Genre: Forum

October 22, 2012 Tommy Douglas: Not Dead Enough During the first presidential debate, President Barack Obama made a claim against Mitt Romney that has been ringing in my ears ever since. Speaking on the topic of health care, Obama said that Romney would leave people "At the mercy of private insurance." The implication of course is that Obama will protect people from the big, mean insurance companies, and his own plan, Obamacare, is the more compassionate way. Supporters of government health care, and that is what Obamacare will morph into, love to make the insurance industry out to be the boogeyman. Obama's premise only make sense if you believe that government bureaucrats are so much better at serving the public than for profit enterprises. Anyone who has ever been to the MoT for a new driver's licence knows better. Current average wait time in Ottawa for an MRI is 259 days. If you are willing to pay $800 the private MRI clinic in Hull will take you this week. I would certainly like to have a dual care option in this country, but if you can't afford the private insurance in the USA, you are truly screwed too. I have friends in Oregon that lost the house they lived in for over twenty years because although they had medical coverage, it was insufficient to cover the catastrophic medical situation they faced. Not many people in this country lose their house or life savings because of illness or accident. On the other hand we probably have more that die while waiting for help. Neither system is ideal. eterj - there is no such thing a 'system' that works, IMO. Living is risky and everyone always dies. It is expensive to take care of the human being but not much more expensive than taking care of a house or car. I know people who lost everything because they got Drunk and drove home, hitting something along the way; I know country people who could not insure their houses (too far from the fire station) who lost everything when their houses and barns caught fire, I know others who lost everything in a war zone. Health is a private affair and should be just that: private. In the past, before TommyDougiecare/Robama care, people helped their friends and neighbours during times of health crisis via $$ or time. I am old enough to remember fund raisers for people who could not pay medical bills (polio and war wounds were the $$ eaters in my younger days). We do not have a 'system' that works right now, and, IMO, it is bound to get worse as boomers and new immigrants step in the line for 'care', Sarah Palin's Death Panels are now a hidden reality. And as Kate has said: "Nobody has to be a Doctor" stress the good Docs out too much and they will move or quit, we will be left with Duds who are in it only for the money (like a paper shuffler with life and death power). I have a grand child who has been the recipient of close to $100,000 from private individuals to help him "live" because the Canadian system will not step up and pick up the tab for the treatment and tests he needs that are only available in the USA. The health boards as well as the "Minister Of Sickness" are aware of the public fundraisers for him. The only help they have offered...was to take over and manage the funds given by family and friends. And here I sit still waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon since June. Another month and a half to go. My family doctor decided to order an MRI so we wouldn't have to wait? Ha. Surgeon appointment on Dec 6, MRI appointment on Dec 24. On the plus side the company I work for (which was privatized by the federal government 15 years ago) is arranging a private MRI to move things along and want to help me get back to work asap. Thank God I'm not still working for the government. Yeah you might get "free" care or whatever but it's not all that great at all. In Victoria for a few years now we've have ONE anesthesiology on duty in the entire city overnight. Sure they've got others on call I guess but by the time they get there it could be too late. A baby already died because of this and pressure was applied to have more hours for another one but once the firestorm dies down a little I'm sure we'll be back to having just one again. Don't get sick. I am a relatively healthy 'boomer' so it is easy for me to say that reduced health care has to be a reality that we accept. We cannot cry about health care rationing and in the next breath complain about government deficit spending. The demographics tell the tale as our system simply cannot pay for all the demand. Our generation has enjoyed all that government could provide as boomers. As we inevitably march to our demise our kids should not have to pay. It was up to our generation to fund these costs and we didn't do it. We will have to pay the piper. A)Aunt Jeanne died of heatstroke in the emergency ward, all they had to do was put her in tub of icewater to save her, but they 'forgot' her. She was in her 50s with no health problems. B) Uncle Ovide (Jeanne's husband) went to the ER complaining of fatigue and lethargy. The diagnosis 'You've just lost your wife, you're depressed here are some pills'. He died two days later because his pacemaker was defective. He was also in his 50s. The Ontario government bought thousands of pacemakers with defective leads because they bargain shopped. C)My grandmother in Quebec also had one of the defective pacemakers inside her, because the Quebec beancounters bargain shopped too. Fortunately she got a new one before it failed but having a pacemaker swapped out takes a lot out of you when you're in your 80s. She only needed a pacemaker because she was over-prescribed blood thinners, instead of bringing her blood pressure down slightly the overdose caused a heart attack. D)My uncle in Quebec has no family doctor, as his GP retired. For his yearly physical he went to a clinic, a nurse took his vitals and helped him fill out a questionnaire which was then sent off to be reviewed by a doctor. The prescription for blood pressure medications was never mailed to him. He had a stroke and only survived because my cousin had forgotten her phone at his house and doubled back for it. He needs a cane now. E) I was diagnosed with gallstone blockages last December, despite inconclusive ultrasound results that reported 'sludge' in my gallbladder. I was scheduled for an MRI. I was in hospital again in June briefly and was referred to a surgeon. I had emergency surgery July 31st. The 'sludge' was pus, a bacterial infection had killed my bladder which turned gangrenous, another 3-4 days and it would have spread to my liver, killing me. In September I received a call from the surgeons office to schedule an appointment in December. In October I was contacted by the MRI department. ct, We're not complaining about rationing and deficits, I'm personally complaining about the priorities governments utilize. Here in BC the Liberals spent $600,000,000 fixing the highway to Whistler for rich folk to get to their condos to ski. They spent $500,000,000 on the new roof for BC Place for the Lions, They force the anethesiologists to threaten strikes because of lack of funding. They spend untold millions on toll bridges that people aren't using. They spend more time travelling to avoid the tolls. They attack the Gateway pipeline project to appease the enviro freaks and take away good paying jobs for BC residents. I could go on but hopefully I've made my point. As Phantom says, it all about how much you spend. I don't know the inside details on what went sideways with my friends but do know they were spending $610. per month for coverage of 3 people. Also know he was caught in the recession and lost his job in 2009 so he may have gone to a cheaper plan. Found a lower paying job within 2 months but no medical coverage. None of my business so I didn't dig deeper on that end of the story. Medical cost in 2009 was something like this: In a report (Individual Health Insurance 2009: A Comprehensive Survey of Premiums,Availability, and Benefits) made public in October 2009, America's Health Insurance Plans (a trade group representing health plans) presented some information that gives a sense of what a health insurance policy costs when purchased by an individual. On average, the annual premium was $2,985 for a single person and $6,328 for a family. The annual premium differed from state to state. For example, the premium for a family health plan in New York was $13,296, while a similar plan in Iowa was $5609. The annual premiums for health plans were also different depending if the annual deductible was high or low. For example, family plans with no deductible had an average premium of $12686 each year, while plans with an annual deductible of $10,000 had an average premium of $5380 each year. I can see problems with trying to maintain coverage if the finacial situation of the individual deteriorates. I should add that he envies the Canadian system, warts and all. I think you can sum up the differences between US health care and Canadian health care thusly: in the USA, you pay with money. In Canada, you pay with time - waiting time. At least in the USA you can choose to spend more money and get better care. In Canada you have no such choice.