Letters to the Editor
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In answer to the Canadian who fell jogging
I have never had that exact injury, but if the same thing happened to me, I think my care would be pretty comparable, give or take waiting time. My out of pocket would be $20 for my co-pay. However, I have a really fine insurance package through my husband's employer, the University of California (which compensates, I guess, by underpaying him as a computer network administrator).
We have crossed our fingers through long stretches of being uninsured. Of course we are fairly young and healthy, but if a catastrophic accident had happened I guess I would have put the cost of coverage on my credit cards and filed bankruptcy after all was said and done. How else can you do it when you can't get work that provides insurance?
Our kids have always had insurance. For a period when both my husband and I were under-employed, we had our kids covered through Healthy Families, which is a really great "group" coverage/cafeteria plan style administered through the state of California for children whose families don't qualify for MediCal. Healthy Families, for a nominal fee based on our income, provided Health Net HMO, Delta Dental and Vision Service Plan for our kids. What I wonder is why states can't provide this for adults and, frankly, anyone who needs it. You pay premiums based on your income. Isn't that a win-win?
I think it's high time that employers started banding against insurance companies. Employers have much to gain by supporting a socialized medical model. They simply can't compete against companies in other countries that aren't hampered by insurance costs for their employees.
I lived in Japan for four years. There I was enrolled in the national insurance plan. My premiums were based on my last year's income.
In China, where my husband's family lives, his family has excellent health care, btw.