Universal Healthcare - maybe

---------------------------- Canada began (almost) universal healthcare in 1946, in a single province. By 1957, the federal government agreed to pay 50% of healthcare expenses for any province that adopted medicare. (Sorta like the proposed U.S. opt-out provision.) By 1961 all provinces had adopted some medicare plan. By 1984, the Canada Health Act was passed, requiring universal coverage. Conclusion? It'll be years (and years) before the U.S. adopts a real universal plan. But a journey of many years begins with a first bill, eh? So, are Canadians delighted with all aspects of our healthcare? Of course not! Some purchase additional (private) coverage. Some supplement the government medicare with dentistry & optometry coverage. (While at the Univ. of Waterloo, I had "extra" coverage.) Many complain of long wait times for non-urgent procedures. Some complain that the government only pays a fraction of drug costs. (Heidi & I, as "seniors", pay the first $100, each year.) 'course, many Canadians complain of the long Winters, the price of gas, the taste of McDonald's hamburgers, etc. So, would Canadians be prepared to replace our system with some other? Of course not! We, like other Homo sapiens, just like to complain.

 

Healthcare

I've been following the the U.S. healthcare debate: I'm beginning to feel that supporters should protest with signs that read: Mamma mia! Why the disconnect? Perhaps it's because health insurance companies and their lobbyists spent at the rate of $1.4 million a day from January to March.

 

Healthcare

I watch with unease the debate in the U.S. re healthcare and its reform. I listen with astonishment at the untruthful statments re Canadian healthcare, like: You can't choose your own doctor or hospital. The government makes these decisions for you. Clearly that's unAmerican, eh? Indeed, it's (gasp!) Socialism! In the 1940s, Truman proposed national health insurance. It was attacked as "socialized medicine". Naturally, it died. However, all industrialized countries in the Western World have universal healthcare ... except the U.S. Then there's this Canadian gal who, on U.S. ads, claims: "I survived a brain tumor, but if I relied on my government for healthcare I'd be dead". In fact, Shona Holmes went to the Mayo Clinic (cost = $97,000) to remove a benign cyst on her pituitary gland. It was NOT life threatening. Indeed, she would / could have had it done in Canada ... after a wait of several months. It's them long waits (for non-life-threatening illnesses) that mar the Canadian system but at least it's universal ...and no Canadian worries about healthcare costs (whereas medical costs are a major source of bankruptcy in the U.S.) A few years ago I wrote this: http://www.gummy-stuff.org/health.htm It shows that, in spite of paying the most for healthcare, Americans do not have the best results: I understand that, now, the U.S. cost is 17% of GDP. For the richest country in the Western world, that's a shame. Some interesting reading: Ted Kennedy speaks of healthcare: http://www.truthout.org/071909R?n An expatriate who came back to the U.S. from Britain: http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/07/american_health_care_the_view.html If you're rich ... no problem! http://www.truthout.org/072509D The cost of healthcare: http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml ... and the effect of the stock market on your premiums: http://www.insurancecompanyrules.org/blog/entry/health_insurance_premiums_and_the_stock_market/