Be Less Boring

Canada's national health care system is often heald up as a model the USA should adopt.  Everyone is covered, regardless of their financial situation.

Well, there are a couple of problems with that, the biggest being that it results in a very overloaded health care system that they've so far been unable to get beyond.   There are, afterall, only so many doctors and nurses to go around and the pay rates in a national system aren't high enough to attract enough additional people to keep up with demand.

That's a problem already faced in many parts of the USA and it will only get worse once we have universal health care and demand increases as all those who can't currently afford health care begin to take advantage of it.

Because of the overcrowding, people often have to wait months to have all but immediately life-threatening problems checked out.  Basically, if you are not bleeding profusely, are still conscious, and haven't got any tree limbs or metal rods sticking out of your body, you'll have to wait.

I've had arguments with people about this issue before.  Many Americans are under the delusion that the Canadian system is great and I've had lots of people claim they have Canadian friends who rave about how good their health care system is.   Well,  I've had Canadians tell me they won't bother to go to a doctor because the wait is always too long.  How is that different from the American system where people won't go to the doctor because it's too expensive?   The net result is the same:  People aren't getting the health care they need.

This point was recently driven home in what's sure to be a blow to the Obamanator's quest for universal health care.  Newfoundland, Canada, Premier Danny Williams just came to the USA for heart surgery.   Many in both countries are crying hypocrisy.   I'm sure Canada has many qualified heart surgeons as capable as any in the US of fixing Premier Williams' ticker, but he didn't want to wait his turn in line.  And who can blame him?  If I needed heart surgery, I'd want it taken care of as soon as possible and I sure as hell wouldn't want to risk my life waiting my turn just because it would be more politically expedient.

I have largely avoided commenting on the health care debate in this country because I don't have anything good to say about it.  I do believe national health care is inevitable.  It will cost more, especially if they don't bring about tort reform to limit all the senseless malpractice suits that are one of the biggest factors currently driving up health care costs.  I don't have any confidence that Congress will agree to a plan that doesn't suck.  There are too many special interests and lobbyists buying votes for us to have any hope of getting anything other than a half-assed, wimpy plan that really doesn't do any of what we really need.  And did I mention that it will cost more?

The health insurance companies are scared shitless that it'll put them out of business and they should be.  A well designed national health care plan would have no need for private insurance at all.  It would put the health insurance industry out of business overnight.  And well it should, they've been screwing us over for decades.  The course of treatment should be determined by doctors, not HMOs.   Everyone should have access to the best possible treatments for whatever ails them, not just the best possible care their insurance provider is willing to pay for.  So, the health insurance companies are plowing billions of dollars into opposing national health care.

I say tough noogies to them.  There's still plenty of room for insurance companies to gouge us in auto and property insurance, so they have other options for making their billions.  Let the people have health care, damnit!  Let's just do it right and not create a tiered system where the rich can jet off to some other place to avoid waiting in line with the rest of us.  Let's build it right so nobody has to wait.