US Elections 2020

[Jericho]

I think I have a nose bleed!
The more I know the less I know!

[broncofan]

I told you a few years ago I read an entire wikipedia on British Parliament and devolved powers to Scottish Parliament etc. It's gone. Now I can impress other yanks because I know what MP stands for.

So take-aways: 1. President and Congress elected separately. 2. Congress= House of representatives and Senate. 3. Senate has 100 senators (2 for each state) and House 435 (proportioned to population of each state).

Actually one more function of our system that is quirky is that a lot of important social issues are decided by our Supreme Court. We have 9 Justices, they are appointed by the President when there is a vacancy and they serve for life. This ends up being kind of a morbid thing bc people know who Justices were appointed by and how old they are.

And that would exceed my knowledge of the mechanics of British Parliament. But I like watching PM questions so I can see who's more popular with his backbench

[broncofan]

Anecdotes can be helpful to illustrate an issue though I always assume when I hear something about our healthcare system it's a worst case scenario. Let me share a moderate case scenario that proves we're barely a civilized country.

I have health insurance through my employer. I chose a good health insurer when I picked my plan. Recently I was playing tennis and destroyed my calf. Everyone I was playing with said they knew the injury, that it was a tear of the main muscle in the calf and of the plantaris, that it doesn't need surgery but is very painful and keeps you off your feet for four weeks and eight weeks to fully heal.

I went to a doc, who expressed the same suspicion but said in such an injury it's helpful to get an mri to rule out an achilles tear, which he said is perhaps 1% possibility, probably less since I could kind of hobble.

I don't have an Achilles tear but today I got a bill in the mail that says my insurance covered 3,200 dollars of it and that I owe exactly 1,736.43 dollars.

If I knew I would get stuck with a bill for nearly two thousand dollars I would have said I'm fine, I'm almost positive it's not an Achilles tear. What's more, the doctor wanted to order a second MRI to prove it healed properly!

First of all, there are people in this country who are not insured. Small employers don't have to provide insurance, and people who are unemployed are supposed to pay a $500 dollar a month premiums for bad insurance.

Anyhow, the good news is I got to tell people about my stupid leg, my tennis game, and also complain about our healthcare system. Brits, Aussies, is this the sort of bill you guys get stuck with?

[broncofan]

Anyhow, this is part of the reason I think healthcare has to be a major priority.

[Stavros]

Brits, Aussies, is this the sort of bill you guys get stuck with?

There is no bill. You would probably go to hospital, have an x-ray and a diagnosis, maybe some pills but as you say it is not a major injury. As a mature adult you pay a National Insurance contribution with every pay check, ie once a month in normal circumstances. This entitles you to free medical treatment at the time of need. If you are prescribed pills then you will have to pay for the medicine, a base fee of £9 (about $11.83) so that would be the total cost of the treatment, though I doubt you need a pill for an Achilles tendon injury. Because of my age I get my medicines free of charge (and I am currently on three different types of pill per day)

[filghy2]

Brits, Aussies, is this the sort of bill you guys get stuck with?

It's a little complicated in Australia, but still way better in most respects than the USA. Treatment in a public hospital is free, but there are long waiting lists for surgery classified as non-critical. Private doctors' bills are reimbursed up to a scheduled fee that the government decides is reasonable, although many doctors charge more than than this. Medical drugs are also heavily subsidised. Some things are not generally covered by the government - eg dental and optical. Many people have private insurance to cover these extra costs, but even with this there can still be significant out-of-pocket costs.

Fortunately, I've been pretty healthy so the details of medical coverage have not been much of an issue for me. However, I am heading into that grey area where I'm old enough to start developing more medical problems but not old enough to qualify for the benefits available to seniors. Recently I was a diagnosed with condition that will require surgery to fix, but because it's non-critical the only way I could get it done anytime soon is in a private hospital. I don't have private insurance, so that would cost around AU$10,000 (US$7,000).

[Jericho]

normal circumstances. This entitles you to free medical treatment at the time of need. If you are prescribed pills then you will have to pay for the medicine, a base fee of £9 (about $11.83) so that would be the total cost of the treatment

Unless you live in Wales or Scotland, where prescriptions are 'free'.

[broncofan]

It's a little complicated in Australia, but still way better in most respects than the USA. Treatment in a public hospital is free, but there are long waiting lists for surgery classified as non-critical. Private doctors' bills are reimbursed up to a scheduled fee that the government decides is reasonable, although many doctors charge more than than this. Medical drugs are also heavily subsidised. Some things are not generally covered by the government - eg dental and optical. Many people have private insurance to cover these extra costs, but even with this there can still be significant out-of-pocket costs.

Fortunately, I've been pretty healthy so the details of medical coverage have not been much of an issue for me. However, I am heading into that grey area where I'm old enough to start developing more medical problems but not old enough to qualify for the benefits available to seniors. Recently I was a diagnosed with condition that will require surgery to fix, but because it's non-critical the only way I could get it done anytime soon is in a private hospital. I don't have private insurance, so that would cost around AU$10,000 (US$7,000).

Sorry to hear you're going to be out of pocket so much for this surgery. The health insurance I have would cost someone out of pocket 500 a month (or 6000 a year) if they were unemployed or worked for a small employer who wasn't required to provide health insurance. So, someone paying 6,000 a year for insurance might get the bill I got.

I have to say I pay only about 25 dollars out of pocket for two prescriptions per month which is not terrible. Even with insurance we're out of pocket for so many things and insurance companies try to find ways to weasel out of paying. I get a surprise bill like this once every three or four years.

I also have a close friend who was transported to the hospital with uncontrollable seizures (he had poorly controlled type I diabetes) and left with a bill so large he declared bankruptcy in his twenties.

[broncofan]

Unless you live in Wales or Scotland, where prescriptions are 'free'.

That's a pretty good deal. I'm sure a lot of people here get dinged for hundreds a month on prescriptions. Anything that still has a patent is very expensive and insurance companies will often either not cover it or bury you in paperwork proving the drug is a necessity and you've tried every alternative.

[filghy2]

Sorry to hear you're going to be out of pocket so much for this surgery. The health insurance I have would cost someone out of pocket 500 a month (or 6000 a year) if they were unemployed or worked for a small employer who wasn't required to provide health insurance. So, someone paying 6,000 a year for insurance might get the bill I got.

Private insurance would have cost me at least A$1500 per year and not covered all costs, so I figure I'm well ahead with all the money I've saved by not having it. It's a calculated gamble on staying healthy and being able to use the public system if something goes wrong. The most important thing is that I know I'm not going to be ruined financially if I'm struck by a severe medical condition.