Posted on 06/16/2005 8:39:22 AM PDT by Apolitical
It is virtually impossible to have a debate about the American healthcare system without someone mentioning the Canadian alternative (socialized medicine, with the government acting as a single payer and no private alternative system available). Exalted by the likes of idealistic liberals, the Canadian system often gets touted as a more humane alternative to the American scenario since it offers that glorious-sounding fantasy of “universal coverage.”
The only trouble, of course, is that Canadians face intolerable waiting times that compromise their health and quality of life (and sometimes their very lives themselves). The situation has gotten so severe that now even the Supreme Court of Canada, not an institution known for putting the individual above the collective, has admitted that relegating people to a public system that causes untold suffering and outlaws the purchasing of private insurance as a voluntary opt-out of the long lines is unacceptable.....
(Excerpt) Read more at theamericanenterprise.org ...
People all over have a dread fear of illness and the growing expense especially to the poor and aged. This is the stick that Evita will beat you over the head with to get into the WH. Don't be deluded into seeing her or her plans as a cure for the problem. Less than anyone, can she offer a solution. More money (from you know where) is not the problem. This is the richest and most advanced country in the world and IF the answer was more money, we would not even be talking about this.
Good article. Terrible health policy.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
A Cardiac Patient is ten times more likely to die waiting than die on the operating table - Toronto Globe and Mail
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
The inception of medicare was to ensure no one would go bankrupt over catastrophic or chronic health conditions. That concept was viable. We need to return to that thinking.
Now we just keep throwing money at an overtaxed system that's badly broken and needs to go back to its roots. How much money has been diverted from education, for example? It's a proven fact that a higher level of education costs the health care system less.
Canadians already pay for their own dental and optical services. We pay for prescriptions. Sometimes employers offer private coverage for these services, sometimes not. If we can choose who fixes our teeth, why can't we choose who fixes our bones?
If people can jump the queue and pay for services, let them free up the line for the people that really need the socialized care. If our doctors can earn some money by providing part time private service, let them - they might stay in Canada.
bottom line...Thats the kind of health care the dems will give us...The ones who are rich or connected will jump ahead of the line and the others (namely taxpayers) will be on the waiting list till they die.....Why couldn't the liberals in charge of Canadas health care get the kinks out before the court had to force them to do it....Maybe the liberals running the system want the people to die and free up more health care for the rich......
If we went back to the original concept, which was that there was NO line because only catastrophic issues were covered and dealt with immediately, it would be a moot point.
It's nuts that anyone with a sniffle can use up a doc's time for free, or go to an emerg and crowd up the line for a scrape that doesn't require stitches. Or get second, third and fourth opinions because they want an antibiotic for a child with a viral infection. Free. All free.
Our problem is no one values it. Without value to the service is becomes abused. We need to go back to basics.
When I lived in Canada in 1986/87, my impressions of their system were fairly favorable. I got to see doctors quickly. The priest at my church had angina and needed a bypass. He had to wait in a queue for the better part of a year, then had successful surgery. At the time, it was claimed they were very good at not losing anyone because they were in a queue; if a patient's condition deteriorated at all, he would be put immediately to the head of the queue. Apparently, it isn't so good anymore. They did have problems back then: while I was there, the doctors went on strike.
They went on strike in Ontario when the NDP (read socialists) were in power and basically asked them to work for free two days a week. Suffice to say, it didn't fly. Many simply closed their offices a couple days a week as they couldn't bill. We lost a lot of good doctors.
This is also the same government, by the way, that reduced the number of positions in medical schools so they wouldn't have to pay more doctors in years to come. (Don't even get me started...) And we scratch our heads and wonder why there is a shortage of doctors in this country.
My sister, a pediatric, critical care nurse (heart/brain spec.) left the country when a similar stunt happened in Quebec under the PQ goverment. Again, a socialist gov't who pushed the professionals too far.
Another pathetic element of our system is that doctors are the only self employed professionals who cannot reclaim the GST as they do not bill their patients. Dentists, lawyers and accountants pass it on in their fees. Docs get hit twice - they have to pay it and can't recoup.
There are a lot of problems with what started out as an excellent system with honourable intentions. The biggest problem is that the largest part of the Canadian population, my 30ish self included, was born into the privilege and do not value what we have. We only want more and have a serious sense of self entitlement about the whole issue. It's time we got an injection of reality.
My father didn't die...actually he was told he needed a bypass on a Friday, his Dr said to meet him on Saturday in Victoria (2.5 hour drive south), bypass was done Sunday morning...
He also lucked out with his cataract surgery, total wait of 6 days...
It's hit or miss...but I generally agree that the system sucks...
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