Right now with almost an epidemic of flu the strains in the system are evident. In Manitoba the newly elected social democratic government promised to end hallway medicine. They are re-opening beds etc. but emergency rooms are overcrowded and people are in the hallways awaiting rooms and nurses are in short supply. At least there seems to be a growing realization that funding must be increased. If we spent even near the amount of GDP the US does on health care we would have the world's finest health care system. Our federal government though seems to want to spend millions bailing out hockey teams and giving tax breaks to people who need to be taxed more not less.
Cheers, Ken Hanly
Marta Russell wrote:
> Max Sawicky wrote:
>
> > the tax credit is refundable and is available to everyone
> > whether they pay taxes or not.
> >
> > Ah, but only if you file. There are limits below which you don't even
> > have to file. In order to get your credit, you have to get the IRS to
> > spend a bunch of money to process your paperwork. What a waste!
> > /jordan
> > >>>>>>>>>>>
> >
> > How else would the Gov redistribute income, if not by
> > taking some kind of application that indicated one's
> > pre-existing income?
> >
> > Throw money out the window?
> >
> > mbs
>
> Max - I think the point is that all these people who have Medicaid but
> under the Bradley proposal would need to find out if they will be
> eligible for this tax credit may not know about it. They may not have
> been filing income taxes at all (you don't have to file if you make under
> $25,000?). New roadblocks get constructed when big changes like this get
> made and there is a learning curve to overcome the lack of knowledge.
> Everytime there is a major change in policy there are casualties. Take
> the welfare reform measure. Technically, some of the women's children
> who left the welfare rolls were eligible for Medicaid but either did not
> know it or did not get through the bureaucratic process to apply for it
> in the correct way and ended up without benefits they were eligible for.
> When EITC was first enacted many eligible weren't using it.
>
> Chuck's posts were illuminating and Ken Hanly made some excellent
> suggestions.
> I really like the idea of setting up community medical centers like the
> Canadian system where people can simply go get the care they need instead
> of being run through the obsfucations of the health care system in this
> country. Obsfucation works to the interests of capitalists and those who
> would thwart the public system that does exist so badly that people do
> not get served.
>
> --
> Marta