A Brief History of Canada's Health Care System

[Swede]

It started in 1947 and took decades to hammer out what it is today. The US has a long row to hoe.


http://www.healthcoalition.ca/History.pdf

[supernova]

1. Thanks, Swede,

I keep trying to say this in various ways, that we will have to do this in steps. But nobody is listening.

:-(

[Swede]

2. Doctors,pharma and the right fought it tooth and nail.

This footdragging is why it took so long. (Not all doctors fought it)

[berni_mccoy]

3. France had a similar beginning.

[Swede]

5. I imagine all the Western democracies have similar stories.

Well,except for the USA.

[gatorboy]

4. All the more reason to get that hoe going now.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Thanks, there seems to be a lot of folks that don't understand that most social programs

took a lot longer than a couple months to get through.

[Cleita]

7. Back then they were experimental so people really didn't know how

they would turn out. Today, however, we have examples of how well a national health care system works, including in our country with Medicare and the VA. I hope that long row to hoe is shorter. The obstructionists don't really have a valid argument anymore so we know their position is one of greed. I say don't give them an inch and keep pushing on. Senator Barbara Boxer gave me a glimmer of hope yesterday. She said that because the bill won't go into effect until 2013, that there is time for subsequent Congresses to perfect it. I didn't know you could do this with a bill that hadn't taken effect yet. In the meantime, how about a signing statement by President Obama, extending Medicare to everyone without insurance until it kicks in so we don't have more people dying for lack of health care?

[supernova]

9. But we're in a democratic republic

just as other western democracies are.

We have a sizable chuck of our fellow Americans who have a vested interest in things remaining as evil as they are. They genuinely don't see the benefits of a newer, more liberal system the way you and I and the rest of DU are so easily able to.

Because we live in a representative democracy, we must slowly bring these recalcitrant people along. Otherwise, we risk riots and other forms of nasty social upheaval. And setting ourselves even further back than we are now.

Yeah, I know. It sucks. If I could snap my fingers right now, and have a fully functioning single payer system in place by this evening, I would.

[Spazito]

8. Exactly, I have stated the same on other threads, using the same...

link. I am glad to see it being raised in an OP. Our system came to be what it is, far from perfect even today, incrementally, step by step and wanting "all or nothing" will not get it done in the U.S., imo.

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