WASTE and bureaucracy. Americans revolted against this 200 years ago for a good reason. Nothing has changed
4 posts since July of 2004, Stimulus? I'm impressed. I guess we should listen up when you speak : ) That said, I think your comment here is just a bit over the top. Surely in a ideal society, health care would be available to anyone who needed it, without inordinate cost. There sure is a lot of crap posted in this thread, like the idea that people on waiting lists in Canada are dropping dead left and right, or that lifestyle dictates your access to medical care. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, ours is the worst system of health care, except for all the others. Anyone who thinks it's a good idea to allow big business to take over health care is insane. Having said that, we are slowly and inexorably moving towards two-tier health care in this country.
My sister in law was ordered to hospical bed rest for the remaining months during her pregnancy(about 4 months). About 2.5 months into the bed rest the problem they were trying to avoid occured and she lost a very large amount of blood. If she weren't in the hospital she would have died and her baby would have died as well. The doctors and nurses saved her life and although she went a little crazy sitting in the hospital all that time, she and the baby were home after a couple of weeks and everyone is healthy. My brother in law was in a serious car accident with 3 of his friends. One of his friends died on the scene but he was taken to hospital where he had ~200 stitches, some skin grafting, a neck brace inserted, a broken wrist repaired and a surgury to remove glass from his torso. He was in very critical condition for a week or so and had numerous CT and MRI scans throughout the ordeal. Don't fucking tell me that Canada's health professionals aren't top quality, because they are. Part of the reason wait lists exist is because Doctor's are just now learning what a CT and MRI scan can do as far as diagnosis is concerned. They order these tests even if they don't know if they will work to help their diagnosis. Everyone and their dog wants a damn MRI done if they have a soar knee.
Living in the US is not for wimps that have to go to the doctor frequently. Lots of people just do not go because they do not have insurance. Lots of people just do not go because their deductibles are so high. The people who do go to the doctors are subject to unnecessary procedures if they are fully and well insured, like those cardiac guys in Redwood City that convinced 5% of the county to have open heart surgery, most of it medically unnecessary. If one has regular BCBS then there are the deductibles the family deductable and the uncovered labs and every other thing that adds 5K to uncovered health expenses for the year. And if you are independant like my brother and plus 60 you get into the bracket where you are paying 5K a month for insurance. Another interesting thing. At my last employer in Ohio I worked with several Canadians. Our TriNet insurance was gave us access to several prime plans, but any medical emergency among the households of my Canadian colleagues would cause them to race to the border with their children and when I lived in South Carolina it was not uncommon to see parents that worked for Michlein (also fully insured) taking their sick children back to France for advanced care.
First of all, people who really get sick aren't 'wimps.' That's an idiotic thing to say. There are guys tough as nails that get cancer or other conditions and are reduced to fragile shadows of their former selves. I've seen it first hand. Second, Canada's health care system sucks. There are more CAT Scan and MRI machines in Oakland County, Michigan, than there are in ALL of Canada. There are 30 million Canadians, and 1.4 million people in Oakland County, Michigan. Good luck if you need anything but basic care in Canada. People who need surgeries such as hip replacements have been known to wait 4 years or more for the operation. If you need a specialist, for a complicated procedure, good luck to you, unless your life is imminently threatened, and even then you may not make it. Their prescription med coverage sucks, also. Contrary to popular opinion, they barely have any Rx coverage. What do they need to do to help fund their wonderful system of terrible care? Pay about 60% more in taxes than Americans in comparable income brackets. Now France....that's a completely different story. At least they get quality care fast for their in exchange for the high taxes they pay, unlike Canadians.
Anyone who thinks that Governments should run health care is even more INSANE. I have F#@%ing pot holes on my street that the government still hasn't repaired in 2 years. And you want these same morons to be in control of your body and your life I hope you never have to find out the hard way like I did. the system is broke and your brainwashed because you rally don't have to know, so long as you remain healthy.
This is wishful thinking, it's also an illusion created by the wellness industry and its gurus. There are thousand of illnesses that really don't give a damn whether you always had your daily apple or your cup of green tea.
This is really a shame for a first world country such as the US. I now hear from several of my US friends being without health insurance after losing their jobs...even some who had to sell their homes to cover their medical bills...absolutely crazy.