......is Universal Health Care as opposed to for-profit medical care. Let me tell you why.
We lived in the States for many years and, like most normal young people, we seldom needed medical care or prescriptions. Then, 12 years ago, my wife needed a fairly routine operation to remove half of her thyroid. She was in the local hospital for 23 hours and we eventually received bills for over $12,000. That was in addition to the monies billed to my fairly comprehensive medical care plan! A few years earlier, she had the first half of her thyroid removed in a Canadian hospital. Our total outlay was $24. for a semi-private room rather than a ward.
The Conservatives want us to embrace a "second tier" health plan provided by for-profit health care providers. That's the foot-in-the-door for for-profit health care providers that will eventually turn our health care system into a fat cash cow that will milk us all dry!
The Libral's are kinda wishy-washy on for-profit health care, so I expect they will reward their corporate buddies in the health care industry. The only party standing firm on Universal Health Care is the NDP under Jack Layton. He has firmly pledged to strengthen our existing Universal Health Care System. Comments from his website:
Thu 5 Jan 2006
A Health Care Provider Training Fund
In the next Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP will introduce a plan to put $200 million per year into a Health Care Provider Training Fund. This commitment is sufficient to fund the equivalent of another 16,000 nursing training spaces.
To ensure that this money is allocated to where it will address the skills in shortest supply in each part of the country, this fund will be delivered in the form of a transfer to provinces and territories with agreements that spell out how these funds will be spent and that provide accountability.
Money will be used to increase enrolment in Canadian health science education programs, including postgraduate training positions.
Nurses will be an important focus, including skills upgrading to encourage the wide use of nurse practitioners.
A share of these funds will be invested to support the integration of qualified, internationally educated professionals into the Canadian health care system with training where appropriate, and prompt recognition of credentials where appropriate.
We lived in the States for many years and, like most normal young people, we seldom needed medical care or prescriptions. Then, 12 years ago, my wife needed a fairly routine operation to remove half of her thyroid. She was in the local hospital for 23 hours and we eventually received bills for over $12,000. That was in addition to the monies billed to my fairly comprehensive medical care plan! A few years earlier, she had the first half of her thyroid removed in a Canadian hospital. Our total outlay was $24. for a semi-private room rather than a ward.
The Conservatives want us to embrace a "second tier" health plan provided by for-profit health care providers. That's the foot-in-the-door for for-profit health care providers that will eventually turn our health care system into a fat cash cow that will milk us all dry!
The Libral's are kinda wishy-washy on for-profit health care, so I expect they will reward their corporate buddies in the health care industry. The only party standing firm on Universal Health Care is the NDP under Jack Layton. He has firmly pledged to strengthen our existing Universal Health Care System. Comments from his website:
Thu 5 Jan 2006
A Health Care Provider Training Fund
In the next Parliament, Jack Layton and the NDP will introduce a plan to put $200 million per year into a Health Care Provider Training Fund. This commitment is sufficient to fund the equivalent of another 16,000 nursing training spaces.
To ensure that this money is allocated to where it will address the skills in shortest supply in each part of the country, this fund will be delivered in the form of a transfer to provinces and territories with agreements that spell out how these funds will be spent and that provide accountability.
Money will be used to increase enrolment in Canadian health science education programs, including postgraduate training positions.
Nurses will be an important focus, including skills upgrading to encourage the wide use of nurse practitioners.
A share of these funds will be invested to support the integration of qualified, internationally educated professionals into the Canadian health care system with training where appropriate, and prompt recognition of credentials where appropriate.