While living in Finland for three years, I experienced socialized medicine up close and personal. I gave birth to my son there.
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All Finnish citizens and permanent residents are eligible for KELA benefits, as are immigrants on work and political asylum visas. I was eligible for the KELA system because I was in Finland on a work visa, and I paid income and social services taxes from my paychecks. Yes the taxes were high, about 40% of my gross pay. However, it is comparable to my take-home pay here in the US once I factor in my health insurance premiums, deductibles, and copayments, along with my income and social security taxes.
I cut down AZSpot’s post significantly, but you should read his in whole. I wanted to focus on this portion that I kept above for a moment, because I think it’s one of the points least covered in the debate that should be near the center. Taxes could go up, and there will be a cost to the bill, but the point is that it lowers costs overall for taxpayers, because their health insurance costs go down. Taxes going up isn’t a negative if it’s offset by lowered private costs, not to mention all the other arguments for health care reform besides cost.
