How well is Universal Healthcare working in Canada?

Question

I have heard conflicting stories. I would like some honest serious answers.

Answer 1

The closest thing to socialized health care that we have in America would be medicaid...A friend of mine's son died Monday at the age of 9 because medicaid decided he did not deserve a liver transplant! I WILL NEVER SUPPORT ANY FORM OF SOCIALIZED HEALTH CARE! EVER!
Who are these people who decided Michael deserved to die?
Universal health care doesn't work ANYWHERE!

Answer 2

Ask the Canadians.

Some are suing their government to be exempted from the Universal Healthcare plan because of the long waiting lines and inadequate treatment. Some people needing care actually end up dying of their diseases during their wait for treatment. They are actually PROHIBITED by the government from seeking private care at their own cost. Like some of the provisions of MediCare in the U. S. today.

And this is the system that Michael Moore claims is so superior to the U. S. healthcare system, and the system that Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barrack Obama want to bring to the U.S. Is this the system that you want for yourself?

Our system has it's problems, most of which are caused by government regulations and the healthcare insurance industry itself, but it's still one of the best in the world for the quality of care available.

Healthcare is a business - not a benefit. And it should stay that way. Government interference has screwed up everything that it touches, and once you let THAT camel get it's nose under the tent, you'll soon have the rest of the camel in there with you, and it'll NEVER go away. Hillary tried to socialize and centralize health care in 1993 when Billary was President, and it failed then. It deserves to fail again.

There is nothing wrong with helping those that are truly poor and needing help, but many people without healthcare insurance are that way by choice. They can't afford it because they choose to spend their money on expensive toys and electronics and cars, etc. If they would re-prioritize their finances, they could get their own healthcare instead of expecting it to be given to them by others, including government.

Just remember ... EVERYTHING that the government gives out comes out of YOUR pocket! Government PRODUCES NOTHING! It only takes from those that DO produce and redistributes it to those who DON'T produce.

Answer 3

So far so good,no complaints, sure taxes are higher but everyone gets care, I'm sure you will get some horror stories no matter what system you have, some answers you have gotten so far are a little off, its the non serious problems where you may end up on a wait list. Most if not all of your answers so far are from Americans who have no clue, probobly the 1/5thers who can't find the usa on a map.

Answer 4

It works well for some things and better in others. I'm sure everyone has their complaints about their own healthcare system. But in reality, the canadian model is still better for everyone than our own in the states which cater to the rich who can pay for it. And, I doubt they would trade it for ours. Even our insurance corporations for the middle class will not pay for everything and will turn down a patient for life saving care. Here's kind of an interesting article I found that you might enjoy reading. I don't agree with everything said but It's a pretty insiteful article. I personally think that a system like the U.K has would be better for us to start with. It is a combined system of public and private but the public is extended to everyone not just the poor like it is here in the U.S. And, the French have the best system. But I don't think Americans are ready to prioritize health over bombs yet.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0003.gladwellgopnik.html

Answer 5

well... I mean... you can compare horror stories all day long...

but the vast majority of stats that I see favor Canada... and that's about the only objective way I know to rate it...

about the only two things the U.S. health care system does well is doing surgeries quickly... while in socialized nations, you often have to wait for non-emergency surgeries...

and fairly high quality... which can be relative to how you figure "quality"...

so that's two categories vs. all the rest of the categories... what ever stat field you want to discuss... from what I can tell...

EDIT: lawsuits prove nothing... how many medical lawsuits are going on right now in the U.S.? does that mean our system is bad? no

Answer 6

If you consider that we have the 2ND highest morbidity and mortality rate in the industrialized world, and are something like 24 in life expectancy, both which Canada beats us handily at, compared to us they are doing fine!

They don't let people bleed to death on the floor of their Er's while doctors and nurses step over the body for 45 minutes, which ids how long it took her to die. And they don't dump people on the streets and then blame the cab drivers!

Compared to ours, except for the rich, they do a hell of a lot better! You might have to wait for some treatments, but at least you get them!

I thought you Repubs would embrace health-care. Think of how many people you can throw off of the policies that business contributes to! That is for those businesses not employing illegals while working on no bid government contracts (OUR MONEY). Why do yo have to hire illegals and why can't you hire an American at a decent wage? After all, WE are paying for it!

Answer 7

Socialized or Singler payer systems are nothing more than a large government HMO. The only way to control costs is through managing access. This management of access is accomplished by delaying medically necessary services. Please see my review of the movie SICKO below:

Thank You Michael Moore

While Michael Moore does do one thing well with his recent box office release of SICKO - he brings attention to the American healthcare system.

However, he simply falls down with regards to how well the system works for the majority of Americans.

He also fails to mention the other side of socialized "single payer" medicine; in 2006 Britain's Department of Health reported that at any given time, nearly 900,000 Britons are waiting for admission to National Health Service hospitals, and shortages force the cancellation of more than 50,000 operations each year.

In Sweden, the wait for heart surgery can be as long as 25 weeks, and the average wait for hip replacement surgery is more than a year.

Canada is not immune to the issues either - in a March 2006 interview with Dr Brian Day, President of the Canadian Medical Association, he states "the Supreme Court stated that Canadians are suffering and dying on wait lists and that governments across the country have shown inertia in dealing with the plight of patients...... ....and they struck down the segments of the Quebec health law that outlawed private insurance for medically necessary services" so even Canada is looking toward private insurance as a solution to their issues.

Did any American realize that burried deep in the 1000's of legislative pages of the early 90's "Hillary Care" that it was made a criminal act to pay cash to a physician? Do we really want the government to have complete control of our health care?

There is a real problem with the uninsured in America, and as a Health Insurance Broker, I discuss with my clients how they as employers, myself as a broker and the health insurance carriers have a responsibility to get these people insured through innovative group and individual products.

We have a large pool of healthy Americans who are not insured, we need them to step up and become part of the solution.

In addition, we Americans need to take responsibility for our own health. A significant portion of medical claims are directly related to the American lifestyle (we as Americans have the resources to become fat and lazy). I feel that through employer sponsored wellness, consumerism and disease management programs we can continue down the road of a "healthy America". Result: a reduction of the large claims that have our healthcare spending spiraling out of control.

Bottom line; Thank you Michael Moore for focusing Americans attention on a real problem - HealthCare, maybe your next film should be on the "American Lifestyle Crisis" - perhaps called "Glutton for Punishment".

Rick Knox - Vice President of Knox Associates, LLC - a Las Vegas based employee benefits brokerage.

Answer 8

Though I live in the U.S. I live right on the Canadian border and we see lots of Canadians coming across the border for medical care. Most say similar things like; they couldn’t or didn’t want to wait, or they had “very” serious conditions and thought the U.S. had better specialist. (just my observations ;-)

Answer 9

I have heard conflicting answers to. most of the better answers that paint it in a good light usually come from Canadians that live there, while the bashing comes from Americans who don't.
Wonder who knows more?

But being an American and not having first hand experience with it, it appears the Canadian system is a socialized medicine which is far different than any American proposals of Universal health care, that suggest it being handled by private insurance providers.

Answer 10

It does not work well at all. Cleveland, Ohio hospitals and doctors might be getting more business from Canadians than they are fromOhioans.
There have been some lawsuits in Canada, where people are trying to get the Canadian government to drop the strangle hold on the health care system.