Why should Canada bail out the US health care system?

[Mika]

Why should a country with 1/10th of the US population bail out the US health care system that Americans seem not to care enough about to fix themselves? Why should Canada put its own health care system at risk of serving their own citizens - and at a discount?

Wouldn't the increased pressure of not having Canada bail us out and having to take care of our own broken for-profit system NOW be better in the long run?




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The GOP's Axis of evil

Universal health care

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[gmoney]

1. Yeah, it's stupid

Canada regulates the prices down, rather than subsidizes, but it is stupid that we should have to export drugs to Canada, then bring them back in, and somehow that saves money.

I wish Kerry would talk about price controls for US drugs, rather than reimportation, but I guess that would be "unAmerican"

[Mika]

3. It is strange that re-importation has become part of our platform

It is, essentially, waving the white flag of surrender to Canada.

[no name no slogan]

8. You're definately not alone

IMHO most Americans don't think we should have to re-import drugs from Canada or Mexico to solve the problem. Unfortunately, it's the politicians of BOTH parties (most of whom are beholden to the Pharma/Medical Insurance Industrial Complex) who don't have the guts to do the right thing.

Just look at what happened to the primary candidates who had the audacity to tout price controls or universal coverage: they were either ignored or slain by the media. The same media that gets millions of advertising $$$ from the pharma industry every year.

The whole reimportation thing has always seemed like a bad punchline to a stupid joke. It's obvious that the only viable, long-term solution is to either 1) institute price controls on the pharma companies or 2) allow the government (nat'l or state) to be the SOLE purchaser of drugs, thereby getting the BEST price due to bulk discounts.

It really is embarassing that given the current health care crisis, our party no longer contains a plank advocating single-payer, universal healthcare as a future goal.

[Mika]

9. Vary true. But..

.. just who would dare suggest some kind of socialized system in America, especially considering how Hillary's h-c commission was excoriated almost across the board.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

2. I don't think that they should

But I think they would be more inclined to if Bush hadn't basically been giving them the finger for the last four years. In the same debate he says we are going to get vaccine from them, he said that their healthcare system sucked. 5 days earlier he said their drugs could "kill ya".

[Minstrel Boy]

4. Just wait until the issue is fresh water.

When America gets thirsty, and it will soon, the right will believe it has an entitlement to tap into our jealously guarded and not-for-export fresh water.

[Karenina]

10. HALLO!!!!

:hi: :loveya: :hi:

[amandabeech]

12. You might not be alone on that.

There are many, many people in the Great Lakes states who do not want to export Great Lakes water, or any of their fresh water. They've already exported plenty of jobs to dry areas. What export the water, too?

Speaking as a Michigan native and Pennsylvania resident.

[baby_bear]

5. It can't and it won't

Good coverage in a front page NYTimes article today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/16/business/16drug.html?oref=login

<snip>
It may make political sense to point to Canada as a solution to high prescription drug prices in the United States. But many economists and health care experts say that importing drugs from countries that control their prices would do little to solve the problem of expensive drugs in the United States, where companies are free to set their own prices. Even the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that allowing Canadian drug imports would have a "negligible" impact on drug spending.

To begin with, there are not enough Canadians, or drugs in Canada, to make much of a dent in the United States. There are 16 million American patients on Lipitor, for instance - more than half the entire Canadian population.
...
Drug makers like Pfizer say they would reduce their shipments of drugs to distributors in Canada and other countries that re-export to the United States....No Democrat or Republican will be likely to dare to propose during an election year, or perhaps anytime soon, having seen the political debacle of the Clinton administration's effort to devise a national health care system - and knowing that the pharmaceutical industry is one of Washington's most powerful lobbying forces. Price controls "wouldn't have a ghost of a chance to pass in the Congress," said Senator Byron Dorgan, the Democrat from North Dakota who is the sponsor of the main drug reimportation bill in the Senate.

</snip>

So we know the solution, but our elected Congress is so spineless that they won't even discuss or debate. Throw the bums out. They hold the interests of the filthy rich pharmaceutical industry much higher than they do those of the American people.

It's a no-brainer, guys. Why do we let them get away with it?

s_m

[Mika]

6. Thanks. I'm tired of waving the white flag of surrender...

.. to terra-ists and now medical drug manufacturers.

:argh:



Thanks for the link. :hi:

[baby_bear]

11. The end of the article had an interesting twist

The Pfizer CEO said he welcomed a debate on price controls. hmmmmm


s_m

[napi21]

7. Canada should NOT! I'm ashamed that the US is using Canada

to cover for our lack of willingness to insist that our durg companies act responsibly. I think we are being very unfair to Canada by making them do our dirty work!