Forced into a Managed Care Plan

People in Canada can wait for a long time to get the surgery they need. Many come to the US for their care. Every system has pluses and minuses.
 
HoneyNut said:
I'm in favor of national health insurance if it would be like Canada. But it sounds like in California (if I've understood the above posts), the state government is giving away their control to a couple large private insurance companies. To me that would be like the Social Security Administration giving away our SS control to a couple large private investment companies. In my experience working for private companies they will lie and cheat as much as they possibly can to increase their profits.
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The federal gov't would do exactly the same with national healthcare; they'd assign a major insurance company such as Blue Cross to manage it, and that company would "advise" Congress on what policies to approve, including the company's business and financial policies. And like they do at the state level, those policies would benefit the company far more than the people they cover.

I am absolutely not in favor of national health insurance, but only because the US gov't is so corrupt, especially when they get involved in business. The level of greed is sickening.
 

Murrmurr said:
The federal gov't would do exactly the same with national healthcare; they'd assign a major insurance company such as Blue Cross to manage it, and that company would "advise" Congress on what policies to approve, including the company's business and financial policies. And like they do at the state level, those policies would benefit the company far more than the people they cover.

I am absolutely not in favor of national health insurance, but only because the US gov't is so corrupt, especially when they get involved in business. The level of greed is sickening.
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Kinda like the pharmaceutical companies?
 
Teacher Terry said:
People in Canada can wait for a long time to get the surgery they need. Many come to the US for their care. Every system has pluses and minuses.
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Lies. You are spouting the usual lies put forward by the American medical insurance corporations. If you really think you know about this subject PLEASE feel free to cite some actual research by a University IN Canada, to support your position. I will wait while you do some searching. By the way, who do you think knows more about this subject ? A Canadian who has lived here all my life, and who uses our health care program monthly, or you ? Jimb.
 
jimintoronto said:
Lies. You are spouting the usual lies put forward by the American medical insurance corporations. If you really think you know about this subject PLEASE feel free to cite some actual research by a University IN Canada, to support your position. I will wait while you do some searching. By the way, who do you think knows more about this subject ? A Canadian who has lived here all my life, and who uses our health care program monthly, or you ? Jimb.
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I don't know the person you're quoting, but it's possible she isn't intentionally lying.. what she said has been rumored around for a long time. I guess most in the U.S. figured it was accurate.
 
JaniceM said:
I don't know the person you're quoting, but it's possible she isn't intentionally lying.. what she said has been rumored around for a long time. I guess most in the U.S. figured it was accurate.
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Let me ask you this......Why would a Canadian go to the USA for medical treatment and PAY in US dollars, when they could be treated at home FOR NO COST ? Bear in mind that today, one US dollar is worth $1.36 Canadian. Does that make any sense to you ? It sure does not make any sense to me. My cardio specialist is originally from Virginia, but she came to Canada about 5 years ago. Why? She said that in Canada she can actually practice medicine, but in the USA she spent a lot of time acting as a bill collector not a Doctor. JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
Let me ask you this......Why would a Canadian go to the USA for medical treatment and PAY in US dollars, when they could be treated at home FOR NO COST ? Bear in mind that today, one US dollar is worth $1.36 Canadian. Does that make any sense to you ? It sure does not make any sense to me. My cardio specialist is originally from Virginia, but she came to Canada about 5 years ago. Why? She said that in Canada she can actually practice medicine, but in the USA she spent a lot of time acting as a bill collector not a Doctor. JimB.
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I have no idea. Like I said, it's just a rumor that's been around for quite awhile.
 
JaniceM said:
I have no idea. Like I said, it's just a rumor that's been around for quite awhile.
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A few or more decades ago, this was true, Janice, but not because of Canada's healthcare system.

Canadians came here for specific treatments and new forms of diagnostic imaging, and their Canadian healthcare paid for it (eventually). I think the person only had to pay for the travel. This was only done until Canadian doctors completed training on these new at-the-time advanced treatments, which didn't take long. Meanwhile, the US provided Canada with some of that state-of-the-art (at the time) diagnostic equipment, and finally (but temporarily) lifted the patent on a bunch of it so that Canadians could build their own.

If I remember right, the "new, advanced" treatments were for a certain type of aggressive cancer and a certain organ transplant; the liver or something.
 
Murrmurr said:
A few or more decades ago, this was true, Janice, but not because of Canada's healthcare system.

Canadians came here for specific treatments and new forms of diagnostic imaging, and their Canadian healthcare paid for it (eventually). I think the person only had to pay for the travel. This was only done until Canadian doctors completed training on these new at-the-time advanced treatments, which didn't take long. Meanwhile, the US provided Canada with some of that state-of-the-art (at the time) diagnostic equipment, and finally (but temporarily) lifted the patent on a bunch of it so that Canadians could build their own.

If I remember right, the "new, advanced" treatments were for a certain type of aggressive cancer and a certain organ transplant; the liver or something.
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So that was the basis for the ongoing rumor "Canadians are always coming here for healthcare"?
Interesting info!
 
JaniceM said:
So that was the basis for the ongoing rumor "Canadians are always coming here for healthcare"?
Interesting info!
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Yeah, and it only lasted for 2 or 3 years, and the number of patients was only in the double-digits. Also, Canada got really mad at the US for being a jerk about not lifting the patent on the equipment and for being reluctant to share that technology. But meanwhile, the US and Canadian doctors ignored all the bickering and freely shared knowledge. Some of Canada's best came over and actually did transplant surgeries alongside US's best.

I only read about it, but I remember it felt like a really big deal; science triumphs over politics and greed.
 
Let’s just say that trying something different is in order. When the united states pays such a large amount per capita for healthcare yet can not compete with the best on longevity, maternal deaths, infant mortality. We have a problem. To some folks those are fighting words….the insistence that the united states has the best healthcare. But the reality is that countries that have national healthcare in place score higher. Lots of things are in play….doctors per capita, emphasis on preventative care, cost and effectiveness of selected care plan, etcetera etcetera. But we are failing.
 
Muskrat said:
Let’s just say that trying something different is in order. When the united states pays such a large amount per capita for healthcare yet can not compete with the best on longevity, maternal deaths, infant mortality. We have a problem. To some folks those are fighting words….the insistence that the united states has the best healthcare. But the reality is that countries that have national healthcare in place score higher. Lots of things are in play….doctors per capita, emphasis on preventative care, cost and effectiveness of selected care plan, etcetera etcetera. But we are failing.
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To be clear, though: The people who are being forced into a managed care plot plan are people who are already enrolled with gov't subsidized health insurance, Medicaid (or in my case, the company that insures Cal state employees). This has nothing to do with the quality of US medicine, the gov't couldn't really care less about that...if you don't feel well, they'll tell you to eat your leafy greens. And in Cali, that includes seaweed.

What the gov't cares about is cost~vs~revenue, and revenue is definitely down, especially post-pandemic when you've got high unemployment, failed businesses, product scarcity, soaring real estate prices, and collapsing investments. So states are forcing certain people into a managed care plan to manage overhead, not the people's health and long life.

The "something different" we need is getting government out of business and out of the business of managing people's health (and education). They just really suck at it. I just want them to be a government, full stop. Just run the country, keep us safe from foreign aggression, and we'll do the rest. My utopia.

psst....ask a wealthy American how good their doctors are and how good their medical care is. You get an xray of your broken bones, they get 3-D videos. You get asked to say Ahh, they get full body scans. You get pills, they get a whole new liver.

The quality of American medicine is excellent. And so it is in Bolivia, Japan, Germany, etc. Medical scientists share information and discoveries. They're a-political (with a few exceptions).
 


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