From: gld@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Gary L Dare)
Newsgroups: sci.med,talk.politics.medicine
Subject: Re: Canadian healthcare system
Date: 27 Jan 93 03:52:57 GMT
Reply-To: gld@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Gary L Dare)
Followup-To: talk.politics.medicine
Organization: Deep Space Nine (DS9)

nyeda@cnsvax.uwec.edu (David Nye) writes:
> 
>There are shortcomings to every system.  Canadians seem to be pretty
>happy with their system, though.  The main problem with it for Americans
>is that it entails some rationing for everyone, for example long waits
>for certain studies or procedures.

That depends on where you live ... the federal population is just 26
Million, with only four cities located west of the Great Lakes (you
Americans would laugh at what we've squeezed in to make a list of Top
10 cities by population).  Many of our problems up north are due to
"market" size, outside of controls by the doctors monopoly as in the
U.S. -- nothing to do with how we PAY for their services.  IF you were
to wake up in Toronto tomorrow, you'll still be a private practicioner
and put up with the same BS that you do now except worrying about
someone skipping out on your bill or being second-guessed by a "suit".

>Rich Americans will balk at not being able to have premium service by
>paying more.

Private insurance covers your non-life threatening amenities ... we
have hospitals run by private not-for-profit foundations that rival
Cedars and Mount Sinai (e.g., Mount Sinai Toronto, Montreal's Mortimer
B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, etc.) and powerful donors will get
preferential treatment just like in an American hospitals [e.g., the
Bronfmans of Seagram Distilleris are a major part of Montreal's
Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital; there is a ward (either
cancer or geriartric) named after family matriarch Sadie and I'm under
the impression that Mortimer B. Davis is her father ...  I guess that
naming it after Sam, who ran hooch to the U.S. out of Western Canada,
might be too much for some folks (-; -- we never had Prohibition in
Canada, by the way, just Victorianism in the English part].  However,
since everyone has an insurance policy there is no reason to jam
hospitals like in America when they can pick up the Yellow Pages or
call a friend for a referral (if they don't already have a current
relationship with a doctor).

>We are used to being able to get the "best that money can buy". 

Check out France, which has a similiar system to Canada and what
Americans with real health insurance (not HMO's) enjoy ... they
have a larger population than Canada in a more compact geography.
The bigger population and a more aggressive market-orientation
than the average Canadian (including doctors) motivates private
practices to get more high tech gear ... however, the doctors
are motivated to use it because it's necessary, rather than to
puff up your tab.

If you look around, you'll find that the Canada/France/Germany
system is the second-most capitalist in the world next to the US.

>It probably will not be too kind to us physicians, either (the
>average Canadian physician makes half what his American counterpart
>does).

The *gross* pay is lower because malpractice insurance is an order
of magnitude lower than in the U.S. ... figures I've seen show that
the average Canadian doctor's (net) take-home pay is just under what
the American take-home figure is, and that's because we're too small
to justify the presence of very highly paid advanced specialists.
Again, most basic market functions as we know in capitalist societies
has been retained in Canada.

gld
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Je me souviens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary L. Dare
> gld@columbia.EDU 			GO  Winnipeg Jets  GO!!!
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