As a matter of fact, I do have special, personal knowledge with respect to cancer. However, unlike some on these boards, I don't feel compelled to share my healthcare experiences with a bunch of strangers on the Internet.
One thing I can tell you is that at least 80% of the treatments that are available for most cancers have come directly out of NY Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering right here in NYC. Dr. Ilsen at Memorial Sloan Kettering, for example, has developed the "standard of care" for several cancers, including advanced breast cancer, prostate cancers and esophageal adenocarcinoma. For aggressive prostate cancer, for example, NY Hospital patients live more than twice as long from diagnosis than the worldwide average. If you have cancer, especially one of the rarer cancers, you are a fool if you go anywhere else.
You only get one chance in this life, so don't throw it away looking to cut healthcare costs. There is NO better value in this life. You'd be much better off saving money elsewhere, rather than shortchanging yourself and your children and grandchildren by trying to "reform" such an excellent system.
I thank God every day for the healthcare system we have in the US. Also, I thank God and my practical family for giving me the sense to take, and keep, a good job that has excellent health care benefits. Yes, I had to make some VERY significant sacrifices, but that's what it means to be a responsible person.
About the only group of uninsured people who I have special compassion for are children. Children shouldn't be held responsible for the poor decisions of their parents.
BTW, despite all the whining, Medicaid is actually quite comprehensive and surprisingly easy to qualify for. For example, in NJ, a family of four can have over $80,000 of income and still qualify for Medicaid. Furthermore, if you don't qualify based solely on income, there are even special "need-based" qualifications that you can apply for.
And yes, I have quite a few co-workers who live in London, and I've been to London and Canada several times. Every professional I know who works in London has his own private health insurance because the government run system is such a piece of cr@p. As much as you'd like to believe I'm an "ignorant American", you are just kidding yourselves.
As for flood insurance, etc. What kind of IDIOT lives in the shadows of a freaking LEVEE and doesn't have flood insurance!?!?! If flood insurance is too expensive living next door to a goddamned LEVEE, then guess what? Move the hell away from the levee! My mortgage company required me to demonstrate that I didn't live in a flood zone or to purchase flood insurance to cover their loss if my house got washed away.
