Hey fellow 7thgeners. I've recently thought about moving to the U.S. from Canada. I had a few questions though.
Since we canadians we free health care, we never pay for anything from going to the doctor for a check up or going to the hospital because I broke a leg or something like that. The never is a bill.
So with that said, how much does it usually cost just to go to the doctor???
How much would it cost me, if I broke my arm or leg, to stay in the hospital??
Also, when you retire, do you guys have a pension plan that's deducted from you paychecks??
I want to move to the southern states of the U.S. because I hate freakin snow. I've never been a fan of it. I can't skate for shit, I don't ski, and I just hate the cold. I could also make more money in the U.S. as well, so that's another factor for me.
Also do HMO work?? has anybody had a major claim, like a tumor or cancer treatment?? and also did it get approved by your HMO?? I ask because I recently watched the movie/documentry "Sicko" by Michael Moore. Yes I know its Michael Moore, but it does scary me a bit after watching that movie.
Dude. Your only hope here is to get a job with a pension and health care benefits. Those companies are out there, but they are not easy to find. If you have to pay out of pocket for a doctor it's going to be expensive.
You wouldn't go to the hospital for a broken leg, just an outpatient. Treatment for it would be a couple hundred dollars at least. If you went and stayed in the hospital it would only be for serious conditions and you would be looking at several thousands of dollars. If you had a heart attack and had to be in the hospital for a week, you would have close to a $20,000 bill easy.
As far as HMOs. It's hard to say. There have been cases where people have died trying to get their insurance to cover them. I'm personally glad that I don't have one. I don't know all of the details about an HMO though, you might want to search the web.
pension? whats that. and health care is gonna shock you here too. i went to the dentist for a cleaning (nothing else) and ended up paying $150 after insurance covered 10% lmao. doctor is more expensive, esp if you have to stay the night. alot of the stuff in sicko is actually true, and insurance will not really do much for you. so just have money put aside for medical emergency. yeah ambulance ride costs alot too so try to drive yourself if its not too bad.
As far as pension, we all have social security that's deducted out of our paychecks but don't bank on that bc its a crap system. Your better off investing on your on with a Roth IRA or something like that. If you can work for a good company that offer good benefits such as a 401K and good health insurance, you'll be just fine. Good luck. Where are you planning on moving too?
are you fukking serious? canada you don't pay for medical insurance???? omg, stay there. LOL
all i know is that i pay for medical insurance and 401k every paycheck. if you don't have medical insurance thru work (out of pocket), it would be fukking expensive. if you don't have an insurance, going to the doctors will tear you a new one.
HMO are the cheapest medical plan here, then POS, and PPO. well at least for Carefirst Bluecross Blueshield.
IMO it's a catch, you pay for insurance everytime, but if you don't use it, you're just basically giving them your hard earned money. if you do use them though, they will only pay percent of the bill. i.e. my brother dislocated his shoulder so he went to the doctor... he went to 2 different hospitals cuz he was transferred from one hospital to another. guess how much was the total bill??? 5k+... yes five fukking thousand and some. however, my mom had him covered so we only paid 50 bucks ER copay. LOLOL.
so in a sense it's important to have insurance, just a catch 22 though.
A lot of companies that you work for will have a health care plan... mine for instance has me pay 10 or 15 bucks for every visit, and then a small portion of any perscriptions, insurance pays the rest. Granted, I dunno about ambulances. I think hospital stays they pay something like 70% and they pay the majority of opperations... like if its a 30,000 procedure, your probably going to pay 2-3K for it.
Yeah, my company has pension, 401k, PPO Medical, Dental, and Vision. It's like a 90/10 plan. So I pay 10% up to my deductable, after the deductible I'm covered 100%. Most preventative care and checkups are covered 100%.
Thanks, for the info guys. I think I'll just stick in Canada.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gearbox
i went to the dentist for a cleaning (nothing else) and ended up paying $150 after insurance covered 10% lmao.
We have to pay to visit the dentist as well. Unless the company you work for has a dental plan. Also in grades 1-8, the dentist actually comes to your school, and does teeth cleaning and checks ups for free. A dentist doesn't come every year, but I think its only certain grades. I remember I went in Grade 2, 5, and 7. Didn't cost my parents a dime.
Haha.. I don't think you scared me. It was Michael Moore. You just confirmed it, that's all.
I still want to come down, but yes, I am scared. I've always had bad luck, and still do to this day. So I think I'll stay where I can be protected, even if I have bad luck.
