Respecting Justin Bieber
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 9:21AM Until today, I didn't really pay much attention to Justin Bieber, beyond noting the phenomenon behind his meteoric rise to stardom, not least because it's been a long while since I've been a teenage girl. But, I'm impressed with the simplicity and accuracy of his US vs. Canada comparison regarding health care costs in the latest issue of Rolling Stone:
"You guys are evil," he says with a laugh. "Canada's the best country in the world. We go to the doctor and we don't need to worry about paying him, but here, your whole life, you're broke because of medical bills. My bodyguard's baby was premature, and now he has to pay for it. In Canada, if your baby's premature, he stays in the hospital as long as he needs to, and then you go home."
The guy's sixteen. Webwide comments on his interview response have ranged from respective support to condemnation that someone's indoctrinating him into Marxism (as only a millionaire pop-star can be indoctrinated, I suppose). But, Bieber doesn't need to back up his interview responses with a bevy of factoids, he doesn't need to know that the single biggest cause of personal bankruptcy in this country, even with the increase in foreclosures, is the out-of-pocket medical emergency expense. His initial gut reaction says it all. Any of the record 47 million people in this country that don't have health insurance, or the millions that do, only to find that premium increases never translate to better coverage, and every medical bill has more and more holes that insurance doesn't cover no matter what one's deductible or premium or package, knows that the cost of health care is one of the scariest, most volatile components of one's basic needs budget.
When I lived in London for seven years, I never worried about the cost of health-care like I, and millions of others here, do now that I live back in the United States. The system in Europe isn't perfect, nor is it perfect in Canada. But, it's a damn sight better than what we have here, the health care 'reform' bill not withstanding, since mandated health insurance coverage through insurance companies is not just unconstitutional (as say the GOP and a number of State courts), but not remotely a step towards more general affordable health care. Unfortunately, none of the proposals from the GOP or the Dems gets us very far in that direction, because none of them touch the health insurance company's control over our health care system and thus, its cost to us. Maybe, that will change one-day, but it's increasingly unlikely. Still, as Bieber would say, 'Never, say never.'
Health Care, Justin Bieber, Rolling Stone 
Reader Comments (9)
The entire debate throughout the health care fiasco never discussed health care, only various ways to pay for it. Health is the issue and this is where we need to shift the debate.
good point!
I never thought I would ever find myself thinking anything positive about Justin Bieber but... that was pretty cool.
I find it interesting that the "ignorant" mind seems more capable of making an unbiased analysis of the situation than the informed one. Or maybe it is that it takes a lot of indoctrination to get people suppress their own common sense and intuition.
The typical knee-jerk "Marxist" reaction is such a tired argument, as is "Liberal." The tragedy of this debate is that there people hurting out there. The solution is not to nationalize the medical field and obviously the so called "free market" isn't working. Aren't the large insurance companies owned or at least in tandem with large finance and don't they deal in derivatives? The numbers simply don't add up, say $12K a year for a family policy; the average young family spends probably half of that, but the elderly spend way more. How can the insurance cos afford this? Its got to be thru financial speculation thru derivatives and the casino economy. When times are good, the large returns balance the books, but when there is trouble, the balance sheets are way upside down? Being that they are too big to fail, we'll see federal bailouts and/or fed lending at 0%?
If my analysis is correct, they are essentially zombie institutions. The only long-term solution is to make Medicare available to any citizen who wants it. Offer this, while keeping the medical community private and offering freedom in doctor choice. My wife is a doctor and Medicare actually pays quite well, better than private insurance, thus the drs are able to make a living. For those who sympathize with the big insurers, look back at the massive increases in your policy costs over the last 10 years. As these institutions fail, they will be bailed out, costing us untold hundreds of billions.
How to pay for Medicare for those who want it? Since we are a casino/speculative economy, not an industrial/production economy, tax that speculation. If the "market" has grown 700% since 1987, while real production and jobs have decreased by 4-10 million over the past 10-20 years, its obvious where the $$$ is and where the taxes need to be.
I disagree about everything being great about the Canadian Healthcare system. If you have to see a specialist here it takes months to get an appointment and lets not get into the debate of surgery... that too takes a while. I would much rather fly to India Malaysia Brazil etc and get my surgery done as opposed to waiting for 6 months. Finally diagnosis here takes weeks as there are blood tests taken for the most trivial things (the wastage) as opposed to getting diagnosed (I guess its the fear factor).
Hey yeah! Why have universal health care when you can just up and fly to Malaysia or Brazil!
Why didn't I think of that? That's totally realistic.
I'll just take off work for a week or two, hop on my private jet and zip off to whatever part of the world it is that has the service I want.
Golly why don't more people do that?
I'm an American physician. I have patients who were in the Canadian system and I work with doctors and nurses who have worked in that system. Dylan's description is pretty much in line with what they all relate.
I also deal with people on an increasing basis who can't afford medical care. I am treating some of them not only for free but at my cost.
Last year I gave $500 to a pediatrician who has dedicated his career to treating the indigent. He didn't have enough money to pay the electric bill for his office.
My parents' physician went to concierge practice last year. My wife's physician is doing it this year.
I used to be in academics working for a fixed salary. I work much harder now that my income is tied to my own productivity. The only thing worse than paying doctors to do things is paying doctors not to do things, as Mr. Obama would have it.
The health care system is incredibly complex. It can't be distilled down to a few bullet points, but if it could, it would be something like this (which I first saw posted on the wall at Boogie's Diner in Aspen many years ago):
1. Speed
2. Quality
3. Price
Pick any two.
Ironically, insurance has helped create this monster because it disconnects the consumer from the true cost of the service. For example, when I prescribe a new drug people usually want a 30-day supply because the insurance plan will cover a 30-day supply for whatever their co-pay is (perhaps $20). So I honor that request, the patient gets the prescription filled and the full cost is $180. They go home, take the first pill, throw up, and then dump the remaining $174 worth of medication in the trash.
If the insurance plan worked as a percentage of cost then the patient, faced with perhaps a 20% co-pay on $180, would ask for a 3 day supply before getting the whole prescription filled. He or she might even ask their doctor for a cheaper drug. I have suggested this to the medical directors of two insurance companies without success.
The socialized systems in Canada and the U.K. aren't exactly thriving either. As for medical tourism as discussed above by Dylan and Papi, don't be surprised if one day Americans are traveling to another country to see an American-trained doctor and bypass the American health care system. Costa Rica or Panama come to mind. Maybe in post-Castro Cuba. It is already happening for things like lap bands and plastic surgery.
@JB McMunn: I'm an American living and working in Canada with my Canadian wife...who is a doctor. I've lived here for over ten years, in two different provinces, three different cities. I can tell you without blinking that although the Canadian healthcare system isn't perfect, it's still pretty damn good compared to the U.S. system. As Mr. Bieber said, if I have any health problems, I make an appointment with my family physician. If he/she thinks that I need to see a specialist, she refers me on to a specialist. This can take anywhere from days to maybe a few weeks, depending on the severity of my issue. I have yet to hear of ANYONE, needing LIFE-SAVING treatment, surgery, etc., having to wait MONTHS for that treatment. Yes, hip-replacement surgeries sometimes have to wait a bit longer, but in my estimation, it's only because the physician feels the patient is strong enough otherwise to wait. By and large, people who NEED to see a physician/specialist can see them fairly quickly. I say NEED because a pretty large percentage who run to the emergency department because they have a cold...not because they have a life-threatening illness!
The Canadian health care system is also payed for through taxes. People in the states say, "I'd never want to pay such a high tax for health care and such"! Problem is, they ALREADY pay TWICE OR MORE than we do, because of such ridiculously high insurance premiums!! I have a very good friend in Nashville, who is married with four children - FOUR! It cost them $5000 U.S. for EACH BIRTH!! In Canada...it costs the families $0...I'd rather pay a higher tax and know that I'm not going to go bankrupt due to health care cost, than to drown in the muck and mire of a corrupt insurance/bankster system that doesn't give a damn about me or my family!
I served in the U.S. Air Force, did a tour of duty in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War, and I love my country to death, but it's high time we stop letting these money-hungry monsters rule us! One last comment/question to the doctor: how much is your overhead, with regard to needing a staff of people to do your billing/dealing with insurance companies telling you what they'll cover what they WON'T cover? Good luck, my friend...
Joe,
The Canadian government's own web sites show that your assertions are fallacious. Check out http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/swt/ and see the ACTUAL waiting times for surgery. Maybe your concept of a "few weeks" is "less than 52" but from what I see on that site it can take MONTHS to get your surgery done.
Your Canadian health care is not free - you pay for it with your taxes. You just don't see it being taken out of your pocket.
As for my own situation, I don't need "luck". Yes, I have a staff that handles my billing, scheduling, and insurance hassles but I'll wager I take home more than the vast majority of the government slaves in the Canadian system. They don't have my overhead (you pay for that with your Canadian taxes Joe) but they don't have anything close to my income.
Please note that I did not say in my original post that the U.S. system is better and that Canada's sucks. Quite the opposite. There is plenty of criticism to go around. Just don't kid yourself about the Canadian health care system.