Yeah! This is what I want...Canadian style health care!

[Gadawg73]

Seems there were these two dudes canoeing from Alaska to Seattle on a two-month long trip. They got sick (acute stomach virus) in Canada, found a small town that had a doctor, only to find that it would cost them $700.00 each just to see the doctor. Then they'd still have to pay for the treatment. They suffered through it 'til they found a bigger town with an indigent care center.

Yeah, that's what I want in America.

This OP shows the true nature of the dimwits that are the Christian Fascists faction of the republican Party.

One of their main arguments against public health care is that EVERYONE will get it isn't it? So....The Canadian example displayed SHOULD be applauded by these numb skulls. Canadian Health care should be for Canadians...Right? Do the for-mentioned American Kayakers pay Canadian taxes? Why should they receive any benefits from Canada?

The Canadian system provides basic healthcare for all its citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay. Since money is not supposed to buy "access," those with the greatest need receive first priority.

The Canadian system has been criticized because of waiting times by American conservatives - but these detractors fail to factor in how the American healthcare system would cope if it was forced to provide medical services for the millions of "uninsured" and "under-insured" US citizens that require medical assistance - but can't afford it!

I travel to Puerto Morales, Playa de Paraiso, Puerto Adventuras, PLaya del Carmen and Tulum area south of Cancun yearly. We meet many, many Canadians there and they are upper middle class, wealthy.
I have never met one that disliked their health care system. Not one. That topic is always discussed on my trips there.
I still prefer our system with major changes in benefits and service. Our current system is unsustainable with Medicare and Social Security being 85% of the entire budget in 20 years.
BTW, I highly recommend Valentin Imperial Maya!!

 

[jgarden]

This OP shows the true nature of the dimwits that are the Christian Fascists faction of the republican Party.

One of their main arguments against public health care is that EVERYONE will get it isn't it? So....The Canadian example displayed SHOULD be applauded by these numb skulls. Canadian Health care should be for Canadians...Right? Do the for-mentioned American Kayakers pay Canadian taxes? Why should they receive any benefits from Canada?

The Canadian system provides basic healthcare for all its citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay. Since money is not supposed to buy "access," those with the greatest need receive first priority.

The Canadian system has been criticized because of waiting times by American conservatives - but these detractors fail to factor in how the American healthcare system would cope if it was forced to provide medical services for the millions of "uninsured" and "under-insured" US citizens that require medical assistance - but can't afford it!

I travel to Puerto Morales, Playa de Paraiso, Puerto Adventuras, PLaya del Carmen and Tulum area south of Cancun yearly. We meet many, many Canadians there and they are upper middle class, wealthy.
I have never met one that disliked their health care system. Not one. That topic is always discussed on my trips there.
I still prefer our system with major changes in benefits and service. Our current system is unsustainable with Medicare and Social Security being 85% of the entire budget in 20 years.
BTW, I highly recommend Valentin Imperial Maya!!

The question Americans should be asking themselves is why can wealthy Canadians cross the border and get immediate access to a US hospital bed and medical care?

Aren't there already enough "sick" Americans in the US to fill those beds, or are those citizens considered "expendable" (by the Death Panels) because they lack the financial means to access the current healthcare system?

 

[Gadawg73]

The Canadian system provides basic healthcare for all its citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay. Since money is not supposed to buy "access," those with the greatest need receive first priority.

The Canadian system has been criticized because of waiting times by American conservatives - but these detractors fail to factor in how the American healthcare system would cope if it was forced to provide medical services for the millions of "uninsured" and "under-insured" US citizens that require medical assistance - but can't afford it!

I travel to Puerto Morales, Playa de Paraiso, Puerto Adventuras, PLaya del Carmen and Tulum area south of Cancun yearly. We meet many, many Canadians there and they are upper middle class, wealthy.
I have never met one that disliked their health care system. Not one. That topic is always discussed on my trips there.
I still prefer our system with major changes in benefits and service. Our current system is unsustainable with Medicare and Social Security being 85% of the entire budget in 20 years.
BTW, I highly recommend Valentin Imperial Maya!!

The question Americans should be asking themselves is why can wealthy Canadians cross the border and get immediate access to a US hospital bed and medical care?

Aren't there already enough "sick" Americans in the US to fill those beds, or are those citizens considered "expendable" (by the Death Panels) because they lack the financial means to access the current healthcare system?

First of all, death panels are a myth. Insurance companies do have panels that determine what claims will be paid, what tests are on the policy, which are considered experimental and the insurance companies deny major surgery hourly. People do die as a result of that but they are not death panels. Ditto government as that would be the same thing.
How is someone "lacking the financial means to access the current healthcare system" "expendable" by your fictional "death panel"?
Empty hospital beds in the private sector must be filled and are with our disease care model which uses 60% of all health care dollars in the US for 4% of the population.
Growing to 75% of all health care dollars for 2 % of the population within a generation.
Unsustainable and all the medical field knows it.

 

[jgarden]

1. Death panels or no death panels, the fact remains that the gap between the rich and poor in terms of personal wealth, average life expectancies and general health continues to grow in America, suggesting that the current system is increasingly biased in favor of the wealthy.

2. The problem of a small % of the population consuming a disproportionate a % of healthcare dollars is hardly unique to the US.

3. Unlike Canada, money seems to be the only criteria for obtaining a medical bed in the US. When you have a public healthcare system funded from general tax revenues, the ability to pay for a hospital bed is immaterial. A street-person and a millionaire are entitled to the same level of care and access is based on medical need - not ability to pay!

 

[Gadawg73]

1. Death panels or no death panels, the fact remains that the gap between the rich and poor in terms of personal wealth, average life expectancies and general health continues to grow in America, suggesting that the current system is increasingly biased in favor of the wealthy.

2. The problem of a small % of the population consuming a disproportionate a % of healthcare dollars is hardly unique to the US.

3. Unlike Canada, money seems to be the only criteria for obtaining a medical bed in the US. When you have a public healthcare system funded from general tax revenues, the ability to pay for a hospital bed is immaterial. A street-person and a millionaire are entitled to the same level of care and access is based on medical need - not ability to pay!

1. I agree
2. I agree but 2 wrongs do not make it go away
3. I agree but how is there any competition for services there?

 

[jgarden]

They go to India for all kinds of surgeries and transplants.
Cheaper and same care.

Or Costa Rica. Which just happens to have a much better record on longevity and infant mortality than we do.

Junk stats. The US saves babies other countries don't consider live births, and the US has a high accidental death rate.

Many of the stats come the CIA World Factbook - the last time I checked it was still a branch of the US government!

The argument that America is so "exceptional" that it can't be compared with other countries is getting tiresome.

If you don't like the stats, then make the effort to provide your own - and please don't forget to provide the source!

 

[JamesInFlorida]

This OP shows the true nature of the dimwits that are the Christian Fascists faction of the republican Party.

One of their main arguments against public health care is that EVERYONE will get it isn't it? So....The Canadian example displayed SHOULD be applauded by these numb skulls. Canadian Health care should be for Canadians...Right? Do the for-mentioned American Kayakers pay Canadian taxes? Why should they receive any benefits from Canada?

The Canadian system provides basic healthcare for all its citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay. Since money is not supposed to buy "access," those with the greatest need receive first priority.

The Canadian system has been criticized because of waiting times by American conservatives - but these detractors fail to factor in how the American healthcare system would cope if it was forced to provide medical services for the millions of "uninsured" and "under-insured" US citizens that require medical assistance - but can't afford it!

I travel to Puerto Morales, Playa de Paraiso, Puerto Adventuras, PLaya del Carmen and Tulum area south of Cancun yearly. We meet many, many Canadians there and they are upper middle class, wealthy.
I have never met one that disliked their health care system. Not one. That topic is always discussed on my trips there.
I still prefer our system with major changes in benefits and service. Our current system is unsustainable with Medicare and Social Security being 85% of the entire budget in 20 years.
BTW, I highly recommend Valentin Imperial Maya!!

I lived in Canada for 3 years before moving back to the US-and everything you said about the Canadian system is 110% correct. As a legal immigrant, and taxpayer there I was covered by it (I'm not longer covered as I'm not a Canadian), and the wait time is the EXACT SAME as it is here in Florida. All the long waits that are reported are from the middle of nowhere Canada-not from the Vancouvers, Torontos, Montreals, etc.

everybody pays into it-it doesn't cover all medical expenses (the biggest one being dental), doesn't cover prescriptions either. Their prescriptions are much lower than they are here in the US, for the same exact thing (anybody who tells you otherwise is either a liar, or doesn't know). I know hundreds of Canadians-and like you I've yet to meet many who wasn't happy with the system (in the interest of full disclosure I know 2-3 who aren't happy with it-but some people will bitch about anything).

I don't think we should copy the Canadian system here in the US-but I think we should take some ideas from them.

edit: and as a side note with more people losing their health insurance here in the US-the more trips that are going to be taken to the ER. And guess who picks up that tab?

 

[Toro]

The Canadian system provides basic healthcare for all its citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay. Since money is not supposed to buy "access," those with the greatest need receive first priority.

The Canadian system has been criticized because of waiting times by American conservatives - but these detractors fail to factor in how the American healthcare system would cope if it was forced to provide medical services for the millions of "uninsured" and "under-insured" US citizens that require medical assistance - but can't afford it!

I travel to Puerto Morales, Playa de Paraiso, Puerto Adventuras, PLaya del Carmen and Tulum area south of Cancun yearly. We meet many, many Canadians there and they are upper middle class, wealthy.
I have never met one that disliked their health care system. Not one. That topic is always discussed on my trips there.
I still prefer our system with major changes in benefits and service. Our current system is unsustainable with Medicare and Social Security being 85% of the entire budget in 20 years.
BTW, I highly recommend Valentin Imperial Maya!!

I lived in Canada for 3 years before moving back to the US-and everything you said about the Canadian system is 110% correct. As a legal immigrant, and taxpayer there I was covered by it (I'm not longer covered as I'm not a Canadian), and the wait time is the EXACT SAME as it is here in Florida. All the long waits that are reported are from the middle of nowhere Canada-not from the Vancouvers, Torontos, Montreals, etc.

everybody pays into it-it doesn't cover all medical expenses (the biggest one being dental), doesn't cover prescriptions either. Their prescriptions are much lower than they are here in the US, for the same exact thing (anybody who tells you otherwise is either a liar, or doesn't know). I know hundreds of Canadians-and like you I've yet to meet many who wasn't happy with the system (in the interest of full disclosure I know 2-3 who aren't happy with it-but some people will bitch about anything).

I don't think we should copy the Canadian system here in the US-but I think we should take some ideas from them.

edit: and as a side note with more people losing their health insurance here in the US-the more trips that are going to be taken to the ER. And guess who picks up that tab?

In the last poll I saw, 92% of Canadians were generally happy with Canadian Medicare. Apart from maybe hockey, nothing else could get 92% of Canadians to agree.

I'm a Canadian, and I prefer the American system to the Canadian one. However, I am financially fine. If I were poor or lower middle class, the Canadian system is much better.

A Canadian friend of mine who was a professional living in NYC had to quit her job because of health issues. She moved back to Canada because the care she would get in Canada relative to the potential cost was much better.

I would disagree about waiting times. I have friends in Vancouver and Toronto who have had to wait for months for procedures. My father lives on Vancouver Island and he often has to wait months to get into the hospital. My mother waited months to get her knee replaced. Generally, if procedures are considered critical, you get good care. It's the "life-style" procedures that are the issue. But "life-style" issues often involve dealing with pain.

 

[Douger]

Seems there were these two dudes canoeing from Alaska to Seattle on a two-month long trip. They got sick (acute stomach virus) in Canada, found a small town that had a doctor, only to find that it would cost them $700.00 each just to see the doctor. Then they'd still have to pay for the treatment. They suffered through it 'til they found a bigger town with an indigent care center.

Yeah, that's what I want in America.

Yep. Lotsa Jews in Canada too.

 

[JamesInFlorida]

I travel to Puerto Morales, Playa de Paraiso, Puerto Adventuras, PLaya del Carmen and Tulum area south of Cancun yearly. We meet many, many Canadians there and they are upper middle class, wealthy.
I have never met one that disliked their health care system. Not one. That topic is always discussed on my trips there.
I still prefer our system with major changes in benefits and service. Our current system is unsustainable with Medicare and Social Security being 85% of the entire budget in 20 years.
BTW, I highly recommend Valentin Imperial Maya!!

I lived in Canada for 3 years before moving back to the US-and everything you said about the Canadian system is 110% correct. As a legal immigrant, and taxpayer there I was covered by it (I'm not longer covered as I'm not a Canadian), and the wait time is the EXACT SAME as it is here in Florida. All the long waits that are reported are from the middle of nowhere Canada-not from the Vancouvers, Torontos, Montreals, etc.

everybody pays into it-it doesn't cover all medical expenses (the biggest one being dental), doesn't cover prescriptions either. Their prescriptions are much lower than they are here in the US, for the same exact thing (anybody who tells you otherwise is either a liar, or doesn't know). I know hundreds of Canadians-and like you I've yet to meet many who wasn't happy with the system (in the interest of full disclosure I know 2-3 who aren't happy with it-but some people will bitch about anything).

I don't think we should copy the Canadian system here in the US-but I think we should take some ideas from them.

edit: and as a side note with more people losing their health insurance here in the US-the more trips that are going to be taken to the ER. And guess who picks up that tab?

In the last poll I saw, 92% of Canadians were generally happy with Canadian Medicare. Apart from maybe hockey, nothing else could get 92% of Canadians to agree.

I'm a Canadian, and I prefer the American system to the Canadian one. However, I am financially fine. If I were poor or lower middle class, the Canadian system is much better.

A Canadian friend of mine who was a professional living in NYC had to quit her job because of health issues. She moved back to Canada because the care she would get in Canada relative to the potential cost was much better.

I would disagree about waiting times. I have friends in Vancouver and Toronto who have had to wait for months for procedures. My father lives on Vancouver Island and he often has to wait months to get into the hospital. My mother waited months to get her knee replaced. Generally, if procedures are considered critical, you get good care. It's the "life-style" procedures that are the issue. But "life-style" issues often involve dealing with pain.

I agree with what you've said. I disagree with the waiting periods-I lived in Oakville (suburb of Toronto for whose who may not know), for 3 years, and in Toronto for an additional summer and never waited a long time for anything health related. Can't say across the general population-I can only go based on my own experience.