healthcare

Finally!!  It finally passed!  Congratulations to Obama!!!

... I guess we'll wait to see how it pans out though.  No doubt the new system will be a lot better than the old for the lower SES population in the US, but will it be enough for them??   It's mandatory for Americans to buy health insurance, but it's from private insurers, no??  the horror stories that we hear about are mostly about people who DO have insurance (cuz the un-insured basically can't even step into a hospital) ... and THAT is a gruesome picture.  Yes, you can be "insured", but it's still ultimately up to the insurance company to approve or deny any doctor's visits, procedures, and medications you will/will not be receiving.  and they can say, at any point, we refuse to cover x because y is cheaper... even tho y is better for the patient, or randomized control trials on x hasn't come out yet (because publishing can take a LONG time [~ a year])... but that's one year that your parent, sibling, or friend does not have.  Also, can the people who can't afford medical care now really afford the deductible??  i suppose paying $1000 is better than paying $20,000+ for a hospital stay, but that's very likely an entire month's salary for some of them (or more!!!). 

*sigh*  I'm glad the US has finally joined the rest of the Western civilization in providing healthcare for all (or almost all) ... but they've got a long way to go.

I don't know if i made sense.  I just hope the details of the plan did take into account the nitty gritty details.  bottom line is: insurance companies are evil and i would NOT want to put my faith in them for something so important as my and family's health and well-being. 

PS. I do NOT think Canada's healthcare system is perfect - we have TONS of flaws.  But at least we provide healthcare to everyone... and when we go to a hospital or see a doctor or have a procedure done, whether that be a simple skin biopsy or a 12hr long operation, we never have to worry about whether or not we can afford it (other than paying for parking, and taking time off work, etc... but that's inevitable)... ... ...