Just Saw Sicko, Now Have Question

[jba]

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IE in Sweden someone making about $80k/yr is taxed 45%, max tax is 50%. Here it's 38%/38% at that level. Not *that* gigantic of a difference.

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it's 28% at 80k. the max tax bracket in US is 35%. also I don't know how sweden taxes capital gains, if it's like ordinary income it's an unfair comparison.

[The4Aces]

Shouldnt another basic human right be the right to feel secure in ones belongings? AKA feel protected from theivery.

If this is a human right how can anyone justify violating one human right (the right to be secure in ones belongings) to fund another human right (health care?)

[idrinkcoors]

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All due respect, this is a really dumb opinion. One might say that the USA was built on the backs of African slaves, stolen from Native Americans, and layered over the corpses of immigrant laborers.

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Here we go again. The hate America crowd comes forward. Every country has taken over land, and fought for land, so get over it. Oh, and those, "corpses of immigrant laborers" CAME HERE VOLUNTARILY. Try picking up a history book.

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I never said that this was my opinion. I said that it was something that someone might say. I personally grind peasants underneath my boot heel just for the added dietary fiber.

Hint: Never take me too seriously.

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Sorry for the harsh words Amplify. You struck a nerve.

Moving on, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee had an interesting arguement about "Sicko." The Governor had recently lost over 100 pounds, and mentioned how he is much healthier now, he visits the doctor less often, etc. He went on to say that part of the high cost of health care in this country is due to overweight people like Michael Moore taxing the system.

When you think about it, he does have a point. Perhaps instead of just criticizing eveything, perhaps one of the best things Michael Moore could do to help out USA health care would be to lose some weight?

[spider]

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As for me, I'm not rich, but I wouldnt want every bit of my money to go to medical care. My policy caps out for payments at a million. So basically, any serious illness could eat that up quick; then I go broke. So I'm looking for alternatives that preferably wouldnt involve suicide.
By the way, how much do policies with no caps cost?

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I'm not an expert here, but $1 million still goes pretty far. Getting beyond $1 m is mostly going to be cases where treatment is experimental or condition is chronic.

But there are 2 sides to insurance -- beside the cap, there is the deductible. If you are young and healthy you can go for a high deductible plan. I've seen some for around $100 a month, but not sure of the exact caps.

Note that high deductible basically means you pay for you own healthcare and thus your insurance is literally insurance -- for serious and unexpected events.

For folks who are sick and jobless or changing jobs, you need to look for places that will offer insurance to those with pre-existing conditions. That would be the Federal Gov't for one, not sure beyond that. The ability of health insurers to avoid insuring sick people is basically the root problem that the US is not really dealing with at all currently.

[guids]

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As for me, I'm not rich, but I wouldnt want every bit of my money to go to medical care. My policy caps out for payments at a million. So basically, any serious illness could eat that up quick; then I go broke. So I'm looking for alternatives that preferably wouldnt involve suicide.
By the way, how much do policies with no caps cost?

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I'm not an expert here, but $1 million still goes pretty far. Getting beyond $1 m is mostly going to be cases where treatment is experimental or condition is chronic.

But there are 2 sides to insurance -- beside the cap, there is the deductible. If you are young and healthy you can go for a high deductible plan. I've seen some for around $100 a month, but not sure of the exact caps.

Note that high deductible basically means you pay for you own care and insurance is basically "insurance" -- for serious and unexpected events.

For folks who are sick and jobless or changing jobs, you need to look for places that will offer insurance to those with pre-existing conditions. That would be the Federal Gov't for one, not sure beyond that.

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This is a good point, and where I say priorities should come into play. I just turned 25, Im extremely healthy, I dont go to teh doctor ever, hell, Ive never even had a cavity. I pay 163 dollars every 3 months, for 1k deductible (up to 1 milion in coverage). I pay 10% co-pay for generics, and 25$ every office visit. This, to me is a really really good deal, and I realize this, so rather than eat out every night of the week, or whatever, I have a savings ING account specifically setup for later on when my healthcare is more expensive (I probably will never have a job where healthcare is provided). Most of my [censored] friends dont even HAVE health ins let alone plan for teh future. And when teh time comes, because I have planned for it, I want to be able to get the best healthcare possible (which I wont be able to on a socialized healthcare system), and I dont want some douchebag bureaucrats taxing me to pay for dumb people's mistakes.

[amplify]

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perhaps one of the best things Michael Moore could do to help out USA health care would be to lose some weight, bathe and shave?

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[guids]

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perhaps one of the best things Michael Moore could do to help out USA health care would be to lose some weight, bathe and shave?

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nah, then the water gets super polluted.

[bdk3clash]

As this thread is veering into a "discussion" of health care policy, here are a few threads from the Politics forum that might be enlightening to anyone interested.

Questions for Social Health Care Advocates

Obama's calling for Universal Health Coverage - First Term

In this thread, I wrote:

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You're confusing government controlled/"socialized" health coverage with universal health coverage. All Obama "announced" what that people who don't have health care coverage now will/should have it in 6 years, not that people who currently have health care coverage should be subject to some different system. There's no reason for you to think that the government will be telling you can't see your doctor because you have to see who they choose, or that you'd face longer waits for procedures.

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Revenue and funding issues aside, universal health care coverage in the United States would most likely just mean government-subsidized insurance for those unable to afford it on their own. If someone doesn't want private insurance they'd be under no obligation to purchase it under Obama's proposed system, nor is it likely they'd be forced to participate in a government-subsidized insurance program. It would probably look like an expanded version of the Medicare/Medicaid model, not the VA model.

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Universal Healthcare

The market for health care

Public health model vs. Private health model

Public Health Care - Why not at state level first?

Can someone explain the health care 'crisis' to me?

How do you solve the Health Care problem in the U.S.?

[Aloysius]

Atul Gawande on Sicko

Gawande is a very measured, intelligent writer (also a doctor) and makes some interesting points about Sicko, how it might be important, and universal healthcare in general.

I haven't seen Sicko yet (wasn't going to, can't stand Moore, but maybe now I will) but thought you guys might want to check this piece out.

-Al

[hobbes9324]

Be realisitic - a five hour wait occurs for urgencies, not emergencies. If for no other reason than med mal, we want you back NOW if you're seriously ill. (Actually, we want you back because we want to help and take care of sick people - but I don't want to go all liberal/humanitarian on you)
Your point about long waits for general care is valid - my specialty is becoming the default general care provider for a big portion of the population.
Where you should be concerned is that in some parts of the country, mine included, you can't get emergency care for deadly serious illness no matter what your insurance status is. In the last year, my group has transferred out two vascular disasters, and sent a complex hand injury home to Texas from Nevada because we had no vascular or plastic coverage in our city. One of the vascular cases died en route. All three were insured - so that wasn't the issue. This scares the crap out of me.....

MM MD