Real Canadians Talking Real Health Care

Here’s a reality check about our neighbors to the north and what they actually think about their health care system (as well as ours.)

What about the public option in health care reform?

“This is a season of hope … and this is the cause of my life, new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American —north, south, east, west, young, old — will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.” — Sen. Edward Kennedy quoted on NPR 8/26/09

Why should health care reform include a public health insurance option?

A strong public insurance option can benefit all Americans, whether they choose to keep their private insurance or enroll in the public plan. It will benefit you if you have good private insurance and choose to keep it, but would like to have lower costs.

If you are a small business owner and need affordable, comprehensive coverage for you and your employees, it would give you more options.

It will be available if you lose your job and can’t afford COBRA.

The public option can give you coverage if you or a family member have a medical condition that has excluded you from insurance coverage.

It will be available for you if you work for a business that does not offer health insurance as a benefit, and you can not afford the costs of health insurance premiums.

The public option health care system will bring down costs through competition, instead of bankrupting the nation with costs that are twice as high as any other advanced country in the world.

The provision of a public option through the federal government is the best way to accomplish the goal of universal coverage. A public option provided through cooperatives seem less likely to work.  Health care cooperatives don’t have a  strong track record of success. There are only a couple of them presently in operation.

Years ago I lived in a rural area of Northern Wisconsin, and a health care cooperative was formed to bring a medical clinic into our small town.  It struggled to get off the ground and only lasted two years before it closed down.

Trying to start many cooperatives on a national scale would result in a patchwork hodgepodge of different systems.  Some could succeed, but others might not.  The cooperative option would be a risky experiment.

Providing health care is an urgent need that calls for a comprehensive solution.  The public option to be provided nationally through a government funded and administered program such as Medicare is the only solution that has any hope of working to achieve the goals to bring down costs and provide universal coverage.

Five Reasons For Health Care Reform

Shocking Health Care Facts in the US part 2:

Here are five important reasons why we urgently need health care reform in the United States at the present time.

1. Health care should be available to everyone. But presently it is not. This is because some people are excluded from insurance coverage because they have “pre-existing conditions.”  Perhaps they were covered in a group policy which they lost when they lost their job or moved to another state.  Others have lost their insurance when they lost their job, and do not have enough income to purchase a policy under COBRA, or they work for an employer who do not offer health insurance as an employee benefit.

The present system of excluding persons from insurance coverage due to their health history or lack of money to pay is a form a rationing health care.  Presently 49 million Americans do not have health insurance coverage.  Health care is a human right, and most developed nations provide coverage for their citizens.

2. Americans deserve a choice. Health insurance is controlled by the private insurance industry, who set the rates and policies in order to maximize their profits.  Offering a public option would create competition and drive down the cost of health care premiums.

Insurance companies will no longer be able to refuse coverage to anyone due to pre-existing conditions, or charge more based on gender or health status, or limit the amount of coverage you can get in a year or a lifetime.  Insurers will be required to renew policies as long as the
premiums are being paid, and they will not be allowed to charge more than 10% of income for out-of-pocket expenses per year.

3. Health care should be affordable. Health care presently is not affordable for many working people or unemployed people who do not qualify for medicaid.  Because they cannot afford to purchase health insurance, they are forced to go without preventive care, and postpone going to the doctor until they develop a serious condition.  They then are forced to seek help at the hospital emergency room, which helps to drive up the cost of health care for those with insurance.

4. Having health care reform will increase our peace of mind. Health care reform will include preventive services such as routine mammograms, mental health services, oral health & vision services for children.  It will extend the age of children covered in family policies from 22 to 26 years, giving young adults time to get established without having to buy their own coverage.

5.  We can’t afford to do nothing. Presently the high cost of health care in the United States is becoming unmanageable.  It is a leading cause of personal bankruptcy filings and home foreclosures, as well as an uncontrolled cost for employers in both the public and private sectors.

Continuing to neglect this critical problem and kick the can down the road is simply no longer an option.