Text 35492, 62 rader
Skriven 2009-09-01 16:53:36 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
  Kommentar till text 35471 av Ward Dossche (2:292/854)
Ärende: Universal health insurance
==================================
Ward Dossche wrote to Robert Bashe on Tuesday September 01 2009 at 14:23:

RB>> I don't know what you mean with your "about the same as here", but
RB>> you certainly aren't talking about government health insurance as
RB>> paid by a majority of the population...

WD> Health insurance is handled by a number of agencies here, not
WD> 'insurance companies".

So the comment referred to the number of dollars alone, not to the coverage or
the system (who _really_ pays for the health care?).

WD> There is a kind of a 'membership fee'. That is not the correct word
WD> but something needs to be paid to be affiliated. I paid 113 Euro for a
WD> full year, so did my wife. On top of that, because we are in a
WD> high-enough income category we each pay 25 Euro a year for certain
WD> emergency services.

And the rest is paid, as you later note, from taxes. The "membership fee" is
merely a token payment.

WD> So I paid 138 Euro for a FULL year. As did my wife. My dependant
WD> children up till age 28 pay nothing.

Of course you pay much more, but not directly. That is apparently more
palatable to the population in Belgium than a direct charge. The German
government health insurance is mainly financed by direct charges, but deficits
are covered out of general tax revenues. Apparantly the German mentality makes
the people like to know what they're paying for - you see similar attitudes
regarding water bills and heating charges in multifamily dwellings: everyone
wants a detailed accounting of what he/she has used, quite separate from the
group, and then pays for that. And woe betide whoever cheats - the group will
tear him/her apart.

RB>> I don't know the situation in Belgium, ...

WD> Indeed you don't ... therefore you shouldn't comment on it either.

As you shouldn't comment on situations in the USA or Germany, but do
regardless. Don't let's get snippy, Ward. All you've done is to confirm what I
believed from the start, that if you were paying "about the same" as Tim, there
are either severe limitations in the coverage, or someone else is picking up
the bulk of the expense - and in fact it appears to be the taxpayer in Belgium
(you naturally included, but indirectly rather than directly).

WD> And of course it's augmented. We pay high taxes in Belgium, probably
WD> some of the highest in the world. As a result we probably have the
WD> best health-insurance as well as pension-scheme in the whole world.

;-) Now who's comparing?

WD> That's one of the main reasons why eventually in the 70-ies I declined
WD> moving to the US.

Would have depended on the conditions and salary as far as I'm concerned. If
you earn a few million a year, you can afford to retire after a few years and
live where you like thereafter.

Cheers, Bob

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