From: gld@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Gary L Dare)
Newsgroups: misc.jobs.contract,talk.politics.misc
Subject: Re: Canadian vs US health care (was "ACM downgrades Catastrophe Medical Insurance")
Date: 11 Sep 92 02:43:20 GMT
Reply-To: gld@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Gary L Dare)
Organization: Curious Goods (formerly Louis Vendredi Antiques)

clamen+@CS.CMU.EDU writes:
>lmb@netcom.com (Larry Blair) writes:
>
>   Bullshit.  I'll give you a very typical example: my sister (who
>   lives in Montreal) developed a neurological condition.  Diagnosis
>   required an MRI.  There is *1* MRI machine in Montreal and it was
>   booked for the next 6 months.  
>
>Typical?  Does everyone in California (or Canada) develop neurological
>conditions?

Not that I don't believe him, Stewart, until I have one of my
homies back out West check this out in the Canadian Almanac:

::It seems this guy is claiming that there's only one MRI machine
::in all of Montreal ... I find that hard to swallow...

:I also find that hard to swallow.  There is one MRI machine in
:Saskatoon alone.  I'll check in a bookstore on my way home.

[Saskatoon is my Mother's home town, and Joni Mitchell's ... it's
a big town, but not even a small city by continental standards.
The reason for not having an MRI in Saskatoon for so long before
was that nobody who can do it was willing to move there ... this
is a famous case up north, by the way.]

Like, can one find a Canadian Almanac somewhere in NYC, dudes??? (-;

I find it odd all since Montreal is home to the Allen Neurological
Institute (what's the right name, Stewart?), and also where Dr. Wilder
Penfield did his famous experiments poking around peoples' brains.
There must be a catch ...  Maybe Larry's sister insisted on having 
her care in English?

I'll follow-up when "The Dude" gets back to me via e-mail ...

>   After this, and many other, problems with the Canadian health care
>   system my sister and her family have opted out of the government
>   system and bought private health insurance.  Not that they still
>   don't have to pay taxes that you would find appauling.
>
>If they are getting medical treatment in Quebec, they are getting
>some use out of their tax money, as I am sure that their insurance
>is not paying for things that the Quebec insurance plan (which is
>universally applied) already pays for.

The Croix Bleu question was a "parity check", because supplementary
private insurance covers non-medical domestic (private rooms, TV,
telephone (cellular in some cases), etc.) and full-medical travel
emergency coverage; the answer was "Yes" but faking a neurological
condition and hope for an immediate MRI on a shopping trip to Albany
is a bit of an effort.  Since Larry said that his sister has taken out
private basic medical insurance, let's not declare a "parity error"
quite yet and for the moment assume that they've bought an American
individual plan for cash money (and now cross the border), since there
is no such a thing as officially opting out of it all (you cut up yer
Assurance-Sante card on yer own folly).

>   One more thing.  In a country that has no problem with slashing
>   Medicare spending what do think will happen when they are footing
>   the bill for the whole thing?
>
>This is the only interesting point, and part of the reason why 
>I think a sensible system like Canada's or France's or Germany's 
>would not work in the United States.

My own reservations are the corruption down here, and the already
installed private insurance base operating as brokers could act as a
good safeguard (and provide supplementary private insurance to fill
out their current offerings).  Earmarking funds would have to be
instituted.  I dunno, there are operational differences that they'll
have to figure out IF they do it and that's not my concern here ...

gld
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Je me souviens ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary L. Dare				
> gld@cunixB.cc.columbia.EDU		Oct 26/92: Just say "OUI!"
> gld@cunixc.BITNET			(Let's worry about the economy!)