Canada's Health Care

[Vedubin01]

I thought it was a perfect model for the US to follow.... Why is Danny Williams coming to America to have heart surgery?




N.L. Premier Danny Williams is scheduled to have surgery this week. (CBC) Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is set to undergo heart surgery this week in the United States.


CBC News confirmed Monday that Williams, 59, left the province earlier in the day and will have surgery later in the week.


The premier's office provided few details, beyond confirming that he would have heart surgery and saying that it was not necessarily a routine procedure.


Deputy Premier Kathy Dunderdale is scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday morning.


She's expected to provide more details about Williams's condition, as well as how the provincial government will function during his absence.


CBC reporter David Cochrane said Williams appeared to be in good health recently. He described the premier as "fairly active," playing pick-up hockey at least once a week when work permits.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundlan...#ixzz0eM9DEC3L

[Ryan Stewart]

They also love to come down to MD Anderson for cancer treatments. Something about being able to turn a profit spurs innovation. Sucks but its the way it is and the way it always will be.

[KenC]

Who is trying to copy Canada's system?

[markseven]

Who is trying to copy Canada's system?

Just an example of government-run/socialized health care and its short comings.

[LBJefferies]

You guys are assuming things. The article points out that the surgery is not routine. Perhaps there are no doctors in Canada that perform the type of surgery he needs? The airport that I work at gets tons of lifeguard flights from Alaska transporting people to have surgery down here in Washington. Also, we do not know for fact that the Canadian government isn't still paying for the surgery.

[2002maniac]

Perhaps there are no doctors in Canada that perform the type of surgery he needs?

Seriously? Is Canada a 3rd world country?

If there are no doctors performing such operations in Canada, it is because they moved to America so they could make some money practicing their specialty.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Premier Danny Williams of Newfoundland and Labrador is undergoing heart surgery in the United States later this week because the treatment he is seeking was not available in his home province, his deputy premier said Tuesday.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100202/national/nl_premier_surgery

h0lmes is right...

[svn2002s]

You guys are assuming things. The article points out that the surgery is not routine. Perhaps there are no doctors in Canada that perform the type of surgery he needs? The airport that I work at gets tons of lifeguard flights from Alaska transporting people to have surgery down here in Washington. Also, we do not know for fact that the Canadian government isn't still paying for the surgery.

The average Canadian, which would is forced into the system and cannot 'fly' to America for state of the art treatments should at least be given the chance to choose from a better pool of suppliers (Health Care companies in this case).
Forced government health care is definitely not the answer. There's no example in the history of the world where a government run enterprise had ever provided a better product than a private sector if they both compete with the same set of rules. It will never happen.
Just look at the US school system, look at the product they put of compared to all the money we sink in. It's pathetic. Obviously they are multiple exceptions but on average, we suck at an International level. Johnny can't fucking read or multiply when he finishes High School.

[Massive Lee]

You guys are funny. Do you have any idea what Labarador is? It's like the moon. There's nothing on that piece of land. Worst than Alaska. So yes, the treatment was not available in his province, just as not every treatment is available in Alaska, Guam, Hawai or Puerto Rico.

With a huge shift in population age, types of diseases are also changing and doctors' fields of operation also need to change. That takes time. Some US patients come to Montreal for some special surgery because some Montreal surgeons have very specific specialties. The other way around also works. Who pays? Obviously the patient does, thu his/her type of coverage.

[KenC]

These threads are so pointless. I'm definitley not going to, but would it be prudent to post statistics of individuals in the US who have died due to lack of healthcare availability?

[dirtysix]

Geez Lee, ya party pooper.
Nothing like ruining a good story with facts.

[Farbin Kaiber]

These threads are so pointless. I'm definitley not going to, but would it be prudent to post statistics of individuals in the US who have died due to lack of healthcare availability?

Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year -- one every 12 minutes -- in large part because they lack health insurance and can not get good care, Harvard Medical School researchers found in an analysis released on Thursday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE58G6W520090917

[wildstoats]

Just look at the US school system, look at the product they put of compared to all the money we sink in. It's pathetic. Obviously they are multiple exceptions but on average, we suck at an International level. Johnny can't fucking read or multiply when he finishes High School.

What are you mumbling about?

[reelop19]

So because some people can't pay for healthcare then the rest of us should suffer. If the government got out of the way with their rules and regulations healthcare would be cheap enough for anybody. There is no perfect system but ours is by far the best.

[rwh11385]

Also, we do not know for fact that the Canadian government isn't still paying for the surgery.

They probably are. My crazy friend who is a boxer and fishes for catfish by "noodling" is covered by Canada every time he gets hurt and runs to hospital here.

But if Canada was great, then why not fly to elsewhere in Canada for the surgery?


What if every country went socialist so that the innovation evil profits encourage does not exist anywhere?!? Or rather, why would anyone specialize in anything if there was no real incentive to?