bry623

Here is an interesting mail my wife got. She asked my friend in Barrie, ON.

Her response was " For the most part it is correct sadly. Numbers 10,
11 and 12 aren't correct for the most part.

Its a case up in Canada of you really hope you don't get sick... :("



Hey Guys; I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada. First of all:

1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for Shirley and me to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the exact
amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense.

2) I would not classify what we have as a health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you "yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the
road.

3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take---not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many patients thru as possible each hour for Government reimbursement

4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor.

5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment.

6) Shirley's dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required that his hand be put in a splint - to our surprise we had to pay $125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him
to check it out each week.

7) Shirley's cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list . Died before
he could get treatment.

8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no more operations, unless you go to your loca newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears.

9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists never get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don't call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee.

10) My mother needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite her and my father paying into the health care system all these years. My Mom is 80 years of age. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs.

11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get.

12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player or athlete then I can get looked at right away. Go figger. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to spend money to get healthy.

13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax payer expense having
never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no premiums.

14) Oh yeah we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. Wouldn't want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered by the health care system. I send this out not looking for sympathy but as the election looms in the states you will be hearing more and more about universal health care
down there and the advocates will be pointing to Canada. I just want to make sure that you
hear the truth about health care up here and have some food for thought and informed questions to ask when broached with this subject.

RedScott

That's almost unreadable.

yustr

Probably BS: SNOPES and certainly not accurate. Let's see what our Canadian friends have to say...

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to debate what form a health care solution should take. Notice I didn't say "insurance" should take...I think all the talk about national HC insurance by the presidential candidates is just some much selling out to the big insurance companies - which would love to see national coverage - with them in charge of course - just like the great prescription drug program recently put in place.

Wozer

what a load of SPAM spread by the....hmmmm....'them'....

let's look at the health care argument in a different light...OK, so we would be taxed to have such a program, but have you all heard anyone pointing out that if there was such a program, we wouldn't need private programs?

and what do THOSE programs cost?...actually, I don't know as I've never had health care having chosen to pay out of pocket for what relatively little I've spent in my adult life (I'm 44)...BUT...I've heard plenty of people moan and groan about usury rates they are being charged (one person quoted a figure of over $500/month for his family) which are spiraling up and up and up.....

seems to me the biggest losers of a universal health care plan would be those CEOs who need a new yacht trimmed out in leopard skin and pomelle sapele.....lets not forget those solid gold water fixtures also!

EnglishPaul

Its funny how the grass is always greener...

Britain has a free healthcare system. IMO it is largely a good thing. But it does have many of the problems listed above. Here some politicians are looking at the American system of health insurance as a good direction to steer our health service towards!

I hope the debate is had in the States. I have heard that a lot of people fall into a uninsured gap, and that may be an issue that needs address. But I doubt you will ever have a public health service that lives up to a private one. So traveling in that direction of change will be very unpalatable, and may get someone elected but probably not reelected.

bry623

National Healthcare gets you this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071015...aCo3MTQRKs0NUE

SNOPES says it is incomplete, and they usually do pretty good, but the quote in the first post that is bold, is from an actual Canadian so it is probably accurate.

cstr20cstr

"free" huh ?
You mean NOBODY pays for healthcare given in Britain ????

EnglishPaul

Well non-taxpayers don't pay for it!
All us taxpayers pay quite heavily for the NHS, but you would have to pay taxes anyway whether they are 90% funding health or 90% funding an MP pay rise.
Either way the NHS is largely free of direct charges.

linderman

Well; living 12 miles from the canadian border, I have numerous canadian friends.

the above post is correct about many things


1) their level of quality doctors is very low

2) getting to see a specialist takes at least 4-6 MONTHS & dont miss that appointment and you better hope that doesnt lead to another referal

3) I know the canadians that have money will travel to the U.S. to get life threatening operations or operations that require speed priority

4) I know one fella that had (he is deceased now) prostate cancer, he sold his house in canada to afford treatment in the US, that once diagnosed in canada they more or less told him " it was over, get your affairs in order" and I hear the part about................. if its a pill you need youll be ok

BTW: after prostate removal in the US he lived 8 years longer than he was told he would in canadian health care system