There's roughly 35 million people living in Canada. A poll of 1000 Canadians can hardly be held up as a bench mark of their health care system. Their healthcare is hardly "free". Nothing is free from any Government; taxes pay for their health care. The waiting times are not hype, educate yourself a bit on their healthcare system. They don't have enough physicians to cover their population appropriately. That's where the wait times come in. Call it HYPE or scare tactics, Canadians wait longer than Americans for health care wether that be a check up or surgery.

Don't base your argument on one poll that factored in a miniscule portion of a population.

 

Maybe I haven't done enough personal research, but I fail to logically understand how taking an industry that's run by the private sector and turning it into a government run industry saves us from further debt.

The gov't hasn't run a profitable business... ever. Let's just look at the Cash for Clunkers program that went over so well.

Even the US Postal Service operates at about a 3.8 billion dollar per year loss.

What gives you the confidence that Health Care will fare any better?

- NCSU

 

I guess I can't blame you too much for not following this more closely, it's very confusing and the insurance industry has been somewhat effective in getting people to spread their misinformation.

The answer is that under CURRENT rules, the government is already responsible for a huge healthcare tab, veterans healthcare, federal employees, elderly, etc. The healthcare may be publically funded but it is privately provided in most cases and the government (we the people) are being robbed blind by private insurers. If the costs are not controlled the federal government will go bankrupt. The situation is already untenable but by 2019 it will be a financial diasater.

So, the short answer is that the costs of the current healthcare reform bill will be less than if we do nothing. And I don't know where you got your "over 1 trillion" figure from, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates a net cost of 614 billion over 10 years which will result in a deficit reduction of 132 billion over the same time period, campared to continuing on the path we are on.

Uh, we have a private healthcare system currently. Government run plans such as Medicare, Medicaid, etc. have negotiated lower costs with health care providers than most private insurers. That is what the power of volume purchasing does. The United States is the only developed nation without socialized healthcare for all citizens and our healthcare costs are the highest per capita. Unfortunately, the quality of care is not (contrary to the health insurance propoganda you have heard).

 

And you believe that the health care bill will cut costs? What planet are you on? That is the most ridiculous lie of the whole thing. How can you cover more people for less money? Overhaul medicare? Why haven't they done that before? Or at least do it first before they change all of health care? At least they could prove that something positive can be done. 90% of canadians approve of there health care. 90% of them don't know any different way of health care. Ignorance on there part that isn't there fault. They got sucked into the socialist way of life. How about a real measure? Why do all the foreign people come here for health care? Because it is the best. Period. Get your head out dude. Your making yourself look silly.

 

I live in PEI which has about 130,000 people, my boss waited 6 months just for one catscan. My wife is going for a MRI, which maybe a year wait.

 

That's six months of worrying and possibly suffering on a simple procedure that takes 30 minutes or less. A simple diagnostic test that would be done within a few days in the US. Hopefully there isn't something that could potentially get worse during that waiting period

Are you and your wife part of the 90% that's happy with your healthcare system?

 

I have had an MRI done on the same day a Doctor ordered it before. When he found a problem that he had not noticed before. I got the MRI with in about 4 hours

 

The estimates come directly from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. I have no doubt it's possible to cover more people for less money as we have the highest healthcare costs of any modernized nation. If you have ever been hospitalized in Sweden or Finland you would be amazed at how much better the care is. Beautiful blonde nurses with big...Ooops, got carried away there. Seriously, Europe has some of the most amazing equipment and technology and the system just works better and for less money per capita (even though everybody has coverage and the US doesn't).


Never under-estimate the power of the health care lobbyists.

Are you really that ignorant about the current proposals? That's exactly what they are doing, controlling spiraling health care costs. It appears you have bought the insurance industry's viewpoint, hook, line and sinker! The way you are talking, one would get the mistaken impression that a one-payer healthcare system is on the table. Not that there's anything wrong with a one-payer suystem (it has the highest level of efficiency) but that's not what is being proposed.

Socialist way of life? LOL! Yep, those poor Canadians, just like all the English, Irish, Scandinavians, Swiss, Germans, Italians, etc, etc, etc. And to say the Canadians are ignorant? LOL! Do you know that Canadians are well known world travelers (especially compared to Americans)? The Canadians know very well what they have and the polls show they are quite proud of it.

LOL! You are funny!

That's a huge exaggeration that the insurance industry would like all ignorant Americans to believe. I'm not saying a certain number of people from other countries don't come here for certain procedures (mostly elective procedures) but plenty of Americans go to India, Cuba, Costa Rica, Belguim, etc. for necessary procedures also because they often have better care (lower infection rates, higher success) and at SUBSTANTIALLY lower cost. Don't make the mistake of thinking just because you are paying through the nose here in the U.S., you are getting the best care. Now if that doesn't tell you that our system is broken...Other countries are passing the U.S. in medical technology and efficiency because they actually focus on the care, not whose going to pay for it!

If you don't believe this, just read these articles with real, first-hand experiences:

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2587670&page=1
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25415614/

Get back to me after you've washed the insurance company lies from your mouth with soap and water.

 

A lot of you commenting on the Canadian health care system have no direct experience with it. All your information is either stuff you read online, in the paper or heard from a friend, of a friend, of a friend that visited Canada 5 years ago.

The truth is that the Canadian system and what President Obama is trying to do are two different things. My understanding of his plan is to bring costs under control so as to make health care more affordable thereby making it available to more people. Families won't have to go broke to pay the high hospital bills.

FWIW, if any of you were visiting Canada and needed to go to the hospital, you'd be covered by our system as well. You wouldn't have to wait 6 months for anything. It would all get done immediately in order of priority. All compliments of the Canadian taxpayer.

 

I am happy sometimes, but when you see some of the waits and how little doctors there are I am not happy. I think the catscan was for something small, but 6 months went only 130,000 people live on the island is really bad.

 

[QUOTE
I don't know why were even discussing this, Canada has single-payer socialized healthcare. The bills in the U.S. legislature only proprose to reform the broken system we currently have. It's costing American companies their ability to remain competitive.[/QUOTE]

I think it's important to differentiate between health care "reform" and "improvement" here. The Democrats have taken this "reform" way down a path that - as somebody else posted in - the vast majority of the people in this country don't want. That's because their reform doesn't really improve anything - unless of course you currently have no health care insurance.

For those of us that actually like our current insurance, all this "reform" is going to do is make our current plans more expensive. That's not reform, that's a giant step backwards.

Real reform would have looked at how poorly run and full of waste the current system is - and made improvements to it. Personally, I don't think adding any government run agency is going to "improve" anything. As proof, I ask you to name even one well run government agency. Let's see, there's FEMA, the IRS, the EPA, and the distinguished list goes on and on. None of them are the least bit efficient.

And last, but not least, somebody please explain to me how the current proposal - which also expands such poorly run programs as Medicare & Medicade is going to be funded - and be deficit neutral. All of those Democratic promises to "make the rich pay" just make me sick. It's one thing to say you're going to tax them, it's another to actually collect those taxes. (Remember Jon Kerry's wife and how little she paid in taxes?) When the rich avoid paying more taxes for this (and other stuff being crammed down our throats), remember who's going to pay - us middle class Americans. Say goodnight.

 

Thanks for the links. It explains a lot. MSNBC

The hospitals and doctors in India must be as good as the ones here in the US. right? India is a "developed" nation after all.

 

I was at a Dr.'s office on time, that had a degree from some Caribbean medical school hanging on the wall in the exam room. So when the Dr. came in, I told him I was just there for a second opinion

 

Correct. IMO, a lot of the surgeons in India are even more skilled than the average surgeon in the U.S.

 

In your opinion... thought you made your living in the financial markets. Do you dable in health care as well? Since you seem to know first hand that Indian trained surgeons are more skilled than your average US surgeon.

Many of the surgeons in India trained in the US... Just FYI. There's a reason most wealthy foreigners come to the US for surgery. When you are nickle and diming or don't have insurance, you can go to some to the "Resort Hospitals" overseas and get surgeries; esp cosmetic surgeries, at a cut rate. Many of those surgeons fly in from the US and stay for an extended period then fly back.