Dozens of protestors gathered outside the office of their local Liberal MP, in cities across Canada on Monday to call on the federal government to protect public health care.
2-tiered health care? That’s not American style at all! We’ve got way more tiers than that!
1- The rich and powerful - Can easily afford any procedure they need out of pocket, always go to the best clinics, the ones that don’t even accept low-tier insurance.
2- Active duty military (and their immediate family) - everything paid for, basically no questions asked. Often gets priority on appointments.
3- Medicare (and other programs for the impoverished, elderly, and disabled) - Everything paid for, but your selection of doctors and clinics may be limited, and there may be long waiting times. Depending on the state and the specific program, you may have issues with having coverage denied.
4- Veterans - Free healthcare at veterans administration facilities, but that care can often be low quality and have long waiting lists - there are several tiers within this tier, mostly depending on your disability percentage. Often need tier-5 healthcare as a backup as well, since the VA can be too slow to see you for problems.
5- Working class insurance - Hot garbage, mostly. You’ll pay a fortune for insurance and still pay a lot of money every time you need care. But at least in theory, you actually can get care if you need it. Often chains you to your job because you can’t afford to get insurance without the benefits from that job covering some or all of the premiums. Again, there are many tiers within this tier, with a myriad of different insurance companies and different jobs that might pay for your insurance fully, partially, or not at all. (Also includes workers who don’t get insurance from their job, but get paid well enough to afford it on their own.) Coverage for important procedures will frequently be denied.
6- Underinsured/uninsured - for the working poor who aren’t poor enough to qualify for Medicare, but don’t have good jobs that have health insurance as a benefit - you avoid medical care at almost all costs, as any visit to any clinic or hospital will likely be financially ruinous.
Holy shit, from an Australian perspective this is the most fucked up dystopian shit possible, like over in aus, people who are unemployed and on government benefits (Centrelink (monthly payments), subsidised housing (usually around 59 bucks a month, but shitty quality), and Medicare (covers virtually anything aside from expensive scans and diagnostics)), would probably be living a much better life than many veterans, or would probably be slightly better than the Medicare tier you mentioned.
You Americans ought to threaten your government and healthcare sector in such a way they are terrified of not reaching your demands. This shit is what a population would have a revolution over.
Inertia is very difficult to overcome, especially with decades of active propaganda - not just from “right wing” outlets, but ALL of our media is controlled by our oligarchs, who also try to keep us too poor and tired to fight.
There are many other countries that have it even worse. Why don’t they fight? Because it’s not so easy.
I haven’t given up, mind. Many others haven’t as well. We just don’t have the momentum and support yet.
I want to point out one thing that your post kind of makes confusing. Medicare is for the elderly over age 65. Medicaid is for poor people. We CARE for the elderly and AID the impoverished; just a mnemonic device that helps me remember the difference. (If you’re poor and over 65 you can get both medicare and medicaid.) Medicare and Medicaid are not the same thing.
Medicare has several parts. Part A is hospital coverage and that’s free. Part B is out patient coverage and the premium for that is $202.90 for people making $109,000 or less. If you want coverage for your medications as an old person, get ready to shell out even more for part C and D coverage.
In theory, medicaid is free, but have you heard of the medicaid sped down? A Medicaid spend-down is a program for individuals with income or assets above state limits to qualify for Medicaid by using excess funds on medical expenses. It acts like a deductible, where you “spend down” your income on bills, prescriptions, or care until you meet the “medically needy” income level, after which Medicaid covers further costs for that period.
2-tiered health care? That’s not American style at all! We’ve got way more tiers than that!
1- The rich and powerful - Can easily afford any procedure they need out of pocket, always go to the best clinics, the ones that don’t even accept low-tier insurance.
2- Active duty military (and their immediate family) - everything paid for, basically no questions asked. Often gets priority on appointments.
3- Medicare (and other programs for the impoverished, elderly, and disabled) - Everything paid for, but your selection of doctors and clinics may be limited, and there may be long waiting times. Depending on the state and the specific program, you may have issues with having coverage denied.
4- Veterans - Free healthcare at veterans administration facilities, but that care can often be low quality and have long waiting lists - there are several tiers within this tier, mostly depending on your disability percentage. Often need tier-5 healthcare as a backup as well, since the VA can be too slow to see you for problems.
5- Working class insurance - Hot garbage, mostly. You’ll pay a fortune for insurance and still pay a lot of money every time you need care. But at least in theory, you actually can get care if you need it. Often chains you to your job because you can’t afford to get insurance without the benefits from that job covering some or all of the premiums. Again, there are many tiers within this tier, with a myriad of different insurance companies and different jobs that might pay for your insurance fully, partially, or not at all. (Also includes workers who don’t get insurance from their job, but get paid well enough to afford it on their own.) Coverage for important procedures will frequently be denied.
6- Underinsured/uninsured - for the working poor who aren’t poor enough to qualify for Medicare, but don’t have good jobs that have health insurance as a benefit - you avoid medical care at almost all costs, as any visit to any clinic or hospital will likely be financially ruinous.
Holy shit, from an Australian perspective this is the most fucked up dystopian shit possible, like over in aus, people who are unemployed and on government benefits (Centrelink (monthly payments), subsidised housing (usually around 59 bucks a month, but shitty quality), and Medicare (covers virtually anything aside from expensive scans and diagnostics)), would probably be living a much better life than many veterans, or would probably be slightly better than the Medicare tier you mentioned.
You Americans ought to threaten your government and healthcare sector in such a way they are terrified of not reaching your demands. This shit is what a population would have a revolution over.
Inertia is very difficult to overcome, especially with decades of active propaganda - not just from “right wing” outlets, but ALL of our media is controlled by our oligarchs, who also try to keep us too poor and tired to fight.
There are many other countries that have it even worse. Why don’t they fight? Because it’s not so easy.
I haven’t given up, mind. Many others haven’t as well. We just don’t have the momentum and support yet.
I want to point out one thing that your post kind of makes confusing. Medicare is for the elderly over age 65. Medicaid is for poor people. We CARE for the elderly and AID the impoverished; just a mnemonic device that helps me remember the difference. (If you’re poor and over 65 you can get both medicare and medicaid.) Medicare and Medicaid are not the same thing.
Medicare has several parts. Part A is hospital coverage and that’s free. Part B is out patient coverage and the premium for that is $202.90 for people making $109,000 or less. If you want coverage for your medications as an old person, get ready to shell out even more for part C and D coverage.
In theory, medicaid is free, but have you heard of the medicaid sped down? A Medicaid spend-down is a program for individuals with income or assets above state limits to qualify for Medicaid by using excess funds on medical expenses. It acts like a deductible, where you “spend down” your income on bills, prescriptions, or care until you meet the “medically needy” income level, after which Medicaid covers further costs for that period.