Michael Moore's 'Sicko' Scrutinizes Canada's Healthcare

[paullind10]

Moore often compares the Canadian universal healthcare system to the Americans system. Usually this is aimed to draw attention to the 40 million uninsured Americans but critics reply Canada has unacceptably long waiting lists for major treatments as reason not to adopt that system.

Canadian's like to think our system is the best in the world even though the World Health Organization puts us around the 30th spot. Hopefully this added public scrutiny will get Canadian's to wake up to the realty of a failing healthcare system.

Not doing anything about it just doesn’t cut it anymore, should we wait till the baby boomers hit the system en masse before trying to change things? The Senate and 5 provinces have already reported unsustainable rates of healthcare cost increases. That leaves it to a parallel private and public system as a solution.

Let’s be a little more proactive Canada, stop denying the sick access to healthcare for your own ideology.
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P. Fezziwig , administrator for http://www.healthcarereviews.com , a website for patients to submit feedback on the healthcare they recieive.

 

[karrie]

Not doing anything about it just doesn’t cut it anymore, should we wait till the baby boomers hit the system en masse before trying to change things? The Senate and 5 provinces have already reported unsustainable rates of healthcare cost increases. That leaves it to a parallel private and public system as a solution.

Let’s be a little more proactive Canada, stop denying the sick access to healthcare for your own ideology.

that's odd. I was under the impression that the Canadian health care system was attempting to recruit more specialists, invest more money into new infrastructure, and reduce wait times. It may not be happening instantaneously, or perhaps someone's not going about things the right way, but I've never once heard a single person in the health care industry say that they'll leave things as they are.

 

[Zzarchov]

So what exactly is a private parallel system going to do that a public can't?

If there is enough facilities and doctors to meet all our needs (As is implied with private in parallel) then why would we have any crisis at all?

There is a limited amount of manpower and resources. To create a parallel system, you would have to take resources the taxpayer paid for, and give them to a private organization (which is then denied to the people who paid for it).

Private being run in parallel is bunk. If there was the resources available it would be in use already in the public sector.

Labelling someone "private" and charging money for it doesn't make doctors appear out of thin air.


If you have a Private system it is because you are saying that your nation does not have the collective wealth to give everyone health care, so instead you shall leave it only to those who can afford it (and in that way at least SOMEONE gets treated).

And Im not saying thats always wrong. In many countries that is the choice, give everyone inneffective care, or those who can afford it enough care to help.

 

[#juan]

that's odd. I was under the impression that the Canadian health care system was attempting to recruit more specialists, invest more money into new infrastructure, and reduce wait times. It may not be happening instantaneously, or perhaps someone's not going about things the right way, but I've never once heard a single person in the health care industry say that they'll leave things as they are.

In the last year and a bit, two friends and I all had heart surgery. None of us had to wait longer than a few days. I understand that knee and hip replacement surgery is a different matter and there are long waits for this kind of surgery. I did notice that the nurses were short staffed and over-worked and I understand that this is being fixed. I read somewhere that they were trying to get more doctors into the areas where we are short. It sounds like there are some problems but it doesn't sound like the system is beyond repair. If only we didn't have Mulroney's debt.........:roll:

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

In the last year and a bit, two friends and I all had heart surgery. None of us had to wait longer than a few days. I understand that knee and hip replacement surgery is a different matter and there are long waits for this kind of surgery. I did notice that the nurses were short staffed and over-worked and I understand that this is being fixed. I read somewhere that they were trying to get more doctors into the areas where we are short. It sounds like there are some problems but it doesn't sound like the system is beyond repair. If only we didn't have Mulroney's debt.........:roll:

Or Trudeau's debt before.

I read an article a while back that attributed the current doctor shortage in Ontario to changes made to University funding (of medical schools) by Peterson. He thought there was a doctor surplus and reduced the number of students in medical schools. Rae continued the cutbacks as did Harris. Only in the late Harris years and the McSquinty years did the number of med students increase. In effect, short sighted budget numbers from previous numbers have now contributed to this shortage. It will take 10 years to see any change based upon current enrollments.

 

[#juan]

Or Trudeau's debt before.

I read an article a while back that attributed the current doctor shortage in Ontario to changes made to University funding (of medical schools) by Peterson. He thought there was a doctor surplus and reduced the number of students in medical schools. Rae continued the cutbacks as did Harris. Only in the late Harris years and the McSquinty years did the number of med students increase. In effect, short sighted budget numbers from previous numbers have now contributed to this shortage. It will take 10 years to see any change based upon current enrollments.

Without putting too fine a point on it, Trudeau's debt was about a hundred billion, while lyin' Brian's was four times that.

Another part of the problem is that fully ten percent of the doctors we train in Canada end up in the states.

 

[Niflmir]

Hmmm, would you prefer a private system where you can't afford the surgery that you could get immediately or a public system where you just have to wait your turn?

The private health industries in Canada have to pay for the time on the public infrastructure. In a way we are double dipping on things like MRI. The private clinics also have to wait for the times when the doctors are unavailable to utilize the infrastructure. I believe the number of doctor-hours is the bottle neck at the moment. The infrastructure is not so overloaded as to have down time, so we rent it out to private clinics.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Another part of the problem is that fully ten percent of the doctors we train in Canada end up in the states.

That could be corrected by making financing/subsidies of med schools here conditional on a 10 year term in Canada. Failing to complete the 10 years would force repayment of the financing.

 

[Walter]

My brother is an MD trained in Canada. He went to the states after practising in Canada for a few years. He cited too much bureaucracy and too little compensation as two of his main reasons for leaving Canada. Anything run by a government will never be efficient.

 

[tracy]

That could be corrected by making financing/subsidies of med schools here conditional on a 10 year term in Canada. Failing to complete the 10 years would force repayment of the financing.

Speaking as a health care worker who left Canada, that sounds like a bad idea to me. First off, I think it's a bit offensive that health care workers are somehow singled out. Business or engineering majors are free to go wherever they want, but we aren't without a huge financial penalty? You either offer a decent post secondary education system to everyone or you shouldn't offer it to anyone.

Plus, you have no real way of forcing the repayment. If I don't pay my debts in Canada, it doesn't affect anything for me down here. It wouldn't even hurt my credit score. The easiest way to make health care workers stay in the country is to provide them with a decent work environment. Even a debt isn't enough to make someone stay in a bad job. A friend of mine just broke her contract even though it meant a 15K penalty. I went about 20K into debt by moving down here thanks to moving expenses, licensing and testing fees, immigration issues, etc. It was worth every penny though. I wouldn't have traded it to go back to Vancouver and be debt free but unhappy in my job.

 

[tracy]

My brother is an MD trained in Canada. He went to the states after practising in Canada for a few years. He cited too much bureaucracy and too little compensation as two of his main reasons for leaving Canada. Anything run by a government will never be efficient.

Actually, it's been well documented that the most efficient health insurance systems in the US are the government run ones (Medicaid, Medical, etc).

 

[talloola]

Moore often compares the Canadian universal healthcare system to the Americans system. Usually this is aimed to draw attention to the 40 million uninsured Americans but critics reply Canada has unacceptably long waiting lists for major treatments as reason not to adopt that system.

That problem is improving, and we also have a mix of private and public healthcare now,
which seems to take 'a little' of the pressure off the waiting lines.

 

[Curiosity]

What the Yahoo does Michael Moore know about the Canadian Health Care System - to give him license to critique it in the first place?

He isn't the world's best investigative "journalist" - more like a storyteller of fiction.

I would rather see valid reporting than something from Moore's angle.

 

[flapperpie]

What the Yahoo does Michael Moore know about the Canadian Health Care System - to give him license to critique it in the first place?

He isn't the world's best investigative "journalist" - more like a storyteller of fiction.

I would rather see valid reporting than something from Moore's angle.

Moore is the first to admit that his uses his medium to entertain; factual accuracy is delegated to the back of the upper balcony, at best.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Moore is the first to admit that his uses his medium to entertain; factual accuracy is delegated to the back of the upper balcony, at best.

More like the parking lot behind the theatre.

 

[Curiosity]

Flapperpie

But he directs his propaganda to the weakest membership of society ...

His first book - and Automobile Industry and its Unions...

The Harris and Klebold high school shooting horror ... into fiction while placing blame on K-Mart.....

Now the general public on Canadian Medical Care.......

The people who believe him to be credible often haven't the time nor the wherewithall to do their own research unless something of worth might appear on television or in the newspaper..... he has hordes of people believing the crap he delivers.......

He is practicing a form of journalistic mobism at worst journalistic terrorism.

 

[Zzarchov]

which sits as a high point in world journalism these days.

"This just in! Terrorists will kill you unless you buy duct tape! GO NOW!"

 

[talloola]

Flapperpie

But he directs his propaganda to the weakest membership of society ...

His first book - and Automobile Industry and its Unions...

The Harris and Klebold high school shooting horror ... into fiction while placing blame on K-Mart.....

Now the general public on Canadian Medical Care.......

The people who believe him to be credible often haven't the time nor the wherewithall to do their own research unless something of worth might appear on television or in the newspaper..... he has hordes of people believing the crap he delivers.......

He is practicing a form of journalistic mobism at worst journalistic terrorism.

Yeah, just like the government does.

 

[Fingertrouble]

What the Yahoo does Michael Moore know about the Canadian Health Care System - to give him license to critique it in the first place?

He isn't the world's best investigative "journalist" - more like a storyteller of fiction.

I would rather see valid reporting than something from Moore's angle.

You may be right, but I am willing to bet that when he made "Sicko" he probably did an awful lot of research into the different types of healthcare systems (even if he did put his trademark "spin" on the information)....probably more than most of us have ever done. The US is a free country , as is Canada abnd therefore anyone is entitled to an opinion...we don't have to agree with it.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

You may be right, but I am willing to bet that when he made "Sicko" he probably did an awful lot of research into the different types of healthcare systems (even if he did put his trademark "spin" on the information)....probably more than most of us have ever done. The US is a free country , as is Canada abnd therefore anyone is entitled to an opinion...we don't have to agree with it.

He starts with the point he wants to make, does whatever research is required to get the footage necessary to edit into something that supports his point. If we had access to his raw research, the point may be valid. Otherwise, its just opinion.