Posted on 10/31/2019 9:07:25 AM PDT by MtnClimber
I was in line at Costco that wonderful example of American liberty, capitalism, the profit motive, and what it brings us namely, a bounty of wonderful goods and services we freely choose, all at low cost and high quality. Costco is an example of what's right in America. So why not pass the time and strike up a conversation with the fellow customer in front of me?
I heard from her accent she was from Canada. I asked her about socialized medicine. I said to her that all the men and women of the American Left (the Democratic Party) tell us to look to Canada, to a big powerful government as a model of what we should seek to run our own health care here in America.
(snip)
It's ugly and scary."
She elaborated. She told me the tragic story of her sister, who had worked as a nurse in a hospital. She experienced some serious symptoms that needed further tests. She was put in a long queue to have an MRI. Her sister worked as a nurse. She could have pulled strings to get ahead of others waiting in the long line. She chose not to take advantage. Finally, seven months later, the scan was performed. The test revealed a cancer that was no longer treatable. My Costco line-mate said, "This happens all the time in our state-run Canadian system. You in America, you don't hear about these things, do you?"
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
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[[Does the younger generation think Medicare is free?]]
Yes- deep down they probably know it isn’t- but they won’t allow themselves to think about it- they are unattached to reality- They are hoping beyond hope that the ‘rich will support everyone’- they are the me me me generation- the ‘galutes’ like Paul Muni said in one of his movies- unwilling to work for themselves, always looking for the quick easy $$- a generation that sits around complaining about the rich, jealous of their riches, and who won’t go out and earn anything the old fashioned way- through good hard honest labor
And sadly the left wanna keep our borders open to people coming here for ‘free stuff’ nearly 70% of those that come across our borders go immediately on welfare and government assistance, some to the tune of $45,000 per year- free housing, free education, free healthcare etc-
It’s a cancer and character deficit that will cripple this nation
Thanks for posting, eh.
My doc prescribed a med for me; told me it would cost about $45.00; I believe it was sarcasm, when he said, if you can get to Canada it’s $10.00 OTC...it’s called *XYZ* .
Hopefully, we’ll see if our meds in the USA, will come down in price....if I live long enuf.
I just got on Medicare. I pay 126 for my part B supplemental and 24 for Prescription drugs. My wife is not 65 yet so she uses a company called Medishare, a Christian based organization. No matter how look at it, healthcare is not cheap.
And on the other side of the pond: The UK, and it’s wonderful and brilliantly managed National Health Service. My wife (UK ex-Pat) has a friend in Norwich who happened to have a serious issue with her foot that required surgery. For six months she waited for an appointment just to be seen by a specialist. In ever-increasing pain...she waited. Her day finally came and was diagnosed with tendon damage requiring surgery, and put on the waiting list. Horrified, she re-read the date of the surgery and asked how long she would have to wait with private medical insurance. The doc told her he could operate the next day. SEVEN YEARS later...she finally gets her foot surgery with the NHS! The NHS almost crippled her. THIS is what Bernie and the gang want for America.
My wife is Canadian so we spend a lot of time there. I have many horror stories that happened to her family members while they were getting their “free” healthcare. From my personal observations, the four hospitals in the Niagara Region are not up to US hospital cleanliness standards. The ER waiting times are not up to US standards. The wait times for diagnostic tests are not up to US standards. Taxes would, if implemented in the US, cause a revolution. I could go on, but, in closing, there is no such thing as a free lunch.
I lost a Canadian friend to an easily treatable melanoma because his treatment kept being postponed until it was not longer operable.
The grass is not always greener somewhere else. I was never so glad to set foot in the good ol' USofA when we returned to the states.
People who have not lived in other countries do not know what it's like.
There is nothing better than the US.
ER Medicine: Until proven otherwise everyone is dying.
Family Practice: Everyone is basically healthy and will get better without expensive tests.
The former is because of lawyers BTW.
I did not say there were not waits!
I am sorry but I just don’t buy it. First off Canada doesn’t have socialized medicine. The provincial governments do take on government insurance but for only certain activities. There are a few private hospitals, mostly not for profit independent hospitals and people carry a lot of private insurance for drugs, dental and hospital rooms.
If a person has a serious issue the person jumps the que and gets looked after. Yes, there are delays in getting to see specialists and certain operations, however, it is no where near as bad as you suggest.
The biggest problem with the system is keeping the doctors as they can make more in the USA and the construction of PRIVATE long term care beds for sick seniors who take up to many hospital beds.
There are advantages to both systems in the USA and in Canada. Neither is perfect.
I don’t know how common knowledge it is, but private insurers bet the government that they could take the Medicare premium and offer better and more service than the government. The policies are called Medicare Advantage policies.
I have a “0”-premium Medicare Advantage plan, and I’m also elible for VA medical.
Needed cataract surgery. I could have it done at VA for free. The cost at a private ophthalmologist would total out to around $250.
I looked into it pretty carefully. The surgery at VA would almost surely be done by a resident as part of their training. The private ophthalmologist had done (literally) 10,000 procedures.
I went with the private doctor. Spectacular results.
This is another hidden disadvantage of these socialist systems.
I am on the fence about socialized healthcare myself. The reason for this is that In the last few years I have traveled to Canada, England, France, and Italy. During these trips I have made it a point to talk to the locals about their healthcare system and all I have talked to love it. Not one person I talked to wanted it changed.
I also did not observe any sort of political push to get rid of it. If it was as bad as we are lead to believe in the US wouldnt there be marches in the street in support of a free market system?
In this story the person had to wait seven months for an MRI. Under our system how many times are procedures not allowed by insurance companies? I have to think that the 6 billion plus dollars in profit that the six top health insurers made in 2017 could be better spent on actual healthcare. How much would it help businesses if they no longer had to provide health insurance for heir employees?
Id like an honest discussion about the pros and cons of both systems instead of the constant scare tactics we get from both sides.
My best friend had a cardiac blockage while in Canada vacationing. It took three days to get what is done here always within three hours. He has a lot of work keeping his pilot’s license in place on his plane he built for retirement recreation.
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