Slipped on the ice on my way to a Leonard Cohen memorial concert. Twisted my leg behind me and now I'm sitting in emergency here in icy Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
I will see a doctor, probably get an x-ray. I will never see a bill. There are many differences between us and our American neighbours - like that "u" I just stuck in neighbour - but more importantly, I wish you universal health care. It's worth keeping, having, fighting for. What is the current state of hubski health care? mivasairski
Healthcare here in the Netherlands is for most people between $90-120/mo depending on what you want to be insured against. All insurances must cover hospital care, GP visits, mental care and most medicine. If you make less than €27k the government pays up to $90/mo. So as a student it's literally free for me.
I'm very fortunate, both in terms of having no major or ongoing medical issues (knock on wood) and good health insurance. I'm a federal employee, but my wife works for the state and we use hers. It covers as much as my plan through the federal government would, but is literally half the cost (especially since federal employees' plans have gone up more than 10% in the last two years). It's great overall, although it helps that basic check-ups and what-not have to be covered for free now. When my daughter was born, I was self-employed and my wife had a terrible policy through a former employer. It took us a good year to pay off the cost of the c-section (even with her insurance). I had wanted to quit my old job and become self-employed about 6 months sooner, but we wouldn't have been able to get any insurance to cover anything obstetric, as she was already pregnant and this would've been a pre-existing condition. Obviously this was pre-Obamacare, but if the Republicans have their way it'll be the status quo again (anyone who thinks they'll replace it with anything remotely meaningful is delusional). It wasn't long before this that my friend with type-1 diabetes couldn't find health insurance for less than $600 per month, and which wouldn't cover anything related to diabetes for the first year. Can't wait to win like that again!
As far back as I can remember I've always had some kind of medical bill that needs to be paid. Children's Special Healthcare of Michigan picked up the tab on some stuff when I was younger. Open heart surgery ain't cheap. As far as the quality of care, I don't think I could get any higher unless I had a personal nurse, chef and trainer working with me 24/7.
My Healthcare is going up $40/month this year for the same exact coverage. Yaaaaaaay.
As someone who had a brain operation for free thanks to the Canadian government, I could not be happier. By a world class surgeon too! The neuro, where I got my surgery, just got a 20mil $ donation a couple days ago for research which I'm super happy about too :) https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3901055 The bi-yearly mris after 4 years are getting a bit old tho.
I'm sorry you hurt yourself lil, especially given where and what you were doing. I know you love Leonard Cohen. Did you miss the show? Have you seen the doctor yet? What was the prognosis? My best to you. Glad you have mivasairski to be by your side.
Lil! Sorry to hear about the icy incident. I'm glad you're getting some prompt attention. My health is blessedly excellent and so my reliance on healthcare has been minimal. I did gymnastics for many years as a young child and into early teenagehood. I played lots of competitive sports and still play soccer multiple times a week. I have an abiding faith that if I stay physical active, I'll collect health dividends my whole life. That said, health insurance is very expensive and you can't avoid the doctor's your entire life. I've broken numerous bones and had a kidney stone in 2014 (ouch). I'm also strongly considering a second round of orthodontics because my teeth have shifted so much. I've utilized all my orthodontic coverage my first go around, so I'm not sure when or how I'll manage the $4k-$6k treatment. I've visited the dental school in my city -- $4,800 is their discounted rate. Lol. I'm covered through my mother's health insurance (I live in the U.S.). That's until July of 2017 when I turn 26, at which point, under Obamacare rules, I'd be forced to purchase health insurance or pay a fine. Though I'm not sure what's going to change with Trump at al. rescinding parts of Obamacare. It's difficult to talk about this without it getting political. I know a lot of people my age who have foregone medical care because they can't afford to see a doctor. Folks on hubski, too. So many unset broken bones, noses, wrists and ankles. Addictions, mental health issues, you name it. It's heartbreaking to think about. I'm heartened that Bernie made it as far as he did on the promise of Medicare for all, and more. I'm disheartened that this country opted for quite the opposite.
Hope it is a slow night and the wait isn't too long. I have never really been one to complain about waiting in emerg though since that means there is nothing too wrong with you. When I had a heart attack I asked the ambulance drivers how long the wait would be and they said it wouldn't be too long. "So only a couple of hours then" I joked. I realized how serious the situation was when I had 5 nurses and 2 doctors on me about 30 seconds after rolling in. I was in surgery within 35 minutes that Sunday night. For some reason I was mailed a detailed breakdown of the costs. With 3 days in ICU it was about $25,000. My cousin in California had a $270K bill after "the same" procedure and 1 day in ICU. I did have to pay $45 for the ambulance though.
When it is an emergency, you don't wait. My ex went unconscious a few years back due to lysteria-meningitis. The emergency treatment was incredible. No bill, no breakdown. When I lived in BC in the 1970s, we'd occasionally get a report on our use of the health care system, but that was a long ago in a province far, far away. Question to Hubski - although I doubt anyone will see it: Would you rather make your own monthly health care payments or have higher taxes? I've just been reading about obamacare vs Canadacare and some comparisons in Wikipedia. Among other possibly true stats in the wikipedia article was that among 190 World Health Organization member countries, Canada ranks 30th and the US 37th in health care.
For further context: "According to a new report by the right-leaning Fraser Institute, the average Canadian family will contribute $11,735 in taxes for public health insurance in 2015.... Canada’s poorest families pay $477 a year for health care, while the wealthiest earners pay $59,666 a year.... 24.3% of tax revenues was spent on healthcare."