Health care in Canada - They’re not dying by the millions

[toymachines]

Health care in Canada - They’re not dying by the millions
Arthur Salm, SDNN

You should have heard them: Three middle-age couples sitting around a breakfast table, complaining about glitches in the Canadian health-care system.

This was in a charming (of course) bed & breakfast in Victoria, British Columbia, about three years ago. My wife and I had slept a little late (of course), but the proprietor had (of course) kept breakfast warm for us. And the conversation was just heating up.

The three couples were from Canada’s east coast and upper (there’s no other kind) Midwest. For a few minutes we listened in silence to their cataloging of irritations, until finally I asked, “Well, would you like to switch over to the system we have in the U.S.?

To a man and woman, they looked aghast. Their vocal responses, to the best of my recollection, went something like, “Good heavens, no!” “Certainly not!” “No, no, no, no, no! and (LOUD GUFFAW).

Because in Canada, everyone is covered. No one worries about how they’ll pay for medical care, no one is afraid to leave their job because they’ll lose coverage, no one is bankrupted by medical bills, no one has to choose between a prescription drug and putting food on the table. The Canadian government doesn’t mandate or guarantee health insurance; the Canadian government mandates and guarantees health care. Doctors receive payment from, but are not employed by, the state. No “government bureaucrat” determines what test or treatment a patient will receive; if a doctor orders it, the patient gets it. Period... Read more

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-07-27/news/arthur-salm-health-care-up-north-canadians-are-not-dying-by-the-millions#ixzz0MV9Ntph6

[Kutjara]

1. In my experience of living in Europe and Canada,...

...everyone gripes about the shortcomings of their health services, but nobody is stupid enough to hold up the US one as an example of something to aspire to. More often than not you'll hear, "yeah, some things don't work right, but thank God we're not like the poor Americans."

[rd_kent]

2. Stop, stop, stop, stop!!!

You are ruining that talking point!

[iverglas]

3. excellent ;)

A very entertainingly well-written little vignette. ;)

Well, certainly there are problems with the Canadian system; they’re constantly squabbling about it.

Absolutely! And again, it's a cute summing-up through the eyes of a foreigner looking at it from just about the right perspective.

They’re democracies; elections are free, open, honest, and held regularly. Any country wishing to trash “socialized medicine” and just let the free market determine who gets what care, and for how much — e.g., the non-system in the United States of America - has had decades to do so. Not one of them has.

If you want to know why, well, take a chance and talk to a foreigner. Or, ask a Canadian, Brit, Norwegian, Icelander, Dane — anyone from any of the countries mentioned above — to define “pre-existing condition.” You’ll get a puzzled look. That should tell you pretty much all you need to know.

Then, define “pre-existing condition” for them. The look you’ll get in response to that will tell you all the rest you need to know.

This guy should write travelogues, of the Victorian kind -- a USAmerican abroad, viewing funny foreign cultures with a sympathetic eye and explaining them for the folks back home. ;)

Thanks, and recommended!