Explain to me all this Quebec thing.

[Asher]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
At least they gave us Medicare. What has Alberta done for me?

And look how well it works for us.

I had to wait over a year to get my frickin' cyst removed because of the glorious medicare, whereas my dad got his removed in California the same day he went to the doctor with it.

[KrazyHorse]

And my mother has had two breast tumours removed and intestinal work done for free.

We spend 1/3 as much on health care as the US and overall (including the 15% of America's pop. that has no health coverage whatsoever) we get better service for it.

By the way, do you know how much the cost of prescription medication has gone up in this country in the last 15 years? 1250%. I'll give you one guess as to who I blame for that, and it's not the Medicare program.

[Asher]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
And my mother has had two breast tumours removed and intestinal work done for free.

His operation to remove the cyst was "free" too.
You know why?

His employer gave him health insurance. As do most employers.

We spend 1/3 as much on health care as the US

And it shows. Amen.

and overall (including the 15% of America's pop. that has no health coverage whatsoever) we get better service for it.

That is completely and totally not true. I've lived in both California and Canada, and I can tell you that even with HMOs, you get speedier and better service in the US. That much is really obvious.

By the way, do you know how much the cost of prescription medication has gone up in this country in the last 15 years? 1250%. I'll give you one guess as to who I blame for that, and it's not the Medicare program.

I don't know who you blame for it. Perhaps it's the evil capitalist bastard drug corporations or the federal government for failure to regulate the market properly?

[KrazyHorse]

Sounds good to me. What about granting corporate welfare in the form of patent extensions, etc.? We should cut the patent time, not extend it. The drug companies are running their own little sandbox in the States, and I don't think we should take part.

[KrazyHorse]

That is completely and totally not true. I've lived in both California and Canada, and I can tell you that even with HMOs, you get speedier and better service in the US. That much is really obvious

You've got full health benefits at top-of-the-line insurers and you wonder why you get quicker service? Go ask the guy who's working for 10$ an hour at the local garage and tell me what sort of health benefits he's getting.

[Asher]

Well, I don't know about you, but I really hate how I had to wait a year for a relatively simple procedure.

I didn't like how my grandmother hate to wait many months before begining chemo for breast cancer, where she died about a month after it started (it could be argued that had the service been faster she'd have lived longer).

The Canadian health system is in shambles, and to provide a very objective report on whether or not it needs to be changed they got the old Premier of Saskatchewan (birthplace of the system), who amazingly determined it's not fundamentally flawed, it just lacks in some areas.

[Asher]

You've got full health benefits at top-of-the-line insurers and you wonder why you get quicker service? Go ask the guy who's working for 10$ an hour at the local garage and tell me what sort of health benefits he's getting.

Probably pretty good. Even McDonalds provides good medicare (Kaiser-Permanente in California where I lived, same as my dad's oil company gave him).

What you've been reading is overblown hype by none other than King Jean and his federal cohorts.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Go ask the guy who's working for 10$ an hour at the local garage and tell me what sort of health benefits he's getting.

It's ok. Why do you ask?

[KrazyHorse]

That's nice, Asher, but the basic fact is that most people don't feel the system is in shambles. The federal government pulled way too much money out so Paul Martin could look good. All that's needed is to up spending back to 1985 or 1990 level, and all the Albertan whining in the world isn't going to convince Canadians to give up their cradle-to-grave socialised health care.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by DinoDoc


It's ok. Why do you ask?

I suppose that's why you put out movies about how an average guy takes a hospital hostage because he's too poor to get his kid proper coverage?

[Asher]

Well, this is how I see it. Tell me where my logic fails.

The current federal government continually screws everything they touch up. Everything. Why are they continually being elected? Even Joe Clark and the Conservatives would be a breah of fresh air, and what's wrong with them? They don't advocate private health care, they don't advocate increasing spending in the military, what's so bad about him? Why is Chretien a better choice, considering Bush is a smarter man?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
I suppose that's why you put out movies about how an average guy takes a hospital hostage because he's too poor to get his kid proper coverage?

You asked about my (a general person's) personal experience with the US health care system, KH. You didn't ask anyone to give you a run down of the faults of it.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Asher

Probably pretty good. Even McDonalds provides good medicare (Kaiser-Permanente in California where I lived, same as my dad's oil company gave him).

What you've been reading is overblown hype by none other than King Jean and his federal cohorts.

Really? Where do the 40 million people sans health care come from, then? That means they have neither individually-paid coverage nor employer benefits.

[Asher]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Really? Where do the 40 million people sans health care come from, then? That means they have neither individually-paid coverage nor employer benefits.

Small businesses which don't feel like fronting the cost of having insurance for their employees, people who feel that insurance is a waste of money and they'll pay for it when they need it, and unemployed people.

And IIRC, the number is 30M, not 40.

[DinoDoc]

BTW, I find it "curious" that you wave away Asher's assertion regarding the faliures of the Canadian Health System without any evidence to the contrary simply because you feel that everything is fine and a statement that Canadian people are lazy.