How does health care work in the United States ?

Question

I am from Montreal (Canada) and I am not planning on moving to the United States or anything but I was wondering how health care in the U.S works. Here in Montreal, all health care if free, medication is free, doctor visits are free, emergency room visits are free, operations are free..so how is it in the U.S. I watch the news on CNN a lot and they talk about health care a lot and I just wanted more info. Thanks

Answer 1

OMG Canadas system is way better. Just so you know all health care in Canada is free (paid in our taxes)

And in the US they have less taxes (I think they have .06 and we have .11)

But when you go the hospital or doctor you pay a bunch of money then get your surgery or appointmet :P

Answer 2

Every month you pay an insane amount of money to your insurance company.  When you go to the doctors you pay the "co-pay" a set amount say 30 dollars, your insurance company pays the rest.  As for medications my insurance company pays 80% so if its a 100$ perscription you only pay 20 dollars.  The sad part is its very expensive to pay health insurance, therefore many American's cannot afford it, and do not go to the doctors/dentists ect.  If it were free i feel as though everyone would abuse the system...

Answer 3

it works if you can afford it... sadly many American's cannot.

Answer 4

It doesn't work.

Next question.

Answer 5

If you have insurance, you can go to the doctor and then the insurance may pay for it

If you dont, then you're out of luck

Answer 6

You either have private pay, insurance that might pay, or government sponsored which few qualify for.  If something horrible happens to you here and you don't have insurance or it doesn't pay, you're responsible for hundreds of thousands of hospital bills or you don't get treatment because you can't afford it.

Answer 7

Legimate doctors appointments and appointments with specialists require medical insurance or immediate payment.

Anyone can be seen in any hospital emergency room regardless of if they have insurance (by law).  Thus, millions who never purchased medical insurance and the 20,000,000 illegals use ER as doctors appointments. This is taxing our hospitals and HMO's and many in border states are in the red and near bankrupt.  I have read and watched documentaries on Englands and Canada's health care systems.  It seems to work to a point except for the doctor shortages and over worked nurses.  I have also read that is can take months to get surgery or see a specialist.

Answer 8

You can either buy personal insurance for yourself and/or your family or if the company you work for provides coverage you can purchase it through them at a lower rate.  

You then decide if you want an HMO or a PPO-HMO's have low copays for all visits.  With a PPO you have to meet a deductable (I think).  THe HMO's work with certain doctors, hospitals, etc.

We have to pay for a lot more than it sounds like you do, but (from what I've heard and seen) we've got better medical professionals than other countries and there are seldom waits on any medical procedures that you need.  

The problem we seem to have is that insurance rates have gone up, and up, and up, while the insurance companies are paying for less, and less.  Something about that needs to change.

Answer 9

We have the best in the world.  But you pay for it.   We don't tax our citizens to the point they have to go to other countries to get care because they are so over burdened.   The US is where Canadians come for many surgeries and for high risk pregnancies.

Answer 10

It is not free.

You pay out the nose in taxes to pay for this system of yours that can't keep up with it's needs.  How long are your lines?  People die much on waiting lists?  Do you have the best doctors, or have they moved here to make real money?

How it works here is that most working people pay for part of an insurance plan that is used to cover medical costs.

We also pay a small copay every time we go to the doctor's or the hospital.  We may owe 20% of the total cost of the procedure, up to $2,000 max per year.  My insurance is based on my salary, so the more I make the more my healthcare cost.  You should approve of this socialist rule.

Now, many people in America can't afford healthcare insurance.  They don't have jobs that are good enough and refuse to work their way up.  

In addition, all hospitals are required by law to treat EVERYBODY, whether they have insurance or not.  So, add these uninsured people to the masses of illegals with no insurance, and you can see why premiums keep going up.

If we nationalize it, taxes will keep going up, the service will get even worse (ever been to the DMV?), and we will all have the same, equal crappy health care.