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I am a Canadian who has lived for several years in the U.S., and I now live in Australia. I can say unequivocally that despite its problems, socialized medicine (the Canadian system) is far superior to what I experienced in the U.S.. In Canada, I need health services, I go get it. Period. In the U.S., I have to make sure I go to the right doctor, deal with the insurance company, worry about weather the insurance company will actually pay, pick the right health plan in advance when I have little idea what I will need, et cetera. All of this when I am sick or injured and have bigger things to be worrying about.

I am not absolutely certain that socialized medicine is better than free market medicine, but the U.S. does not have a free market, they have a complex socialized system run by private insurance companies. The easiest thing to do would be to cut out the insurance companies and fund health care on a state or federal level (i.e. make a state run insurance company the single payer). Yes, taxes will go up, but again, in my experience, the percentage of my paycheque that was withheld was exactly the same in Canada and the U.S.. In Canada, it was called taxes while in the U.S., it was called an insurance premium. There was effectively no difference. Now, I know this solution is politically difficult as it puts private companies out of business, but it is far better for the people both individually and collectively to just plain not have to worry about healthcare.



Oh, I am abundantly familiar with the good points of federally funded healthcare. I have never* had to deal with health insurance as a consumer, though I paid insurance claims for five years. My father and ex husband were both career military and are both military retirees. I have been a military dependent my entire life. Given the length of my marriage, as long as I don't remarry, I am entitled to free medical coverage for life.

But: I nearly died twelve years ago. I am clear my excellent medical coverage, which helped me get good dental care, helped poison me. I have spent the last twelve years getting well instead of politely dying from my genetic disorder like the world would like me to do. I used to have an extremely good friend in Canada and I am abundantly familiar with the fact that Canadians who live along the border sometimes drive to the U.S. and pay out of pocket in order to get around the sometimes months long waiting lists common in Canada, and there is a complex relationship between the American system and the funding of drug research globally. As I understand it, in general terms, the U.S. takes the brunt of the costs of new drugs and pays crazy high brand name prices for a decade to cover the sunk cost of research and then after we have covered this essential cost, it becomes a generic and is marketed globally at much more reasonable prices. So it is possible that drug research could come to a virtual standstill if the American system changed.

Furthermore, military members, military retirees, and government employees operate under a very different system from general civilians. There isn't just one American system. And military service is, from what I gather, far more common in the U.S. than in many other countries.

So as I said initially: I am conflicted. I think it is far more complex than most people realize. But having worked for an insurance company, I am inclined to believe that if the world decided "health insurance" (edit: of the "major medical" variety) was the Darth Vader of our galaxy and should be hunted down and made extinct, most likely the world would be a better place. So I return to my original question: Anyone have any thoughts on how to accomplish that in the U.S.?

Thanks for replying and have an upvote.

* Except briefly when my husband was a recruiter and we were stationed somewhere without a base, but it was still different from what civilians live with.




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