Health Care and/or Insurance

[alison the wilca]

Did you stay in the ice hotel?

 

no but i have always wanted to see that place (but not sleep there)!!

[MrRain422]

Everyone would like health care better than what Canadians get. I'm sure Canadians do too. Because everyone would like perfect health care, but that's of course not possible.

 

Whenever the issue of the U.S. government in some way getting more involved in health care, people always try to deride the Canadian system in efforts to prove that the U.S. shouldn't do something similar. First of all, well, the Canadian system seems to work fine anyway from this outsider's point of view. But secondly, it's a pointless comparison anyway, because Canada's healthcare system is not the only possible socialized health care system. If there is something in Canada's system that we don't like, we are free to improve upon it when/if we implement our own system. It wouldn't have to look identical to Canada's -- we can look at their system in action, identify flaws in it, and correct for them.

[Sandoz]

the horrendous cost of pharmaceuticals and poor access to health care are 2 separate (but related) problems.

[Dreamin']

Everyone would like health care better than what Canadians get. I'm sure Canadians do too. Because everyone would like perfect health care, but that's of course not possible.

 

Whenever the issue of the U.S. government in some way getting more involved in health care, people always try to deride the Canadian system in efforts to prove that the U.S. shouldn't do something similar. ... Canada's healthcare system is not the only possible socialized health care system. If there is something in Canada's system that we don't like, we are free to improve upon it when/if we implement our own system. It wouldn't have to look identical to Canada's -- we can look at their system in action, identify flaws in it, and correct for them.

You make an excellent point. At #30 and #37, both countries could do a lot better. Unfortunately, we also seem to be stuck in our respective ruts.

 

In Canada, we have the same scenario, only it's the US model that makes us nervous. Our public health care system (warts and all) is a source of national pride and Kiefer's grandfather, Tommy Douglas, is a hero to many.

 

Last year, the Premier of BC visited Sweden, Norway, France and the UK to explore new approaches to improve our health care, but I'm not convinced that what appears to work in Europe will work for us. (I also suspect that he did that to push his own agenda of market-oriented reforms.) Public-private partnerships sound good in theory, but I fear that going down that road would open the door to insurance companies and private health care interests coming into this province from the US. I worry that this would drain resources from our public system, limit access to those who can afford to pay, and put patients at risk by cutting corners in favour of profits.

 

The exemption for health care within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)' date=' which has largely kept the big U.S. for-profit health corporations out of Canada, applies only to a fully publicly funded system. Once privatized, the system must treat U.S. companies as if they were Canadian. This would make U.S. private hospital chains, HMOs and private insurance companies eligible for government funding, draining resources from the public system.[/quote']

 

Europe's Health Reforms: Hard Lessons

 

Any Europeans out there care to chime in? I'm curious.

[markosis]

I didn't have time to read all of the posts contained herein, but here's my sort of mantra:

 

I would think the government would be interested in keeping all able bodied adults healthy so they can continue to pay taxes and line the pockets of politicians. Someone who can't afford an operation that would make them healthy enough to be able to work is not paying taxes, so why wouldn't the government want to make that person healthy enough so they could contribute tax dollars to the system?

[Dreamin']

I know this thread is ready to die now, but I found something that fans of 24 might find amusing.

 

link

 

I didn't know that Jack Bauer's mom was arrested because the FBI thought she was storing bombs for the Black Panthers.

 

(I *heart* the CBC archives!)