Obamacare: Do Expats Need To Buy Health Insurance?

[sinagua980]

I'm just looking for info. Troll if you wish.

 

[kerriem]

Camberiu...I got that meme from a Canadian friend!

 

[citygirl]

Sinagua - has your wife's doctor said she will be allowed to fly at 7 months? Tis my experience that OBs tend to not want their patients to travel after 6 months. Nor do airlines. Too risky. And a month travel at 7 months pregnant? That seems really risky.

If your wife has insurance there, you can see if they will extend coverage internationally. I know OSDE does for me.

As for the rest, I am honestly floored that people think this a bad thing. It's not the best plan out there but it certainly is a step in the right direction. Yes, certain groups will see their insurance costs go up. But it provides the opportunity for huge amounts of people to get insured now who never could before. Nor can insurance companies deny people coverage because of a pre-existing condition. People should in theory no longer go bankrupt because of medical debt.

For those who can't go beyond soundbites - pity. Read the act, read the info out there and then have a discussion. Plenty to criticize in the act but 99% of the stuff people post is simply untrue. No death panels, no huge increase in taxes, no gov't forcing you to do anything (don't want health insurance for some reason - which I can't imagine - then you can pay the penalty. Can't afford it - well, there are hardship exemptions).

 

[camberiu]

The Barbarian Invasion is a GREAT Canadian film, from a director who used to be very very liberal and left wing when young, but began to change as he got older. This particular scene is about a Canadian man (the dad of the main character) who is dying in a hospital in Montreal because the waiting line for treatment is endless. The son is trying to convince him to go to the US, where he will get immediate treatment (upon payment, of course). It is a great critique on the Canadian Socialized medicine model and of former socialists coming to grips with reality.

 

[citygirl]

Oh and Canada thing - well, the only thing I can say in my n1 experience is my 35 YO friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the 13 months since her initial diagnosis, she has had her double masectomy, chemo and reconstructive surgery. Zero wait time. Maybe she is the anomaly but the system certainly worked in her case.

 

[sinagua980]

has your wife's doctor said she will be allowed to fly at 7 months?

Yes, we come back during week 32, so all is good. Airlines typically allow flying up to 36 weeks with a doctor's approval. She'll be traveling during the 7th month, so really 6 months +.

If your wife has insurance there, you can see if they will extend coverage internationally.

We've checked. It won't cover much, so any emergencies would destroy us.

Thanks for thinking to ask.

 

[kerriem]

Is healthcare for all really a left-wing/socialist idea? Australia has had free health care for all since 1975 and I don't think anyone could argue that we are a socialist/left-wing country. We just decided as a nation that everyone deserved free healthcare and started paying taxes (1.5 % of our income over a certain income level) and got on with providing the services. There was a bit of carry on and opposition to it at the time but now it is something we're really proud of as a country. The system isn't perfect of course, but if I break my leg or need cancer treatment I will be treated and it won't cost me a cent.

 

[Matiasba]

, Matias will continue to worship Peron,

What you say? I dont like Peron.
Simply, in Argentinas history, especially regarding to the XXth century, there wasnt another option but the militaries. Read about it. Seriously. Was the militars or the democratic peronismo. Sad, but true.

 

[camberiu]

Is healthcare for all really a left-wing/socialist idea? Australia has had free health care for all since 1975 and I don't think anyone could argue that we are a socialist/left-wing country.

Actually yes it is. Just like housing for all, food for all or jobs for all is.The translation in Spanish is the infamous "para todos", btw.
There are many problems with universal health care. So many in fact, that I could wring an essay many pages long. But to mention just one problem: It is unsustainable when you have an aging population. The government in countries like Australia, Canada, UK and so forth have promised that the state would pay for their health treatment, with no caps, for as long and for as much as needed. That sounds great, until you realize that medical care costs grow exponentially as yo get old and can become ASTRONOMICAL when you pass the age of 80. We are talking about hundreds if not millions of dollars per person to keep them alive. You can sustain that when a tiny minority of the population is old. But once you have an inverted demographic pyramid, such as it is happening right now on most developed nations, you fall into an economic trap that has no way out. You health costs grow exponentially while the pool of contributors that keep the system running diminish rapidly. Obamacare will fall into the exact same trap once the demographic pyramid in the US inverts, which will happen sooner or later.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

I think most of the rest of the world is genuinely amazed at the lengts Republicans/Libertarians (aka republicans who don't mind if you smoke dope and don't like wars) will go to in order to preserve the ludicrously top heavy wealth distribution in the US. The Democrats of course play the same game but with a different tactical approach. It is assumed that the social contract between a citizen and a nation should include use of taxes to provide health care at a very minimum to subsidise health care for those who need it.

As much as the peronist's and UBA graduates abuse the term "neo liberal" here, the Repubtarians abuse the term "socialist" even more greviously in the US. When a debate is reduced to internet memes and throwing around terms like "socialism" for susbsidised health care for the poor in the country with the worlds least equitable wealth distribution then it's time to duck out.