From: clamen+@CS.CMU.EDU (Stewart Clamen)
Subject: Re: Canadian vs US health care (was "ACM downgrades Catastrophe Medical Insurance")
Originator: clamen@BYRON.SP.CS.CMU.EDU
Reply-To: clamen+@CS.CMU.EDU
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
	<BuE430.DK3.1@cs.cmu.edu> <1992Sep11.024320.11560@news.columbia.edu>
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 07:05:34 GMT

In article <1992Sep11.024320.11560@news.columbia.edu> gld@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Gary L Dare) writes:

   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.

I believe it's just the Montreal Neurological Institute these days,
one of the best places of its kind (ie. a neurological research
institute) around.  One of my best friends growing up is currently a
medical resident in Toronto, specializing in neurosurgery; he applied
mostly to Ontario hospitals (because their program was designed such
that he could easily change his specialty if he changed his mind), but
the MNI was his first choice.  It is very selective though, only
accepting 2 new doctors a year (1 from Quebec, 1 from the rest of
Canada/World) and he didn't get accepted.

I was going to call my friend one of these days anyhow.  I'm going out
of town this weekend, but I'll try to remember to ask him about MRI
machines next time I speak to him (definitely by the end of the
month).

   There must be a catch ...  Maybe Larry's sister insisted on having 
   her care in English?

Medical care in English is one of the protected rights in Quebec,
actually.  The right "to die in the language of your choice" was a big
stink a while back.  In any case, Montreal has 5 or 6 hospitals that
are officially bilingual, so I doubt that would be a problem.

Besides, since when do you need to speak to the MRI technician?

   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).

Right.  I hadn't considered the cross-border "shopping" option.

--
Stewart M. Clamen			Internet:    clamen@cs.cmu.edu
School of Computer Science		UUCP: 	     uunet!"clamen@cs.cmu.edu"
Carnegie Mellon University		Phone: 	     +1 412 268 2145
5000 Forbes Avenue			Fax:	     +1 412 268 5739
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3891, USA
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