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[Darlene Epp]

Hi Heidi,

Originally posted by hmerrill

As far as a socialized health care system, I'm so against it.

I'm also curious because I have a friend who is a family practice physician in Indianna and he was telling me this weekend how many Canadian patients come to the states to get healthcare. Does Canada cover that cost too?

I don't think that all "socialized" health care can be lumped into one definition. It's like stitch regulators on our machines. We know they are not all the same! The word we use may be the same, but the end result is not.

With regards to Canadian patients going to the States to get healthcare? You'll find these are the "well off" people who want what they want and they want it now. There will always be the privileged few who feel they should have privilege. Our health care system is set up so EVERYONE gets health care, not just the rich. If they want to go somewhere and pay a high price for something, that's their right to do so. The gov't isn't going to stop them from going anywhere in the world if they want to do that. There are now private clinics being set up here where the financially able can "jump the line" so to speak. Wherever there's a perceived need, there will always be someone there to fill it, at a price.

I feel so bad that as military serving your country you aren't given the very BEST medical care. You're giving YOUR best, and getting complete disrespect from the gov't in return. These are some hard questions to ask your presidential candidates. Do they not realize that the world is watching and sees the hypocrisy? You can't run around the world yelling "Look how great we are, be like us!" and treat your own citizens this way without the rest of the world going "What?! WHY?!"

Darlene

[Renae]

Linda Card, I'm with you. Watch out girls we're incognito and we're ready..........:P Can we get a couple of others to join us? I do believe that is all it should take. We can handle those freeloaders.

Renae Gamel

[Brenni]

I usually avoid the NQR posts but I am very concerned Darlene you may have the wrong perception of military healthcare in the US. My husband is active duty military and we receive top notch care. I feel blessed to have access to the medical care provided. I have never paid a deductable or premium. I have never paid a dime for medicine - yes free medicine. I have never paid out of pocket for any of my visits to doctors - emergency rooms too. I do have to pay a few dollars a month for dental insurance but I get my money out of it. If someone feels they are not getting the care they deserve from the military healthcare system, there are avenues to address concerns. Can I go to any doctor I want - no. But that is true with most insurance plans in America.

[Quilting Heidi]

Darlene,

I don't want to be misleading in my statement, my husband while on active duty received top notch healthcare! As a dependant however we did not! I can't tell you how many times I would try to get seen and couldn't or my kids had problems and I couldn't get them seen. I could go on and on of examples that in my mind are unacceptable health care but I'll give you a few examples of problems we faced with military "free" care:

1. My daughter had 3 seizures before they would move up the authorization for an MRI to rule out a tumor. It was a month of hell and we had to have a family friend go to bat for us. We finally had the MRI a month later.

2. My son breaks his arm and the doctor needs to take an x-ray of his good arm so that "he can see what it is supposed to look like." Ironically the same doctor had told me 8 months earlier that his arm wasn't broken and he would bet me on it and that he was only wrong 20% of time. The radiologist called the next day to say yes it was broken. Again this goes to quality of care!

3. Me - I had a history of urinary track infections. Called to be seen and was told I would have to wait 2 weeks. When I said I would go to the ER I was told this wasn't an emergency. My response was for this person to go swallow 10 razor blades and try peeing and to call me back after that experience to see if they now thought it was an emergency.

4. 12 weeks pregnant and they can't find a fetal heartbeat. Did an ultrasound. Tricare didn't think it was necessary and I had to fight until after I delivered to get the bill paid.

5. I went to the hospital with severe pain in my chest when I breathed. The doctor listens and tells me he hears nothing and it will go away. I stood my ground and told him I couldn't live with the pain it was just too bad and I was sure I had a lung infection. He finally gives in and gets an x-ray - the problem was my lung was collapsed! It took me 3 days to get in to be seen.

These are only a few of my experiences and I could list a whole lot more. Now that we are retired my husband receives the same care we did as dependants and told that he will have to try 3 medications instead of the drug that has worked for years. He had some very severe reactions to other types of drugs for the same problem and it is documented in both his military health record and by our doctor now. The VA would not fill it until they tried 3 others no matter what the records were. No thanks we'll just pay for our healthcare. I have never had a problem since we have switched to private health insurance. I have had 3 major surgeries and never paid a dime out of pocket other than my premiums and my small deductables. I also did not have to go fight to get the bill paid.

I have a very good friend right now fighting stage 4 cancer. Now you might say well that happens. Well she had seen military healthcare for the last 15 years and everytime she complained of her problems they blew her off. One of the biggest problems was that she never saw the same doctor, especially since her husband often transferred every year. Finally after 15 years they decide to do a hysterctomy and discover that she had a rare cancer that has now invaded her lungs. She has to travel 3 1/2 hours each way for her chemo treatments. The military was nice enough to bring her husband home from Iraq. She has a 1 in 100 chance of living. I have been telling her for years to go out in the civilian world and get an evaluation. I'll bet now she wishes she had. No none of us can predict cancer but she was blown off just like I was with my lung problems. I have zero faith in a socialized system. Military healthcare is very close to what we would have in the US. You can't get an appointment, you very seldom ever see the same doctor and what you get is what you pay for. I'm not convinced this is the way to go. I do think however that we need to make sure that there is coverage for people who can not get private health insurance. Perhaps having a health care plan that you pay into based on your income would work better than "free" healthcare for everybody. I'm not willing to pay taxes like you do in Canada either. Currently my mother pays more than $500 a month for her supplemental health insurance and she is on medicare. She pays a very high premium because she has to pay as an individual and not a group member. If the government or state came up with a plan that had a group rate then I'm sure her premiums would go down a lot. Whats really funny is that my mother had military healthcare until she and my father divorced. She says she'd rather pay her premiums than go back to not being able to get the treatments she needs. She has lots of health issues.

Brenni - I'm glad that you don't have these kinds of problems in your area. Now that my husband is retired we would have to pay for TRICARE which I believe is up to $600 a year plus deductables. Also there is only one hospital and one doctors group out of I don't know how many that even would accept TRICARE. This would mean that hubby and I would be responsible for all expenses not covered. NO THANKS! THe only part of our health benefits we use are our pharmacy benefits. Even with having a secondary insurance we still pay. This is a good example of what is wrong with the program. If I have a name brand drug it costs me $25 co-pay from my private insurance. TRICARE is my secondary so they pick up the difference and I pay $0. Good deal. I have a generic that costs me $10 and it just so happens that the drug is less than $10 so my private insurance pays $0 and I pay the $10. In comes Tricare and they will only pay $7 so I end up paying $3 out of pocket. LOL it is cheaper for me to use a name brand than for me to use generic. Even the pharmacist got ticked over that one.

OK off my soap box.

[Sandra Darlington]

That is certainly a lot to think about for all of us, and I will pray for everyone who is in this unfortunate, horrible situation.

[Gator]

I'm with Heidi and I've chimed in on this often. I had fairly good care when I was on active duty. I got to go to the head of the line and was able to see doctors when needed. I also had a doctor living with me when deployed (assigned to the ship, not in my stateroom, lol). I have been stationed in the Norfolk area where there are thousands of active duty and retired so medical appointments are at a premium. While on active duty my husband retired after 36 years and was able to continue on "primary" care as my "dependent". I retired last year and both were tossed into "TRICARE" hell!!! We were told here's a list pick an outside doctor, etc. I had to retire for medical reasons after 27 years of service, but not allowed to use the military clinic and neither can my husband. I had to take out supplemental insurance to pay for the items "TRICARE" deem excessive plus the usual deductables. I could go on but I'm on the same soap box Heidi is on. All I can say is becareful what you wish for.

[Just Sew Simple]

My entire family recieved the very best in health care while in the Military. We chose our own doctors because none of theirs were offered in our area. Now he is reitred and we still have the single best health care in the world. The military insurance just paid full (cost me $25) to have my breasts reduced. I had the best doctor in Alabama. Now I live in MS so I did have to drive but it was sooooo worth it! When I had Ty 27 years ago I only paid $4.24; I didn't know I had to pay for my own Coke. Ha! Now, Mike is a military contractor and the military is still being good to us. I am a very proud military wife!:D:D

[Quilting Heidi]

Sylvia,

OK now I'm really curious. Are you saying as a contractor you are using TRICARE or are you on the government health insurance which has other private insurance companies available with premiums deducted from your pay? If hubby is retired doesn't he have to use TRICARE unless he buys into another program? I had a breast reduciton after hubby got out of the military because TRICARE wouldn't cover it while we were on active duty. My private insurance covered the whole thing and I owed nothing. When in the military did you have any special healthcare needs or just normal things? When I had my son I started off in a military facility and I still recall my first visit. I called it hearding the cattle. LOL there were 50 or 60 newly expectant moms. You got in line to leave your urine sample, blood samples and pick up prescriptions for prenatal vitamins. When in the line for prescriptions they asked everybody if you had morning sickness and if you replied yes then you got a prescription for Bendicton (sp?) which was pulled 7 months later for causing birth defects. I was 8 months pregnant when it was pulled. I was young and naive and thought a doctor would never prescribe something that had the possibility of harming my baby without telling me. Then after that everybody got in line to see the doctor. It was horrible. Of course I learned to ask questions and not do as I'm told. My hubby was transferred when I was 4 1/2 months and there was no military facilities so we had private using CHAMPUS. I was lucky that my doctors would just take off the bills that CHAMPUS didn't cover and my pediatrician was former Navy so he always gave us samples since CHAMPUS regulary disallowed things. Good to hear that some people do receive good care but there is nobody that would ever convince me to go back and try it again. I'm thankful for my job so that I can afford my insurance. Everytime somebody at work complains about their deductales I laugh at them. They have no clue!

[Just Sew Simple]

We have had Tricare Prime for many many years. I have (knock on wood) had one seconds problem with medical care. Even our meds we could get for pennies if you would drive to Keesler. I consider our family most fortunate to have had such great care! When ty was small he had all kinds of allergies and we received expert care on base. The offered us his surgery on base but we decided to have it here in H'Burg. Next came Buffy with a strange eye disorder. They monitored her and "doctored" her for a year and then brought in a specialist who treated her. We used their dentist (we had to pay for our own gas) but had excellent care. Perhaps we are the lucky ones but we love our coverage and they have been very good to us.

One other thing. While I was teaching I HAD to buy Blue-Cross-Blue-Shield and use it as my personal first line insurance. Then Tricare paid. Blue Cross would sometimes take a full year to pay my Doctor. I called them everything but an insurance company. When I retired and could let them go I celebrated - wine I think! I just loved Tricare and still do. Sorry you had problems!

[Judi]

Jeri and Trinity - sorry to hear about your troubles and probelms.... I hope that everything will start to work out for you - in all aspects of your lives!! Health, money, family....

Linda and Renea - count me in for this too!! When I helped my sister move out it all was done while idot was at work for a 12 hours shift...... All of it - Piano too! He was a very abusive person and we had lots of help....

I always said "If I every get married, it will be for life...... even if I have to bury him" ( I have cleaned that up a bit!! )

We have been married for 13 years now, and it wouldn't be a matter of "half" his Harley - it would be which one? I think he has 3 now.... or is it 4? I don't count or keep track of his toys, he has earned them and has worked very hard for them. I would like a 3 wheeler with a trunk in the back to haul my sewing machine to class in!!