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Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

Canadian health care costs are also rising unsustainably, just like the US ones.

Rising because of increasing and aging population, not because insurance companies are mandated to increase their profits by their shareholders every year. That's why health care in Canada is cheaper.

Going to a Canadian-style system is not a solution. Even if it could achieve cost containment, it wouldn't be acceptable for the US.

Why? Wouldn't the US population go for less of their tax dollars as a whole being spent of health care. Or not having to worry about having to declare bankruptcy if you or your family member got really sick? Or saving the lives of the estimated 100k people that die in the US every year because they cannot afford proper treatment?

In reality most western civilized countries have fully or partially funded health care. It is the US that is the exception.

Ah, I see, your mind is unmoved by facts. Learn something about the world beyond your borders for a change.

Its true. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publicly_funded_health_care:Most developed countries, with the exception of the United States, have partially or fully publicly funded health systems. Most western industrial countries have a system of social insurance based on the principle of social solidarity covers eligible people from bearing the direct burden of most health care expenditure, funded by taxation during their working life.

The only difference that Canada has is only a few things can be two tiered (private). I would like to have the option of private heath care if you choose to pay for it, but also keep the public system. This is how most western countries work. If you think differently please provide examples.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

So, in different words, your father didn't have to think about whether he actually needed the pacemaker or whether a cheaper treatment would have also worked. Maybe he actually needed it, but that kind of approach is the reason costs are rising much faster than inflation.

Ive already stated the Canadian costs are about half of that in the US. It seems the US is the ones with the unnecessary medical procedures.

Portable private insurance with an individual insurance mandate would be a reasonable system for the US, and most civilized countries have that, not the bizarre system that exists in Canada and the UK.

In reality most western civilized countries have fully or partially funded health care. It is the US that is the exception.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

So you have no problem with your country selling weapons and training foreign military on both sides of a conflict (Iran / Iraq), or doing the same to get a foreign military to overthrow their democratically elected government and replace with a puppet dictatorship (US backed dirty wars in central america among others)? Really?

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

If the US really had better treatments and outcomes, then you would think their life expectancy would be higher than Canada, but it is not: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

Also for the majority of afflictions you are far better off in Canadda than the US: http://www.openmedicine.ca/article/view/8/1

So, for comparable or less outcome, for this the US spends twice the amount per capita and per GDP than we do in Canada.

Personally my child was born 10 weeks premature. He required a top teir hospital and round the clock monitoring for about 8 weeks before being discharged. He also requires a number of medical tests up until he is 2 for monitoring of side effects to check his development. There was no waiting ever for anything that he needed. I've read online of people in the US that went through the same thing and their bill ended up being close to half a million dollars or more. The majority of which would have been covered but still. All I had to pay for was parking.

My father also went to the hospital complaining of weakness. They checked him out and immediately prepped him for surgery for a pacemaker. He received what they said was a $50k pacemaker, top of the line. No wait, no bills.

No the Canadian system is not perfect. Yes there are wait times for non life threatening conditions, so yet it definitely needs improving. But given my experiences with the Canadian and American systems (my sister is American - when she went into labour they would not send an ambulance until she gave them a visa number), makes me firmly believe our system is the correct way to go and I would never trade it for a private system like the US. Obama is on the right track - he just has to ignore the uninformed idiots and keep pushing.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

I can also see any doctor I want anytime. I dont even have to be in the same province. Anywhere in Canada.

Please cite statistics that you get better health care on average than Canadians, because statistics also show that over 16% of US citizens have zero health care at all.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

You may not like the present state of world affairs, but it could be far worse without a stabilizing force like the United States.

So you do realize that the current Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan wars were all created by the US foreign policy of selling arms to either or both sides in the 70's thru 90's in an attempt to destabilize the region? Read you own history first and then come back and comment please.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

Why would I want a Canadian-style health care and retirement plan when I already have a better private plan in the US?

I have insight into both health care systems. Unless you are rich and are paying for everything yourself, you definitely do not have better health coverage than we have in Canada.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

The truth is, part of that 2 billion a day you lament the US military is spending goes in part towards providing military security to countries like Canada that don't spend enough on their own defense.

The actual truth is the US is spending $2billion to fix their own mess they created with their moronic foreign policy.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 1) 626

And as for their "free" health care don't forget the doctor shortages and waiting lists. I live right near the Canadian border and a significant portion of the hospital staff are Canadian. It's also not uncommon for Canadians to come over here to have procedures done because there's no one who will do it or the waiting list is so long they'll be dead by the time their "free" health care is able to treat them

That's just nonsense spread by Republican based spin trying to discredit any government sponsored heath care. If you are in critical need the procedure or service you will get it right away. No one has ever died waiting for a procedure. Pure nonsense.

but in spite of what you've heard about Canada, their system is not as perfect as you think

No its definitely not perfect but its a hell of a lot better than the US system that will drive you bankrupt if you get sick.

Comment Re:People do what you incite them to do (Score 4, Insightful) 626

Canada has 15% corporate tax rate (http://www.canadabusinesstax.com/corporate-income-tax-rates/), 52 week combined maternity/parental leave, free health care, and federal pension plan.

There is no reason the US cannot provide the same level of benefits except for political bickering and the close to 2 billion *per day* the US spends on its military.

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