jay-z and young jeezy at inaugeration

Speedy not saying you have to work minimum wage job at all. Plenty of wonderful jobs stateside that come with insurance. I did saying if you CHOOSE to live in the usvi your choices will be more limited. But that is true about living here period.

Sabrina I was talking about income tax. Income tax in countries that provide universal health care are much higher then the US. I am not talking about income tax in the US versus USVI.

EXACTLY WHY I AM NOT IN FAVOR OF THIS SYSTEM....AND WHO DETERMINES THE "URGENCY" FACTOR?

If you are ill and need to see a Doctor they will get you in quickly, based on the severity of your case, i.e. very ill - same day, an annoying but not dangerous allergy - next week. Doctor's visit is free, a small set fee is charged for prescriptions. I know people here who are paying fortunes for Health Insurance, and still have to wait two weeks to see a Doctor.

As spee1dy pointed out, you always have the option of getting private health care if you choose to. But in the meantime, the care offered by the Government is more than adequate. Care is based on need, rather than your ability to pay. The urgency is decided by the people working at the Health Centre. You are never expected to wait weeks to see a GP. Non-urgent you get an appointment at the centre. If you are too sick to get out of bed, they will send a Doctor on a house call. In an emergency you call 999 instead of 911 - the difference is, it is free.

MosquitoBaitt, I understand that just because a system works in one country, that doesn't mean it will work in another. There is a lot of potential for abuse of the system, and I'm sure it would be a nightmare to control here. There is already rampant greed in the health care industry. After getting attacked and injured, I was charged $800+ for a Doctor to ask me 3 questions, prescribe antibiotics and a nurse gave me an anti-tetanus shot. That is a rate of about $100 per minute! All those people making out like bandits aren't going to allow government control of the system.

Betty, last time I did a comparison between UK and US income tax, it was about the same. The higher the income, the higher the tax. I could be out of date though, if things have changed in the last few years. I did hear that in Canada the tax was very high.

i am all for a universal health care system. there are alot of people who even if they are offered the option of getting health care they can not afford the premiums. the elderly have medicare which does not cover everything and elderly people are still going without medication so they can eat. how is that right. how is it right that people who are just starting out cant afford health care. alot of small business owners can not afford to offer health care. even a major car dealership here on island did away with their health care coverage. again maybe the government should take a look at the health care plans for ( damn i cant remember) that state in new england where every one has health care coverage premiums based on their income. i guess some people live in a tunnel where everything is perfect. i dont and i know that the health care system in the us sucks. people die because they cant afford to get health care.

You have to have supplemental insurance with medicare. Just like people buy things like afflack to cover extra costs. More importantly you have to PREPARE for retirement, which many people do not do. And in this day and age you have to prepare to live longer then your parents. If you parents out there give your children a IRA say at the age of 20 or 25 you will be giving a much better gift then a car, wedding, etc... In a way this recession is good because people are really talking about saving money again and learning how to manage it.

UK income tax is much higher then ours.

Who is waiting two weeks to see a doctor? Are you talking about a specialist?? Yes you might have to wait but if it is urgent and you are nice but pushy they will usually get you in. Never had to wait to see a general practioner. I might have to wait two or three hours in the waiting room, but thats life.

Basically I don't see the govt as our parents that have to take care of us and coddle us. You have to take care of yourself in this world not look for a hand out.

Betty, the Inland Revenue gives everyone a tax exemption of 6,035 GBP. The next 34,800 GBP will be taxed at 20%. In addition to that you can get allowances for children etc. That is pounds, not dollars, and I think 40,835 GBP is a pretty reasonable income. The exchange rate that we are experiencing at the moment is exceptionally bad, on average it is about 1.6 -1.7 Now, if you make more than that, the rate goes up to 40%. By that stage most people can afford to have some tricky accountant working for them, and probably end up paying less than the rest of us!

betty you obviously have very strong opinions about this. you really think that people who want insurance can get it and have the money to afford it. not all people have money, millions loosing their jobs every day in the us. it does not sound like you have ever had to do with out. it does not sound like you have ever had to struggle. the reality is most people live paycheck to paycheck and if they were to get ill even if they had insurance they still could not afford to get well. glad to hear you have it so well.

Obviously we both have strong opinions about this. And you're completely wrong about me. It says alot about you that you have to pigeon hole me as some rich b*tch to defend your argument. I'm not going to explain myself to someone who goes on the personal attack to try and prove a point.

Universal health care? say the government passed it and we all have free health care, yea!!! Now i can call a doctor and be seen for this mole that has come up? NOT LIKELY ANYTIME SOON. Why, because of doctor shortages, nurses, surgeons, there wont be that many. as for trying to get a doctor visit , that may take 6 months to a year. hope it's not life threatening. Not to many people in the medical field want to be paid by the government. If you had to go to the emergency room, instead of the usual 3 hour wait to see a intern you will wait even longer. maybe a day or so. As for trying to get prescriptions filled, good luck. Demand will out way the supply. I think medical research will slow down. There just wont be that many young people wanting to get into the medical field, maybe they will all become lawyers so they can sue the government for poor health care. As for that mole i was talking about earlier, well it turned into full blown cancer because i couldn't get in to see a doctor. They were all booked up, over worked and under paid by the government. And no, i do not have any health coverage, because of my health they want to charge me 498.00 a month to be completely covered.

betty i would never call you a rich b*tch i dont know you .but it appears that you think everybody can afford health insurance and that all jobs offer it and if they dont well just get another job. life is not always that easy or one sided. they are many sides to this issue and it appears you are looking at it from only one point of view and i am looking at it from only one point of view. if you thought i was calling you names than you dont know me. i dont do that and people think i have too much of a pollyanna view on life and people. i actually like most people i meet. i certainly dont begrudge people what they have. i know not everyone has it as good as i do or as you seem to. the only thing i said was that it sounded like you have never had to struggle and i said i was glad you had it so well.

mydream we looked into health coverage too and for the both of us it would be about 700-800 a month and we both have pre-existing conditions so they would not be covered either. i think where i read about that new england state that requires all people to have coverage was in a past edition of readers digest. and again everybody pays for coverage but it is based on what they earn. i think they also have different options for health coverage. i think that would be a better idea than free health coverage. i do like to pay my way but who can afford 700-800 a month to cover two people.

hey at least they have that free prescription card here on stx that can only be used at the big k near fredericksted. it really does save alot of money

Free prescription card??
I know I get 3 mons supply for $15.00, which is $9.00 cheaper than 1 mon from usave..............are you referring to another savings???

islandtyme, i dont mean the prescriptions are free. sorry about the wording. the card i am refering to is the american consultants rx card. you can print it right from the website and when you get prescriptions filled you show it to them when you show them your prescription and you get a discount on your prescriptions. the website is www.2spendless.com. my bf gets his high blood pressure medicine for 3 months and it is so cheap. i think its under 10 bucks. when he first started getting the drugs they were about 50 for a one month supply. i also i think now that the pharmacy at plaza extra offers cheaper costs too. not sure about that. if you need it and cant find the website pm me with your address and i can mail you a copy. i even called the company when the cards came out and they were so nice. they started this in the states i think florida and georgia first. still it sounds like you get yours cheap too.

Cool found it....thnx speedy. 🙂 And nice to know Kmarts here in the VI are in the program!!!
You know you're getting older when the topic of how to obtain the best prescription prices come up, now lets talk about aches & pains, vision loss..........wait we were .........health care.

Obviously we both have strong opinions about this. And you're completely wrong about me. It says allot about you that you have to pigeon hole me as some rich b*tch to defend your argument. I'm not going to explain myself to someone who goes on the personal attack to try and prove a point.

Betty,
Here, here, well done!
I agree, we must all carry our own load!
I read, & understand where you been & are, good job!
I have no problem with speedy either, I like the concept much more on paying for insurance based on your ability to pay WAY more than free BC you WONT work (and come up with some lame excuse why).
The one handed carpenter who lost his hand in a saw, the Paraplegic can still work & help sustain themselves/family.
But the healthy,young, or even fat lards (I`m heavy, I work 6 days a week)who are too dam lazy to do $hit....get a job or starve I say!
No hand outs for you!!!<this move alone could fix our economy not just now, but forever!
The first step here should be do the best you can for yourself/family, or be denied any help at all.
Unless you try 110%(and can prove it) & even then, this help should be VERY limited(and the amount to be a fixed cap for ones lifetime)
Then we should all do our best to strive to something better & be a better provider for ourselves/family.

A old timer told me how it used to be, disgusted of how much money was taken from his check many years ago, given freely to the "poor".
He told me in his day, if you didn`t work, you didn`t eat!!!
I`m sorry, I agree with this Philosophy!

To metaphrase JFK (again):
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

Does that prescription card cover all or just limited too certain prescription? and this is Kmart that does this?

islandtyme, glad you found it. and remember only the big k near fredericksted will accept it.

DUN i agree that you need to work to get what you want. i too am tired of seeing able bodied people sit on their a$$ all day long collecting money, food stamps medical care free housing and any other program they can get their hands on and drive a brand new car. i think also you would like the book "Ted White and Blue" i agree with most of what he is saying. not all but most. maybe he should be our president. even though i am a conservative i have a few liberal view points. i believe in a hand up not a hand out. i actually agree with some of what betty says but it seems that she is forgetting that some people no matter how many jobs they have or how hard they work or how much money they make can get slammed by a serious illness. people do loose everything when that kind of a situation happens even if they have insurance.

mydream i think it covers all prescriptions, not sure. if you go to their website you should be able to find a phone number. when i called i actually talked to the guy who started this card. he was very helpful and we talked for a good twenty minutes. no its not the kmart that offers it but it the kmart that accepts this card. just print the card from the website and present it at the window where you drop off your prescriptions. www.2spendless.com

Detroit Madman For President!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀

wasnt sure if anybody would know that islandtyme. it really was a good book. it was even at the local library on stx