Canadian healthcare: Fact vs. fiction »
Posted By jovial 5 months, 1 week ago in Health & Fitness
As the debate over health care reform heats up in the United States, a sub-debate of increasing significance is that of the Canadian system. Natalie Mehra, a critic of the current health care system in Canada, is an even stronger critic of those Canadians in the US decreeing the failure of the Canadian system, in favor of a privatized one. Mehra shares many of the same criticisms of the Canadian system as these figures like Dr. Brian Day do, but a completely different vision for how to overcome them.
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jovial
Grew up In Brooklyn. Joined the Navy in 1976 stayed in 10 years. Aircraft Electronics tech. Worked for Major Govt. contractor then settled in California ...
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b-happy5 months, 1 week ago
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All I can say is the thought of having our government, the same government that has ruined our country, run our health care might be the dumbest idea I have ever heard. I'm just imagining the waste and inefficiency that would happen if our government was able to take control of our health care system.
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Eagle_Eye5 months, 1 week ago
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Any one in it for profit is going to be against this, what is important is that it should not be for Profit, when dealing with life and death situations, profit money should not be a factor any where in the health care industry, medical and drug
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simonsez5 months, 1 week ago
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What's the incentive to innovate then, Eagle? It costs millions to bring a drug to market. Do you want the government to be the innovator of new products? What's the incentive for the very bright people in research to work for the government and to not be allowed to profit from their innovation?
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When you eliminate the profit motive, you kill the goose that lays the eggs you need.
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CaptainLucid5 months, 1 week ago
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"Maybe they should just move overseas and concentrate on China, Russia and India."
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Like any of those contries respect any kind of intellectual or patent law. Thats why I buy my meds from India. Dirt cheap and by the way thats where most of our doctors come from anyway.
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MisterX5 months, 1 week ago
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It will never go through unless the insurance companies / interested parties get to keep all their chips. The only way to guarantee this is to raise more money to feed their machines.
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Taxes on cigarettes, soft drinks, beef, gravity... -
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Goppy5 months, 1 week ago
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Even as we speak ... the Insurance Company Lobbyists are funneling MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of dollars to members of Congress to derail any reform.
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The customer of the American Health Insurers is NOT their policy holders ... the customer of the American Health Insurers are their SHARE HOLDERS.
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Klarissa5 months, 1 week ago
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I asked this on another submission, and have yet to get an answer.
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Just exactly how is Canadian health paid for?
I noticed that a Canadian on here said that he as a supplemental policy. What does that cover?
Is it taxes?
Does everyone pay something?
Is there a deductible?
Can you pay a Dr privately, if you want to??
And, how much do you pay for the supplement, and does it cover prescriptions, physical therapy, or hospice?
Thanks for the info.-
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greenmac5 months, 1 week ago
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Our health care is paid through our taxes.
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We have supplemental plans through employers or Blue Cross..stc. These are used in most cases for drugs ..glasses ..etc. If you are on government assistance/welfare these are picked up by that program. Hospital stays and visits to the doctor are covered under Medicare... no charge. Any drugs required while in hospital..no charge.
If you want to play with this link, some of your questions may get answered
http://www.drugcoverage.ca/p_cancercover_table.asp... -
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Albmore5 months, 1 week ago
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The problem I see is still someone trying to earn a dollar for themselves and play politics through this entire problem.
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1st Yes we do need a healthcare reform in the US,
2nd Do we have examples of national health care? Yes, Canada, Great Britian, Germany to name a few.
Now we know of the advantages and disadvantages that happen in these lands. To me the wise thing to do was to incorperate a plan for thats fits America using the things that works good in these other countries along with solutions for those things that do not run well. Things are alot harder to change once they are in place.
Now we must take in count that NO programm is going to run perfect, but seeing how the current system runs we know we can do better.-
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Klarissa5 months, 1 week ago
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alb- I feel that we honestly do NOT know of the disadvantages of the various types of government regulation. Do we want to model our health care after Canada? or Great Britain? or Germany?
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We should put a halt to the "crisis" in health care mode and really study what would work best for us.
I can foresee that congress is going to pass another huge expensive program with little secrets tucked into the paperwork without reading the bill.
Pass in haste, repent for years.
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amazed5 months, 1 week ago
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Before we go to a single payor system, I would prefer to see McCarran-Ferguson repealed which would eliminate the exemption from all the anti-trust legislation that all the insurance companies enjoy. Then, eliminate the requirement that one must be a "bona-fide full-time employee" to be eligible for coverage. Impose a penalty tax on any company whose health insurance doesn't cover at least 85% of ALL its employees. Provide small companies (use SBA def, 250 employees or less) with payroll tax credits for a percentage of their health insurance premiums. This credit must be on PAYROLL tax deductions, NOT income tax, so that unprofitable and borderline companies have the means to pay for their employees health insurance. It can phase out with profitablity rather than size.
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I believe this would reform health insurance and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. -
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fjgalt5 months, 1 week ago
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My only experience with the Canadian healthcare system is through a friend whose sister is married to a Canadian. Late last year, she developed abdominal pain and was given pain killers by the Canadian doctor. This went on for a few months, was never given an MRI or CAT scan.
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Having come from Thailand originally, she went to Bangkok, checked into a hospital and was immediately given an MRI. The following day, they operated on her for ovarian cancer. Unable to get the MRI in Canada for months, the cancer had the time to spread into her system. She is wasting away and will probably die soon.
Rationed and delayed care are deadly. Ironically, it is in third world countries where medical care operates in a free market and it is much cheaper and responsive to people's needs.
Contrasting Canada with the U.S., I had a hernia operation last year. From the time I was diagnosed until I received the operation was 9 days, paid for by me for $3,500, as I had no insurance. Insurance would have cost between $600 and $700 per month.
In three years without insurance, I would have spent about $21,000, had a $500 deductible and pay 20% of bills, so $3,500 plus about another $1,000 for dental bills and doctor checkups was a bargain. I am now on Medicare and pay $550 per month, and Medicare is still going broke. Why? It's run by the government, of course.-
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jovial5 months, 1 week ago
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That's a malpractice case. I wouldn't assume from that one case that the whole system is bad.
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Here's a case similar to that that happened here in America.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/24/eveningn...
CBS News correspondent Byron Pitts met Rodriguez two months ago. That once-buff physique had been whittled down to less than 80 pounds in 18 months by stage 4 melanoma. He was surrounded by family, including his 7-year-old son holding his hand. It was Rodriguez's idea we meet.
When Sgt. Rodriguez was in Iraq, military doctors, he says, misdiagnosed his skin cancer. They called it "a wart." -
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jovial5 months, 1 week ago
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Google "malpractice cancer" and you will find thousands of stories. A lot of lawyers in this country make millions with stories similar to yours. Those costs are passed on to us as higher premiums. Here's one story..
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http://www.marylandmedicalmalpracticelawyerblog.co...
A Las Vegas jury has awarded a woman $1.5 million in a failure to diagnose cancer medical malpractice case. The woman, a 24-year-old mother, had found blood in her stool and kept having pain when she went to the bathroom. She went to local doctor who repeatedly told her that she was just suffering from hemorrhoids. Seven months after she visited the doctor, she was rushed to the emergency room because of major pain. Shortly after that, she was diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer. She died in 2007 at the age of 27. -
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quackpot5 months, 1 week ago
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The U.S. spends >2 trillion a year on health care costs or something over $7,000 per person. Since you are old enough to be on meicare, your age-adjusted share is considerably greater than the average.
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Perhaps you should be thanking the Medicare system for the bargain price that you are receiving rather than complaining about it.
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reallypsst5 months, 1 week ago
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We are back to the old debate and one common denominator is cost,no one wants to lose not insurance,pharmaceuticals ,doctors so that leaves us the payers,all i know is when a program is working the government screws it up by allowing greed to dictate terms and cost,so we can beat this horse until dooms day and get the same result !
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Klarissa5 months, 1 week ago
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This is on healthcare also:
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http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/06/19/liberal-... -
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