Canadians Dying to Obtain U.S. Health Insurance
I want to hear from all the Canadians. Is it true that your health care system sucks? That’s what they are saying here in the USA. Do you really have to wait 9 months to get your hemorrhoids checked out? If your chest is pounding with a failing heart do you get your name put on a waiting list and someone will call you back sometime before the St. Crispin’s Day? That’s the way it is being portrayed here in the US. Are you all fleeing to America to get the ear wax removed from your ears and to get a real doctor to hold your scrotum while you cough? Aren’t you fortunate to have us as your neighbors?
We here in the US have the best health care in the world. That is why we are willing to pay so much for it. My family health plan costs me $1,400 a month (before deductibles and co-payments). I don’t know what that equals in Canadian Euros, but in your money it probably would equal the amount of your monthly mortgage payment, car payment, a week’s worth of food, a monthly supply of Molson’s, and seasons tickets to the Maple Leafs games.
Ok, it’s true; I’m one of the lucky ones. Tens of millions of us don’t have health insurance (that is probably equal to the entire population of Canada) because we can’t afford it. After all you can’t just endorse your weekly pay check over to a health insurer. One does need a little food and a pack of smokes. But we don’t count those people as real people. They’re the same kind of people that we were forced to save during that hurricane Katrina thing. We just ignore them and focus on dealing with real Americans. You know, middle class people like me.
Sometime next year I will get my annual notice that my premiums are going up 10% and my out of pocket deductible has been raised above $2,000 and my co-payments have been raised. Confused? Just because I have health insurance doesn’t mean that I don’t have to pay when I’m taken to the emergency room or visit my doctor. In fact, when I check in with the receptionist at my doctor’s office the first thing they ask me for is my $20 co-payment. I’m already selling off assets to keep up with my premium payments. Although I’m not so sure how long I can hold out.
We don’t need health care reform in this country. That would just ruin a good thing. There is too much money being made. It is best just to leave well enough alone. We’re not commies you know. This is America. The free market capitalists will take care of us. All we have to do is get out of the way and let them work their magic.
