Posted on 08/08/2017 7:33:06 PM PDT by ReformationFan
Written by someone that has no clue about Canadian Healthcare
You mean it’s worse than he says?
Can you please organize this service for Americans in America too???
A Canadian Friend had an ACL tear repaired in Canada. The operation was botched. He had to wait a year to get it fixed there. He hobbled around in visible pain while he counted the days. That’s one thing I know about Canadian healthcare.
And that kind of wait is more than enough to know about that system.
Canada has the same problem we do. Not enough doctors. Except it’s worse in Canada.
The US government and the States between them (all healthcare public spending, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) spend 2X what Canada (at all levels) spends per citizen. And this is adjusted for price levels.
If the US really wanted a Canadian health system it could have it twice over, with what it already collects in taxes and FICA.
The real problem is that US medical care provision is incredibly inefficient.
So is it better in Canada, or worse?
I remember hearing a few years back that Cleveland had more MRI machines than all of Canada. People would wait for months for an MRI.
Everything is rationed here: family doctors, specialists, mental health, diagnostics, surgery. Most Canadians can’t afford to go south of the border but the truly wealthy, many politicians, professional athletes, etc can escape the lengthy wait lines by going to the U.S. It can take years to obtain a family doctor if you move to a new city, which means hours waiting in an emergency room for a 5 minute diagnosis. The ORs never work past 4 pm or on the weekends because surgery time is rationed. Many surgeons would like to perform more operations but the government won’t fund the nurses and anesthesiologists after hours.
It seems to be about the principle of having a Big Nanny rather than of maximizing the reach and capabilities of health care within the context only of what God is willing to grant.
“Yes – if they’ll listen to logic”
That’s funny right there.
L
I have two sets of Canadian neighbors who live here 6 months out of the year and run back home to Canada the other 6 because they can only be out of country 6 months out of the year. They love the medical system up there. I am always pleading with them to stay here and just get insurance on their own, but they think I am nuts to suggest such a thing. I always tell them about how they have to wait so long for surgery and of course our stupid neighbor Bill who needed knee replacement surgery and hip surgery wouldn’t do it until he lost 40 pounds.....Canadian said see that is what the Canadian system does to....it ensures you are healthy enough to be operated on and have a positive recovery.
It really doesn’t help that our system is basically Canada’s.
I had a friend who lived about 325 miles north of Toronto in the small village of Tilden Lake. Her doctor in North Bay said she needed to see a heart specialist in Toronto. It turned out she needed bypass surgery. She was placed on the list for the surgery. Expected wait: 19 months. She died four months later. Free health care? Really? What good is it if you die before you can get access to it?
US health care is inefficient because government is the major player. Ever since Medicare and Medicaid were established (plus all the mandates government puts on private insurance), government has been the biggest payer, and you see what happens. Prices skyrocket and quality and access decline. If there aren’t enough doctors, it’s because government is making it increasingly impossible to practice medicine. The other big problem is lawyers. The US needs tort reform.
Here is the current list of GPs taking patients in the Victoria BC area. Yeah, that’s right, one clinic for a city of 400K.
http://www.victoriamedicalsociety.org/gp-listings/
I have a cousin in the Vancouver area who had a baby last year. Neither her or the baby have a family Dr, they go to a clinic and see whoever is there.
You don’t deal with the homeless by evicting everyone from their homes and forcing them to live in public housing... but that was the theory behind Canada’s “single payer” health care.
In Canada it is illegal to buy or sell private health insurance - for people.
You can purchase heath insurance for your dog, but not for your kid.
Now come on... that bypass surgery didn’t cost her a dime. /sarc
what people seem never to talk about..is the impact this will have on the doctors...they’re not gonna put up with this government non sense..especially the very good surgeons and specialists. the better practices will just say “sorry..cash only”...i called a top notch dermatologist in Bloomfield Hills Michigan...and they dont even accept Medicare..let alone Medicaid. Imagine the fraud and abuse with over 300 million people in a single payer system...it’ll be chaos. Btw, Canada pays over 5 dollars a gallon for gas to pay for the “free” health care.
He does - North American Surgery Inc
bfl
Divide Canada’s total annual expenditure on health care by population and it works out to be over $6300 for every man, woman and child in Canada.
In Canada like here, most people cannot afford private health care or Cadillac insurance. Both systems are broken big time.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.