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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: paul_philp who wrote (32675)	6/19/2002 5:10:45 PM
From: Win Smith	Respond to of 281500

Ok, 90% is probably exaggerated, "broad support" would be more correct. I got to learn to avoid numbers when using hyperbole. All I could dig up in a quick search is vague references like the following. Quoting a letter to the editor from Ove Madsen in the Montana Senior Voice: "I have read all about the health care plans in the paper. I have done a little work to find out what the general public Canadians think about their health plan. Everytime I see a car with Canadian license plates, I go up and talk to them. They are all nice to talk with, and I ask them how they like their health care plan. So far, 99% of the Canadians I've talked to like their system. They say it is such a peace of mind and the service at the doctor's office and hospitals is really quite good. If the ordinary run of the people like it, that's all we need to know." According the Harris Poll of all industrial nations, Canadians are the most satisfied with their health care. bcn.boulder.co.us Romanow says Canadians are remarkably united in their strong support for the health care system. "Poll after poll confirms this." mcgill.ca Polling games Always a boost to health activists, poll after poll show that the overwhelming majority of Canadians support public Medicare. Recently, though, health care privatizers have commissioned several polls in an attempt to find soft spots in that support. web.net Of course, there's broad support for a Canadian-style system in the US, according to this bit: Do Americans support universal coverage? The American public does indeed seem to support the ideal of universal health care coverage. An October 1999 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll reports that 67% think that the federal government should guarantee health insurance coverage for every American. Similarly, a June 1998 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found 77% of the public supporting a guarantee of coverage for all Americans, regardless of health or employment status. Between 59% and 72% supported a federal government guarantee of health care for all Americans in CNN/Time surveys from 1993 to 1995, and a 1994 Harris poll shows 86% of the respondents agreed with the statement that we need health reform that will guarantee universal health insurance for all Americans. There is even sizable support expressed for a system along the lines of the Canadian single-payer system. A July 1998 Zogby poll reports that 51% of likely voters support a government-run health plan financed by taxes. Harris polls in 1988 and 1991 and a LA Times poll in 1990 all found more than 60% of the respondents preferred the Canadian system (as it was described to them) to the American system. Additionally, a large majority of Americans -- 80% in a 1997 Louis Harris/Kaiser survey -- support making sure all children have health insurance. (Click here for more data along these lines.) epinet.org Doesn't much matter, though, by all indications the medical lobby in the US can put the Friends of Cheney to shame on the lobbying front. Which makes sense, there's a lot more money there than there is in oil and other energy matters.

To: paul_philp who wrote (32675)	6/19/2002 5:28:57 PM
From: Win Smith	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

OK, so maybe the 90% figure wasn't all hyperbole: The last time the Gallup polling firm asked Canadians whether they preferred the American health-care system, in 1993, only 2 percent said they did; 96 percent prefered their own system (UPI, 9/13/93). By contrast, a 1998 survey by Zogby, a polling firm that often conduct surveys for Republicans, found that 51 percent of Americans would favor a "government-run health care plan that covers everyone in the same way, like the system used in Canada. It would be paid for through taxes and cover all necessary medical costs." Despite the abundance of negative buzzwords ("government-run," "covers everyone in the same way," "taxes"), only 38 percent were opposed. fair.org Presumably, the UPI story was before the Moonie takeover there.

To: paul_philp who wrote (32675)	6/19/2002 8:32:07 PM
From: Condor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Yes...shortage of Drs.....the pull from the US as a result of bottomless pit of big bucks presents a problem. I have to imagine thats not a pleasant situation for the 35,000,000 Americans without health coverage. BTW...if any prospective politician wants to vapourize himself in Canada he merely has to hint at challenging the universal health care program. Is it perfect? No. My wife received this e-mail from her cousin who lives in the Colorado Apr 28, 2002. FWIW I present a section of it here "ver batim". I sometimes wonder if I had stayed in Canada if I'd be looking forward to retirement about now as well. It just doesn't happen over here as one cannot be without medical ins. and until you're old enough to qualify for Medicare (65) you have to keep working to maintain some kind of benefits......sad,eh? The way things are going even Medicare won't be enough but it will help a little. I hope we see some Health Care reform in the next few years as something has to be done. At this point you just pray that you stay healthy. C