Canadian Healthcare imploding

[NO!bama08]

The Canadian Press: Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada's doctors

...and this is what you want to do for (to) us Mr. Obama? Thanks, but no thanks.

"SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.

Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made.

"We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"We know that there must be change," she said. "We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands."

 

[elvis]

The Canadian Press: Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada's doctors

...and this is what you want to do for (to) us Mr. Obama? Thanks, but no thanks.

"SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.

Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made.

"We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"We know that there must be change," she said. "We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands."

less than optimal care? with socialism? NEVER. the Ossiah wouldn't deceive us like that.

 

[auditor0007]

The Canadian Press: Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada's doctors

...and this is what you want to do for (to) us Mr. Obama? Thanks, but no thanks.

"SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country's health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.

Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country - who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting - recognize that changes must be made.

"We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize," Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"We know that there must be change," she said. "We're all running flat out, we're all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands."

less than optimal care? with socialism? NEVER. the Ossiah wouldn't deceive us like that.

There are some very simple facts that are not considered when we argue for and against systems such as Canada's system. Let's start by understanding how much actual money, as a percentage of GDP, goes to the actual cost of healthcare itself. In Canada, the cost averages $4000 per person per year. Only 5% of this amount goes to administrative costs and there is no profit for that administration. So $3800 per year goes to the actual cost of healthcare.

Now, let's look at the US. We pay an average of $7900 per year per person. However, within the private sector, we pay 30% of our spending toward administrative costs. The private sector covers approximately 1.2 trillion of our total healthcare spending. That equates to $360 billion in administrative costs. $300 billion of that is waste. In essence, we are paying around $6230 per person for actual healthcare.

Now, let's take into account that everyone is covered in the Canadian system, where as only 85% is covered in the US. For those who can afford it, there is not doubt that the they will get better care in the US. But keep in mind that Americans are paying an additional $2400 per year for that better care.

The solution for Canadians is a simple one. They need to spend more. Spending half of what we do overall is not enough, even with their drastically reduced administrative costs. If they increased spending by that same $2400 per year per person, they would have as good of care as we have in the US, but they would still be paying $1700 per year less than we do in the US, and everyone would be covered.

Healthcare is not cheap. However, spending 30% of it on administrative costs is mind boggling. It just doesn't make sense. When a Canadian says there are problems with their system, it is simply due to the fact that Canadians are not willing to pay what is necessary to receive the best care possible. Healthcare is not cheap. However, in the US, we throw away so much away to administrative costs. That is just plain stupid.

If you look at the system in Switzerland, they pay pretty much what we do less the administrative costs. They have private insurance, although the insurance companies cannot make a profit on the basics, only on supplemental gold plans. Also, the plans available are basically the same giving everyone full care. The only options really involve deductibles. Many have policies with high deductibles and pay the rest out of pocket. The average cost for a family is around $750 per month which is subsidized by the government for those under certain income levels. Here in the US, the cost for a family is $12,000 per year. The biggest difference is that everyone in Switzerland must have health insurance, so everyone is covered, and they do it for less. Everyone has access to the doctors they choose. But the biggest difference is that individuals purchase their own healthcare insurance. Companies are not permitted to provide that insurance through group plans. Everyone pays the same group rate as everyone is insured, and since everyone pays from day one, they are part of the risk pool and don't only go to purchase health insurance when they become sick.

What I keep asking myself is when are we going to "get smart" and stop allowing insurance companies to waste 25% of our healthcare dollars while denying coverage to those who need it most. It really has become one of the biggest scams there is in America, yet so many defend it because they don't understand how bad it really is.