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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: fresc who wrote (21)	1/9/2005 10:12:25 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

You must live in the one blessed spot in Canada. * On a per capita basis, the United States has ten times as many magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units " which use magnetism instead of x-rays " as Canada. * The United States has three times as many computerized axial topography (CAT) scanners per person. * The United States also has about three times as many lithotripsy units (to destroy kidney stones and gallstones with sound waves) per person. * Per capita, the United States has about three times as many open-heart surgery units and eleven times as many cardiac catheterization units (for the treatment of heart disease). While critics of the U.S. health care system claim that the U.S. has too much technology, all the evidence suggests that Canada has too little. And Canada spends very little on research and development. Yeah. They expect us to do their R&D. Wait times, did we say? * The average wait to see an eye specialist in Prince Edward Island is six months - and it takes another six months on the average to be treated. * On the average, it takes almost seven weeks to see a gynecologist in New Brunswick and another six months to be treated. * To see an ear, nose and throat specialist takes a little more than two weeks in Newfoundland - but it takes another six months to be treated. RUN FOR THE BORDER! Crossing the U.S. Border. Canadians increasingly come to the U.S. for care they cannot get promptly at home. When the premier of Quebec had a potentially deadly skin cancer, he went to the U.S. and paid for the treatment himself. In a recent survey, almost one-third of Canadian physicians said they had referred patients to another country in the past five years, mainly to the United States. More... Failure to Control Costs in Canada. Despite global budgets, rationing by waiting and other efforts, Canada has been no more successful than the United States at controlling costs. In 1990, the United States spent $2,566 per person on health care, whereas Canada spent only $2,020. However, over the 20 years from 1967 to 1987, real increases in health care spending per capita were virtually the same in both countries (4.38 percent in the United States versus 4.58 percent in Canada). Moreover, Canada's more recent relative success [see Figure II] has been achieved largely by denying and delaying care. And here's the source: ncpa.org