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Health Care Bill

Because

Because

There's not a lot of clarity there. For example, the PIA states: "In industry surveys, our member companies consistently list 'cost of providing health insurance' as their most concerning public policy challenge."

Wouldn't health care reform benefit the industry?


gordon p

Because it is going to force employers of certain sizes to either offer insurance or face fines of $2000 for each employee.

The other part of it is that nobody likes change. It's easier to deal with the devil that you know than the ones that you do not.
 
Our company dropped insurance at the end of Dec. They couldn't afford to help provide it.
With that being said, the cost of the state option with a reasonable deductible is more expensive than private, by a lot.
I have pre-existing with asthma. So now I have a 2 year exemption on any thing billed under asthma. We have a 1,000 drug deductible. It's not the best plan and not the worst.
This new system would be nice if it allowed no price penalties for pre-existing, only for smokers.
The biggest problem I see is when everyone has to be in the pool, premiums are going to increase dramatically.
Most people won't be able to afford private any more and will be forced into the public option.

It becomes choice by default. Or the lesser of two evils.
 
I tried to find info on the US's proposed health care plan - but couldn't find any real info - just a lot of opinions (and scare mongering).
Being in Canada - and not being employed - I pay $102 per month to cover health care for my wife and myself ($52 each). If I was employed then my employer would be paying the premium. Health care is basically anything that involves a hospital or doctor and supplementary health care practitioners, laboratory services, etc. Almost all of the services are provided by private entities. The government does not participate in day-to-day care. If one earns less than $20,000 per year then the premiums are paid by the government on your behalf.
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.
Private insurance is available to cover things that the government plan doesn't (like the cost of a private room, some prescriptions).

Hopefully the US system will learn from and take the best of what other countries are doing.

best, gordon p
 
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gordo,

do you think that $100 covers the true cost of your health care? some one is paying tax dollars for it. it may not be in your health bill, but it is in your tax bill.


also I dont think canada has nearly as many free loaders on the books. in fact canada has about 35,000,000 people which is what the us is trying to cover with the new scheme. some of which dont by insurance by choice. we already provide insurance to 60 million people on medicaid and another 44 million people on medicare. which is about 1 third of the people in the US. the rest of us get to pay for that and our own healthcare. I have been paying $5000 a year for the last 20 years and not getting but about $2000 total in care over the same period. seems fair to me. I personally get a little upset with the government asking me to pay more so that people that "choose not to work or come here illegally" can get free health care. I look forward to the day I can sit on my a$$ get food stamps and free room and board and health care. talk about life liberty and the persuit of happiness.

ps I think public education is a good thing. we just need to cut off the disruptive kids so they don't take down the rest of the system.
 
Obviously the $100 I pay per month is not the true cost of health care up here. That being said, the United States spends much more money on health care than Canada does, on both a per-capita basis and as a percentage of GDP. In 2006, per-capita spending for health care in Canada was US$3,678; in the U.S., it was US$6,714. Total government spending per capita in the U.S. on health care was 23% higher than Canadian government spending. It certainly appears that you are paying more, but not getting more in return.

And obviously there is no "free" healthcare - it all gets paid for through taxes (mine included) and citizen funding. But it seems strange, to me, when businesses cannot afford to provide it for their workers. Or that you could lose, or not qualify for it, because of, for example, a pre existing condition.

You are lucky that you have not needed the care that health insurance provides. That lucky circumstance could change in an instant. Up here we hear stories of people who lose their houses to pay medical bills. Of insurance companies that have investigators researching claimants past medical history in order to deny claims. I don't know how truthful it was, but we see films like Sicko, which was about people who had medical insurance coverage but still lost out to the insurance companies and it looks pretty scary.

According to Consumer Reports a total of 40% of Americans ages 18–64 have inadequate access to health care compared with 5% of Canadians. I find it hard to believe that is acceptable.

There is some strangeness about the US - at least in my mind. I don't know how it works for illegals in the US. They seem to be an accepted, normal, part of US society. Don't the companies that employ them declare their wages as a business cost? If illegals are allowed to work and get paid a wage - shouldn't they be paying taxes? If they consume goods they are paying taxes aren't they?

Oh well, I shouldn't go on about stuff I don't really understand.

best, gordon p
 
gordo,

I guess my point was more that canadians are generally more responsible with there health care. maybe that is because of the government hand in it or maybe it there are less foolish and poor people. I dont know.

the stories about people losing everything are true. mostly because they would not pay for catastrophic health care insurance. I heard tonight, that for most people 15,000 deductible insurance can be purchase for $60 to $150 per month. the price of cable/internet. now that still leaves per existing conditions which I believe should be eliminated. some people can still just get caught in the middle at which point they file bankruptcy and lose some of their possessions, but if they are still health after the medical problem then they can work and pay it back. If they can no longer work then then go on medicaid and ssi. for every person that loses everything I can get you 10 stories of people that had a heart attack or cancer survived and got better and had some debts but worked for 20 more years.

legal cost: I think a percentage of the cost in the us is due to lawsuits. tort reform would lower these costs. I doubt cuba has this issue. not certain about canada.

as far as access goes. what is access. you can go into most any hosptial emergency room and get care immediately the question is only payment and we have a bunch of people that use the emergency room as a primary care center. and that is another issue. we should all work on.

dont get me started on michael more. what a tool.

drugs are cheaper in canada because the government threatens drug companies with stealing and making a generic if they dont just sell it for less. Atleast that is what I have been told by people in the drug industry. take it with a grain of salt.

but what can we lowly graphic arts professionals do.

rob
 
I've always been in favor of a national sales tax to help pay for some of these programs. People may be able to get around an income tax by using creative bookkeeping, but there is no way to get around, say a 2% sales tax on all goods and services (the only thing that should be excluded are payments for food and healthcare) That way, you buy a $60000 boat, you pay $1,200 sales tax. Million dollar mansion, $20K tax. It would stop the rich from using "creative methods" to get around the system, and would not unfairly tax the poor (as they would probably be buying primarly food, etc. to merely survive.) All illegal immigrants in the country currently should get instant citizenship so they can start paying their fair share of taxes instead of sending it all back to their country. Also, penalize companies using illegal immegrants for labor. Illegals should also not be able to just come across the border and give birth so their child is an instant citizen and eligible for welfare and free healthcare. As for all these celebrities going overseas and adopting kids, there are plenty of kids in this country who would love a good home. Also, get rid of welfare. Some people say they're on welfare because they can't afford daycare for their kids so they can go to work. Here's an idea, take the welfare money and give free childcare instead. Then people would have no more excuses for getting a job and paying taxes and being a leech on the system. Also, QUIT HAVING KIDS if you can't afford them.

There. My rant is done.......for now. LOL
 
I always have been very amazed and horrified that such a big and rich country as USA has no free healthcare for everybody...

In France a basic healthcare is a natural part of our life (with also unemployement care and retirement), and all these cares are handled only by the governement as a "public service", with no private company involved in the system (and trying to make more and more money from our health/unemployment cares or retirements).

And (like gordo explains for his country), private insurances are also available as a complementary option to cover what the government healthcare doesn't (also like the cost of a private room and/or some "comfort" prescriptions).
(Companies often pay this complementary option for their employees.)


Where does the money come from?

• for those who are employed, it's a part of our salaries, directly paid by the employer to a dedicated governemental-organization each month,

• for independant workers, it's charges to be paid to the same governemental-organization, the amount depends of the money they earn,

• it also comes from taxes collected by the governement for people earning money from share-holding, stock-options, money-investments and other incomes from rents,
(and other ways often used as "disguised salaries" to try to avoid paying the charges on real salaries)

• and a tax is taken by the governement on each packet of cigarettes and each bottle of alcool, because alcoholics and smokers cost generally more money to the healthcare!!!

There is (theorically) no way to escape: whatever the (legal) way you get money, you have to pay for healthcare! (even legal prostitutes pay their charges for health/unemployement care and retirement)
Everybody pays for everybody, and everybody is covered.
Of course, there are some problems... almost everybody complains about the cost of healthcare/unemploymentcare/retirement costs, but everybody is happy to profit of them when they need!!! and, of course, there are some profiters who take advantages of the system, of course some poor people also use the emergency room of hospitals as a primary care center, but basically and globally the system works and works quite fine.

(but things are becoming bad with the actual governement new reforms...)


What about illegals? no matter if legal or illegal, nobody should be left dying on the pavement like an animal, and every human must have the right to receive free medical care!!!
In France, even illegals have a minimum free healthcare...
And one day illegals become legals, and then they also participate to the life of their country and also pay for other people!

Illegals having chidren?... here again everybody pays for the health of these children, they go to public schools for free...
They grow-up and learn a job, and when they will be adults, they will work and they will also pay for everybody.
 
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yes indeed americans are just too stuborn to change. some even feel we are Taxed Enough Already. ie the tea party folks. if we could just get rid of all the people that dont work. indeed the illilegals generally don't get welfare, foodstamps, free housing, or free health care. and they generally work very hard. in the USA its still currently against the the law to be here with out permission(travel visa, green card, 401b visa, citizenship, etc.) they do cost us more in various ways, like schools where we have to have translators and extra classes for non english speaking people. but the arguement really is not about illegals. Its about expense. as an small employer I am supposed to get a tax deduction for each employee I buy insurance for, until they take the deduction away. just ask all the big companies taking billion dollar right downs this week. of course a tax deduction would assume we make a profit​
 
yes indeed americans are just too stuborn to change.​

Or perhaps a little bit egotist?...


some even feel we are Taxed Enough Already
But they are happy to have electricity and water arriving to their house, happy to have a sewer-pipe under their house, happy to have their rubbishes collected twice the week, happy to send their kids to school, happy to drive their cars on roads and highways, happy to live in a country that gives them many facilities and possibilities, and happy to go to hospital when they are ill... but all that cost money and has to be paid, by taxes!!!

Mostly, people complaining about too many taxes are people who would like to have all the advantages of the life in a rich country, but without paying anything... only taking profit of the other people, in fact egotiscally acting like thieves or parasites...



if we could just get rid of all the people that dont work.
The solution is not to "get rid of all the people that dont work", but is to give a job to everybody!!!

There is enough jobs for everybody in the world... but today jobs are not correctly distributed and shared, they are outsourced mainly to give more and more money to the share-holders of the companies of the north-countries...
... with the consequences that :
- in rich countries the unemployment is raising, leaving many people in a more-than-poor condition... (and making angry those who are lucky to have a job)
- and in poor countries, where the salaries are very low, people work more than 10 hours per day and 6 or 7 days per week.



indeed the illilegals generally don't get welfare, foodstamps, free housing, or free health care. and they generally work very hard. in the USA its still currently against the the law to be here with out permission(travel visa, green card, 401b visa, citizenship, etc.) they do cost us more in various ways, like schools where we have to have translators and extra classes for non english speaking people.
Your name sounds like a french name, and as a french spelling... probably meaning that your family came from France many years ago... and are you sure that they spoke perfectly english when arriving in the USA??? and are you sure that they got US-citizenship immediately???



but the arguement really is not about illegals. Its about expense. as an small employer I am supposed to get a tax deduction for each employee I buy insurance for, until they take the deduction away. just ask all the big companies taking billion dollar right downs this week. of course a tax deduction would assume we make a profit
InFrance, all the companies pay for health/unemployement cares and retirements for each employee: believe me, I know what it costs!!!
But it's finally included in the price of the work, included in the price of the goods, and included in the price of the life... and it works!!!
... and in big companies, it's less money for the share-holders... share-holders are parasites-of-work and vampires, so it's time that the money earned by the companies with the sweat of the workers goes back to the workers and give benefits to the workers, instead of fattening vampires!!!​
 
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And everything that they say at the seminar is subject to change because the makeup of Congress is going to change.
 
Or perhaps a little bit egotist?...

But they are happy to have electricity and water arriving to their house, happy to have a sewer-pipe under their house, happy to have their rubbishes collected twice the week, happy to send their kids to school, happy to drive their cars on roads and highways, happy to live in a country that gives them many facilities and possibilities, and happy to go to hospital when they are ill... but all that cost money and has to be paid, by taxes!!!

First off, electricity, water, sewer, and rubbish collection are not paid for by taxes as I pay utility bills for those services every month. Secondly, hospitals and schools are paid for through state property taxes and bond referendums as well as being funded by federal taxes. And roads and highways are also paid for by state and federal taxes with a large percentage coming from taxes on gasoline. So here in the USA we pay city, county, state and Federal taxes ranging from property taxes, sales tax, license tax, gasoline tax, FICA tax, Medicare tax, and wage withholding tax and I'm sure a few I've missed here. There is nothing you do that does not have some kind of tax associated with it. The biggest problem we have here is that our government does not spend our tax dollars wisely.
 
First off, electricity, water, sewer, and rubbish collection are not paid for by taxes as I pay utility bills for those services every month.
In France, rubbish collection is under the control of the city and is paid by a tax taken by the city... sewer are also controlled by the city and paid by a tax to the city...

For electricity and water, things are a little bit different, as there are two kinds of services that have to be distinguished:
1- the use of electricity and water, which are bills paid monthly (or every 2 monthes)
2- the installation and servicing of the distribution lines... not sure for the water, but electricity is a public service belonging to the governement... so, when the final balance is positive, customer's bills pay everything, but when the balance is negative, the governement compensate the losses using its money, which is the money it collected with all the various taxes...



So here in the USA we pay city, county, state and Federal taxes ranging from property taxes, sales tax, license tax, gasoline tax, FICA tax, Medicare tax, and wage withholding tax and I'm sure a few I've missed here.
In France, we have the same taxes, with different names (gasoline tax is about 75-80% of the price: gasoline is more than 3 times more expensive than in USA!!!)...
... plus one you don't have: the VAT, at 19.6 or 5.5 %!!!



There is nothing you do that does not have some kind of tax associated with it.
Yes, but (except when I sleep) there is also quite nothing I do without using something more or less public provided by my country...

...and even if sometimes all these taxes give the feeling to be a little bit heavy, in a general manner I'm quite happy to pay taxes AND to get all the benefits of living in a country that gives so much advantages and comfort!



The biggest problem we have here is that our government does not spend our tax dollars wisely.
Yeah... right! and you're not alone: I have exactly the same feeling with the french governement! ;)
 
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claude

bailleu is french (Alsace-Lorraine) the people are german. my ancestors came here in 1856 and citizenship was handed out to just about any idiot at that time. they spoke english and german right up until WW1. at which time it was discouraged. they even had church service in german until WWII. things are different now.

you must have controls. just as with anything.

your trash pick up has limits. 2 bags here. extra bags cost more.
water/sewer is billed by usage.
power is private but with government oversite. billed by usaged.
roads - more motor fuel tax if you drive more.
phone - more tax if you use more. unless you go voip.
if i dont use health care it still costs me the same or more now with preexisting condition. I should have some incentive to save like with a health savings account that I get the money back if not used. everyone should be able to afford an office visit. just not the heart bypass or cancer treatment.

jobs if you work hard there are jobs.
I would like to hire some one right now, but the list of qualified candidates is limited.
if you don't just stay home and have kids and get free healthcare and food and housing. this already happens. frankly I would rather have illegalls that work and are productive than the free loaders that just consume resources and don't provide usefull skills to society. most people remove ticks and leaches from the body, because they serve no purpose to the body other than to consume its resources.

I am okay with unemployment tax and medicaid and medicare. its abused, but thats a price we pay for a safety net. but hand outs to people that think they deserve it, is ridiculous.

on top of this the people this is meant for will have trouble understanding the proper way to get the proper insurance. and will most likely not get the proper coverage to solve the issue.

if you want to see how government run health care will be here in the US. Look at the VA. My father is a veteran. he has the basic va coverage for a one term vet. He has arthritis. he has been through every drug on the market that has a generic. nothing works. the va is supposed to provide the drug that works. but the answer they provide is that he does not have arthritis and they wont buy the drug. so his option is live with the pain or pay $700/month for the drugs that work. right now he lives with the pain. soon this wont be an option. also he is on medicare which is why the drug is only $700 instead of $2100/month


side story.

A local job was open for a well paid office position. the top candidate was asked when she could start as the need was immediate. the response was my unemployment does not run out until may could she start in may.

get to work america.
 
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HealthCare adn taxes...

HealthCare adn taxes...

Hi everyone, I try to stay away from politics and related topics but things that going on around start to really bother me. As it was mentioned before- our Government spends Tax money terribly, here in NY, you can't hardly find busier place than Manhattan, I would imagine that concentration of taxpayers is over the top, but roads are terrible - let me mention that is a capital of the World - real shame. Also is it normal that doctor dedicates a 15 min to a patient? I hear that medical offices offer food shopping sprees to Medicare patients, Pharmacies offer money to Patients who can squeeze Prescription for certain drugs out of their doctors, Medical transportation companies throw back anot $20 to a doctor whom they are bringing patient to, Medical labs do the same. Once I had counted 8 pharmacies within 20 city blocks of one street. Another problem that majority of government's projects are not given just to a qualified vendor or contractor but to legalized mafiozi - sorry - unions with rip-off charges, I mean if you have a right team, right tools, etc to do 100,000 job for 70,000 it will be given to someone who will offer exact 100,000 and is a union, so next time budget won't be less than 100,000.... Well about Health thing-I think a few really simple steps can save a ton of money - like doctor can't bill for more than 10-15 patients a day, this way doctors who do 45 won't be able to run their conveyors...
Seriously - I am not sure how am I going to make it being a small printer with 5 employees if there will be even more taxes and I'd have to offer everyone a medical plan... I think thy need to fix lot of things and medical just a little part of it.
 

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