[Scape]

Podcast

Quote:

by Charles Adler
Monday, April 6th, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, you probably don't get told enough how fortunate you are to be living in this country. In these relatively uncertain times, with all sorts of predictions of the national unemployment situation deepening and possibly the recession deepening, you may not be feeling terribly lucky just to be a Canadian citizen. Last night while watching CBS's 60 Minutes, I had one of those proud moments and I am sure every Canadian watching had one of those “Geez…are we ever lucky to be living in Canada” moments.

Here's what was said last night to lead into a very damning report on what's happening to some Americans, some thousands of Americans in Nevada alone who aren't rich enough to get the care they need and they aren't impoverished enough to get the same aid welfare recipients receive. They are people in the middle, many of whom have been laid off recently and lost their health insurance.

“In the economic crisis, public hospitals are needed now more than ever. If you're down on your luck without insurance, the county hospital can be your last resort.

But recently thousands of letters went out across Las Vegas telling cancer patients that the only public hospital in the state was closing its outpatient clinic for chemotherapy.

It's the next thing in the recession - communities cutting back on services like schools or cops or public hospitals, because tax revenues have fallen with the economy.

One of the charity patients who got that letter in Las Vegas is Helen Sharp, who didn't realize how a crash on Wall Street might threaten her life."

So Americans are now told that services like dialysis, oncology, pre-natal care and mammography are simply not going to be available for goodness how long and so thousands of folks have nowhere to go. This isn't Canada where health care is a right, this is the wealthiest country in the world, the USA, where at the best of times health care can be - to use Las Vegas terms - a bit of a crapshoot and since these are not the best of times, since these are very tough times, especially in Vegas and other parts of Nevada where tourism is down and unemployment is up and foreclosures are through the roof, well health care becomes a one-armed bandit that is taking not just your money, but your life.

The services that are no longer being offered at that county hospital, that public or what some call a charity hospital, are still offered at private hospitals. So those without insurance are told to try calling them and begging them for help.

Folks, in the U.S.A. you hear lots of rhetoric from people on the right who say the last thing they want is a Canadian-style health care system, and of course, they are talking about some of the issues that we have with waiting lists and some other irritants that all Canadians complain about, but no amount of Republican right-of-centre talking points are going to help the people in this story and they represent a small handful of those who are slipping through the cracks in a recession which is biting some, much more than it is biting others. It is biting people in this country as well, but at least we have access to care and for the most part we are not on the phone begging for chemo, begging for dialysis, begging for pre-natal care, begging for mammographies. A nation of beggars is not my Canada, thank goodness.

[hurley_108]

I rarely agree with Adler, but he's right on the money here.

[jason700]

Hear, hear!!

[poquas]

Having been on both side of the “system” in Canada, I can’t imagine living in the US where money determines life and death.

Our system isn’t perfect but it’s a damn site better than south of the border.

I would suggest that the system be put back into the federal control and operation though. I’ve worked in different provinces over the years, and there are significant differences in the services based on where one lives. It’s supposed to be universal nationally.

[bootlegga]

Scape wrote:

Podcast

Quote:

by Charles Adler
Monday, April 6th, 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, you probably don't get told enough how fortunate you are to be living in this country. In these relatively uncertain times, with all sorts of predictions of the national unemployment situation deepening and possibly the recession deepening, you may not be feeling terribly lucky just to be a Canadian citizen. Last night while watching CBS's 60 Minutes, I had one of those proud moments and I am sure every Canadian watching had one of those “Geez…are we ever lucky to be living in Canada” moments.

Here's what was said last night to lead into a very damning report on what's happening to some Americans, some thousands of Americans in Nevada alone who aren't rich enough to get the care they need and they aren't impoverished enough to get the same aid welfare recipients receive. They are people in the middle, many of whom have been laid off recently and lost their health insurance.

“In the economic crisis, public hospitals are needed now more than ever. If you're down on your luck without insurance, the county hospital can be your last resort.

But recently thousands of letters went out across Las Vegas telling cancer patients that the only public hospital in the state was closing its outpatient clinic for chemotherapy.

It's the next thing in the recession - communities cutting back on services like schools or cops or public hospitals, because tax revenues have fallen with the economy.

One of the charity patients who got that letter in Las Vegas is Helen Sharp, who didn't realize how a crash on Wall Street might threaten her life."

So Americans are now told that services like dialysis, oncology, pre-natal care and mammography are simply not going to be available for goodness how long and so thousands of folks have nowhere to go. This isn't Canada where health care is a right, this is the wealthiest country in the world, the USA, where at the best of times health care can be - to use Las Vegas terms - a bit of a crapshoot and since these are not the best of times, since these are very tough times, especially in Vegas and other parts of Nevada where tourism is down and unemployment is up and foreclosures are through the roof, well health care becomes a one-armed bandit that is taking not just your money, but your life.

The services that are no longer being offered at that county hospital, that public or what some call a charity hospital, are still offered at private hospitals. So those without insurance are told to try calling them and begging them for help.

Folks, in the U.S.A. you hear lots of rhetoric from people on the right who say the last thing they want is a Canadian-style health care system, and of course, they are talking about some of the issues that we have with waiting lists and some other irritants that all Canadians complain about, but no amount of Republican right-of-centre talking points are going to help the people in this story and they represent a small handful of those who are slipping through the cracks in a recession which is biting some, much more than it is biting others. It is biting people in this country as well, but at least we have access to care and for the most part we are not on the phone begging for chemo, begging for dialysis, begging for pre-natal care, begging for mammographies. A nation of beggars is not my Canada, thank goodness.

Excellent find!

[Donny_Brasco]

How can you contest that. Imagine a tax paying productive citizen being laid off because of no fault of their own, and then being turned down for life saving cancer treatment because they lost their insurance and the public system can no longer help.

JUST AS BAD: Imagine having health care insurance and waking up every day to go to work wondering if it will be your turn today to get the boot. Imagine the stress of thinking what if...what if I have no insuravnce tomorrow. What if my daughter gets ill, what if my son breaks his leg...and then watching your friends lose their jobs.

Imagine the stress and fear many employed Americans go through every day.

I don't care if I never get sick. I want my tax dollars to make sure me and my family have the care we need if we need it, and that you and your family get the same.

[Zipperfish]

I'm pretty surprsied. Adler has never been a fan of NDP initiatives in the past. He probably thinks Mulroney invented universal health care.

[RUEZ]

Zipperfish wrote:

I'm pretty surprsied. Adler has never been a fan of NDP initiatives in the past. He probably thinks Mulroney invented universal health care.

[Thanos]

Well, it doesn't neccessarily compute that adopting some of the better and more efficient private practice principles wouldn't help relieve a lot of the pressure that still bogs down the public system. For example, if GP's were allowed to run their offices privately, exactly as dentists do with patients paying some kind of fee per visit, it would probably increase the number of doctors going into general practice as it would dramatically boost their office revenue. Increasing the number of privately run diagnostic centers as well would slash waiting times, especially for patients who are on the bubble of life or death as far as a diagnosis of a critical or chronic problem is concerned.

[DrCaleb]

Thanos wrote:

Well, it doesn't neccessarily compute that adopting some of the better and more efficient private practice principles wouldn't help relieve a lot of the pressure that still bogs down the public system.

Define, 'Better'.

Thanos wrote:

For example, if GP's were allowed to run their offices privately,

In Alberta at least, they are a 'private' enterprise. They can bill what they like, but there are restrictions on how many 'visits' they can bill per year, and there is only one insurance provider to bill. But, they cannot bill both the patient and Alberta Health.

My GP charges for things that Alberta health does not cover, like access to a dietitian.

Thanos wrote:

exactly as dentists do with patients paying some kind of fee per visit, it would probably increase the number of doctors going into general practice as it would dramatically boost their office revenue.

Doctors who do not wish to participate in the 'Public' system are not required to. Plastic Surgeons, liposuction etc. I recall a group that tried to start a for-profit GP clinic, and went bankrupt within a year.

Thanos wrote:

Increasing the number of privately run diagnostic centers as well would slash waiting times, especially for patients who are on the bubble of life or death as far as a diagnosis of a critical or chronic problem is concerned.

It does not. All diagnostic centres in Alberta are privately run. Same deal, they have one insurer and can charge for private access. If I want an MRI tomorrow, $2500. But I had one last week, $0.

But try and book a reasonable appointment! Most are walk in, if you want to wait 4 hours. If you have a 12 hour fast, well, try to get an appointment inside a week from now before noon.

[hurley_108]

It seems like the big thing that absolutely must be preserved is the compulsory participation, single payer system. Actual delivery of services can be done by private providers - they just bill the single payer.

[herbie]

Thanos wrote:

Well, it doesn't neccessarily compute that adopting some of the better and more efficient private practice principles wouldn't help relieve a lot of the pressure that still bogs down the public system. For example, if GP's were allowed to run their offices privately, exactly as dentists do with patients paying some kind of fee per visit, it would probably increase the number of doctors going into general practice as it would dramatically boost their office revenue. Increasing the number of privately run diagnostic centers as well would slash waiting times, especially for patients who are on the bubble of life or death as far as a diagnosis of a critical or chronic problem is concerned.

That's the way they do it here. But they DON'T need to charge a fee, they GET a fee already and the shared clinic means the expenses are shared.
If you're worried more about what the Dr. makes than about universality of service, move south.