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A True Tale of Canadian Health Care: Why some patients need to go to the U.S. for surgery


Many advocates of health-care reform are admirers of Canada’s state-run, no-opt-out, single-payer system. Indeed, in 2003, President Barack Obama voiced enthusiasm for such a health-care program. Proponents of Canadian-style health care should meet Cheryl Baxter, a Canadian citizen who waited years for hip-replacement surgery, only to be told that her operation would not happen any time soon. Instead of waiting, Baxter did what an increasing number of Canadians are doing: She flew to a …

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This entry was posted on January 12, 2010, 9:21 pm and is filed under Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  1. #1 by megarational on December 26, 2009 - 12:32 pm

    Take all of the money saved by using a single payer system, (& that would include all of the money the insurance companies waste on corporate jets, exorbitant CEO salaries, campaign contributions & lobbying, profits, advertising, and fighting claim payments – and put it to medical research and increasing the number of doctors.

  2. #2 by megarational on December 26, 2009 - 12:36 pm

    Bullshit.

  3. #3 by behvac on December 26, 2009 - 4:40 pm

    I have a foreign exchange student from Canadian staying with us. She got hurt playing ball and need a operation on her knee after
    fighting with ins company in NC her dad flew her back to Canadian where they did the operation in 3 days after her plane landed.
    She is doing fine and is planing to come back jan 5 th. Don’t let ins and politions say other country’s health care is bad when we are 30 in the world in living.
    bullshit

  4. #4 by SuperNewf1 on December 26, 2009 - 5:31 pm

    You are the one full of crap. Read the Canada Health Act, read the criminal code of Canada, read the workers compensation legislation, We have a criminally controlled workers compensation insurance plan that discriminates against and abuses medical patients. Maybe if you had direct experience with our corrupt discriminatory medical system you wouldn’t be so quick to shout propaganda. Reality check time for you buddy. Learn what Fascism and eugenics is and compare that to our WCB system.

  5. #5 by SuperNewf1 on December 26, 2009 - 5:43 pm

    Great response. Care to elaborate? Don’t bothe. I will. Canada is now by definition a Fascist State that discriminates against isabled people. This particular group is a “created group” within our society. The first expression of this discrimination is through the Caadfa Health Act. This Act excludes “injured workers’ from the protections and rights of that Act. All medical care for injured workers is decided by the Workers Compensation Boards, which are private corporations.

  6. #6 by SuperNewf1 on December 26, 2009 - 6:07 pm

    What makes the discrimination complete is the fact Workers Compensation legislation in each Province bars any legal action against the board, its doctors or employees, or the company, Once a claimant accepts Workers Compensation benefits they automatically are disadvanaged by not being covered under the Canada Health Act and having their legal rights removed. No other insurance company in Canada has this power. Thousands are suffering in pain and disability and have been forced onto welfare.

  7. #7 by SuperNewf1 on December 26, 2009 - 6:09 pm

    Government created the legislation, they know who the truly disabled are, and they collude with workers compensation boards to deny legitimate claims. Fraud is used extensively by WCB’s and Canada’s Provinvial governments to force a person to suffer in pain and poverty until they commit suicide. I accuse the Canadian, and Provincial governments of the biggest insuance scam ever perpetrated against a people. I also accuse them of eugenics.

  8. #8 by SuperNewf1 on December 26, 2009 - 6:09 pm

    They are traumatizing medical patients with delays in treatments for serious nerve damage causing moderate to severe pain. They impoverish these men and women and families by not providing retraining, or a pension that approximated their previous earnings. Instead they are forced onto welfare

  9. #9 by SuperNewf1 on December 26, 2009 - 6:26 pm

    These workers Compensation Boards regularly take the permaently disabled inured worker and force them into years of needless appeals for wheelchairs, ramps, physio, medicine, retraining so they can get back to work at another job equal to their abilities. Provincial welfare agencies and other Health agencies wont treat, nor will they advocate, for the patient to ensure they get proper and timely medical care. In 2006 over 5,000 inured workers in Ontario, Canada were on welfare. On your dime.

  10. #10 by SuperNewf1 on December 26, 2009 - 6:35 pm

    The Provinces are quilty of allowing medical patients to be abused to the point they often commit suicide. Pain does not wait for an appeal. The medical profession is divided between good doctors trying to make a person well, and insurance agents in white smocks denying the patient even has a serious injury causng permanent disability. So take them to court you say and get your guaranteed medical care? Remember I said the legislation takes your legal rights away. You can’t take them to court.

  11. #11 by megarational on December 27, 2009 - 12:22 am

    Yeah hadenufnow, don’t you ever get tired of cutting & pasting the same comments?

  12. #12 by megarational on December 27, 2009 - 12:28 am

    There’s the national & provincial health care codes & systems, and then there is the Workers Compensation board.
    The medical care is “free” (ie: paid for by progressive income tax system) and the Workers Compensation board decides on whether you get reimbursement for lost wages.
    The Workers Compensation Board has a lousy and deserved reputation, but that is not a reflection on universal health care financing system.

  13. #13 by ThunderDog97 on December 27, 2009 - 6:14 am

    I’ve lived in both US and Canada.
    The expensive surgeries (mistakes) I got in the US were corrected by FREE surgery in Canada.
    –
    America’s system is geared towards insurance companies making sickeningly high profits at the cost of the people’s health.
    ‘Nuff said.
    –

  14. #14 by mrtvisuromi on December 28, 2009 - 6:29 am

    Fantastic M O V I E, awesome as hell just seeed the whole thing!! see it at: MOVIE SEEKER [.] US

  15. #15 by Intentspunk19 on December 30, 2009 - 12:53 am

    …better that then the system we have now its like, Canada waiting America lose your money and life

  16. #16 by IssuesAndJustice on December 30, 2009 - 11:42 pm

    @ThunderDog97 Individual outcomes will vary. As a total system, the US medical outcomes are the best in the world using the most advanced technology. We do have problems thought like our governments stupid bans on some generic drugs.

  17. #17 by ObamasLipsAreMoving on December 31, 2009 - 12:13 am

    3% = sickeningly high profits?

  18. #18 by ThunderDog97 on December 31, 2009 - 1:52 am

    @IssuesAndJustice
    Agreed. My point wasn’t to denigrate the US medical professionals, they are some of the best in the world. I meant that the insurance companies between the medical professional and the patient are the real problem and where the unnecessary -costs- exist.

    I’m suggesting the current system could be fixed. You probably know the US system is rated 37th in the world, so surely there is room for improvement – no?
    –

  19. #19 by IssuesAndJustice on December 31, 2009 - 2:16 am

    @ThunderDog97 While there are some cost issues from insurance companies, the proposed reform bill does nothing to address that. Overall medical spending is projected to go up according to official analysis.

    The biggest problem that is driving up costs is poor US health. Americans eat too much, exercise to little, and generally don’t take good care of themselves and then rely on our health care system for heroic support.

  20. #20 by dkleinm on December 31, 2009 - 4:51 am

    This isn’t totally accurate. The Timely Medical doctor appears to offer elective orthopedic surgery and can afford to deny “ALL” medicare patients. This isn’t the same with most other surgeries that are provided for Medicare eligible patients. (Bypass surgery comes to mind).

    Most private heart hospitals that don’t accept medicare have FAILED.

  21. #21 by pjrizo on December 31, 2009 - 6:04 am

    right and most restaraunts fail too. So should no one go into the restaraunt business? If you offer a service at less than it really costs someone has to pay. Its either going to be in the quality of care the quantity of care but probably both.

  22. #22 by RP27F8G on December 31, 2009 - 2:50 pm

    Not every health care delivery system is perfect because in the end people are only human.
    If the United States followed the lead of every other civilized/industrialized country and went to a single payer or tightly controlled health payment system, a lot of insurance CEO’s would be out on the street. There is a lot of money at stake here and big insurance is pulling out all the stops.

  23. #23 by blt40 on January 2, 2010 - 9:55 am

    wow sounds like obamacare.

  24. #24 by flightlevel66 on January 3, 2010 - 7:19 pm

    @RP27F8G To summarize what you have just said: The US should adopt a single payer system to clean out the greedy insurance companies and CEO’s. So if mortality rates go up, and people suffer and die (like “every other civilized/industrialized country”)-the system won’t be perfect, but in the end people are only human. You must be a member of Obama’s medical advisory board. Do you support the proposals of Ezekiel Emanuel?
    The US leads the world in its zeal for good health and life-move to Canada.

  25. #25 by ThunderDog97 on January 8, 2010 - 7:53 am

    Jan. 7, 2010 newspaper; Morning Sentinel

    Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine has proposed a 22.9 percent rate increase for two health insurance plans targeting individuals.
    –
    There’s your “reform”

  26. #26 by Home Health Care Agency California on January 13, 2010 - 6:07 am

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