Costs: No Major Bills

WHY

Why there will be no major medical bills
(and why we’ll have the best health insurance)

• Our size. Because we have the largest population among free-market countries, allowing us to establish the lowest risk
• One agency. Because we will have one public (insurance) agency that is separate from the typical governmental department and isolated from the day-to-day influence of politicians
• One plan. Because we will have only one plan, not dozens or hundreds, like some other countries have, such as the 13 in Canada
• For more explanation … see Lowest Risk plus Excellent Economic Bonus

TESTIMONIALS by AMERICANS

Americans’ living in other countries have already
experienced and are experiencing no major medical bills,
as they have documented below

Following are excerpts from the Real Life Stories at this website. Each experience is told by an American who lives or lived in the country about which they wrote.

Canada

“What do you think of when you imagine an American living in exile, unable to return home?” This quote is from the start of a video about two American women who are in that situation in Canada. Each of the two women would like to return to live in the United States. Each of them explains why they can’t. Their family’s health care needs involve staggeringly high costs if they were in the United States. In Canada they have never seen a medical bill.
See: Americans Who Can’t Come Home for more, including link to the two women’s video

Japan

“I’ve been living in Japan for 33 years. 3 of my four children were born here (the eldest child was born in Denmark – that cost me $26.00) Last year I had a 3-hour surgery and stayed in the hospital for 3 weeks.
I/my family have never had difficulty paying any medical bills.”
See: Real life stories from Japan

Germany

“… ill with juvenile diabetes … she had almost a dozen eye surgeries which were all paid for by the universal health care system of Germany … became dependent on nursing staff to come to her apartment several times a day to check her blood sugar levels. … end-stage ovarian cancer in May 2003, she was so ill that she died in hospital within three weeks … she received excellent care at the university hospital and that we did not have to pay any bills related to her hospital stay.

… diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder and spent several weeks in the university hospital. A myriad of diagnostic tests was performed, … I never had to pay more than the normal amount of health insurance and prescription fees.

… a stroke to the brainstem and cerebellum which left me in intensive care and then in a wheelchair for weeks. My health insurance paid for 8 days on the stroke unit, 5 weeks in a … neurology unit … and 9 weeks in a highly specialized neurology rehabilitation facility, another 7 weeks in an outpatient rehabilitation facility in my hometown, and … 2 … years of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. …(no) limit as to how long they would pay for it as long as the doctors said that the therapy was required.

(cont.)… major abdominal surgery and … health problems ever since. However, due to the great (health care), I have been able to go back to working full-time, although in a different line of work. I am able to continue (and afford) my hobbies of riding horses and travelling and consider myself to have a high quality of life.”
See: real life stories from Germany

Netherlands

“We … can’t understand a developed country without universal coverage — Everyone is insured (in The Netherlands) … (about) $67 a month. That’s it. This includes doctor’s visits, medications, physiotherapy, even things like visits to a nutritionist or a problem overseas
See: real life stories from The Netherlands

Scotland

” … correctly diagnosed the disease (after suffering for years in the U.S.). Since then, she has been hospitalized for a month, given two very expensive courses of IVIG treatment, and had her thymus removed in major, open chest surgery.

Recently, we flew back to New York to consult with perhaps the world expert on Myasthenia. … he declared that the doctors in Scotland were doing all the right things. He then asked how much this cost. He had a bit of a hard time understanding that the cost was exactly zero (in Scotland). … I spent about two months paying various bills associated with that one visit to his office.

Is the system in the UK perfect. Of course not. Did they provide superlative care for our daughter. Absolutely.
See: real life stories from Scotland

Spain

American woman’s long-term hospital stay in Spain due to a medical emergency there:
“… was attending a university and working part time … the University got (her covered for the emergency). She (took) … extensive amounts of drugs for a long time. … She was monitored for about six months and eventually was released from hospital care … Once, after a trip to the U.S., she discovered a blood clot in her leg and learned that she had to inject herself with an anticoagulant prior to any flight. … What was her bill at the end of all that ? “0”

In seven years of living in Spain, I have paid “0” towards my healthcare…… I can join the social security system for 48 euros a month , approximately $68. …”
See: real life stories from Spain