S/O Cost of your healthcare and would you be ok paying less

I believe in a single payer system. I also believe that prescription drug companies should not be able to advertise to the general public or offer incentives to doctors who prescribe their medications.

For me personally, hell no! But we pay less than $5000 in premiums (for medical, dental, and vision), co-pays are $30-40, hospital treatment is $150 with everything covered
Our deductible is $250 per person. Max OOP is $6300 with a family max of $13,000 DH's diabetic meds and supplies are covered 100% and our prescriptions aren't bad.

I would probably see an increase in our premiums, a decease in coverage, and not as good of care.

But, I realize that our family is different than others and do see a need for something.

There would have to be a requirement that doctors have a certain percentage of non-Cadillac patients. Or incentives like government pays for medical schools/pays off student debt if doctor only treats single payer patients for x number of years.

My new job is with the state and I only have to pay for myself. It is ridiculously cheap (like around $50/mo w/$10 co-pays for almost everything) and right now I am just happy as a clam to have such inexpensive insurance. It's almost like I don't want to talk about it too much lest I jinx the whole thing.

As I discovered when I had to pay for COBRA, your true monthly premium is closer to $500/600 per month. IMO under this scenario wages have to increase or employer's have to pay a share of the taxes. For years, we've been told insurance benefits are part of our salary so...

I assume this is for a family, not an individual. My total per year will be under 10K this year, including my $3600 deductible, but that's just me. This is less than last year when I had the higher tier plan.

Remember with single payer, everyone doesn't necessarily have the same plan. There can still be choice. Socialized medicine is actually a bit different.

If your employer is paying part of the costs of your insurance, such as I think it the case with anxiousmom above, it's not the same as what the insurance cost actually is. I pay so much because I buy it myself, unsubsidized, all from my own bank account.

Just as companies today may have different tiers of plans, a single payer could do the same. You could still chose your out of pocket costs such as deductible and co-pay combinations.

In socialized medicine, there is no specific policy. Every has the same costs (if any). Of course, in some countries there are private physicians that you can pay for out of your own pocket. That may or may not be a part of the future, though I suspect it is.

I would love to see health insurance and pharmaceutical companies become nonprofits!

I'm always amazed when people tell what they pay. It shows me that we already do not have the choice that so many people think exists.

The insurance companies keep winning, and after the ill-considered remarks about who deserves insurance and what it should pay for, I don't trust that anyone has our best interests at heart.

I am in Ontario. In provincial universal healthcare system every resident of Ontario is covered as long as they have resided in the province for 3 months. Employers pay a payroll healthcare tax and residents pay on their income tax depending on their net income. I don't pay anything on my taxes. My husband pays the maximum which is $900. This means we pay $900 total per year for our family.

Prescriptions and dental are not included in the Ontario health care, but it is part of the benefits that are offered through employers. Each company has a different group insurance. It does cover prescriptions and dental and eye care, plus upgrades for hospitalization etc.

We are able to pick any doctor we want who has room for new patients. He is the one who sends us to a specialist but if you don't like that specialist you can ask for a different one. I can get in to see my doctor sometimes the very day I call and if not, the next day. Specialist do take a bit longer.

The big thing here is that the insurance companies do not have a stranglehold on the health care system like it seems to me it does in the States.

But at least everyone has the same basic health care. It is actually for the good of the whole nation to look after its citizens. It saves a LOT if your do preventive care.

Also, I have never had to pay anything to have my children. All prenatal care was paid for the the government. The birth, the hospital stay, immunizations everything. I don't remember ever paying for anything medical to do with my children. My husband and I have also had surgery and never paid anything. I have never even seen a bill from a doctor or hospital, wouldn't know what it looks like.

Children and Seniors get even more benefits than working people.

This article from the Denver Post on the Canadian healthcare system came across my Facebook feed this afternoon, and I'm wondering if our Canadian Peas would like to comment on the accuracy of the article. 

Absolutely.

As an employee of a small business in an economically depressed area it's nearly impossible to afford insurance. Sure, I can get a subsidy on an ACA plan that would run me just over $100/month. But that plan is not usable. There are no local doctors that accept it, the only ambulance company in two counties doesn't accept it, and the $6,000 deductible plus copays/coinsurance costs are astronomical for someone that makes as little as I do. So, I wind up not using the insurance and therefore I pay over $100/month for nothing.

I haven't seen a real doctor in ten years. At this point, unless something changes, my only option is to keep trying to get a job in local government or at a school because they are the only employers that offer decent coverage. Last time I applied for an entry level county job they received over 200 applications. I'm getting so discouraged and I'm not getting any younger.

Its not just the ins companies winning. It is also employers.  For example... If you can follow this, trying to make it as simple as possible. 

DH was with Company A, 8yrs ago,  we had decent ins. ( medical, dental and vision)  Our premiums were about $300 a month.  that is what was taken from my DH's pay check.  Our co pays at the dr were $20 and prescriptions were inexpensive ( never more than $25 I think for name brand)  Company A decides to contract with Company B for the line of work that DH does.  Company B says we would love to do this but need more employees, Company A says No problem, Have ours.  So DH starts working for Company B.  1st yr, our ins stays the same.  2nd yr Company B says we love our employees so much, we are going to COVER your cost for medical premiums.  Boom.  ins ( including dental and Vision)  now is only costing us $25 a month. Because we had to pay for vision and dental.  Company B covered the premiums for 6 yrs.  6 mos ago, Company A says you are costing us to much $ company B.  Our contract is up.  We want our systems back and Oh yeah, we are going to need those employees back too.  Company A says take this offer of $ and benefits or have no job.  So naturally, we have a family, DH has to take it.  We get the packet through email.  NEW ins With Company A is now  $700 a month for a family ( med. dent & vis) Oh yeah and there is a deducible too, $4500 a yr.   And they dont cover NEAR as much as we had with Company B or as with Company A 8yrs ago.  To get some of the prescriptions filled, the ins co has to have the dr fill paperwork out.  it is so insane!  There are plans to pick from.  The plan we went with was middle of the road.  So there are people in DH's co with lower deductibles, but way higher premiums ( almost double)  and there was a plan with a higher deducible and lower premiums.  Because we have kids that hurt themselves, I figure we will meet the deductible every yr.  We met 2016 from Oct to Dec when DH crashed his mountain bike.  

I know some people pay more than we do.  But my point is that if Company B can cover the full cost for ALL of their employees and their families, Company A is def sticking it to us.  They opted for a high deductible ins.  Pushing all of the premiums to the employee so that there is no cost from their pocket.  

We pay $16,000 annually just on premiums. We vary greatly from year to year in what we end up paying in addition to that. We would be better off if we could do half that, especially if everything else is covered. When I broke my leg, I hit my max out of pocket which is over 8,000.