You would have a fit if you saw some of the ads being run on the
tellie down here. Joe Schmo of Alberta was told he would have to wait two
months for surgery on his ingrown toenail. He had to come to the United Snakes
to get it done promptly. If you have a story of somebody not served well in
Canada, it is a candidate for one of these ads. Of course, these ads do not
make any mention of the many more residents of the US who are not served well
here, now.
Many down here are convinced that our government cannot run any
enterprise efficiently, and it certainly has done a terrible job in some
domains (military spending, for example). On health care, on the other hand,
our federal systems, Medicare and Medicaid, have been much more efficient than
the private systems. Nevertheless, the man on the street would rather have his
tax dollars go to defence spending than to health spending. Argh indeed !
Cheers,
Karl W.
________________________________
From: Christopher D. Green [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, July 06, 2009 9:46 PM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: [tips] Argh!
Having read another typically outrageous CNN article about the Canadian health
system (generalizing, as usual, from one tragic anecdote) I feel compelled to
speak out.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/06/canadian.health.care.system/index.html
First of all, there is no "Canadian" health system. There are 13 provincial and
territorial systems, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The Federal
government has five "principles" that all provincial plans must abide by.
Second, there can be treatment delays in the Canadian health system. That's
because everyone is actually getting health care, not just the wealthiest 2/3
of the population. The delays can be aggravating, frustrating, infuriating.
They do not, however, put people's health in jeopardy, the occasional sad story
notwithstanding. (I am deeply dubious of this woman's story. It sounds to me
like she was scared, understandably enough, not in mortal peril.)
Third, it is fairly ridiculous for Americans to be worried about (or even all
that interested in) the Canadian health systems. Under no circumstances will
Americans get a remotely similar system. In Canada, there are NO (well, to a
first approximation) private health options (for treatments that are covered by
the provincial insurance plan). It is a very unusual system in that way. Most
European countries have a mix of both public and private systems. Undoubtedly,
any US system will have a mixed character as well. (Can you imagine any US
politician declaring it *illegal* for doctors to offer private services, and
then fixing the fees doctors will be paid for the services they provide? There
would be a revolution!.) What you will get is the opportunity to use a public
system. If you don't like it, you will be able to stay with your (incredibly
expensive) private system. However, if you can't get private insurance, you
will still be able to get decent health care. There's the rub. (Of course,
politicians opposed to such a system, once it is in place, will do their best
starve it of funds, and then declare it a "failure," just as politicians who
oppose our system up here do.)
Chris
--
Christopher D. Green
Department of Psychology
York University
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Canada
416-736-2100 ex. 66164
[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
http://www.yorku.ca/christo/
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