Saturday, August 1, 2009

Canada Care, from Salt Lake Tribune, Public Forum Letter

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Canada care

Public Forum Letter

Updated: 07/31/2009 06:27:24 PM MDT

As a Canadian visiting Salt Lake City, I have been watching with great interest President Barack Obama's attempt at health care reform. I have heard comments by politicians, people and TV ads attacking Canada's health care system. Many of the facts are distorted.

Canada has one of the finest health care systems in the world. I have never had to go to the United States for medical treatment because Canada offers all of the same treatments. I get to choose who I want for my physician. When I go to him or the emergency room or have major surgery, I don't pay anything. And I get it done quickly. Canada's health care system is largely paid for by corporations, which pay an employer health tax. Everyone is covered, even homeless people.

A few years ago in a television poll, Canadians were asked to name the greatest Canadian. Tommy Douglas, the father of Canada's universal health care, won the vote. I have known many people, Canadians and Americans, who have lived in both countries. All of them state that Canada's health care system is superior.

Ken Sisler

Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

18 comments:

anita said...: It's funny how the attack dogs have chosen "Canada" as the evil socialist purveyor of substandard healthcare.

It's never mentioned that it's not just "Canada" (or the U.K.) with universal healthcare, fact is that it's pretty much the entire industrialized world.

And it's the United States that has an extremely high (relative to the industrial west) infant mortality rate and it's the United States that has 50M people left to fend for themselves when they have pains in their chest or difficulty breathing and ignore them because they don't have a primary care doctor to refer them to a specialist.

As the Michael Jackson case shows us, if you are a gazillionaire, you can buy any doctor you wish and any pill you want. This obviously is an extreme example, but that case is the ultimate expression of the inequality going on in this country with regard to basic healthcare, and even education ... but I won't go down that road here.

My doctor refers to the insurance companies as being like not unlike organized crime. And he said that while he is aware there are some doctors who refuse to take medicare, he would rather deal with medicare become he finds them far more reasonable to deal with than the insurance companies.

The insurance companies gave massively to the democrats during the last election cycle because they knew this was coming up and that we would have a democratic president, house and senate, so that's why there are SO MANY who are becoming naysayers.

It's really a shame.

How is it that we Americans are so "superior" (or so we are told) to the rest of the world when our own "vital statistics" as a country are so totally inferior?; August 2, 2009 at 4:30 AM
Laura said...: It's good to read this.
Frankly as a Canadian, I've been getting really tired of hearing all of these "distorted facts" as the writer stated, about our health care system.
Of course it isn't perfect. Nothing is. You're always going to be able to find someone dissatisfied. Right now Fox News is using just such a woman.
Let me just say, as a person that has had 3 family members with Cancer, heart problems and various other ailments, we receive wonderful care here.
This past year, my MIL was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Her surgery was done quickly. Once all of her tests were completed she was onto chemo. Her cousin is a nurse in Florida. She told my MIL that the chemo med's she's on are the very best and she has the best schedule for it. The same chemo in the States would cost upwards of five hundred thousand dollars.

Is our Health Care System perfect? Of course not. Is it wonderful? You bet your ass it is and I'm very grateful to have it.

((Hugs))
Laura; August 2, 2009 at 6:10 AM
Utah Savage said...: Great comments from both of you. If I were not disabled and old, I'd sell my house and move to Canada. Even so, if the idiots in Congress manage to pass a healthcare plan that doesn't include a public option, I still might move, just because I'm beginning to think this country is too damn dumb to live in. It makes me feel unsafe to be surrounded by so many ignorant fucks who have swallowed so much shit from Orin Hatch and the like that we are now a nation of shit for brains.; August 2, 2009 at 1:26 PM
themom said...: Yes, DUMB is an excellent adjective, and they are all in the back pocket of the HMO's. I have one blogger firend "Five String Guitar", who buried his wife recently, but has nothing but praise for all the medical care she received during her long battle with leukemia. He also went through a major trauma - resulting in total hearing loss. He needed a coclear implant and received it - no problem. there are still facilities in this country that consider these hearing procedures as - experimental. DUH!?!?

Yep, there goes my blood pressure again. We need to get behind those who are fighting for us - the ones who need (and cannot afford) the gold plan of health care. I'd be in better shape if I had good insurance coverage.; August 2, 2009 at 1:47 PM
Fran said...: Too bad they charge so much to move from the US to Canada....

You must pass a medical examination before coming to Canada. Your dependants must also pass a medical examination even if they are not coming with you.

Applications for permanent residence will not be accepted if that person’s health:

is a danger to public health or safety; or
would cause excessive demand on health or social services in Canada.

Anyway, there are fees & applications & each person is required to have about $10,000 each to live off of while they settle in to Canada (if immigrating).; August 2, 2009 at 3:06 PM
Utah Savage said...: Oh hell, Fran. This isn't good news. I'd have enough money if I sold my house, and I have no living relatives. So it would only be my bipolar disorder and my hinky heart and blood pressure. Oh shit, there goes my plan.; August 2, 2009 at 3:25 PM
Fran said...: When Bush stole the 2nd election, I was seriously thinking about Canada. I thought I could not freaking take anymore of his shit.
Saw an article about folks who actually did bail, but then learned of the cost.
There may be various ways to get around the traditional way-- student, religious/spiritual sponsors etc.... but they have to keep those crazy Americans at bay!!!; August 2, 2009 at 10:58 PM
anita said...: Utah, you should check out Maria Bartiromo's "Round Table Discussion" on healthcare which is on CNBC. I think they are re-running it because I watched it late last night. She has on her panel people from wildly different perspectives, from Bill Frist to Governor Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, from the head of the Cleveland Clinic to a head guy from Eli Lilly ... and so on. Including Michael Milken, if you can believe that. I had forgotten that he is a cancer survivor and is now advocating on health issues.

Bartiromo makes this amazing point about how when Steve Jobs needed a liver transplant, he was able to get one right away. Ha! If you or I needed a liver (or any other major organ) transplant, we'd end up on a wait list for months or years!!! it goes back to my comment about Michael Jackson, if you got the bucks, you got the care. If not, then FU.

They also talked about how here in the U.S. we don't have so much as a health care system, but rather a "Health Care Sector." That, in and of itself, explains a lot. It is entirely market, rather than results, driven! and everyone pretty much agreed.

Must See Tee Vee !!; August 3, 2009 at 5:24 AM
Comrade Kevin said...: Canada is a much smaller country than ours with and has much less stratification and diversity. This is why they're able to provide a great universal coverage system and we're not.

What you see now are the concerns of not just greedy corporations, but of very separate areas of the country, each with their own agenda and their own concerns, trying to hammer out a compromise bill that seeks to find some middle ground.

We like to pride ourselves on being a melting pot, and in as much as that is true or ever will be true, it severely complicates matters like these. Get used to these sorts of debates because as WASP Caucasians become more or less equally proportioned with other racial and ethnic groups, these sorts of fights will intensify.; August 3, 2009 at 8:47 AM
Dean Wormer said...: Yeah, the health care "debate" is driving me nuts since bullshit is being balanced with reality by our moronic media.

We had a very cool older British couple Brian and Claire camping next to us while on vacation last week. I asked them about their healthcare. They said that most of the time they get right in but sometimes with procedures there's a wait.

For instance Brian had needed an MRI last year and was told there was a two weeks wait with no cost or he could go to a private company and pay and do it right away. He opted for the latter for peace of mind he chose the latter.

The out of pocket cost? Roughly $200 dollars for the procedure. Through my pretty good insurance I'd pay over twice that.

But we have it better here somehow. Not.; August 3, 2009 at 1:36 PM
Utah Savage said...: This is a great thread and is somehow a comfort to me. Maybe it's Anita's presence here that soothes me. I've missed you darling. Thanks for weighing in. I'll start searching for the Maria Bartimoro healthcare special.

There are many countries that are much larger than this one, and somehow they manage to provide universal healthcare coverage of their populous. I just don't buy the argument that it's the complexity of our society and the size of our country that makes universal healthcare such an impossibility.

Taxes must be raised on the rich. If you're a single person earning over $200,000, you're rich and can afford to pay higher taxes. The uber-rich should be taxed at a much higher rate. Big business should be taxed and their contribution will go to support universal coverage, not coverage for just their workers. Spreading the pain and making it fair is the way to go in my mind. Greed just isn't good anymore. Let's give up the dreams of riches enough to choke a king. Let's try to live in a way that is good for the country and good for the planet.

Oh, in case you haven't guessed, I'm a socialist who votes democratic. So if your going to give me an argument based on your capitalist manifesto and your desire to keep your millions, I'll argue with you, and we'll get nowhere. I do try to see your point of view, but your argument defending the status quo need to be about what is fair for all of us, not just what is good for you and big business.; August 3, 2009 at 2:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Ed Schultz said he plans to take a film crew up north to get some shots of all those long lines we keep hearing about. A friend of mine told me about her mom in Toronto needing some emergency surgery and couldn't have been happier with that or the aftercare. You people would love it she told me. Why should I disbelieve her ?; August 3, 2009 at 5:18 PM
susan said...: All I can add is rent Michael Moore's 'Sicko' one more time. There are no commercials either.; August 3, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Utah Savage said...: I loved Sicko so much at the end of the movie I was sobbing. So sad for us, so envious of all the countries big and small who give a shit about their PEOPLE. Here we seem only to care about the CORPORATIONS. What's wrong with us? How did we get so stupid and fucked up with our values? A few more bucks in my pocket is worth your life? Jesus that's wacked!; August 3, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Randal Graves said...: The unwashed masses are, well, masses. We're expendable, period. Thus, America.; August 4, 2009 at 12:55 PM
Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...: Did anybody see that youtube video of Paul Krugman? He asked an audience how many of them were Canadian. 7 of the people raised their hands. He then asked how many of them thought that the Canadian health care system was lousy. All 7 of the people raised their hands. I mean, I know that it's anecdotal and all but, boy, did that poor fellow ever end up with egg on his face.; August 4, 2009 at 8:10 PM
Anonymous said...: As the Michael Jackson case shows us, if you are a gazillionaire, you can buy any doctor you wish and any pill you want.

___________________
Jessica
No Credit Checks instant Payday Loans; August 7, 2009 at 4:31 AM
Jaliya said...: Yes, Tommy Douglas was a great Canadian and fully deserved all honours that came his way. The system he inaugurated for Canadians remains mostly intact. There are more and more "private" options, especially regarding elective procedures, that a citizen can pay through the nose for ... but by and large, we're covered up here. I am so grateful -- I'm a person who lives with a chronic illness, and so far, all of the health care I've needed has been covered. I can't imagine the distress that my husband and I would feel if we lived in the US. It may be that our system ensures at least some overseeing of insurance companies ... the predators are kept largely at bay, at least in my experience ...

Great conversation here ... Thanks, Utah, for staying with it ...; August 7, 2009 at 2:58 PM