As Democrats Talk Single Payer, Private Medicare Advantage Soars

[vic120]

Sally Pipes: Sanders, Warren want ‘Medicare-for-all’ like Canada – But Canadian health care is awful

Sally Pipes: Sanders, Warren want ‘Medicare-for-all’ like Canada – But Canadian health care is awful

It’s true that everyone in Canada has health coverage. But that coverage doesn't always secure care. According to the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank, patients waited a median of nearly 20 weeks to receive specialist treatment after referral by a general practitioner in 2018. That's more than double the wait patients faced 25 years ago.

In Nova Scotia, patients faced a median total wait time of 34 weeks. More than 6 percent of the province's population was waiting for treatment in 2018.

Waiting for care is perhaps better than not being able to seek it at all. The hospital emergency department in Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia recently announced that it would simply close on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There aren't enough doctors available to staff the facility.

Canadians can't escape waits like these unless they leave the country and pay out of pocket for health care abroad. Private health insurance is illegal in Canada.

Shortages of crucial medical personnel and equipment are common throughout Canada. The country has fewer than three doctors for every 1,000 residents. That puts it 26th among 28 countries with universal health coverage schemes. If current trends continue, the country will be short 60,000 full-time nurses in just three years.

In 2018, Canada had less than 16 CT scanners for every million people. The United States, by comparison, had nearly 45 per million.

These shortages, combined with long waits, can lead to incredible suffering.

Can lead to more than suffering can lead to things like amputation advanced conditions and death

 

[axeman462]

I've told this story before but three times in my working history, politicians have ripped rugs out from under me with the stroke of a pen.

Always keep your "Who moved my Cheese" book handy.

Can you tell the story again? What was the 3 timees?

 

[StephanieCJ]

Had a senior couple in my office a week or two ago who were Medicare enrollees that were saying come on Bernie, Medicare for all. They had somehow deduced that Medicare for all would pay their co-pays/co-insurance on OM. The vast majority of the voters for Bernie and Warren don’t even understand what they’re saying, they just hear the buzz words and get warm fuzzies.

 

[Newby]

Can you tell the story again? What was the 3 timees?

I'll give you the short versions. I've told the long versions before.

1. I made my living back in the 1980's selling Honda motorcycles and ATVs. A huge part of my income was from the sale of ATV's. A young Senator at that time (Al Gore) made it a personal mission to ban the sale of these death machines from Japan that were killing all the American Children. It came close to wiping out our industry before it was settled in consent decree that allowed Al Gore to save face and just sacrificed a product that no longer sold anyway (3-wheeled ATVs). That was my 1st taste that politicians are evil and just trying to get publicity and power for themselves rather than pay attention to facts and do what's right.

2. Pre-need funeral insurance- I had sold preneed funeral insurance for over 10 years and had been a top performer and had been a consultant to many funeral homes to add or improve pre-need programs to their funeral homes. Then one day some politician decides with the stroke of a pen to only allow funeral directors to write pre-need insurance in the state of Kentucky (my main state.) It was completely without merit. They just wanted control over pre-need sales. So because of that I had to spend many extra hours doing apprentice Funeral Directing for 3-years to keep my business going. Or walk away from my thriving business that I had built up over several years.

3. Medicare Advantage- It was going fine. I was ramping up with it and had just bought a building and spent a lot of money remodeling it to staff agents doing medicare sales and poof! Will little warning the Democrates got control and wanted to choke off the "George Bush" Medicare plans called Medicare Advantage. They chopped our renewals from an average of $450 per year to $200 and imposed all sorts of new rules and marketing restrictions such as the 48 hour rule and scope of appointments. Huge change in business plan due to that move.

We just have to make the best of what we have on any given day and move with the cheese. But it's always a kick in the nuts when politicians do things to hurt our businesses that really don't help anyone else. It's just politics.

 

[PA Bill]

Had a senior couple in my office a week or two ago who were Medicare enrollees that were saying come on Bernie, Medicare for all. They had somehow deduced that Medicare for all would pay their co-pays/co-insurance on OM. The vast majority of the voters for Bernie and Warren don’t even understand what they’re saying, they just hear the buzz words and get warm fuzzies.

The Bernie Bros are there for the party.

 

[somarco]

I made my living back in the 1080's selling Honda motorcycles and ATVs

You are much older than I thought.

Did you have a mullet back then?

 

[kgmom219]

Had a couple last week arguing about going off Medishare and onto Medicare/Med Supp. Her reasoning?

"What if the Dems win and screw everything up?"

Geez.

 

[Thomas Mead]

You are much older than I thought.

Did you have a mullet back then?

That was in the bedrock days, do ya'll know each other?

 

[Newby]

You are much older than I thought.

Did you have a mullet back then?

You are much older than I thought.

Did you have a mullet back then?

 

[DayTimer]

I made my living back in the 1080's selling Iron Maidens and Spanish Boots ...

C'mon, newby ... no way you're that old!