Before the Affordable Care Act came to pass almost fifty million Americans were uninsured. Now that the Supreme Court has upheld President Obama's signature health care law … 26 million Americans will remain uninsured. But how many more millions of Americans can barely afford the coverage they now have?
Depending on your personal outlook on life … the glass is half full or half empty. But who wants a sip?
Where I live it is unimaginable that people can’t afford health coverage. it is unthinkable that a person can’t get health care.
From all-knowing Wikipedia:
“Health care in Canada is delivered through a publicly funded health care system, which is mostly free at the point of use and has most services provided by private entities. It is guided by the provisions of the Canada Health Act of 1984. The government assures the quality of care through federal standards. The government does not participate in day-to-day care or collect any information about an individual's health, which remains confidential between a person and his or her physician. Canada's provincially based Medicare systems are cost-effective partly because of their administrative simplicity. In each province each doctor handles the insurance claim against the provincial insurer. There is no need for the person who accesses health care to be involved in billing and reclaim. Private insurance is only a minimal part of the overall health care system.
Competitive practices such as advertising are kept to a minimum, thus maximizing the percentage of revenues that go directly towards care. In general, costs are paid through funding from income taxes, although British Columbia is the only province to impose a fixed monthly premium which is waived or reduced for those on low incomes. There are no deductibles on basic health care and co-pays are extremely low or non-existent. A health card is issued by the Provincial Ministry of Health to each individual who enrolls for the program and everyone receives the same level of care. There is no need for a variety of plans because virtually all essential basic care is covered, including maternity and infertility problems. Health coverage is not affected by loss or change of jobs, as long as premiums are up to date, and there are no lifetime limits or exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
Pharmaceutical medications are covered by public funds for the elderly or indigent,. or through employment-based private insurance. Drug prices are negotiated with suppliers by the federal government to control costs. Family physicians (often known as general practitioners or GPs in Canada) are chosen by individuals. If a patient wishes to see a specialist or is counseled to see a specialist, a referral can be made by a GP. Preventive care and early detection are considered important and yearly checkups are encouraged. Early detection not only extends life expectancy and quality of life, but cuts down overall costs.”
There is no reason to ask “why” health care is a complicated, unaffordable, and a seemingly insurmountable problem in the U.S. but not in Canada. We know “why.”
Unlike other industrialized nations, the United States health care system is centered-around for-profit insurance companies. Selling “insurance” so people can have access to health care is a money making opportunity. Withholding treatment for sickness and pain is a money making opportunity. Sickness and pain are money making opportunities. There is no need to look any further for a system completely lacking in compassion when we have the United States Health Care Insurance System biting us in the face.
What is the Difference Between a Psychopath and a Sociopath?
Spelling.
Though psychologists may disagree on hair-splitting the fine points defining a sociopath vs. a psychopath, they all agree these lying, manipulative, human mutants have no remorse, shame or guilt. They invade countries, gut economies, kill women and children, or deny life saving treatment to a cancer patient. They can do it all without missing a good night’s sleep.
And it appears they’re in control of the United States of America.
We didn’t move to Canada so our health care coverage could go from $1,100 a month down to $1,800 a year. We got out of Dodge because the elite that rule the country had ensured that their psychopathic brethren would never be held accountable for any of their crimes against humanity.
Some countries are not obviously controlled by monsters. Iceland’s big banks defrauded the country for astronomical sums and ran the economy into the ground. Sound familiar? The government did not bail out the banks.
Central bank governor Davíð Oddsson, said that the state did not intend to take over any of the banks' foreign debts or assets. Instead, new banks were established around the domestic operations, and the old banks will be run into bankruptcy. Too Big To Fail (a.k.a. Reward The Vampires), was not the path chosen by Iceland. Instead Iceland forgave the mortgage debt of about 25% of its population and sued and jailed the bankers who destroyed its economy.
Then what happened?
Iceland now has low unemployment and its economic growth is stronger than anything forecast for the UK or the rest of Europe.
Accountability works!
But don’t tell anybody.
Iceland’s recovery, and how they did it, is not a topic to be discussed on our Nightly News. Might remind the peons of what tumbrels were … and give the serfs the idea that they should build some new ones and roll on in to Washington DC and Wall Street.
Y’see … there are only two things that can bring a psychopath under submission:
1. A bigger psychopath.
2. The non-violent, absolute refusal to submit to psychopathic controls no matter the consequences.
Americans for the most part have invented a completely ridiculous third option. It involves shopping for more crap, watching an average of nearly 35 hours of TV each week, and voting against their best interests.
And by the way … here’s another fact that should make everybody’s Envy-O-meter beep: Iceland has universal health care.
Regards from Beautiful British Columbia