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

To: maceng2 who wrote (48904)	10/2/2002 10:53:05 AM
From: aladin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Pearly, I can re-iterate your position from a Canadian standpoint. Health care in the US is the best on the planet and reasonable in cost (tax + private insurance). We can argue all day about finer points, but anyone with a serious illness would rather be here. The trouble with the US system is that we don't care for everyone. Yes we handle emergencies, but we don't provide basic medical care for a substantial number of people - and that is the basis where many argue that the average is better in Canada or the UK. But few affluent (defined as probably 80% of us) would be willing to lose benefits and quality to go to a Canadian style system. HMO's have become unpopular here, and by comparison the Canadian and UK systems are great big HMO's. No politician has yet articulated a way to maintain the excellence of our system and marry it to the universal access of a National plan. On a personal note - my wife had a seizure and went to the ER while home in Canada on vacation and was sent home with asprin. I took her home here to NC and saw our doctor. He had her in a catscan that day and within a week she began treatment for her brain tumor. That was 7 years ago. More recently the tumor began growing again and she went on an experimental chemotherapy program using an agent invented in the UK. I was suprised to find British patients at Duke undergoing treatment - its not covered by your medical care! British patients either come to the US on their own dollar or they die. Its a cost issue - the medicine is over $1500 a dose. My medical plan charges a $10 copay. There are no copays in Canada, but they don't offer the treatment either - and guess what - many affluent Canadians are at Duke seeking treatment. John