This is an interesting discussion, here in Alberta we pay our health insurance premiums via taxes, which were about $500 per family ($150 single) per month, plus my dental plan which was $120 per month plus my private health care which was about $150 per month. Now that I’m over 65 I don’t have to pay the monthly premium for provincial health care (Alberta Blue Cross) but do still have the private health care and dental insurance. My annual property taxes in this city of 100,000 are about $4500 on a 3000 sq ft home with detached 2 car garage and detached 2 car shop, all non essential goods are taxed at 5% and 97 premium gasoline is about $1.09 per litre (with discount card). My tax bracket is approximately 30% - 35% (combined federal and provincial) and we get to claim our private dental and health care directly against income, unlike charitable/political contributions which are about 30% I think. After contemplating a move to Richardson Texas and calculating all the costs, taxes and deductions, I concluded that there was really not much of a difference between here and there except it is so hot in Texas. Anyway, I decided to retire and stay here. As a result of a 6 year stint as a volunteer for GriefNet (online self help group) I do know people in the USA who were bankrupted by loved ones medical costs so it is crucially important to have good health insurance there. I would not call our Canadian health care system socialist, but rather a combination of a federal basic tax funded health care system with private dental care and some private health care providers that cover drug prescriptions and several other beyond basic services.

Regarding residential services, we pay on average $0.16 per Kw hour of electricity, $2.80 per cubic metre for water and $2.90 per cubic metre for sewer, about $23/month for garbage/recycling/organic waste composting and in cold months about $8 per gigajoule (appx 1000 cu. ft. or 10 Therms) for natural gas, all these costs are transportation, fees and taxes included. The official line is we paid last month $0.0631/Kw hr for electricity, $2.80 + $2.90 (sewer)/cubic metre for our combined water, $23 for garbage/recycling/composting and $2.26 per gigajoule for natural gas, but that does not include fixed, variable transportation or taxes. In conclusion, obviously we are among the fat cats of the world, whether we live in the USA or Canada, that’s my $0.02 worth…

EDIT: Forgot to mention that my insurance on my snow tire equipped LR3 is $975 per year for $2 million public liability, collision ($500 deductible) and full glass coverage...

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

good insight
you guys have 97 gas ?

Yesterday went to fill up here in southern Ontario
it was .91 cents a litre for 87 octane
1.26 a litre for 91.

 

Sorry redwhitekat, I am redfaced now! That should have been Octane 91, I'd better proofread my responses a bit better in future...

 

lol I know Alberta is or was a oil town thought you gave your gas a bit extra home town love lol

 

I pay over $540 monthly for my wife and my insurance, but I'm glad I never had to use medical care. I recently read about medical programs for low-income families and retirees. You can read about Medicare and Medicaid here: https://www.natlawreview.com/article...o-prepare-them. As it turns out, these programs are designed to help people. One of their responsibilities is to monitor health care providers. In my opinion, this is a very good thing for the citizens of our country.

 

I'm going to open up a few personal details in this because this is probably an issue that I care more about than almost any other.

For my wife, my 1 year old daughter, and myself, our insurance plan (privately purchased as neither of our employers offered insurance... Kinda) costs around $968/month. Based on our income combined level, we receive a $311/month tax credit bringing our out of pocket cost to $657/month.

For our money we get "BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Bronze B10S" (you should be able to look up full plan details from that if you like).

For our money, we receive the following:
Deductible:
$6,600 Individual total $13,200 Family total
For primary care visit, specialist visit, x-rays, in-patient doctor care, surgery, and several other categories we receive

• In Network: 50% Coinsurance after deductible
• Out of Network: Benefit not covered

For medication, we receive the same benefit. So, until we reach our $6,600 individual or $13,200 family spending, we receive no assistance from our insurance on these categories. It should also be noted, only what gets reported to your insurance gets applied to your deductible. It is often quite a bit cheaper, as costs vary depending if you use your insurance or if you don't, to buy medications or visit a doctor "without insurance".

Another piece is that you have to wait either for "open enrollment" which happens once a year, or a "life changing event" in order to apply for insurance if you are uninsured.

A life changing event is something like a job change, getting married/divorced, or having a baby. That last one is important; note that I said having a baby, not getting pregnant. Getting pregnant is not considered a life changing event. This applies to my wife and I as she was not insured when she got pregnant with our child. We were not able to apply for insurance and therefore our pre-birth visits were all out of pocket.

Another key take away is how much more expensive our healthcare is than the rest of the world. Our prescription drug costs are obscene (see epi-pens) and doctor/hospital services have gone thru the roof due to large companies (Ballad Health, in our area) buying up all the hospitals and practices in a region, giving themselves a monopoly, increasing patient charges, decreasing nurse and doctor pay, and lining their own pockets. These are not all the problems, but they are contributing factors.

If you'd like more info on this subject, with hard numbers and sources cited, here's a video just under 8 minutes that explains a lot. It's a bit dated (9 years old) so some of the numbers have likely changed, but it gives a really good idea what we're really up against here in the US. It helps give an explanation for the complexity of the problem and why it is really difficult for Americans to come to one unified solution.

ALL of that said, it's my personal belief that nobody should have to decide between going to the doctor and paying their lot rent for a 1978 single wide trailer when they're working 95 to 110 hours a week... A situation I found myself in a couple years ago. One that could be very easily explained away by "poor money management", but I assure you is much much more complicated than that. And thankfully, one that my wife and I have worked long and hard to remove ourselves from with some success.