health care

fun stats
-uninsured Americans: 47million
-uninsured Californians: about 1 in 6 (6.7+ million)
-Whites w/o health insurance in CA: 12%
-Latinos w/o health insurance in CA: 31%
-Blacks w/o health insurance in CA: 19%
-rise in health-insurance premiums from 2000 to 2007 in CA: 96%
-projected rise in health care costs per family (w/o reform): $1,800 per year
-percentage of bankrupcies attributed to an individual's inability to pay medical bills: 62%

USA is ranked 19th out of 19 industrialized nations on preventable deaths due to treatable conditions.

Canadian health care system:
It’s less expensive: It’s well known that Canada spends less of its budget on health care than the U. S. does, but anti single-payer propaganda says that Canadians pay more taxes. What they leave out is the chunk of money Americans pay to their insurance companies. If you add that amount to taxes you would find that, in sum, Canadians pay less.

No bureaucracy gets between you and your doctor: Despite propaganda from U.S. insurance companies, the Canadian system does not force patients to go through the government to get to their doctor. In fact, it’s pretty old-fashioned: you choose a doctor and make an appointment, show your health insurance card, and that’s it. If your doctor thinks you need to see a specialist or get further tests, he/she does not have to consult an insurance bureaucrat. If your specialist thinks you need an operation, you get it – without a stack of forms to fill out.

It’s user-friendly: Unlike the U.S. system, you don’t have to fear that an illness will strike you or a loved one and lead you into bankruptcy. You don’t have to master the minutiae of co-pays and all of the methods the insurance companies use to outsmart their clients. Just that lack of stress is a health benefit in itself.

Healthcare For America