O.J. -- A few years ago our MD 'fired' us as patients! Bizarre guy. We'd only started with him because he would take our medical coverage. Then it was a challenge to find another internal medicine MD. Finally found a multiple-doctor practice nearby and were assigned their newby, who has worked out OK. (Not the best MD I ever had...but then THAT one never even billed an insurance company going back to the 1980s; it was pay upfront and submit your own claims.) One of the best things about our current situation is the manager of the practice. The whole office is run beautifully. I agree about the problem about too few RN's. I've had two hip replacements and the removal of a staghorn calculus.. All surgeries were done in hospitals that were 'Top Rated' and with 'Top Rated' MDs. HOWEVER, the nursing staff was so thin that I was advised by my doctor to hire my own practical nurse for the first 48 hours post-op on the kidney stone surgery! (Was I ever glad I did! Still, I signed myself out prematurely -- before they could kill me with incorrect meds.) Meanwhile that group of hospitals is really raking it in. I've followed their fortunes, having been born at the original one.

Chelone, I'm sad to hear that your mother has had to cope with some cancer. It is hard to deal with that - even if one's trouble is of one's own making. My family has a history of weak lungs, which I share. I started to smoke at age 16 and after a few months decided that I didn't care for either the taste or, being frugal, the cost - so quit. Now enjoying good health at age 75, I'm very thankful that I had the common snense to do that. And often suggest to others that I hope that they decide to quit, so increase their chances of enjoying such a prolonged and healthy retirement, as well. I try not to come off judgementally about it - and few have given a surly response. Some have thanked me. Hayjud, I hope that you were not upset by my rather joking and somewhat smart-assed suggestion that you consider moving to Canada. Seriously, have you considered taking on a part-time project to produce some income? The nice thing is that you are your own boss, you can do the kind of thing that you are interested in and good at, and can do whatever you choose at your own speed. You don't have the pressure to produce enough to live on - as you had planned to get along on the retirement income that was already in place. I subscribe to a newsletter that discussed some of the issues related to that just this week - can send you URL if you wish (don't know it at present - but can look it up). On the internet might be possible. Some sell on ebay, etc. I feel that it would be preferable if you have knowledge that you can sell, whether by newsletter, ezine, etc. Possibly even personal consultation, whether on the internet or even by phone. Easy to send the messages - better than having to wrap and ship products, I think. I find that it is difficult to find people to reply showing interest in your offer, let alone subscribing, for there is so much material there already. Many don't like what they see and have been turned off regarding the whole thing. I have an idea that might be of interest, which I've checked out around here, but have minimal information that might be helpful to you. Good wishes as you proceed with your retirement. I hope that you enjoy it and have the good helath to be able to do a number of the things that you've looked forward to doing for a number of recent years. joyful

phoggie: If I could say one thing it would be don't worry, but that won't help so instead I'll tell you about our health care here in Canada. First--You're health care won't change much if at all. I remember when we first got OHIP--Ontario health insurance policy--we were as aprehensive as many Americans are now. How health care works in Canada: Money for health care comes out of Federal general revenue. We pay a bit more than you in income tax, a lot more than you in taxes on cigarettes and other things deemed a drain on health care. The federal government distributes this money to the provinces who in turn pay it to doctors and hospitals. There is no age limit or any other restrictions on who gets health care. If you are a Canadian citizen you are covered from the cradle to the grave. There are no horror stories any more than there are in your country. The thing is that here all our wait times are monitored and published. No one knows what yours are they are not monitored or published. We can go to any doctor--GP or specialist-- we choose. If I don't like the wait times in my town I can go to another town or city. My neighbor just had a knee replacement. It took 6 weeks to see a specialist and have the surgery done. I've heard of people in the States waiting longer than that, and my neighbor paid not one penny for anything. As for waiting to see your doctor or specialist. It depends on how many patients he has. Our one big problem is that a gung-ho politican cancelled spaces at medical schools a while back and now we have a shortage of doctors, but this has nothing to do with our health care. If we had more doctors there would be no waiting times at all. All basic health care is covered--visits to any medical doctor. Ward care and anything that is done in a hospital and drugs administered by the hospital. It covers eye exams for seniors and children and anyone who has an eye disease or condition like diabetes that may cause vision problems. It covers most tests, blood work. MRI's, CAT and PET scans. Many people have supplimental insurance to cover things like semi-private hospital rooms, physiotherapy, eye glasses, dental and drugs. There is really nothing to worry about. If the USA follows some of the things the countries who have health care and customizes it to your country., you're health care will stay much the same. The only ones who will lose out is the big for profit health insurance companies. Who do you think is doing all the fear mongering in your country--They don't want to see their cash cow disappear.

We have Trupanion - but we are Canadian. Trupanion used to be a Cdn. company called Vet Insurance - that was trying to move into the U.S. - but in the end bought a U.S. Company and now is headquartered there. We took out the insurance when our dog was 15 months old - we initally did not take it out because the plan DID NOT (at the time) cover hip dysplasia. Now the plan does BUT NOT for existing clients. Imagine paying premiums for 6 years and your dog develop dysplasia - you are not covered, but someone who signed up 35 days before is. People were very annoyed but with pets who were 6 years old, up the creek. Originally deductibles were not part of the plan. Now of course they are. Our original premiums were $32.00 a month plus our Cdn. taxes. Now they are $75.00 a month - and the increase to $75 happened before we ever had a claim - which did not happen until May of 2011 when our dog developed what was thought to be conjunctivitis but was really an ulcer in the making that in turn became an abscessed cornea. He is a white dog with perfectly clear eyes so we caught the problem day one. We had our most recent appointment with the board certified eye specialist in Nov. of 2012. The "crud" of course is still in his eye. So in addition to our monthly premiums of $75 we have been seeing the eye specialist every 4 months for nearly 1 1/2 years - this after constant treatments with our regular vet. NOTE - RECHECKS ARE NOT COVERED. So if the bill is say $125.00 plus taxes - we receive about $22.00 back (taxes are not returned). I wanted surgery at the beginning - used to have Dachshunds who had full body back surgery - and this happened with my 2 special guys - so I felt cursed. It would have been far cheaper. In retrospect, we would have been far further ahead to have had a bank account for our guy based on his excellent health until the eye problem. Cost wise this has cost us thousands. I called Trupanion after the most recent e-mail regarding adding prescription food, behavior modification etc. to the plan to ask how much this was going to cost us - even though we won't be able to use it. Our dog does cost us a lot of money with check-ups, vaccines etc. - plus dentals. His dentals usually run about $1,200 - and of course are not covered. Many people at the specialist's office have pet insurance and all feel the same. I did call when I heard about the addition of hip dysplasia - our dog does not have it - and asked if it could be added for existing clients whose dogs have never exhibited any signs of the health issue - and who have not submitted any claims. They said they were looking at grandfathering it, but didn't. Also watch the hospitalization issue - although these days you are lucky not be sent home the day after heart surgery. If you are hospitalized for 4 days, the plan will pay for boarding of your dog - EXCEPT my husband and I are both shown as our dog's owners. Since he wouldn't be in the hospital - he could be travelling - at work - visiting me in the hospital etc. - Trupanion would not pay since he would be available to care for our dog - and vice versa. This happened to someone else. So put the insurance in one person's name and hope. Our dog will turn 9 next April - so obviously we are not about to cancel the policy. He will also most likely be our last dog. In the event that the worst should happen and he die prematurely (his breed often lives to be 18) and we did get another dog, it would be a senior dog and we would not take out insurance or go to extreme measures. Each person has to decide what to do. Our breed of dog is known to be healthy if you adopt a standard size as opposed to one that has been mucked about with so that the dog weighs 5 lbs. as opposed to 25 lbs. And this has been the case. Every day I check his eyes - next appointment will be in 6 months, unless something happens. I do believe in pet insurance - BUT - not when they change the plans to attract new customers and leave the existing customers out in the cold. In Canada we do not have the variety of plans offered in the U.S. so I would do some checking. Look at the LIFETIME COVERAGE of a condition (much like kids' braces); the annual MAXIMUM per condition - some plans will pay say $1,000 annually for a broken leg - but a broken leg will cost you a lot more than $1,000 to have fixed - that type of thing - as well as the regular deductible and any breed specific deductibles and general deductibles. Also, exactly what is covered - and if they stop covering certain illnesses whether you will be grandfathered - not necessarily so as my vet found out with her pet. Our dog is more likely to develop Patellar Luxation or tear an ACL - so far so good - and supposedly we would be covered since he does not have a prexisting condition.