Simple numbers for simple people...
Oct. 20th, 2010 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mijanI've heard people rant about the evils of "socialist" medicine - the high taxes, the long waits, etc.
Well, for any of my fellow Americans who have needed health care, you KNOW that the waits are pretty damned long around here. You've probably also experienced the ugly side of billing - that your insurance certainly NEVER covers everything, and that even with decent insurance, you're going to spend a small fortune.
But let's look at cost. Nothing but cost. Here's a REPORT from CNN Money:
"Employees' share of premiums for a family plan is up an average 14%, to $3,997, vs. just a 3% rise in the total bill, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation."
So... our share of the insurance cost is rising, the actual insurance cost is rising, and simultaneously, our co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles are also rising. In 2009, the average cost of healthcare, per capita, in the United States was $8,047. And as a nation, we spent 17.3% of our entire gross domestic product on health care! That's fucking INSANE.
Wow... Canada spent an average of $4,089 per capita in 2009 on health care. And that's TOTAL! Not "insurance"... TOTAL. And that's about 10% of their GDP.
Why is this so fucked up? Overhead, partially. Inefficiency, partially. Americans who don't take care of their own health, partially. But LARGELY because after the insurance premiums in America are paid... we keep paying. Oh yes. THROUGH THE FUCKING NOSE. Have you ever gotten sick? Gone to the ER? Gotten a bill in the mail for thousands of dollars? Had to take out a loan, set up a payment plan, or sell a possession to afford health care? Even with insurance, we keep paying. And paying. And paying. Co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles, and so on.
I've got damned good health insurance... for an American. I still pay $100 to go to the ER. $25 to see my PCP. $45 to see my rheumatologist, cardiologist, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, ob/gyn, and neurologist. Don't laugh - this shit could happen to anyone. I've always been an athlete and if most American ate a diet like mine, we'd solve the type-2 diabetes crisis and turn the heart disease statistics upside down. I don't smoke and I seldom drink. And I STILL got sick. And every time they say, "You need to have ___ checked by ____ specialist," there goes another $45, minimum.
So... for my insurance alone, I just found out that the base cost to my employer (who pays 95% of my premium) is $5,760 per year. That means if I NEVER get sick, I'm automatically costing $5,760 per year. Think about that. It's part of my employee benefits, so it's mine - and it means that I'm effectively shelling out that much before I even see a doctor. Wow folks, that's ALREADY over what Canadians spend per capita. My income is almost exactly average for an American. Oh, and of course, I pay taxes. My taxes cover all those people who can't pay for medical care because our economy sucks and people are losing their jobs or are under-employed. So on top of my premium, and all the co-pays and co-insurance and deductibles I pay, I'm also paying in taxes.
Right now, spending a direct, average amount of $4,089 sounds pretty damned CHEAP, doesn't it? And with longer life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates, that means the Canadian plan is more effective, too.
Oh, and when all is said and done... have any of you ever had to fight with an insurance company for approval, or a claim that got denied, or simply the filing process itself? Keeping track of all that paperwork can be pure hell, on top of already feeling like shit.
So why are we still trapped in our insurance-based system?
EDIT: I mis-read something in the CNN article, and I am changing a paragraph to reflect what I realize it actually meant.
EDIT AGAIN: Another objection I often see to UHC is about the right of the doctors to earn a profit. What's a profit, I ask? It's a paycheck, right? Adjusted for the exchange rate at the time this chart was posted, all based on 2005 data (recent enough for argument, as far as I'm concerned):
Well, for any of my fellow Americans who have needed health care, you KNOW that the waits are pretty damned long around here. You've probably also experienced the ugly side of billing - that your insurance certainly NEVER covers everything, and that even with decent insurance, you're going to spend a small fortune.
But let's look at cost. Nothing but cost. Here's a REPORT from CNN Money:
"Employees' share of premiums for a family plan is up an average 14%, to $3,997, vs. just a 3% rise in the total bill, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation."
So... our share of the insurance cost is rising, the actual insurance cost is rising, and simultaneously, our co-pays, co-insurance, and deductibles are also rising. In 2009, the average cost of healthcare, per capita, in the United States was $8,047. And as a nation, we spent 17.3% of our entire gross domestic product on health care! That's fucking INSANE.
Wow... Canada spent an average of $4,089 per capita in 2009 on health care. And that's TOTAL! Not "insurance"... TOTAL. And that's about 10% of their GDP.
Why is this so fucked up? Overhead, partially. Inefficiency, partially. Americans who don't take care of their own health, partially. But LARGELY because after the insurance premiums in America are paid... we keep paying. Oh yes. THROUGH THE FUCKING NOSE. Have you ever gotten sick? Gone to the ER? Gotten a bill in the mail for thousands of dollars? Had to take out a loan, set up a payment plan, or sell a possession to afford health care? Even with insurance, we keep paying. And paying. And paying. Co-pays, co-insurance, deductibles, and so on.
I've got damned good health insurance... for an American. I still pay $100 to go to the ER. $25 to see my PCP. $45 to see my rheumatologist, cardiologist, ophthalmologist, dermatologist, ob/gyn, and neurologist. Don't laugh - this shit could happen to anyone. I've always been an athlete and if most American ate a diet like mine, we'd solve the type-2 diabetes crisis and turn the heart disease statistics upside down. I don't smoke and I seldom drink. And I STILL got sick. And every time they say, "You need to have ___ checked by ____ specialist," there goes another $45, minimum.
So... for my insurance alone, I just found out that the base cost to my employer (who pays 95% of my premium) is $5,760 per year. That means if I NEVER get sick, I'm automatically costing $5,760 per year. Think about that. It's part of my employee benefits, so it's mine - and it means that I'm effectively shelling out that much before I even see a doctor. Wow folks, that's ALREADY over what Canadians spend per capita. My income is almost exactly average for an American. Oh, and of course, I pay taxes. My taxes cover all those people who can't pay for medical care because our economy sucks and people are losing their jobs or are under-employed. So on top of my premium, and all the co-pays and co-insurance and deductibles I pay, I'm also paying in taxes.
Right now, spending a direct, average amount of $4,089 sounds pretty damned CHEAP, doesn't it? And with longer life expectancies and lower infant mortality rates, that means the Canadian plan is more effective, too.
Oh, and when all is said and done... have any of you ever had to fight with an insurance company for approval, or a claim that got denied, or simply the filing process itself? Keeping track of all that paperwork can be pure hell, on top of already feeling like shit.
So why are we still trapped in our insurance-based system?
EDIT: I mis-read something in the CNN article, and I am changing a paragraph to reflect what I realize it actually meant.
EDIT AGAIN: Another objection I often see to UHC is about the right of the doctors to earn a profit. What's a profit, I ask? It's a paycheck, right? Adjusted for the exchange rate at the time this chart was posted, all based on 2005 data (recent enough for argument, as far as I'm concerned):
| Specialty | US Average Salary | Canada Average Salary (n/1.212) |
| Family Medicine | $164,952 | $167,064 |
| Int. Medicine | $170,889/ $169,450 (hospitalist) | $248,721 |
| Ob/Gyn | $253,160 | $261,412 |
| Gen. Surgery | $278,433 | $247,375 |
| Anesthesia | $309,019 | $205,441 |
| Urology | $317,778 | $279,982 |
no subject
Date: 2010-10-20 04:23 pm (UTC)Because the insurance industry is about making money (which they do - a lot!) rather than taking care of people.