To: CaptainCanada
The doctor shortage can be pinned on the health care system, and governments.
Governments across Canada conspired, in the late 1980's, to cut and cap medical school spaces, in order to ration health care. These caps have only recently been lifted.
The payment system used punishes doctors for taking on "problem" patients, and rewards them for taking only young, healthy patients. It's not just the "unworthy" who are having problems -- increasingly, elderly people are unable to find a regular doctor.
Doctors can earn considerably more in the U.S. -- hence many leave Canada -- thus exacerbating the doctor "shortage".
BTW, I don't smoke, drink little, exercise, eat well, and am not obese; and I think that people should take personal responsibility for their health. However, no matter how hard I try to avoid it, I still seem to be getting older. I would like to think that medical care will be available when I need it.
"In the USA it's an easy call - it's whoever has the fatest wallet."
That's certainly what we hear all the time here. According to the OECD, Canada spends 6.7% of its GDP on public health care while the U.S. spends 6.6% of its considerably larger per capita GDP on public health care. We spend only 2.9% of GDP on private health care -- compared to 8.1% in the U.S. Most of that private health care expenditure is for insurance -- which we Canadians are not allowed. If we weren't taxed to pay for the public insurance, we could afford to pay for the private insurance.
To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
Maybe doctors don't like to live in your area, cause where I live
in Ontario, I've never had to wait for medical care, nor has any
(more than 100+) of my relatives within 100 miles of here.
My son lives in the States and he says that except for the cost (much higher)
he hasn't seen any significant difference in the health care systems.
So I remain somewhat skeptical that all these stories are being fed
to serve someones agenda (and it ain't mine)...
68 posted on
04/25/2006 2:28:55 PM PDT by
CaptainCanada
("Macht doch Eiern Dreck aleene!" (Take care of your own mess!).)
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