Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lena on March 28, 2009 at 5:17pm

When I red all of this I can't believe what I'm reading....
You have to pay for your insilun??????????????????
In Belgium everything is free, except indeed the glucokit pen when you have a very bad hypo and the needles for the shot pen, rest is all free....
I hope your social system will change so you all get it free also...

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Cynthia F. on March 28, 2009 at 5:25pm

here in the US we have to pay :(

send me a box, and I'll climb in it and come to Belgium!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jason on March 28, 2009 at 5:47pm

Well, it isn't "free", you just pay for it in a different way than we do.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mandy on March 28, 2009 at 6:06pm

Isn't that the truth!

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Elaine on March 28, 2009 at 9:07pm

Thanks, me too! We treat health care/insurance as a commodity instead of a right. It is bizarre.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jason on March 29, 2009 at 7:40pm

Imagine if the government decided that the professional service, or product you produce with your talent and experience was suddenly a right to be enjoyed by everyone else. How do you take the fruit of someone's labor and declare that everyone else in that person's society has a right to it, regardless of whether or not they can afford to pay for it? Health care is no different than other professional services. That is, it is delivered by people who desire to profit from marketing their skill.

It is easy to address just one side of the equation by declaring that everyone has a right to health care. It is much more difficult, but necessary, to figure out how to actually make that work without forcing someone to work for less than what they believe is a fair price if you want to provide "free" health care to all people.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kristin on March 29, 2009 at 9:57pm

I live under and benefit from a national health care system. Prices are not lower here than in the USA. It's just that the price is paid for by the National Health Insurance.

When I buy my insulin, I can see on the receipt two numbers:
(1) the amount paid by me (about $2)
(2) the amount paid by the government (a lot more)

I checked once and the price of Humalog paid by the government was the same as if I purchased it in the USA. Same with my pump. I pay 15%, the National Health Insurance paid 85%. But Minimed got the same amount of money from my pump purchase as they did from yours. So the companies are not suffering.

How is this financed? Through a special tax. Now here we can disagree. Employed people pax 7% of their income into the National Health Insurance fund. People who do not have income must pay ~$25 a month into the system, unless they are receiving social benefit like pension, unemployment, or some others. Clearly the rich pay MUCH more into the system than the poor.

But when I first qualified for the system (I am not Hungarian, but qualify through marriage), I was shocked. I went through the whole process of getting insurance without ever being asked a health question. I got my insurance card and my right for free insulin based on being considered part of the Hungarian society, not based on my "health risk". They did not ask because in this system it does not matter.

There are benefits and drawbacks to both. I don't suggest that the Hungarian system be implemented in the USA. The USA lacks the social solidarity that allows this system to exist here and it would be too big of a jump.

But I think that we can all agree that reform is needed in the US health care system.

If you are interested in these topics, then I suggest that we continue in another thread where there has been very civil debate on this topic:
Who should pay for our health care?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Anthony Holko on March 29, 2009 at 3:43pm

The USA and our Nazi province here in Canada called Alberta are hyper anti-communist. Actually our province provides free foot amputations for the diabetics but free insulin never.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Gerri on March 29, 2009 at 3:59pm

In the US, Viagra is covered by many health insurance plans, but not birth control pills. Guess that tells you about priorities & who makes the rules. Probably more research spent on penis problems, too:)

I'm with Elaine, it's bizarre.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jason on March 29, 2009 at 7:34pm

Well, treating erectile dysfunction and preventing pregnancy are not, by any stretch of the imagination, anything alike. Birth control pills are covered to a great extent by many health insurance plans, but they do not usually treat any specific health problem.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mandy on March 29, 2009 at 8:29pm

They actually do in a lot of cases. My cousin took them for severe endometriosis, and my coworkers daughter has to take them to control the development of ovarian cysts (for which she has had numerous surgeries). So they are actually medically necessary and still not covered by all plans.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Gerri on March 29, 2009 at 8:47pm

I was on birth control pills for a medical condition. My insurance didn't cover this prescription despite a letter from my gyno explaining why it was medically necessary. To me, this is a gender bias.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• Next ›
• Page