 75% of Canadian nurses "qualified as burnt-out in 2021." And while doctors work an average of 52 hours a week, they spend just 36 hours treating patients, devoting a total of 16 hours to paperwork and other bureaucratic tasks.

Facing these onerous conditions, Canadian doctors are quitting the business. Nearly 20% of family doctors in Toronto are planning to shut their doors in the next five years, according to a study published in the journal Canadian Family Physician. Many are citing burnout as their reason for doing so.
The Canadian Medical Association estimates some 5 million Canadians did not have a primary care provider in 2021. The Children's Hospital of Recent Ontario was so short-staffed this winter that the Canadian Red Cross needed to send reinforcement doctors.
To add insult to injury, this shoddy "free" care actually costs Canadians a pretty penny. A typical family of four paid a whopping $15,847 in taxes just to cover the cost of public health insurance, according to research from the Fraser Institute.
The Canadian health tax burden has surged in recent years. A childless couple who paid $8,225 in taxes for public coverage in 1997 pays around $15,229 today — an 85% increase.
Not even these hefty taxes can keep Medicare running smoothly. Provincial leaders are asking the Canadian government to cover 35% of healthcare costs, up from the 22% they currently cover. But 57% of Canadians say the current spending rate is already unsustainable, and experts agree. As Steven Staples, national director of policy and advocacy for the Canadian Health Coalition, put it, increasing funding to Medicare at this point is like "pouring hot water into a leaky bathtub."
Rather than doubling down on failed and expensive socialized medicine, Canadian leaders need to consider lifting the ban on private health coverage and allowing market forces to repair some of the nation's broken healthcare system.
Single-payer may be Bernie's dream, but it's rapidly becoming every Canadian’s nightmare. Perhaps some of his colleagues on the HELP Committee can invite some of the Canadians waiting for care to offer a firsthand perspective on the crisis plaguing their healthcare system.
 
Beezer said:
But at the same time, our military is woefully lacking. We've always ridden the coattails of the Americans. So we have the luxury of having Universal Healthcare for our citizens because much less is spent on Defense.

My own theory anyways.
Click to expand...
Funny, you trash Americans on other threads, but know you rely on us for your safety. There's a word for that.
 
And @Sippican

What is so wrong when a person from another country questions your love of guns? You lash out calling us 'American Bashers'. Why so thin-skinned? Where's the calm and reasonable debate?

Your 'my way or the highway' attitude sure isn't doing your country any favours.

And Canadians fought Hitler for years before The United States finally woke up and joined the fight. We were ahead of the curve like we usually are.
 
Beezer said:
And @Sippican

What is so wrong when a person from another country questions your love of guns? You lash out calling us 'American Bashers'. Why so thin-skinned? Where's the calm and reasonable debate?

Your 'my way or the highway' attitude sure isn't doing your country any favours.

And Canadians fought Hitler for years before The United States finally woke up and joined the fight. We were ahead of the curve like we usually are.
Click to expand...
Question our love of guns? Here is your quote..."Angry, paranoid citizens loaded for Bear at the drop of a pin."
Is that questioning our love of guns?
You call us angry paranoid citizens, but you rely on us to protect you because you are too weak to do it yourselves.
Its not being 'thin skinned', its point out the hypocrisy that happens north of the border way too often.
 
WOW! it's a amazing how fast a conversation can change.
Life deals us all a hand. You deal with what you get.
We sit here and converse so life can't be all that bad regardless of what side of the border you live on.
rbtvgo
 
But just keep blowing each other's heads off over minor traffic violations...ringing the wrong doorbell...looking funny at a guy at a Bar...etc.

Of course it's all about Freedom isn't it? The Freedom to be the laughingstock of the world with your retarded love for guns.
 
Beezer said:
But just keep blowing each other's heads off over minor traffic violations...ringing the wrong doorbell...looking funny at a guy at a Bar...etc.

Of course it's all about Freedom isn't it? The Freedom to be the laughingstock of the world with your retarded love for guns.
Click to expand...
And there it is........you mock us, but you still need us.
Talk about pushing anger buttons.....this really got you going didn't it?
I hope you really don't mean what you said, it sounds like a very mis-guided mind if you actually think that.
 
I just don't understand...can't fathom how some continue to sing the praises of gun ownership when scores of innocent people die every month in the United States at the hands of these weapons.

If my words were callous, I apologize. I'm very fond of our neighbours to the South. It's a topic I get passionate about, and I could have been more discerning in my attitude and choice of words.
 
Beezer said:
I just don't understand...can't fathom how some continue to sing the praises of gun ownership when scores of innocent people die every month in the United States at the hands of these weapons.
Click to expand...
I am no assault rifle fan, but the leading cause of death in the US between 18 and 45 is not guns, it’s the Fentanyl flowing across our open southern border. Guns aren’t even among the top 10 causes of death in that age group. A genuine effort to close our border is long overdue.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fentanyl-overdose-death/
 

Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top