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I have not seen it because it has not been released here yet, but Coturnix|A Blog Around the Clock links to some reviews well worth reading (emphasised). They all say different things.
My little bit in the pot: A couple of weeks ago I was in a one day OH&S (Occupational Health and Safety) class to get my green card (no, nothing to do with the U.S.A., this is the actually white card which shows you can be trusted not to kill yourself on a construction site), just 'cause. At the beginning of the class we were given a derived-from-reality example of a man who had had his hips crushed by machinery and had to be hospitalised. We were asked to provide examples of bad results of this accident for him and after a few suggestions by others in the class I decided to put my own hand up and make an offering. I suggested that having to pay all those medical costs might well send him broke.
Well, no, not quite. His medical bills would all be covered even though they might go more than half a million; no matter high high they were, in fact. The financial hardship he would suffer would be as a result of not working for more than a year due to his injury and perhaps from a reduced capacity to work in the future. I only thought he might have trouble paying for medical care because I have very limited experience out in the world myself and most of my knowledge of such social matters comes from various USAnian-sourced media. I was embarrassed for myself, though not made to feel so.
My little bit in the pot: A couple of weeks ago I was in a one day OH&S (Occupational Health and Safety) class to get my green card (no, nothing to do with the U.S.A., this is the actually white card which shows you can be trusted not to kill yourself on a construction site), just 'cause. At the beginning of the class we were given a derived-from-reality example of a man who had had his hips crushed by machinery and had to be hospitalised. We were asked to provide examples of bad results of this accident for him and after a few suggestions by others in the class I decided to put my own hand up and make an offering. I suggested that having to pay all those medical costs might well send him broke.
Well, no, not quite. His medical bills would all be covered even though they might go more than half a million; no matter high high they were, in fact. The financial hardship he would suffer would be as a result of not working for more than a year due to his injury and perhaps from a reduced capacity to work in the future. I only thought he might have trouble paying for medical care because I have very limited experience out in the world myself and most of my knowledge of such social matters comes from various USAnian-sourced media. I was embarrassed for myself, though not made to feel so.
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no subject
Date: 2007-06-30 19:00 (UTC)From:A catastrophic injury or illness would be the end of many Americans' financial solvency, that's for sure. I had a woman working part-time for me at an old job whose husband ran a successful, home-based construction and renovation business... until he was diagnosed with colon cancer. Since he was self-employed, he had only a very minimal, cheap policy, mainly to cover their kids. Cancer ended up plunging them almost a hundred thousand dollars in debt--they were both in their late forties, so the idea of ever being able to retire pretty well vanished. :/ It was horrible.
I firmly believe that medical care is a human right, and should not be something that is just for the wealthy, or just for those who work for certain employers that offer coverage. I know Canada and other countries have some complaints with their socialised medicine, but it HAS to be better than this.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-30 22:05 (UTC)From:What I mentioned is only forsure true for workplace problems though (but it does count if you are, say, a temp and it is your first day). I know less about outside the workplace because no one has sat down to explain it to me but as far as I understand it medical expenses are covered to a point and then the patient pays the excess, with private health care available to those who want more coverage (and coverage for things like homoeopathy, which is one way to save money right there).
From personal experience, I have been to see the dentist twice this year, once for a filling and again for a general check-up, and not had to pay a cent. Last year I visited a therapist a number of times, costing $10 each time. It is a much bigger expenditure for me to buy a book (those are generally $20-30), although there bookstores seldom make me sit in the waiting room first - and I have not tested it with any significant healthcare yet. P-:
no subject
Date: 2007-07-01 11:13 (UTC)From:It's good that it'd be covered tho? :D
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Date: 2007-07-01 17:41 (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-07-02 05:08 (UTC)From:~S