You said:
Well, I’ve been on welfare and my son qualifies for state health insurance because he is disabled and it is just not what it’s cracked up to be. It’s a lot nicer when you can just go to the doctor you want to go to. It might cost more money, but at least you have that option. When the government is in charge of your healthcare, you have to go along with what they think is best (i.e. jump through their hoops).

That *may* be the case with Medicare/Medicaid or whatever you have but it certainly isn’t the way it works in Canada, nor most of what I know from friends in the States.

In the US if you pay for private insurance you have all these nasty HMO’s that tell you what doctor you have to see, limit your options for specialists, refuse to cover pre-existing conditions, refuse to cover a lot of treatments, ad infinitum.

In BC (one of the few provinces that even charges premiums for Medical Services Plan) we pay $108/mo for a family of 3 or more. You go to any doc you want, you can ask for a referral to anybody, get pretty much any test (I think you have to pay if you’re 20 and want your bone density checked or something unusual like that, but age-appropriate tests and any and all emergency procedures are totally covered) and there are no hoops to jump through. I once had an emergency MRI (the ER doc was worried about the possibility of blood clots in my lungs but it was *just* pneumonia) and I only waited a couple of hours for it.

It’s absolutely criminal the amount of money Americans pay for medical insurance, especially COBRA. How is someone who was laid off supposed to pay $800 or so per month to maintain their medical when they need to pay for food and shelter? If we were a 1 income family and our wage earner was laid off, we’d apply for premium assistance and they wouldn’t charge us *any* premiums until after next year when we filed our income taxes.

Americans need quality health care for all, not just the rich.

Such treatment of anyone, mentally challenged or not, is just inexcusable. It’s malpractice. I’d have been on the phone to my lawyer instantly…but I guess I’m just the litigious type….

When you’re rich — which of course you soon will be, with the business enterprises, right? — you should consider taking up with a concierge practice. You pay a chunk of dough upfront, like a subscription, and in return you get the doctor’s full attention. You have to keep your insurance, because that pays for office visits and the hospital. The annual payment gives you a complete physical plus, ever so much more important, you get a phone number that will reach the doctor at any time of the day or night; if you have to go to the ER the doctor shows up there or at least calls ahead and paves the way for you; office visits last more than 10 minutes; and when you call the office you get a human being…one who treats you like a human being.

From what I was able to find out, the upfront payment, which is generally around $1500, is deductible, and some flex plans will allow it. So you can at least pay it in pre-tax dollars. Of course, you have to be in an EPO or a PPO, where you can go to the doctor of your choice.

Google MDVIP and Modern Med to find out more. Both have a few docs in our state.