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[OM] Re: OT colonoscopy

Subject: [OM] Re: OT colonoscopy
From: Jan Steinman <Jan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2007 21:24:39 -0800
> From: Mark Dapoz <md@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> On Sat, 24 Feb 2007, Jan Steinman wrote:
>>
>> Perhaps, but it seems an overriding indicator of dysfunction that the
>> US spends 16% of its gross domestic product on health care, and the
>> NEAREST ones only spend about 7%! (There's a fairly tight cluster of
>> Canada, Germany, Japan, and Sweden spending 6.5% to 7.5% of GDP on
>> health care.)
>
> According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Canada...

My figures came from the UN, not a bunch of amateur encyclopediasts!

> you'll
> see the median waiting time for critial procedures is 1.2 days in  
> the US
> while in Canada it's 124 days!

If you believe the Fraser Institute, you'll believe anything, my friend!

They are a right-wing think tank that advocates free market  
everything. Of course they're going to come up with figures that make  
public health care look bad -- their stated purpose for being is to  
put such things out of business! They are infamous for coming up with  
incredible statistics that are not supported by peer review nor the  
consensus of experts in the field. They recently said that TILMA (a  
radical trade agreement that will do away with most zoning and  
investment regulation) would create 150,000 jobs in BC and Alberta,  
but another group (The Council of Canadians) said TILMA would COST  
nearly that many jobs.
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraser_institute

As Benjamin Disraeli said, "Lies, damn lies, and statistics."

> I guess you haven't yet had the "opportunity" to fully experience the
> Canadian medical system...

I certainly have, and my experience is exemplary. My wife is getting  
ten times better care here than she did under the VA in the US. In  
the VA, they sent her to "pain management class," whereas here, her  
chronic pain that lasted nearly a decade under VA care is being  
properly diagnosed and treated.

But that's an anecdote, and I'm sure there is some Canadian who will  
bitch about their health care. The grass is always greener on the  
other side of the 49th, no? That's why I used UN figures as an  
impartial measurement. But then, someone who would believe the Fraser  
Institute almost certainly thinks the UN should be disbanded, so we  
will have to agree to disagree.

What you surely must admit is that the Canadian system is  
egalitarian. If it is indeed a 124 day wait, it's that long for the  
rich CEO and the poor janitor alike. But in the US, the working poor  
cannot afford health insurance. In the US, you can be denied health  
insurance. Say you're working at Mall*Wart for $6.65 an hour and  
supporting two kids and don't have health insurance. Then you luck  
out and get a great job with benefits, only to find out you have  
cancer within the 90-day waiting period for insurance eligibility.  
Now no one will insure you, and you either beg or die.

If you're employed and have good insurance, the US system is pretty  
good -- although still not the best, by UN statistics. If you're in  
the bottom 20% of income, your health care is about the same as the  
average citizen of Belize, or many other third-world countries. Some  
say that's okay.


:::: We need an energy policy that encourages consumption. -- George  
W. Bush
:::: Jan Steinman <http://www.Bytesmiths.com/Item/99BD07>



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