Are we sacrificing public health care in Canada by making our system semi-private, or offering choices ....?
342994
We're offering choices. People who can afford private clinics should get off wait lists so people who can't can get the help they need.
694168
there was a girl in canada that had to come to america because social medicine couldnt help her I will try to find it.\n\na six-year-old Montreal girl with a rare form of leukemia who can be cured only in a Wisconsin hospital at a cost of $350,000 -- a real case? Paradoxically for a socialized health system, the family had to appeal to public charity, a more and more common occurrence. In the first two months, the family received more than $100,000, including a single anonymous donation of $40,000. \nSource(s):\nReport of the Enquiry Commission on Health and Social Services, Government of Quebec
173059
I am opposed.\n\nWhen socialized medicine is enacted a single huge infusion of money is provided.  Then all growth stops.  When the profit incentive is removed how many people will be doing research on newer and better diagnostic tools and procedures.  Okay, that would be the government and we all know how efficient the government is.  \n\nIf you want to do some research, check out the number of MRI machines, or CT scans, or any other sophisticated diagnostic tool per person in England or Canada or any other country with socialized medicine.  \n\nMy uncle had open heart surgery 5 days after his doctor said he needed it.  A co-worker was under the knife in 4 days and a former boss had his surgery 3 days after the decision was made.  All three of these men were very ill and wouldn't have lasted long untreated.  I have read where 2 and 3 year waits are not uncommon in Canada.  Haven't heard how well England does getting things done.\n\nTo be fair I worked with a German for many years and we discussed the issue on several occasions.  He said that under the German system everyone had an annual physical.  I would never say that is "a bad thing".  On the contrary it would almost certainly make for a healthier populace.\n\nStill, with all things being equal, I'll stay with my current system.\n\nI heard someone say that if you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free.
823629
What would you like to do.  Do we need to turn ALL medical services over to the government?  Set everything at standardized prices, just like an oil change on your car, and take away the options of which doctor you go to, and what therapies you want used on your illnesses?  Medicine BECAME expensive with the advent of Medicare and health insurance. My mother in law was a nurse for 30 years, and she can tell you exactly when medical services went up.  It came about with the proliferation of medical insurance companies, and the liberal minded society that rewards people (and their attorneys) for being victims of "medical malpractice".  Oh, and if we centralize medical and health care within the government, you will not be able to go back if you do get stuck with a shitty doctor who completely fucks you up and sue them.
984806
I'm Canadian.  Our taxes are relatively high, but we get a lot for it, including health care.  If we didn't have the health care system we have, my husband and I would be bankrupt right now and he would probably not be alive.  We are not postponing any purchases because of taxes, and we have a very modest income - pensions.  And the only way we will ever have fewer imported goods is if we as consumers become willing to pay more for our goods - goods are produced very cheaply in less fortunate countries than ours by people who have to struggle much more for survival than we do.  I hope my thoughts on this issue help.
429910
I'm Canadian and let me tell you, free health care is the most important thing to our government and it works wonders. If The united states were to implement a plan like ours it would be the biggest social milestone in US history. But of course you have Bush so i feel sorry for all those people.
11615
If by "free" you mean socialized health care, then you could start with Canada, France, and Germany amongst the most prominent. It should be noted, however, that there is no such thing as "free" health care. Citizens residing in nations with "free" health care pay more income tax to cover state medical expenses.
581983
i dont know much about the ontario system, but generally 2-tier healthcare is a lot cheaper because you dont have all the hypochondriacs running straight to a specialist making +300k a year everytime they have a little ache or pain, and then having a lot of high tech expensive tests. they have to go to a primary care physician or nurse practitioner or whatever equivalent is first and get a referral who are much cheaper to see and solve a lot of the problems without having to move up to the next step.
958978
No,\nThere is no other way to provide the necessary level of care than by a medical system paid for by national insurance.\n\nIf you look at the USA - it is far more expensive and inefficient than the UK without having a demonstrable increase in standards of health.\n\nIt is inefficient because its bureacracy is immense you have\nThe admin of loads of different health care providers -hospitals doctors etc.\nYou have the admin of the HMOs\nYou have the admin of the insurance companies\n\nThat costs more money than having just the admin of the health care system\n\nSecondly the private care system leads to all sorts of short termist economics that are bad for long term health and long term expenditure on health care.\n\nMore money gets spent on drugs than on preventative medicine and primary care to keep people healthy.\nAll sorts of expensive tests are done which are not strictly medically necessary.\n\nMany people are not covered by health insurance which has a knock on effect in several areas -\n1) the problem of poverty illnesses such as TB - prevalent among the homeless and STDs from people who have no access to health care.\n\n2)If you can't get proper quality health care you may take more days off work  -this has a knock on effect on the economy and therefore tax levels.\n\nI am not saying the NHS works perfectly but it is improving in many aspects - \neven the private health care companies are noticing a down turn in demand for things like knee and hip replacements to be done privately.\n\nOne issue though is that some consultants like to push people into their private clinics where they get paid twice as much and so keep waiting lists longer without good reasons.
826384
Your link looks like a pension question, but you are using it for national health care purposes??? Would you rather ask about Social Security to make it more relevant?\n\nYou can get more information about this issue and analysis of the health-care problem from all the angles at the link below.\n\nLaissez-faire health-care economics makes no sense. Markets are good for some things, bad for much and  immoral for health-care. Markets can function efficiently if people have choices. There is no choice in your health-care requirements. If you have congestive heart failure, you can't say to yourself, "Ah, I don't need the attention of a thoracic surgeon this week, I'll put it off until next week."\nOr, "I don't have any need for cancer right now, I'll take indigestion instead."\n\nTherefore, a market solution will only distribute our health resources inefficiently and inequitably. Rich hypochondriacs get all the care they "need" while poor folks with bad hearts let their conditions deteriorate until they need the most expensive care available.\n\nOur high malpractice problems and claims are a direct result of having no national health insurance. When those poor folks who can't afford health-care finally are faced with a heart attack or some other acute episode, they head to the hospital to a doctor they've most likely never seen with no medical records to speak of. The doctors are "flying blind" trying to save the patients not knowing the full array of ailments, allergies, etc they might have.
90510
Our National Health Care system works, but it definitely needs serious upgrades to tackle issues like lengthy wait times and lack of General Practitioners.  It does bring a lot of personal relief to Canadians that we can go in to see Doctors and Dentists, and receive basic services, without incurring large personal costs.
342334
Because the Canadian government offers a "take it or leave it" price to the drug companies on each drug, based mostly on the average world price, and generally they accept it. But, it is not all perfect. There are some drugs available in the US that are not available in Canada, partly because of this policy.
797632
Happily, I haven't. I live in Canada where we have this crazy government service called "health care."
376486
Well, one of the things that I think everyone is entitled to is life (life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, for America that is)... and health care has a lot to do with life and sustaining life... \nSure, it may be a bit of a liberal take on the issue, but I guess I just don't see how a capitalistic system can work for something you can't put a price on... a human life... and that's what medicine is in it's most basic form... sustaining life...\nOur health care system right now isn't working at all for most Americans, because they can't afford it... and what's the point, if it doesn't help most people...
919096
Well that certainly is interesting...\n\nAnd while I do support buying U.S. products, if the drug comapnies are going to continue to rape Americans of their money for life-sustaining prescriptions, then going to Canada should be allowed.  If they want business, lower the prices.
468854
Yes because your premise is invalid.\n\nMany people use no health services and some use more than your example. In a population of that size the ones who use less subsidize the ones who use more, just like insurance companies.\n\nBob Higgins\nWorldwide Sawdust
715306
It is not free.  That's one reason why TAXES are so much HIGHER in Canada than the US.\n\nMany other countries such as Sweden have universal health care, too.