Canadian Defends Anti-Medicare Ad

[Argus]

Why? I would gladly exchange a house for a heart transplant if needed. I will mail you the old one (heart) to help with your bleeding.

I'm thinking the postage would be quite minimal as it would be a very small, lightweight package.

You could put your brain in there too and hardly tip the scales.

[benny]

I'm thinking the postage would be quite minimal as it would be a very small, lightweight package.

You could put your brain in there too and hardly tip the scales.

hazardous

[tango]

You can wait till the cancer has spread to the brain --as you wait 8 months for an MRI - or you can shuffle off to Buffalo..Our gangsters pretend they are good guys - at least your gangsters are honest.

The lady did not have a malignant spreading cancer. She did not have cancer at all. It was a benign cyst putting pressure on other things, but not cancer.

Edited August 5, 2009 by tango

[benny]

The lady did not have a malignant spreading cancer. She did not have cancer at all. It was a benign cyst putting pressure on other things, but not cancer.

Shona Holmes should care more about her obesity.

[bush_cheney2004]

Looks like the Shona Holmes ad is working.....polled viewers have a different reaction on each side of the border.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...?hub=TopStories

I like this tidbit:

....By the same token, Canadians said they preferred their system for most health care needs. The one exception was if they needed access to surgery as soon as possible. A little less that a third of Canadians said the Canadian system would be more effective in this regard, compared to 41 per cent who said the U.S. system would be preferable.

[Topaz]

I think its would be safe to say that all those Congress/man/women are screaming because they all have investments in the HMO's, the drug companies or have those companies as financial supporters, so naturally they would scream about a national healthcare.

[bush_cheney2004]

The lady did not have a malignant spreading cancer. She did not have cancer at all. It was a benign cyst putting pressure on other things, but not cancer.

Right...but when did she know this? When did she see a specialist to get the diagnosis? Do Canadian GPs have X-ray vision like Ray Milland?

http://ubuprojex.net/pix/x.jpg

[tango]

Right...but when did she know this? When did she see a specialist to get the diagnosis? Do Canadian GPs have X-ray vision like Ray Milland?

http://ubuprojex.net/pix/x.jpg

It was diagnosed in 1998.

This is such a bunch of crap. American dr tells her "she'll die", and soaks her for $100,000.

http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/16626/

Holme’s is also misleading people about her so called life threatening ordeal. She was diagnosed with a Rathkes cleft in 1998, not a life threatening brain tumor. According to the John Wayne Cancer Center, “Rathkes cleft cysts are not true tumors or neoplasms; instead they are benign cysts. Dr. Roland del Maestro, Director of the Montreal Neurological Institute’s Brain Research Department believes that Holmes exaggerated her condition. He told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) that Holme’s lesion was benign, slow growing and did not require urgent attention.

Michael Schwartz, a neurosurgeon at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital has never seen or heard of a death from Rathkes cleft, he told the CBC. He added that vision improves if a cyst is drained or removed.

Holmes admits that she had a Rathkes cleft, but said that it was the same as having a brain tumor and that American doctors told her that she would quickly die if it was not removed. In contrast, her Canadian doctors told her that her condition was not serious and monitored her condition.

In 2005, she suffered a 50% vision loss which was temporary and reversible, according to Schwartz. She was placed on a waiting list of 6 to 4 months to see an endocrinologist and neurologist, respectively, in Ontario. Holmes decided not to see the specialists, determined her own treatment and flew to the Mayo Clinic in the US for surgery, paying $97,000.

While she had a medical problem, it was a far cry from a life-death situation.

If Us'ians want to believe this idiot, go right ahead. But it's crap.

She could have had the surgery here too, free.

[benny]

Looks like the Shona Holmes ad is working.....polled viewers have a different reaction on each side of the border.

I like this tidbit:

....By the same token, Canadians said they preferred their system for most health care needs. The one exception was if they needed access to surgery as soon as possible. A little less that a third of Canadians said the Canadian system would be more effective in this regard, compared to 41 per cent who said the U.S. system would be preferable.

When Americans are being massacred in fitness centers, it is understandable that their healthcare concentrates on quick surgeries.

Edited August 6, 2009 by benny

[tango]

absolutely irrelevant, benny

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-welsh/am...a_b_241703.html

The Shona Holmes Health Care Hitjob

Case in point: Shona Holmes is the current poster girl for the liars slandering Canadian health care in an attempt to discredit reform. Ms. Holmes alleges she was horribly endangered by Canada's healthcare system:

Both CNN and McConnell made a big deal out of Shona Holmes, an Ontario woman who claims she was forced by Ontario's health system to go to the United States for life-saving surgery for a brain tumour. She claims that in 2005 delays in access to treatment at home made it necessary to go to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona and pay $97,000 for her care.

Her story sounds bad, doesn't it? Except, of course, it's a lie:

On the Mayo Clinic's website, Shona Holmes is a success story. But it's somewhat different story than all the headlines might have implied. Holmes' "brain tumour" was actually a Rathke's Cleft Cyst on her pituitary gland. To quote an American source, the John Wayne Cancer Center, "Rathke's Cleft Cysts are not true tumors or neoplasms; instead they are benign cysts."

There's no doubt Holmes had a problem that needed treatment, and she was given appointments with the appropriate specialists in Ontario. She chose not to wait the few months to see them. But it's a far cry from the life-or-death picture portrayed by Holmes on the TV ads or by McConnell in his attacks.

In other words, her condition was not immediately life threatening, and it was prioritized accordingly. But Holmes didn't want to wait behind people who needed care more than she did, so she went the U.S. where she could pay out of pocket to jump to the head of the line.

Health Care Triage: U.S. Vs. Canada

Here's the deal: both the U.S. and Canada prioritize patients, and both engage in health care rationing. In Canada health care is prioritized by how urgently a patient requires treatment. In America, to a much greater extent, access to medical care is prioritized by how much money the patient has. Someone in the U.S. who was sicker than Ms. Holmes was forced to wait longer for treatment because Holmes was rich enough to pay $97,000.

...

If I had lived in the U.S., my parents would have faced a choice between paying for my incredibly expensive treatment or watching me die. They were both old and it would have wiped out their savings entirely and thrown them into bankruptcy. Frankly, I don't know how they could have supported themselves. My life, at that cost, would have had too high a price. I wonder how many Americans have had to make that calculation.

But I survived, and neither I, nor my parents, was bankrupted. In similar circumstances I doubt all of those things would be true for an American 25-year-old trying to survive the same medical condition in America's health care industry.

Health Care Rationing, American-style

I have had two American friends die in the last 5 years who would have survived if they had had fully covered health care. (Note I didn't say health insurance, that's not what people need. They need health care.)

One of them died of the flu. He didn't seek treatment because of the cost of his insurance co-payment, and he was found dead.

Another had a heart condition, but didn't know it, because she didn't have health care, because she couldn't afford it. If she'd had health care, she would probably still be alive.

Both of those people are dead because of people like Holmes, and the people behind her. My two friends are dead because insurance company executives want to keep their obscene salaries, and force Americans to pay more for health care than they should.

Edited August 6, 2009 by tango

[benny]

absolutely irrelevant, benny

What can be more absolutely relevant than violent deaths in public!?

[bush_cheney2004]

It was diagnosed in 1998.

Wonderful...so that means she waited at least SEVEN years?

While she had a medical problem, it was a far cry from a life-death situation. [/i]

Would you accept her "free" options offered in Canada while going blind? How about for your spouse or child ?

"Suck it up dear...it's only a cyst causing your blindness...nothing serious that needs immediate attention (like abortions!).

If Us'ians want to believe this idiot, go right ahead. But it's crap.

She could have had the surgery here too, free.

And if "CADians" want to wait for God and Queen, good for them. We'll leave the light on for you.

Edited August 6, 2009 by bush_cheney2004

[Smallc]

Wonderful...so that means she waited at least SEVEN years?

No, it means that the operation probably posed more of a danger than the cyst. When the cyst started to cause problems, the right people were involved. If things would have worsened farther, it's not unreasonable to surmise that she would have seen the right people much sooner.

Give it up. We don't care what you do, but we do care what she says, especially when she lies.

[benny]

Would you accept her "free" options offered in Canada while going blind? How about for your spouse or child ?

"Suck it up dear...it's only a cyst causing your blindness...nothing serious that needs immediate attention (like abortions!).

Are you blind yourself: "In 2005, she suffered a 50% vision loss which was temporary and reversible"?

[bush_cheney2004]

No, it means that the operation probably posed more of a danger than the cyst. When the cyst started to cause problems, the right people were involved. If things would have worsened farther, it's not unreasonable to surmise that she would have seen the right people much sooner.

Laughable, because she and her husband decided to hock their home for a better option.

Give it up. We don't care what you do, but we do care what she says, especially when she lies.

But you do care....to the point of calling her a liar to protect the status quo at all costs.

[bush_cheney2004]

Are you blind yourself: "In 2005, she suffered a 50% vision loss which was temporary and reversible"?

Unnacceptable...when do they get serious in Canada....99% vision loss?

[Smallc]

But you do care....to the point of calling her a liar to protect the status quo at all costs.

Protect the status quo? No. Push for real improvement that doesn't involve dismantling the system? yes.

[Smallc]

Laughable, because she and her husband decided to hock their home for a better option.

Her loss. As I said, I don't care what you do, or think. Canada's system has nothing to do with you. The debate raging in your own country, though....that does have something to do with you. I know that deep down it angers you, and that, my friend, is priceless.

[bush_cheney2004]

Protect the status quo? No. Push for real improvement that doesn't involve dismantling the system? yes.

You keep offering up the same response about "improvement" whenever the system's faults are made evident.

Shoot the messenger as you please.....that won't improve anything.

[bush_cheney2004]

Her loss. As I said, I don't care what you do, or think. Canada's system has nothing to do with you. The debate raging in your own country, though....that does have something to do with you. I know that deep down it angers you, and that, my friend, is priceless.

Now you're being childish.....I will always have better options than you if you insist on waiting in the pain queue while singing "Oh Canada".

Edited August 6, 2009 by bush_cheney2004

[benny]

Unnacceptable...when do they get serious in Canada....99% vision loss?

A vision for the whole American society is what the Republicans cannot envision.

[bush_cheney2004]

A vision for the whole American society is what the Republicans cannot envision.

Very clumsy syntax.....perhaps you have a cyst.

[benny]

Very clumsy syntax.....perhaps you have a cyst.

Lying to the public in the US seems a mental health issues.

[bush_cheney2004]

Lying to the public in the US seems a mental health issues.

We like it.....and it makes you follow our bouncing ball(s).

[benny]

We like it.....and it makes you follow our bouncing ball(s).

Bullets are to often stock in American heads.