harper health care savior...

[maplesyrup]

In the ranking of quality of the health care system, Canada ranks 13th. in the world - not too bad. However, France, which ranks 3ed. spends about the same proportion of revenues as Canada.

The 1 & 2 countris in the ranking are Switzerland. and Sweden. Switzerland is a high spending country while Sweden is low.

Do we have URLs that we can link to, to see this research?

[Guest eureka]

No URL's that I know of. I read this sometime in the last week or two. Possibly it may come from the WHO. You could try their website.

[Bryan]

What Canadians won't stand for is an unfair system, where the rich go to the front of the line.

Actually, as someone who is FAR from being wealthy, I'd really like to see that kind of system.

Sure, he gats treatment faster, but so do I, because since he went over to the pay clinic, he's out of the line I'm wating in, and now I have to wait less too. He's doing me a favor.

Not to mention, his tax dollars are still in the public system, even though he is choosing to pay extra NOT to utilize them. That means the public system has more resources per person that they are treating.

[caesar]

How does having some go to private clinics help?? We still have the same number of doctors. We need more efficiency in the system; We need to have the federal government and provincial governments to quit using health care in their power struggles. The national healthcare systems that work better than Canada's are probably run by a central government not 13 smaller governments; duplicating services in administration which eats up money.

[playfullfellow]

Was watching the news last night and they showed an interesting story on the health system in France, which is supposed to have one of the best systems in the world. They have a two tier system and it seems to work quite well. There are very minimal waiting times, even for elective surgery. They have done away with a lot of the waste when dealing with doctors visits. Their in home care is second to none to eleviate the strain on hospital beds.

France is not the only European country that has a two tier system that is working. Most European countries have two tier systems now and it seems to work fairly well. They gave up on a totally public system and deemed it unworkable.

[maplesyrup]

Ex-Canada PM: Universal Health Care Works

Now that the PM and the premiers have sorted out their differences over health care, we can finally put to rest the idea that any other system is better. It is obvious now that Canada's public health care system is probably the, or one of the world's best, and the only people now who are upset are the transnational private health care insurance corporations and the very rich, who seem to think their allmight dollars should put them in the front of the queue.

The sick US society could learn a lot from Canada especially in this field.

[maplesyrup]

As long as the gap between the rich and the poor is controlled through taxation in Canada, with our abundant resources, we will have a society where healthiness will permeate all segiments of society.

The major reason for good health is affuence, more important than smoking, drinking, or exercise, etc. That is why I believe in equality as much as possible, so all parts of our society will share equally in having good health.

[kimmy]

Ex-Canada PM: Universal Health Care Works

Jean Chretien! Well if he says so, it must be true!

If Grand-pere Chretien told me it was a nice day, I'd run outside to check.

Now that the PM and the premiers have sorted out their differences over health care, we can finally put to rest the idea that any other system is better.

An agreement made this week proves that Canada's system is the best? Well, that and Chretien says so.

It is obvious now that Canada's public health care system is probably the, or one of the world's best, and the only people now who are upset are the transnational  private health care insurance corporations and the very rich, who seem to think their allmight dollars should put them in the front of the queue.

The sick US society could learn a lot from Canada especially in this field. 

Are we so fixated on our friends to the south that this debate has to be "EITHER" Canadian style "OR" US-style?

Global TV ran a series of features this week that looked at other countries-- France and Germany among them-- that have good healthcare systems. Maybe proponents of integrating private elements into the public system would be doing themselves a favor by rebranding their ideas. "US-style? of course not! We propose French-style healthcare!"

-kimmy

[Trajan]

What Canadians won't stand for is an unfair system, where the rich go to the front of the line.

Actually, as someone who is FAR from being wealthy, I'd really like to see that kind of system.

Sure, he gats treatment faster, but so do I, because since he went over to the pay clinic, he's out of the line I'm wating in, and now I have to wait less too. He's doing me a favor.

Not to mention, his tax dollars are still in the public system, even though he is choosing to pay extra NOT to utilize them. That means the public system has more resources per person that they are treating.

I don’t know how ‘typical’ I might be, but:

I am a senior citizen with a modest – but possibly better than many – pension and a well paid part-time job;

I have a comfortable ‘net worth’ but some of it is tied up in e.g. my home. Consequentially I have the ‘luxury’ of choices – I can spend several hundred, even several thousand dollars as I see fit. My friend, a well paid professional, and I can spend New Year’s Eve in London – paying several hundred dollars per night, for several nights, for our room, because I (we) choose to do so, etc;

I am, generally, fit and healthy but I have a few problems – one of which might be quite serious if left unattended.

I have, fairly routinely, for the past several years taken advantage of the existing two-tiered Medicare system. When my family physician gets a test result she doesn’t quite like I take myself to a nearby American city where waiting times for new, high-tech diagnostic tests and consultations with skilled specialists are measured in hours or days, not weeks or, more often, months. Each trip, including overnight in a hotel, meals, tests, specialist’s consultation fees, etc, etc cost me less than $(CA)2,500.00 – a price I am willing and able to pay for my own peace of mind. If my test results were bad I would jump the queue here in Canada, seeing a specialist surgeon in a day or so because, where I live, the bottleneck is in diagnostic testing not surgeons or operating rooms for those who are known to need immediate care.

Just recently I went to another, neighbouring province for a test for a minor knee injury. I complained that the orthopaedic specialist should not need a fancy scan to diagnose a knee problem but I accept that times have changed and some (most?) hospitals will not permit ‘exploratory’ orthopaedic surgery – they insist that the patient has had a highly reliable, ‘non intrusive’ diagnosis before surgery. I paid $750.00 plus train fare and meals, all-in-all less than $1,000.00, and I jumped the queue – I and my AMEX Platinum card. I will still have to wait a few weeks for surgery because operating rooms in my city sit empty for ¾ of each day – 4/5 of each week because there is no money for nurses and other essential staff, because too much of the hospital’s personnel budget is wasted on low skill, low value, readily available support staff.

I will continue to buy better healthcare than is available to most Canadians because I can and I choose to do so. I will not wait in line if I do not choose to do so. I understand that when I jump the queue I might, probably do push someone in greater medical ‘need’ farther back, father away from the care needed. That really is a shame.

But, big BUT, I’m afraid, I do not shorten the queues for others. The physicians, radiologists, technicians etc who treat me, privately, do not work in the public system – they are unavailable to help reduce the queues because they have either left the country or they have left the ‘public system. At best, some of my actions (tests in another province) simply, and unfairly, shuffle the queue.