EPTthanks.
sorry for being naiive. im only comfortable w/canada's health policies.
[Q] US health System
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MuffiN
Korea (North)201 Posts
thanks. sorry for being naiive. im only comfortable w/canada's health policies. | ||
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jello_biafra
United Kingdom6641 Posts
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Mykill
Canada3402 Posts
but i hear that health insurance is a MUST unless your absurdly rich. also i've heard of quite a few scams where those who sign up for health insurance still dont get shit when they claim for it | ||
micronesia
United States24765 Posts
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Deleted User 3420
24492 Posts
No, things are not set. It is determined by the business. This includes pharmacies. | ||
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micronesia
United States24765 Posts
edit: If you leave a job, you can often continue the insurance from that job for a period of time for a monthly rate; this is called cobra I believe. After a while, you need to get new insurance. | ||
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Archerofaiur
United States4101 Posts
On May 15 2009 10:28 MuffiN wrote: How does the US health system work? It doesn't. | ||
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GrayArea
United States872 Posts
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prOxi.swAMi
Australia3091 Posts
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DeathSpank
United States1029 Posts
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Jonoman92
United States9107 Posts
Even a fairly minor thing like having a kid break a bone can wreak havoc on a budget because once you have to go the hospital things get crazy expensive fast and half the time they bill you for still that they didn't do or was unnecessary it seems. edit: I don't see our health system changing anytime soon. Everyone who has power in society is just fine in the status quo, and it's not like the poor people are gonna unite and actually demand anything. Changing the state of things would take tons of money and that obviously isn't there. Obama isn't some miracle worker, and even though I consider myself liberal I haven't been a fan of the way he's been handling things lately. | ||
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Archerofaiur
United States4101 Posts
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numberThirtyOne
United States294 Posts
On May 15 2009 11:46 DeathSpank wrote: we don't have a system. It's all privatized. Maybe once we get out of this economic fiasco Obama will change that. If he promises to wait that long, I'll be happier. | ||
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KnightOfNi
United States1508 Posts
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Archerofaiur
United States4101 Posts
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micronesia
United States24765 Posts
On May 15 2009 11:49 Jonoman92 wrote: I don't think it's fair to compare automobile insurance to health insurance. The reason why it's required for you to be insured when you drive, but not for your own health, is because of liability. Medical insurance isn't there to protect others from you, whereas car insurance is. Collision insurance, for example, is optional.I think it's a bit silly the way our system is. It's illegal to drive a car without having it insured but health insurance on the other hand is a luxury of sorts. Most people that have it get it through their jobs. The people that don't most likely have crappy jobs that are the kind of jobs that have few or no benefits and along with that pay very little so that can't afford to get health insurance on their own. | ||
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Archerofaiur
United States4101 Posts
On May 15 2009 12:32 micronesia wrote: I don't think it's fair to compare automobile insurance to health insurance. The reason why it's required for you to be insured when you drive, but not for your own health, is because of liability. Medical insurance isn't there to protect others from you, whereas car insurance is. Collision insurance, for example, is optional. The irony of course being that someone would not be able to get preventive care, go to a hospital emergency room, and end up getting thousands of dollars worth of care which is ultimatly payed by the tax payer. Its like making you pay for my car accident without you ever knowing about it. | ||
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mahnini
United States6862 Posts
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omninmo
2349 Posts
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aznmathfreak
United States148 Posts
As for the insurance, it's expensive, but for the bulk of the working class, their company helps to pay for that insurance - somewhere along the lines of 50-75% of the costs. Generally it's a month to month deduction from your work pay. It's one of the reason that having a stable job is so appealing. As for the expenses, it's generally determined by the facility providing the service, however there are cases where if the hospital/doctor's office is under a certain health insurance coverage, there are agreed price ceilings that the insurance company has set for the facility. For example, a doctor could charge 150 for a certain check up, but if you have a certain insurance company, the doctor might be obligated to charge only 125 to the insurance company, a portion of which you will have to pay as co-pay. Co-pay is basically the portion of the bill that the patient is responsible for. This varies from company to company as well as from what the procedure is for. All of that are set by the insurance company. So if you don't have insurance, there's really no restrictions to the price you pay for your health care. It is ridiculously expensive here in the United States, so insurance is always desirable. | ||
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