What do you think of Canada free medical policy?

[SirWagginston]

True, they can't refuse you in an immediate life-threatening situation. But they can certainly bill you thousands of dollars afterwards.

[irrelevant_89]

^ But if it's not "immediate", it's pay up or go home right?... which sometimes will end up with people dying anyway.

[girl68]

I've heard the horror stoires from residents who actaully live in the states. Who knows what tales they tell.

I think it's expensive becasue it CAN be.

[SirWagginston]

I've lived in both places. The quality of care really is better Stateside, to be honest. Waiting times are minimal by comparison. Because doctors are paid more, more doctors go there, and they are willing to undergo more technical training. They also have access to more and fancier equipment. For the small percentage of health care seekers that have very serious problems, this saves far more lives than it takes away.

For the general population, though, who simply need check-ups and minor treatments, it ends up killing more. Because those things cost money, the lower-to-middle class doesn't get them.

I'll give you a great example. A few years ago, we had a huge health scare involving flu vaccines, during a winter where flu season was expected to be harsh. The US was getting its vaccines from England, but it turned out that the English company that produced them botched the products that year. These tainted vaccines could not be used. The Canadian government offered to send the United States vaccines as humanitarian aid, but George W. Bush (bless his heart) respectfully declined.

The vaccine shortage caused enormous lines, in which small children, the sick and the elderly were forced to wait for hours. A few people died in those lines; they were out in the cold.

That same year, I--a physically-fit teenager with a near-perfect immune system--walked into the Canadian Embassy, waited five minutes, and got my flu shot for free. I also got a lollipop.

[vashti]

You pretty much summed up the logic of the Canadian system. Overall, it guarantees a higher life expectancy than in the United States, precisely because it doesn't work for those suffering the most. It provides coverage to people with minor problems, who would simply ignore those problems if they lived in a private health care system. Growing up in Washington D.C., my friends in public school would not really understand if I told them I couldn't hang out because I had a doctor's appointment. They didn't have check-ups, because their families couldn't afford them. Canadians will die waiting for surgeons, but they will all get check-ups.

Still, I think private health care should be allowed under the law. I'm just libertarian like that. Who's the government to tell me I can't pay for a surgeon if I really want to?

I've heard about the life expectancies in other countries being higher. I've also read they AREN'T higher if you looked at the same demographic pools that make up Canada.

[NeoSeminole]

girl68 says:

"I think it's expensive becasue it CAN be."

no. Take some time to actually think about it or do some research.

[girl68]

Oh piss off I said what I THINK. Then you tell me I'm wrong. God.

[MVPlaya]

I think they should limit health care services to people who have lived past their life expectancy. No more full codes, no more extraordinary measures.

Brutal, I know, but it would save a fortune - money that could be spent in preventative care for the poor.

Seriously? With life expectancy rising, your 'policy' would put a limit to the increases in life expectancy and basically set a cut-off after which point people are just free to die. Granted, I know you're not claiming cutting off all medical benefits for the elderly, but I think there is tremendous scientific value in continuing care for the elderly, and I say this as a 20-something year old who'd love for the next 50 years off elderly care to generate some medical breakthroughs that will serve me well when I enter my twilight years.

[SirWagginston]

I'm not sure what you mean. I do know that every developed country with free health care has a higher life expectancy than the US, though. Then again, you could easily blame that on Americans being fatter. I don't think it's because Americans eat worse; I think it's because they get less exercise. People in the US are more car-obsessed than in almost all other countries, and aren't typically willing to walk or bike to work. They also spend less time on outdoor activities.

[vashti]

I mean the reason we have a lower life expectancy is because we have a higher number of poor immigrants that import their short life expectancies to American soil. White people in the US do NOT have a shorter life expectancy than Canadians.

MVPlaya - i'm not talking about cutting off medications that prolong life for a person who is otherwise healthy. I am talking about doing chest compressions, open heart surgery, ventilators, and feeding tubes on people who are 90. They never survive it anyway.

[NeoSeminole]

girl68 says:

"Oh piss off I said what I THINK. Then you tell me I'm wrong. God."

you're a big girl. Use your brain. I'm not going to spoon feed you the answer b/c you refuse to think for more than 1 sec.

[doppelgaenger]

Neo hat den Löffel abgegeben, lol.

[SirWagginston]

I mean the reason we have a lower life expectancy is because we have a higher number of poor immigrants that import their short life expectancies to American soil. White people in the US do NOT have a shorter life expectancy than Canadians.

That's not true, though. Canada's ethnic/geographic makeup is just as diverse as the United States', if not more. It's just that Canada's poor immigrants actually get coverage.

[bluesummer]

I don't get why other people are debating the status of our medical system. It's easy to be a critic when you don't live here, or never have.

Our system works fine. It's not perfect, but it's better than most. People quote things about people dying while waiting for surgeries, but they don't know jack about it except what they read 'somewhere'. If you have a life-threatening situation, you aren't left to wait and die. Be real.

[SirWagginston]

I do think the wait times are a problem, though. My step-grandpa has a horrible back problem that causes him constant and terrible pain, and his wait was recently extended to another six months from now. The doctor's solution to this dilemma has been to hop my grandpa up on drugs, causing him to sleep 20 hours a day.