A recent CNN poll shows that how tricky the debate over universal health care could be. People are all for expanded coverage and greater government involvement – right up until they have to face the increasing tax.

“In general, would you favor or oppose a universal health care program that would increase the IRS’ influence over the country’s universal health care system in an attempt to lower costs and provide universal health care coverage to more Americans?” Americans favor government intervention in the health system by 69%-29%.

“In general, would you favor or oppose a universal health care program that would increase the IRS’ influence over the universal health care you and your family receive in an attempt to lower costs and provide universal health care coverage to more Americans?” When it involves their own care and their families, approval is still high, but a bit lower: 63%-36%.

“Do you think the federal government should guarantee universal health care for all Americans, or don’t you think so?” Americans favor guaranteed universal health care for all, by a margin of 62%-38%.

Until Taxes Are Mentioned

Now here’s where it gets really tricky: “Would you prefer a universal health care reform plan that raises taxes in order to provide health insurance to all Americans, or a plan that does not provide universal health insurance to all Americans but keeps taxes at current levels?” It is now a 47%-47% tie, thanks to the threat of tax increases. No one wants to pay more taxes even though at the expense of their own health.

Poll : Most Americans Favor Universal Health Care is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Some countries like Taiwan, Canada and Australia ,on the other hand, have a blended system, with private-sector doctors and hospitals, but with a government payment system. The Canadian model—private providers, but public health insurance to pay them, is the system Lyndon Johnson copied when he created Medicare in 1965. The difference is that Taiwan, Canada, and Australia provide the universal health care for everybody, while the U.S. restricts it to the seniors and the disabled.

Countries With Universal Health Care is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Most rich people in the United States don’t want to pay more money into the universal health care system. They are doing their level best to lobby out there that those very good things are actually bad but not all the rich people against this. Believe it or not, there are lots of rich people who would like to pay more very willingly if it meant everyone in the United States had universal health care. It is the them vs. us that derails the whole idea of universal health care.

I m very concerned Obama healthcare plan leans too heavily on the private sector/insurers. I would like to see a vibrant public universal healthcare option competing with private plans in order to keep the private sector honest and robust. The pro is if the government’s universal health care can drive private plans out of the marketplace, the middle class people can enjoy a reasonable universal healthcare while the con is many people would be left with little or no choice, as employers would send workers into the public plan.
President Obama said that we are on an unsustainable course of rising healthcare costs and healthcare costs also an untenable burden for American business. Due to this, too many businesses are being forced to drop worker coverage. Other than that, health care costs also have negative impact on federal budget. President Obama also mentioned that we’ll be spending 20% of economy on health care within a decade. We have debated health care reform for decades to little effect and all parties now recognize we can’t continue down the same road. Over next decade, groups pledge to cut health care costs by 1.5% per year. I will not rest until the dream of health care reform is achieved.

Universal Health Care for the United States is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Taiwan’s universal health care is often mistakenly thought of as “free”. In fact, Taiwanese pay for health care through taxes, low monthly or yearly premiums, and in some cases, out-of-pocket payments for non-insured services. Under the Taiwan Health Care Act of 1995, Taiwanese have universal access to health care, irrespective of income, employment, status, age or state of health. The administration of most services is provided provincially however, and differs from province to province.

Taiwan’s success in improving life expectancy-particularly for people who are more vulnerable-lends credence to arguments calling for the United States to join other industrialized nations in ensuring universal health coverage. It also underscores the importance of adequate financing and having a strategy that addresses access, quality, and efficiency. “The United States must design health reform so that we move simultaneously toward improved access to care and a high-performance health system,” the authors conclude.

Health Care In Taiwan is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

This program is called the CLASS Act (Community Living Assistance Services and Supports) and it was cancelled to find a way to make it more financially viable.

The secretary said that “Despite our best analytical efforts, I do not see a viable path forward for CLASS implementation at this time.” in a letter to Congress

The CLASS health insurance program was similar to some long-term care plans available in the private sector in which workers can sign up if needed and pay a monthly premium. It was totally voluntary and was to be paid for entirely by the premiums from those who signed up. In return, the health insurance subscribers would get a daily benefit.

But a senior administration official told a news journalist that there were big issues if the CLASS health insurance program could be self sustaining even when the national health care reform law was being considered by the Congress. And due to this, the lawmakers specified that the secretary had to decide that the health care insurance program would be sustainable for at least 50 years before certifying it.

“This could have led to a vicious cycle where premiums would have to be set higher and higher to cover the likely costs of benefits, leading fewer and fewer healthier people to sign up for the health care program,” the secretary mentioned. She said she wasn’t giving up yet.

“So even as we suspend work on implementing the health care insurance program, we are recommitting ourselves to the ultimate goal of making sure all Americans can get the long-term health care they need, whether it’s a working-age mom with disabilities who needs daily support right now or a young man at his first job who wants to protect himself and his family against the possibility of huge long-term health care costs in the future,” She mentioned.

Responding to the secretary’s decision, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement, “The Obama administration today acknowledged what they refused to admit when they passed their partisan health bill: the health care CLASS Act was a budget gimmick that might enhance the numbers on a Washington bureaucrat’s spreadsheet but was expected to fail in the real world.”

McConnell said the health care CLASS Act “is only one of the unwise, unsustainable parts of an unwise, unsustainable law.”

“We should repeal the health care CLASS Act and the rest of the health spending law and replace it with the type of common-sense reforms that lower costs and Americans support,” McConnell said. As of now, there is no solution out there and the universal health care seems impossible to happen in the United States since we can find a self-sustaining program which could dig a bigger financial hole for the Obama administration.

Obama drops health insurance program is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Universal Health Care In Mexico is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

The New York Daily News is reporting that Kyle Willis, a 24-year-old Cincinnati man died from a tooth infection that dramatically spread to his brain cells. Willis, who was unemployed and uninsured, had a toothache and was told that he needed his wisdom teeth pulled. Willis could not afford the medical procedure so he decided to wait it out. He ended up going to the emergency room when his face began to swell. He was informed that he had an awful infection which could spread to his brain cells, so the doctors prescribed a pain reliever and antibiotic. Guess what, he could not even afford the antibiotic so he took the pain reliever instead.

In Taiwan, everyone, no matter you are employed or unemployed, is entitled and insured to health care. You pay more for the health care premium if you are richer and pay less if you are poor and unemployed. Your life should not be in jeopardy just because you lose your job. Losing your job doesn’t mean you have to lose your dignity or even the right to live.

While Willis’ discomfort subsided, the infection continued to spread, causing lethal swelling in his brain resulting in his death. Experts say Willis’ story is not unique. A story like this keeps happening again and again in the United States. Is there any thing we can do to stop this from happening? As of now, the answer is a BIG NO. There is nothing we can do about it.

Many Americans are having to make these kind of decisions that have very real consequences. He lost his life and his 6-year-old daughter lost her father. We know that those against universal healthcare will say that it is his responsibility to handle his care, but what happens when you’ve exhausted all possibilities? What about people who don’t have anyone in their family to ask for help? If everyone in your family is unemployed or underemployed, where can you get help? This is clearly a case of when doing what you have to do goes horribly wrong. How many more stories like this will we have to read about before something is done about chronic unemployment and the uninsured?

Stories like this are just too ironically and it could happen on you some day just because we can’t afford the universal health care like Canada and Taiwan do. Should we just work harder to make sure we keep employed and insured so the tragedy won’t happen on us?

Read more at the New York Daily News

Unemployed, Uninsured Man Dies from Tooth Infection is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Why Universal Health Care?

Why Universal Health Care? is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Going Abroad for More than Six Months:
If you plan to go abroad for more than six months, you can either maintain your health
insurance or suspend your coverage.
1. Continuing coverage:
No application needs to be submitted. As long as the insured continue paying their
premiums while they are out of the country, they will be covered for emergency
procedures or child delivery abroad but must apply for reimbursement for self-advanced
medical expenses(to find out how,please see page56).

2. Suspending coverage:
Those who decide to suspend their insurance coverage must submit an “Insurance
Suspension Application Form” before going abroad. While outside the country, they do
not have to pay premiums but will also not be covered for medical care.
Suspending your coverage means you do not have to pay premiums while abroad, but
upon returning to Taiwan, you must remember to restore your coverage from the day of
your return. Restoring coverage will fulfill your obligation to enroll in the health insurance
program and re-establish your health care. If you have suspended coverage but left the
country for fewer than six months, you must void the suspension and pay back premiums
retroactively for the period from when coverage was halted to the time you return to the
country.
Those who suspend coverage during their time abroad can only suspend their insurance
starting the day of the application rather than making it retroactive to the day they left the
country. This group of people cannot apply retroactively to suspend their coverage after
returning home or request a reimbursement of premiums paid while they lived abroad.
We suggest, therefore, that you complete any appropriate insurance procedures before
going overseas. Once you suspend coverage, you cannot restore coverage or request
reimbursement of medical expenses while abroad. Only after returning to Taiwan and
restoring coverage can you regain your right to health care.
If you have applied to suspend your coverage before heading overseas but retain residency
in Taiwan, when you return home you are legally required to restore coverage from the
day you return, regardless of how long you stayed. If you later decide to go abroad again
and want to suspend coverage, remember that you must again apply to withdraw from
the program before heading overseas. That way, you will avoid being held responsible for
paying premiums while you are away.

A special reminder:
If you decide to suspend coverage, you must fi le an application to do so. Those who fail
to apply to have their insurance suspended must remain enrolled in the program and pay
premiums even if they stay overseas for more than six months.
Also, if you reside abroad for more than two years without returning, your household
registration will automatically terminate and you will no longer be able to participate in the
health insurance program. When you re-establish residency in Taiwan at a later date, you
can apply for the enrollment again.

Suspending and Restoring Coverage
To suspend coverage, the insured should have their insurance registration organizations
(generally their employers) fill out an “insurance suspension reporting form” and submit
it, along with travel documents such as visas and plane tickets, to the Universal Health Care regional divisions serving the area where your employer is registered.
If formerly insured return home — meaning the reason for suspending coverage no
longer exists — they must restore coverage from the day they re-enter the country. They
should have their insurance registration organizations filled out an “insurance resumption
application form” and submit it within three days of their return along with a copy of the
insured’s household registration and an entry and exit certificate (or a complete copy of
their passport) to the Universal Health Care regional divisions serving the area where
your employer is registered.

Re-registering when Coverage Is Interrupted
If your insurance coverage is interrupted as a result of a change in jobs, insurance
category, or address, you will be required to pay health care expenses out of your own
pocket. The Bureau of Universal Health Care therefore suggests that you update your
registration in the program as quickly as possible. Here’s how:
1.If your coverage has been cut off and you are an employee of a company or an
organization, you should re-register in the health insurance program through your
employer.
2.If your coverage has been cut off and you are a member of a union, farmers’, or
fishermen’s association, you should re-register in the health insurance program through
your union or association.
3.If your coverage has been cut off and you are unemployed but can be legally registered
as a dependent of an employed relative, you should enroll in the health insurance
program though the insurance registration organization of your spouse or blood relative
as a dependent.
4.If your coverage has been cut off and you are unemployed and cannot be treated as
a dependent of a spouse or direct blood relative, please enroll in the health insurance
program through your village, township, city or area administrative office.

Suspending and Restoring Health Care Coverage is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons

Taiwanese citizens who reside in Taiwan
Any Taiwanese citizen whose household is registered in Taiwan must enroll in the Universal Health Care program from the fourth month after residency was established. (At present, those who are employed in Taiwan or who have previously been insured of the Universal Health Care are not subject to the four-month wait. Babies born in Taiwan are enrolled in the
program from the day their birth is registered.) The Universal Health Care Program classify the insured into six categories depends on their employment status. Individuals
who are residents of Taiwan are unemployed or in job transition must continue enrollment
according to their current status. They cannot interrupt their insurance coverage.

Please enroll according to the employment statuses outline below
(If you fi t the criteria for #1, you may not select# 2, if you fi t the criteria for #2, you may not
select # 3, and so on.

1. If you work for a company, the government or any other organization, you should be
registered in the health insurance program by your employer, formally known as the
“insurance registration organization.”)

2. If you belong to a union, or a farmers’ or fishermen’s association, you should have your
union or associations register you in the health insurance program. (If you simultaneously
belong to a union and a farmers’ or fishermen’s association, you should have the union
register you.)

3. If you are unemployed but are a legal dependent of an employed spouse or a direct
blood relative, you should enroll through your spouse or relative’s insurance registration
organization (employer, union, etc.) as a dependent. (If there are two or more relatives
of whom you can become a family dependent, you should select the closest blood
relatives to support you.

4. If you are unemployed, and cannot enroll as a legal dependent of a relative (i.e. parents,
spouses, or children), then the administrative office of the village, township, city or area
where your household is registered is your insurance registration organization. Please
enroll in the health insurance program through that office.
If you stay abroad for more than two years without returning, your household registration
Students who have reached the age of 20 and are unemployed or have no
way to support themselves must still rely on their parents or grandparents
to be covered under the health insurance system. The insurance registration
organization responsible for their enrollment must submit an “Insurance
Renewal Application Form” by the end of the month in which they turn 20.
This form, along with documentation proving they are students, should be
submitted to the Bureau of Universal Health Care regional divisions where they are registered to extend their insurance coverage after they turn 20.
Overage Student Registration
will be automatically terminated and can no longer participate in the health insurance
program. And you should complete the necessary procedures to withdraw from the
program. When you re-establish residency in Taiwan at a later date, you can apply for the
enrollment again.

Infants
Once newborns get a birth certificate, they legally become the dependent of their father
or mother (whoever is employed; if both are employed, either may be selected) and
should enroll in the health insurance program through their father or mother’s insurance
registration organization. Taiwanese citizens born overseas can enroll in the program after
they have their household registration for a full four months.

Students
1. With no occupation
Students (defined as individuals studying at an educational institution approved by the
Ministry of Education, and who also hold a valid student ID if they are over 20 years
of age) who are not employed can enroll as a dependent through the parent of their
choice. Those who cannot be a dependent of a parent can enroll as a dependent of
their paternal or maternal grandparent. If that is not an option, then they should enroll in
the health insurance program at their local village, township, city or area administrative
office where they have their household registered.

2. Employed Part-time
Students with steady jobs should be registered in the program through their employers.

3. Seasonally Employed
(for fewer than three months)
Full-time students who only work during summer and winter vacations for less than
3 months and return to school when classes resume, do not need to change their
enrollment statuses during the period of employment.

4. Vocational Training
Those students in vocational training programs who work at factories on a rotating
basis can have the factories, if willing, continue to register them in the health insurance
program when they return to class.

The Employed
Those who are employed should enroll through their company or business firm , or its
affiliated organization:

1.Company chairpersons/owners: They can serve as their own insurance registration unit.
If they have other jobs, then they can be insured through their main employer.

2. Company employees with fixed employers: They are enrolled through their employers.

3.Those employed, but without a fixed employer: Individuals who are members of an
occupational union, farmers’, or fishermen’s association, or who are actively engaged in
farming- or fishing-related jobs, should enroll in the health insurance program through
their occupational union, farmers’, or fishermen’s association.

4.Individuals working two jobs at the same time: They should be registered in the program
through their main employer (determined by the place at which more hours are worked;
if hours worked are similar, then income can be used as the deciding factor).

5.Individuals on unpaid leave: They can have their employers, if they are willing, continue to
register them using their original income basis.

6.Parents of newborn children who take unpaid parental leave under the "Gender Equality
in Employment Act” can either continue to have their employers register them under their
original income basis or be registered through their employed spouses.

The Unemployed
1.Individuals who are unemployed and qualify as dependents should be registered in the
insurance program through employed spouses or direct blood relatives.

2.If individuals cannot be enrolled through spouses or direct blood relatives, or have retired
from government agencies, public or private schools, or public enterprises but want to
register in the program independently, they should apply to do so at the administrative
office in the village, township, city or area where their household is registered.

3.Veterans or dependent of deceased veterans can enroll in the program through the
administrative office in the village, township, city or area where their household is
registered.

Taiwan Residents from Hong Kong, Macau, China or Other Foreign Countries
The National Health Insurance Act stipulates that foreigners who are legal residents of
Taiwan (including those from Hong Kong, Macau and China) must either be registered
in the health insurance program by their employer starting the day they are employed
or should enroll in the program on their own four months after the day they obtain legal
residency.

The following conditions apply:

1.Foreign students: Foreign students can apply to enroll in the program through their
school.

2.Those with fixed employers: Those with a steady job can register for the program
through their employers.

3.Those who are unemployed but able to enroll as a dependent relative (i.e.
parents,spouses, or children) may participate in the NHI program through a relative’s
insurance registration organization after four months of residence.

4.Those without a fixed employer nor family members with whom dependency can be
claimed, should, after four months of residence, enroll through the local administration
offices of residence.

5.Company chairpersons/owners: They should enroll in the program through their
company after four months of residence.

How to Enroll in the Universal Heath Care? is a post from: Universal Health Care Pros and Cons