Scared to be Canadian

A friend of mine up North needs an operation. His email said

"Ouch man, Blew out my hernia opening day at the ski hill. Gawd damn 6 weeks waiting list for my surgery :(

Life sucks some times"

6 weeks?!?!?!?!? You people put up with that?!?!?!?

6 weeks might seem like a long wait, but is sure beats the piece of shit that the American health care system has become.

You guys think waiting six weeks and four months is bad? Here in the UK, we have to wait far longer than that - 18 months isn't unusual and I've heard of people being made to wait 70 weeks (yes, you read that right) before being referred. The worst thing is that sometimes, they're waiting to get onto the waiting list, so in effect they have to wait twice. The NHS is falling apart because they've got too many admin staff and managers and not enough medical people "on the ground".

In the U.S....

45 million Americans have no health insurance at all. They are the "working poor." They have jobs that don't provide health insurance, and don't pay enough for them to buy health insurance. So they don't see doctors until they have an emergency.

Americans who fall below the poverty level (something like $10,000 per year of income) are eligible for medicaid. I have a friend on medicaid. The treatment is abysmal-- because they're poor, quality health care isn't wasted on them. The doctors couldn't care less about medicaid patients. Most doctors don't even take medicaid patients.

Americans who do have health insurance-- usually provided by the employer for those who are covered-- are brainwashed sheep who believe that national health care will rob them of their "choice." Pathetic, really, because Americans don't have a "choice" in anything-- the insurance company tells you what doctors you can see, and the insurance company tells you what treatments you can receive. Do you have a "pre-existing condition"? Well fuck you, then, because the insurance company ain't paying for treatment. Of course, you can go to any doctor you want, and get any treatment you want, but fuck you if you think the insurance company is going to pay for it.

And that's the American health care system that's so "superior" to what you poor saps have in the rest of the world.

Yes but many Canadians have jobs and are not in among the working poor yet have to wait forever to get something done. I hate insurance, shit, the insurance business is the Numero Uno Leech Industry. BUT I would be very pissed off if I had to wait an extended period of time for a simple surgery. 4 months to get a knee repaired???

Sure, America's health care system sucks but I know that if I fook up my knee riding my bike I can get the bastard fixed right away. Sorry, I am one of the millions in the US that has a job and works his ass off for his family so they get good medical treatment. It's called motivation, self reliance.

Get a system that saves us all $, provides coverage for everyone without lowering the standards just so everyone can get equal access and I would back it..

Another friend of mine up North said this.

"if you are rich, you go to the States and pay. If you know someone, you go to front of line My step father has lung cancer and the wait for a "pet" scan (I believe that is what its called) is about 6-12 months (only 2 scanners in the whole province). We have 3 doctors in our family. Guess what, within 10 days he had appointments to both hospitals that had the scanners.

By the way, he has stopped chemotherapy and the cancer, although still there has stopped growing in his left lung, and the one in the right lung regressed a bit. Right now he is Pheonix for 10 days playing abit of golf and relaxing before the holidays.

This shows that aggressive treatment if done early enough will help you out tremendously, but with a 6-12 month wait for a scan, there is no way you can get that."

I do not know what Province he lives in. I live in a backward ass agricultural State. We just got our first Rover dealership. There is only one Jaguar dealer in the State. No NFL, NBA or MLB here. My small city has several MRI units. If things are really bad, like my co-workers hip, smashed in a car accident, we can go to the University of Iowa Hospital. Cancer?? Mayo Clinic. When it was discovered that my father had cancer there was no wait, bribes, favors or cutting in line for treatment. Nor did he visit another country.

Whether you pay for health care through insurance or taxes or just suck off the state you should not have to wait a year to repair a knee or hip.

damn, i was really sad when the nordiques left...

they had the greatest hockey jersey ever!

Originally posted by Jeff not trying to piss on anyone's parade, but here in the States, there is sometimes a long wait for some procedures...When I screwed my shoulder up badly enough that I had to have it recostructed, I had to wait 6 months for the surgeon to have an open spot, so I got to wander around in a sling for 6 months before I finally went under the knife. Now I'm not complaining too much, because the guy was the best shoulder surgeon in Texas, but even when you are a worker, who has good insurance, you can have to get on a waiting list!

That's very true, but very often the problem is with stupid secretaries who do not care for the patients' needs. If you act like an asshole enough on the phone asking to speak with supervisors, etc you usually cut down most waiting times to almost nil. But you have ot be persistent and stubborn to get good schedule times though.

Twist, you're not the only American with a job. 45 million Americans work their asses off too, and they have no health insurance because their company doesn't provide health insurance, and the government doesn't provide health insurance, and they aren't paid enough to buy their own health insurance.

I work almost full-time to support myself-- nobody else is supporting me-- and I go to grad school almost full-time, so I don't see what "motivation and self-reliance" have to do with whether or not I should have access to health care in a country that claims to have the greatest health care system in the world.

But Blue you are going to school, law school I think, so that someday you can afford the things you need--after student loans are paid off. You would not be denied medical services in cases of emergency. Does your university offer a student insurance program? Unfortunately, insurance companies cut kids off at 25 even if they are still in school so as a non-traditional student you are in a pickle. You made the decision to go to law school.

Jeff you were too damn picky! Could have gone elsewhere. My youngest son got into surgery to repair a tendon (sp) rather quickly. Less than a week.

Now read the rest of the thread--doctors leaving to make more money elsewhere, government cut backs hurt service, equipment shortages. And the NHL strike still going!

It's a matter of comparison. Do you have a free hernia surgery in US? How long do you have to wait? And the quality?

My brother worked in Chicago for about 2 years and said that public health service is really not that good...