What if you *hadn’t* had the money to pay for your wife’s health care (she should live and be well to 120)? Would her life have been of no value? Do you think going to County would have benefitted her to the extent that the care she actually received did?

I’ve known many people here in Canada who have or who have had cancer. Everybody gets the same excellent care, rich or poor. A friend of mine died recently of cancer. He’d been living without kidneys for the past *3* years (when he lost the 2nd one). Three days per week he spent the day (all day) in dialysis but he continued to work (although he moved his printing/design business into his home). The cancer metastasized and he had 3 stays in Palliative Care over the past year, ending in the decision to terminate dialysis.

I visited him several times in Palliative Care and I’ve never been in a nicer hospital ward. Private rooms with baths, a kitchen so you can cook the things your family member really wants (lots of ethnic cooking happening there every day), a gorgeous common room with a panoramic view of English Bay, downtown Vancouver, etc. (perfect for watching the fireworks), an incredible rooftop garden just for the Palliative Care ward, the ability to visit literally 24/7 (I once went at 10:30 pm and wasn’t his only visitor!), great staff, etc. etc. They even encouraged me to bring my dog to see my friend because he loved dogs (and his specialist brought hers!!)

The cost to him for all the care he received? He paid Medical Services Premiums of $96 per month for him and his wife (my family pays $108, the highest rate, because we are a family of 3 or more). No extra cost. It’s all covered.

Waiting times? I’ve never experienced them. I’ve mentioned in a couple of places about the time I went to emergency with what turned out to be pneumonia and was given an MRI because the doctor on duty was concerned that the xray might have shown a blood clot instead. Waiting time for the MRI? 2 or 3 hours.

The next day we spent a couple of hours at Childrens with my then 1 year old. Yes, she had pneumonia too. Total costs for both visits? Nothing, we pay our MSP, that’s it. Well, I had to pay for the antibiotics for both of us but my hubby’s extended medical plan (paid for by his employer) covered almost all of it. And the super dose of intramuscular antibiotics they gave my daughter at Childrens was totally covered under MSP.

Plus nobody tells me what doctor I have to see or limits my ability to get a 2nd opinion or see a specialist (or tells me that I have a pre-existing condition that isn’t covered). Yes, if you just call to see a specialist you might wait 3 months. But if you have a critical issue you’ll probably see one in a few days or even later today (like the time I was pregnant and saw black spots in front of my eyes and got into an opthamalogist as fast as I could be driven the half hour to his office).

The current US “system” is a sick joke. You need a real plan, created by people who have looked at all the other countries with universal health care and who put together the best of the best. Done right, it will be far cheaper than the hundreds and hundreds of dollars per month those with private insurance currently pay. And tens of thousands of people will stop going massively into debt, even losing their homes or going bankrupt just trying to keep a loved one alive for a little longer.

Whenever you add a third party to a mix you get a mess. Hospitals/doctors know that if they ask for more money, they will get “some” of it. The same with colleges. Thanks to student loans, they can raise prices and know many will spend the extra to get loans to pay for it.

I think the government should stay out of almost all things. They should keep our infrastructure (roads, etc.) working and see that jobs are welcome. There are a few others I might feel okay with, but very few.

I am quite old and have seen so much go wrong with a paternalistic Uncle Sam. We lived for some time without insurance when our kids were growing up. We did our part to keep them healthy and did not have to pay exorbitant prices when they were sick.

I went to college for two years before student loans started. I worked one year before going and while going. I did not owe a cent when I got out. Now, the cost per credit hour is as much or more than I paid for a full semester load.

As Ronald Reagan once said, “The 10 most dangerous words in the English language – ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.’”

Another way to put that more starkly is that three times as many Canadians were dissatisfied with their own care, compared to Americans.

So I guess whether you are for or against universal health care depends on whether you care more about theoretical/ideological satisfaction or personal/practical satisfaction.

I have (key word there: HAVE, not had) a sister whose chest x-ray 10 years ago showed a lung lesion and whose CT scan, pulmonolist consult, oncologist consult, surgical consult and actual lung cancer surgery were all completed ten days later. In Canada, the GOAL is to get the wait time down to six weeks from the first specialist consult to the surgery for 90% of patients.

Theory is nice, but it’s not as nice as staying alive.

Sometimes though…just sometimes, you do have to look at your spouse and make them happy. That is the trade off.

If you decide to buy, shop around, decide on the right size, this in itself could save you hundreds. The difference between a 32 and a 42 is huge. Don’t buy name brand…try Insignia at Best Buy.

Thank you for challenging me to think about the emotions tied to my money. Reading your posts daily have helped me realize that the money I save today puts a roof over my unborn child’s head, pays for medication if my wife falls ill, and ultimately relieves future stress.

Please explain why I would not have the same access to the best medical care. It’s odd that you chose cancer as the disease.

Having more than a few month’s living expenses in your emergency fund buys more than a car repair, it also buys access to the best doctors when your world implodes. Our emergency fund bought 18 years (and counting) of cancer-free living for my wife from the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center in Baltimore. That level of health care made the difference between surviving after cancer versus thriving after cancer. You get what you pay for and it’s why you should care about your finances, she’s thriving.

Keep up the great work!

Actually I don’t mind what the government has done with my retirement. Giving me multiple investing options such as IRAs, 401(k), etc. It’s up to us to actually use those programs, which many Americans fail to do.

If you are referring to social security, is not and was never meant to be a retirement program for the general public. It was meant as a type of nationwide insurance against old age, disability, etc. for those that cannot provide for themselves.

I don’t love our health care system, but I think there are better options than government-regulated health care. Do you like what our government officials have done with your retirement? Really want to trust them with your health care, too?

thanks!

I love the “One Year Ago…”, it’s an excellent way to refresh. Boy, we’ve all grown a lot through this blog.

That said, I was reading the “Rock you like a hurricane” post and wanted to e-mail it to my fiancee and my mom. Unfortunately, there’s no obvious “Email this” for these older columns. Any chance for this functionality to be added site-wide?

Keep up the great work.