[ErnBatavia]

We're getting all our annual stuff wrapped up by the 15th, because the Canucks are heading down to our area (Coachella Valley, CA) to do their snowbird winterization....which includes doctors.

You have interminable delays at the blood labs, etc., from now until Memorial Day, and God forbid you should need the ER during those months.

[spatso]

It is important to look at some Canadian perspective on the health care issue. Support for universal health care is very high in Canada, indeed a large majority of Canadians regard their system as being substantially superior to the US health care system. Even the current conservative government is a strong advocate of the existing system and recognizes that it would be political suicide to propose a US type system.

Many Canadian snowbirds are able to use US doctors and hospitals and their extended Canadian benefits will pay for the medical services and even drugs bought in the US. I once inquired about the amount of medical advertising directed towards Canadian snowbirds in South Florida, I was told that Canadian medical insurance was very easy to work with and they paid all costs quickly and without any hassle.

My point is you had better prepare for a deluge of advertising that is going to explode the myth that the private US insurance companies offer a superior approach to care than other countries. Does it not bother you that many Canadians have full access to use US medical services when many Americans are denied the same service because they do not have sufficient insurance?