[sickoflibs]

The fact that they get the drugs cheaper than us is still a moral crime, even if it looks like good business to the companies.

It’s something you can never explain to the public. If Canada wants them cheaper than us let them use their taxes for it. Add to it that our military protects them, and our debt is exploding.

Let Obama explain it to his Marxist friends.

[Eagle Eye]

In places where it ‘works’ there is a very low bar for success.

Basic treatments are available but don’t expect high quality anything or quick treatment by specialists.

Unless you are part of the ‘more equal’ than others group.

[Prokopton]

It is pure fallacy that the manufacturers "have to" sell their products to Canada because that's all they'll pay. Canada is not going to deprive their citizens of needed drugs if the manufacturer says they have to pay more. If they have to, they will pay more. What would make them "have to" is if Americans began importing the cheaper drugs from Canada. It is silly to say that if this were allowed then the manufacturers would not be able to recoup their R&D costs so they would refrain from investing in new drugs. All that would happen is that the manufacturer would have to tell the Canadians that if they want the drugs they have to pay more(the world rate).

Why would, or should, Americans pay more just because the Canadians want to pay less? The reason we pay more is because our political "leaders" have passed laws to allow it. Do away with silly importation laws and the problem will self- correct.

[LastNorwegian]

The Nordic countries are actually a great example of socialized medicine. Norway actually develops some cancer treatments. But those are not actually used to treat patients here because of the expense. The rationing of health services mean that cancer death rates are higher than in the US. One generally has to wait weeks for a doctor’s appointment and if one needs to see a specialist after that it will take another few weeks. Then if you need to be examined in an MRI or something it will take another couple of weeks. If a tumor is found you need to wait in line for treatment and so on.

When funding is provided through the government hospitals and doctors seek to keep the buraucracy happy rather than the patients. Rationing is the inevitable result. In addition treatment for any condition is decided by a cost/benefit analysis. If you’re old it will reduce your chance of getting treatment. If you’re dying the bureaucracy will not care to pay to extend your life for a year. Palin’s death panel statement is actually pretty accurate except it is all decided by a faceless paper-pushing bureaucracy.

Another factor I never see mentioned is how the cost-cutting bureaucracy substitutes one medication for another. If your doctor writes you a prescription for a medicine, the local pharmacy will generally hand out an entirely different medicine that the paper-pushers deem to be equal to what the doctor ordered. The genuine article is only handed out if it turns out you have a bad reaction to the replacement drug. Of course, if you have a truly bad reaction it may well be too late for that...

[Pajamajan]

bookmark

[givemELL]

In detail, here is a piece on TNs’ public-option’ history of Tenn Care...a debacle model for the Dem plan:

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/14057