Newsweek magazine wrote an article about the high cost of medical bills that drive many middle class families to bankruptcy.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14470912/site/newsweek/

How much does private medical insurance cost for accident coverage?

Being from Canada, you would ask this. Is your motive just to keep bashing American Society as a whole, or is it out of the goodness of your heart?

Sad fact is, it happens all the time. I see people go bankrupt mainly because of cancer though, I'm clueless on your question on accident coverage thru medical insurance. You can get separate accident insurance policies though. I used to sell them to farmers over 15 years ago. Pay out a small amount every six months regardless of your health. If you get hurt and fill the claim out properly, you get a big cash reward for your down time.

I am concern that any problems happen in the US might affect Canada in other ways. I also have relatives living in US. My uncle has to pay high price for hepatitis C drug treatment although he has good medical insurance.

Your uncle may have to pay a higher price for the drug treatment, but many would say (I for one, don't agree always) that he is getting better quality health care in the U.S. though for the money.

There are always exceptions, as I have found even the most exceptional health care institutions in the U.S. have their flaws and idiots that don't need to be there.

As for the cost of drugs in the U.S., it is out of control. Big corporations need a return on their investment when it comes to the money invested in research, but it does seem like it is going overboard when my medication costs twice as much as my income is.

Maybe Dave Chappelle doesn't seem so funny now to some when he mimicked a politician running for office with a solution to the health care problem: The fake Canadian ID card.

Just remember this mister picard120: It all boils down to one word in the health care industry in the US these days: GREED. As long as man's health is treated like a commodity (notice I didn't say "any other commodity") in the U.S., that's the way it will stay.

I'm not bashing people in the health care industry. There are people who dedicate their lives to do good in health care and don't care so much about the money, but they are in the minority. I'm talking about where MOST of the MONEY is concerned here. If I didn't add that statement, I would have some nice Missionary Doctor, Paramedic, EMT, or ER worker or somebody similar whining on here taking my statement personally. They still may whine anyway. I admire what they do and don't mean to offend them.

There are smarter people in this forum than me, but I'll add my .02 worth anyway. The article was kinda funny. They promote the concept of "universal coverage" as though that will solve the problem.....then later in the article they tell the sad story of the retired couple on medicaid. Hmmmmmm......isn't medicaid "universal coverage" for the elderly??? Having the government run our healthcare is NOT the answer. Even in lovely Canada there is a 2 tiered system of people that have health insurance besides what the government covers. (correct picard?) Ask anyone what happened with TENNCARE. It has nearly bankrupted the state of Tenn. Now, what can make it better...Kill all the lawyers!!! (sorry lawyers) That's why the there are so few companies willing to produce vacines in this country. Drug companies know that even if they didn't know a drug would produce an adverse effect they'll get sued for millions of dollars. Another thing to do is introduce competition into healthcare. Do you know what you paid for your last doctor visit? Oh right, the $20 co-pay. lol There is no "price shopping" by the consumer. They just go where their insurance is accepted. The other problem with our system is that the insured pay for the uninsured. What do I mean? You show up at the emergency room, they have to treat you. There are many uninsured that use these as their "primary care physicians". Who do you think pays? You and me the responsible people who have insurance. Now....is private insurance affordable? Depends on your what you call affordable. Me, as a single male 46 pay $330 a month for my insurance. No group etc. Is that cheap...expensive...kinda depends on your income. But, I have a choice. Do I spend that on my heath insuance or do I use that money as a payment on a motorcycle. (which I would like to do) I could ride a nice bike for that kinda money. lol However I think my health is a little more important. (hmmm riding a motorcycle could be contrary to that statement) So, is it an easy fix? Nope! There are even more factors that I believe are involved if we want to fix our system. However the politicians don't have the will to fix them.


Steps down from the soapbox and sits in the recliner.

"You and me the responsible people who have insurance"

-Sorry, but that's an "irresponsible" statement. Some "responsible" people are uninsurable due to health reasons beyond their control..

"Why aren't they insured at work then?", you ask. Because they can be held back by a disability. The ADA also has evolved (thanks to lawyers and such) to narrow the scope of what is defined as a disability. Want to challenge that you were discriminated against because of a disability these days? 94% of the time the Corp. will win. Want to appeal it these days? 82% of the time the Corp. will win. Why do I know? I have lived thru it.

"I am concern that any problems happen in the US might affect Canada in other ways. I also have relatives living in US. My uncle has to pay high price for hepatitis C drug treatment although he has good medical insurance."

I get back from a week of bowhunting and find out you are still bashing the USA. Why doesn't your uncle move back to that Canadian paradise of yours? And why don't you find another favorite hobby, or at least another website to practice yours? We are all aware that you hate America. Aren't there any America-bashing websites that you can hang out at?

I'm going to ask one simple little question, picard- can your uncle get that medication in Canada?

I have a very good Canadian friend, who has Hep C. He's been told that he CAN get the drug, but the dosage level that he can get is lower than the same Rx in the US usually for. And that dosage has no clinical evidence to it's efficency.

Or how about another Canadian friend of mine, who was told for six years that (a) it was just stress, and then (b) copper toxicity. Now, I might be able to see the first diagnosis. But if the second one was accurate, wouldn't EVERYONE on that water table have elevated copper levels, but they didn't have the symptoms. Oh, wait, they NEVER RAN THE BLOODY TEST. In actually, it's MS.

And I won't even talk about the bad joke of trying to get theraputic prostetics, what your system will spring for is insane. And your oncology... wow, it's about on par with the Russians.

Oh, and in most of the cases were someone goes bankrupt, look into the past. In most cases, these people didn't talk to the hospital until after the collection agencies were called in. Most hospitals are willing to work with you if you can't pay your bill, but if you ignore the "your late, we'd like to talk to you" postcards, my sympathy is a little lacking.

It's not the health care workers. It's the insurance companies (my local hosptial publishes it's books, and they pay something like forty cents on the dollar that comes in the door to the insurance people) and the bean counters.

And the pharms are just greedy *censored*. Think about it- which makes more money, a drug that cures an illness that gets taken once, or a drug that reduces the effects of the illness that has to be taken for life?

Or the insurance cost itself. Insurance prices grow at a rate that is completely out of touch with any thing else. People fire thier full time employees and either switch to part timers who aren't as good or shut down a small (or not so small) business becuase of the insurance costs. And some not so small companies.

I wish we could get a pack of liars in Washington who weren't bought by the insurance companies.