Americanization of health care in Canada

Yep. I couldn't pay my hospital bill, either.

mostly diagnostic options until this much yapped about "pharmacare" comes to be.

one thing we need to change when it comes to the "americanized" healthcare we do have (not to pick on you guys) but our doctors are salesmen for the pharacuetical companies and the diagnostic labs. The only things the nit-wits do well is cast broken bones and prescribe antibiotics (the former can also go sour and the latter they do far too much of). The problem with end-user freedom is idiot patients that want an antibiotic and will go from clinic to clinic until they get a doctor that prescribes what they are looking for. One thing good about your system is people know the cost of medical services. It has been suggested that people actually see what the cost is up here.

opt out of funded diagnostic options, purchase insurance for other diagnositc options, or pay for diagnostics themselves.

right now the doc can say "lets do test A", even though test "b" would be more conclusive. The patient should have the option of deciding if they want a different diagnostic service than the doctor wants to run (for a variety of reasons).

I want people to have more control over their healthcare.

I don't want to suggest a monolithic intrusive socialist system that would border on social engineering so i am looking at a hybrid system.

Perhaps we should just let the sick die and alleviate the surplus population issues if it is going to be so much trouble.

i am still working out the hybrid myself.

i am really trying to work from personal choices to a possible national model, but you are correct that i most likely do not reflec the average user because i see paying for choice as good, understanding medicine and not trusting blindly in doctors as good, etc.

I really do NOT have trust in western doctors given the lack of training they get in areas such as nutrition. I have seen blatently stupid mistakes by doctors.

I could have been a victim of such an oversight if i did not already have a private doctor not covered by public services.

Now that said, i will say that doctors are overworked quite a bit and they should not be faulted for everything.

The system itself with its billing methods and a lack of complete body healthcare contributes quite a bit.

Doctors are overworked, the nurses are increasingly loaded with more demands yet not able to question doctors (last time i heard anything), and a failure of the public to take responsibility for themselves and how they use the system all need to be addressed.

the nurses are increasingly loaded with more demands yet not able to question doctors (last time i heard anything).

Exactly. And what are you supposed to do, turn away a newborn infant just because his/her parents can't afford to pay the bill?

Summer, thanks for explaining how the health care industry really operates in the States. I don't think most Canadians know or believe that it is such a heartless, profit-oriented system. We lived in the States for many years and had medical emergencies there and in Canada. All I know is that one hospital stay there sent us spiralling into bankruptcy, even though we had health insurance.

Lengthy waits for consultations, referrals, appointments, diagnostics and, most critically, approval for all these things from the insurance companies.

The delay in approvals often led to setbacks in treatment.

Courses of treatment that run counter to the insurance company's ability to save money are vetoed.

A private altenative that is separate from the public system would allow people choice. I am not for dismantling public health care, but for allowing people to have alternatives to what the public system provides.

So rev, do you think that public health services should fund ALL services?

i suspect we agree on the notion that certian things are best in the hands of government because they can not be run properly for profit.

Now, the other problem is that healthcare is treated as separate issue when it is severley intertwined with many other areas of society. Rev, do you think the government should start putting health first in all realms of society? Should it take the economic hit of eliminating unhealthy industries for the long-term gain of a healthier populace?

i support a national public system for basic and emergency services. Beyond that, i am quite happy to pay for options not offered under a single insurer service because they have deemed not to cover something.

Canadians deserve better than a single serve system.

Perhaps a model like car insurance in BC where basic is required through public but extended systems are available from other insurers.

I like my private healthcare, thank-you. I am not going to give it up so that everybody can recieve LCD service.

You should stay down there in Jesusland then, James. Please.

But I do understand the agony of chronic pain in the hip , and how frustrating it can be to wait for relief. Have a toke.

Thats harsh, but yes - Canadians have "agreed" to do it this way, in the spirit of "I will wait if need be, so that we can ALL have the health care we need".

Its like sharing... a concept erased from the American mindset a few decades ago.