Bosco D'Mello wrote: > It is true, the Canada Health Act [1] does not serve 100% of Canadians, > 100% of the time.!!! However it appears that Mervyn is speaking from personal > experience. While the Canada Health Act was instituted by the the Canadian > parliament (federal), its implementation is a provincial jurisdiction. Mervyn > lives > in Ontario. He knows first-hand how the health system is benefiting his > family > (immediate and extended) and friends. Personally, seeing how the Health > system here > in Ontario is benefiting my friends (that includes non-active Goanetters), I > have no > hesitation in seconding Mervyn. Canada's Health Act is working well for the > people I > know. I'm sure there are exceptions.
Folks, For those who are not aware of it, the Canadian health care system is funded by the Federal Govt AND the province you live in with most services provided by private entities. As a frequent user of the system, I am totally satisfied with the services I receive in Ontario. But that is not all. There are services provided that most non-Canadians are unaware of. For example, a few weeks ago I got an email from a resident of Goa who informed me that the Govt of Ontario was providing kidney dialysis services for Ontario residents visiting Goa. The bottom line is that all Canadians are convinced that the weakest sections of society and anyone facing a crises should get help from the rest of the society s/he lives in. > To follow wait times in Ontario and more importantly, to follow wait times > for > surgery for life-threatening illnesses do not depend on Mario's outdated > references. > Instead refer to the Govt of Ontario's website [2]: Also keep in mind that when waiting times get unacceptable, those effected will make a big noise about it and the Govts are forced to take notice or collapse. Turning to US capitalism, let me remind all that the US is the only country in the industrialized world that lacks a universal health care system. I read reports every week about retirees that live in a constant fear of losing their life's savings if they are caught with a medical crises that they find is not fully covered by their private insurance policy. Worse still is when they find themselves in the situation that the for profit insurance systems refuse to cover. "According to the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine, the cost of obtaining medical care resulted in sixty-two percent of bankruptcies in 2007 – an increase of 49.7 percent from 2001. Most interestingly, patients who filed bankruptcy as the result of health care costs had health insurance." (1) The US health care system has to be in a mess if Obama (slightly bent) has identified health-care reform as the biggest priority for the first year of his Presidency.(2) I am confident that Barrack (blessed be, his name) will use the Canadian model to radically change the US health care system. However, since the US is essentially broke, there is the possibility that the needed changes will only be implemented in a watered down or superficial manner. Finally, I am convinced that it is the lack of funds that are forcing an increasing number of US residents to choose faith-based alternatives to health insurance. Mervyn1650Lobo (1) http://www.emaxhealth.com/1020/72/31551/despite-health-insurance-medical-costs-lead-bankruptcy.html (2) http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE53801320090409 __________________________________________________________________ Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/gift/
