DUer Warren Pease, Online Journal: "Observations on universal health care from actual Canadians"

[Hand]

Actual Canadian DUers, no less! This article draws on a health care thread from the Canada forum. Lots of familiar Canuck DUers in here!

Given all the horror stories we in the US hear about waiting times, lines, inefficiency, understaffing and such, I decided to ask Canadians how similar blood work would be handled there, what it would cost, what the waits would be like, and so on. So I asked Canadian participants on a couple of popular political/social-issues bulletin boards to react to CMcL’s story.

Just regular people from nearly every province -- no government officials, no spin, no propaganda, no weird agendas. As it turned out, their sole common denominator was the desire to set the record straight and, in the process, inform their southern neighbors that we’re being lied to every single day by paid apologists and cheer leaders for the status quo.

I got 24 separate responses. Unfortunately, all of them won’t fit here, so I included only the 12 replies that focused narrowly on blood tests in particular, rather than using other medical procedures as evidence to refute the argument for the US market-based model.

(And there were quite a few of the latter; one from Angiej, a Canadian temporarily sentenced to living in Houston, who maintains that her father in Quebec would have died under the US system because he would have been denied coverage and couldn't have afforded the procedure out-of-pocket. It's a constant source of worldwide amazement that lack of medical insurance in the richest country in human history can carry the death penalty.)

link

[peace frog]

1. Link not working

[Hand]

2. Hmm...

Try again, maybe. It works fine for me--just emptied my cache and it still works.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? :shrug:

[Hand]

9. Try this.

Online Journal home page:

http://onlinejournal.com

There'll be a link to the article there. Hope this helps!

[lovuian]

3. Its an American Travesty our healthcare is in shambles

its horrible

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. I found the one line in Sicko to be so telling, where MM explains that

the doctor in Cuba reduced the one woman's meds from 9 to 5 and then gave her a regimen to follow when she got home. That right there should tell you that some things are overdone here, almost to the tune of 2X.

[Doctor_J]

5. Yes, the main problem here in the US is that the major corporations run

everything. Therefore you will never hear a bad word about the health care system because the same few people who are getting rich off of it also run the newspapers, radio, TV networks, magazines, movie studios, and satelite dish and cable TV providers. And propagandists or paid liars like the WSJ op-ed writers are allowed to lie, slander, and obfuscate with impunity. Sooner rather than later the people will have their revenge, and it's going to be mighty warm for those who killed thousands of patients to make some profit.

[PDJane]

6. Link doesn't work for me either

Too many slashes in the address.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2294.shtml

[Hand]

8. Odd. Try this:

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_2294.shtml

Failing that, just go to http://onlinejournal.com and select the article from the front page.

[PDJane]

10. Sorry.

The link in my post works. The original link has four slashes after the http://// Like that......that's why it doesn't work.

[I Have A Dream]

7. Very interesting! Thanks for posting it. K&R. n/t

[Canuckistanian]

11. I recognize several DUers in that survey

By their user names, anyways.

Not that that invalidates the survey (their experiences parallel my own), but Warren Pease should have gotten a more varied survey base.

[intaglio]

12. The UK system (also denigrated by Big Business)

My partner has type 2 diabetes, no thyroid, depression. She needs 4 medications and also uses contraception. Cost nothing because persons with certain chronic disorders, plus those on very low incomes, all those over 65 or under 16 get all prescribed medications free.

Twice a year she has to have blood tests: the proceedure; we get a letter reminding us, she makes an appointment (at our local doctor's surgery), blood taken, results back within a week; cost zero.

Because of the diabetes she has to be checked 2 times a year for glaucoma and macular degeneration. She gets a letter from a local optician, makes an appointment. Cost nil

Recently she had problems with her shoulder. Deep steroid injections were needed. These were given at time of examination and subsequent ones were given at local surgery. Cost zilch.

I have depression and need regular medication, although chronic I do not fall into the catagory that has free prescriptions. Every 4 weeks I pay £6.65 (say $14) for 2 lots of 28 tablets (venlafaxine).

I have a general examination (weight, blood pressure, urine, heart) once per year. Cost zero.

Recently my wrist was painful and getting worse went to my local General Practitioner who wanted it X-rayed. Went to the local hospital; was examined, X-rayed, diagnosed as having a chip off my radius, put in plaster, given an appointment in two days for a specialist fracture clinic at the nearest big hospital. From the I saw my GP at 10.15 am I was back home with a plaster and sling by 2.15pm. Cost nothing.

Total cost per annum? My tax and $172.

edit for bad multiplication