Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ersatzredux]

Kuros,

Since I happen to be on the executive of Friends on Medicare, the advocacy group that stopped the Alberta government's attempt to ram two tier healthcare through cold, I might be able to add some additional perspective on this.

There are indeed problems with the Medicare system that are roughly similar across the country, though more acute in provinces like Alberta where an intentional effort was made to undermine the system, especially in Calgary where the regional health authority is dominated by privatizers who want to get in on the groundfloor and become fabulously wealthy. These problems stem from years of chronic underfunding, rising prescription drug costs, and a shortage of medical personnel, especially doctors willing to work in smaller communities, and certain specializations- part of a stupidly misguided attempt in the last decade to limit costs by limiting medical graduates, as well as the monopolies on certification by self interested medical associations who want to keep foreign doctors driving taxis in Toronto and so make them jump through often ludicrous hoops to be able to practice here. They also partly might stem from the "fee for service" model that was adopted as a compromise with doctors, a system that has the same potential for doctors valuing volume (and thus reaching for their prescription pad often before the patient even finishes talking). But this is true of the American system- outside of some HMOS- as well.

That being said, the single payer system is far more efficient and provides better overall coverage and health outcomes for half the price as the American system. As a former health insurance agent myself, I can say that you would have to be either on the take or a complete fucking idiot to assume anything else, and any insurance professional who tells you otherwise is a disgrace who does not even follow the rather minimal ethical requirements of his or her own profession. It's not even close, and private insurers really are out to *beep* you- minimizing risk is what insurance is all about, and with the pre-existing condition exclusions and other fine print , the system is designed to make sure that those that need it the most cannot get it.

Here is an account of a recent study done on the relative merits of the two systems, and I can find you plenty more, including the entire report itself, if you would like more.

The private health insurance industry is not your friend and their lobbyists are paid to lie. And that's about that.

[greedy_bones]

I have the national healthcare here in Korea, and I love it. I pay 50 bucks a month, don't pay for doctor visits, and pay about 3 or 4,000 for meds. Without insurance, I'd be paying something like 10,000 a visit and 20,000 for meds. I have no wait times, get great care, and have almost no problems. The only issue I have is that you can't get prescriptions for chronic conditions refilled without seeing a doctor which is a little annoying.

Korea is ranked as number 58, though.
Any thoughts on why this is?

[No_hite_pls]

[Manner of Speaking]

[Kuros]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I have read over all the responses and feel a lot more educated about the Canadian healthcare system.

I'm pretty sure that a public and mixed public a better system than the present American system. The private-only insurance regime throughout most of the country (there are some state exceptions) has failed US.