I was born and raised in America. I lived the first 25 years of my life there, and for the last 5 years I did I had really, really crappy health-care.
When you're a single, early-twenties, working-class person with a high-school diploma and just a few years of college you don't make that much in a
small town. I couldn't afford the $500 deductible required before my insurance would cover
anything. I lived paycheck to paycheck.
I now live in Canada, and should I require medical treatment I can walk into a clinic or hospital and get it. What does this cost me? 0$ No co-pay,
no deductible, and the only question they ask me is, "May I see your health-card?"
Furthermore, 5% less money comes off each paycheck for taxes here than it did when I lived in Wisconsin...and I make more money here. Somehow that
doesn't seem right considering what everyone says but I did the math.
And the doctors here really aren't impoverished. You can make a damn good living as a doctor in Canada. A guy my husband grew up with is now a
full-time, full-fledged doctor and he's doing this thing now where 2 days a week he goes to small towns around the province with a shortage of
doctors to provide treatment to those who need it. Because he does this the health-care system is reimbursing him for the cost of his education.
That's right: the government is paying him back the
entire cost of what he paid to become a doctor. Not such a bad deal, eh?
A lot of people in this thread have no idea what they're talking about.
ucatlas.ucsc.edu...
Look at what the U.S. spends compared with Canada. And in Canada
everyone has health-care. What's the figure? 50 million or so people
without health-insurance in the U.S? I bet that's a very conservative estimate. To all of you saying "I don't want our government mismanaging my
health-care." Are you serious? Considering what you're already spending?
[edit on 8/6/08 by Malynn]