O Canada

"...And to PTW's point about "ending up with the mess of Canadian health care", two points. Canadian care seems to be better for things like long-term care..."
A study out today states that the Canadian Healthcare system misses up to 20-30% of breast cancers in its screenings.

"...In recent years, Canada has been rocked by disclosures of unacceptable error rates in breast cancer testing in other provinces, including Newfoundland/Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Ontario.

"Quebec is now the fifth province in Canada to uncover inaccuracies in breast cancer testing."

http://www.darkdaily.com/ebriefings/public-learns-about-errors-breast-ca...

Forums:

Glad I live in NH.

"...In this respect, the Canadian system is more socialized than in many other countries. In the United Kingdom, for instance, one can buy private health insurance even if government insurance is compulsory.

[In Canada, a private doctor is illegal]

"In Canada...health care is basically a socialized industry. [A monopoly].

"In the Province of Quebec, 79 per cent of health expenditures are public.

"The question is: how does such a system perform?

"...Hospital equipment is often outdated, and the number of general hospital beds dropped by 21 per cent from 1972 to 1980..."

The Costs of Free Care

"The first thing to realize is that free public medicine isn't really free. What the consumer doesn't pay, the taxpayer does, and with a vengeance. [OPM]

"Public health expenditures in Quebec amount to 29 per cent of the provincial government budget."

[and growing at 7% per year]

that there are no inaccurate tests here in the US. Funny thing, just this morning I had a message on my answering machine from a Wolfeboro doctor's office telling of my "test results".
The problem is I've had no tests in ages and they thought they were calling someone else.
Slap-happy healthcare knows no borders.
oc

Are you sure you just didn't forget the test? You know we're all getting old!

I just call the doctor's office back who made the call [or vet's office].

The Peace Guy wrote:
"I just call the doctor's office back who made the call [or vet's office]."

I did that and they told ME to disregard their message!!!!!
oc

"Are you sure you just didn't forget the test? You know we're all getting old!"

Funny Guy, that Poppatuf!!!!
oc

OC,

Those were the results of your test for cognitive impairment.

:)

Pissant_Through_Weakness as Forum Jester.
oc

"...Pissant_Through_Weakness as Forum Jester.
oc

"The Lone Ranger and Tonto rode into town. It was hot, so they stopped at the saloon for a drink. After a few minutes, someone came in and said, "Who does that white horse out there belong to?"

"Why, that's my horse, stranger," said the Lone Ranger.

"I just thought I'd let you know that your horse is sweating up a storm out there. He's been ridden pretty hard, and if you don't cool him down proper, he's going to turn sick on you."

"Tonto, you know what to do. Could you take care of Silver for me?"

"Alright, Kemosabe." And Tonto went out and started running in circles around Silver, waving his arms back and forth as he ran. (An old Indian trick for cooling a horse off, don't ya know.)

A few minutes later another man came into the saloon and asked, "Who does that white horse belong to?"

"Why, stranger, that's my horse," answered the Lone Ranger. "Well," said the man, "you left your Injun running!"

Free Healthcare for Democrats Only...

"An employee of the Federal Aviation Administration charged a $3,700 eye surgery on his government credit card, according to a report on government credit card usage completed last month by the Congressional Research Service.

"This FAA official may have been outdone, however, by a Defense Department official who sought and received reimbursement for thirteen airline tickets worth almost $10,000 that he never purchased, or the State Department official who bought an unauthorized first-class ticket to Hawaii on his government charge card.

"Among some of the more egregious examples of card misuse identified by auditors are Federal Aviation Administration employees..."

Free Healthcare for Democrats Only...

Everything under that makes no sense, has nothing to do with health care, and appears to be more in the vein of "credit card fraud". I didn't know that fraud was something unique to Democrats. If you can prove that it is though, I'll keep my bitch mouth shut.

And for the love of god throw us a link every now and again, it sucks having to google every quote every time. It appears your "primary source" for this stuff is the Conservative News Service (trademarked as "cybercast" due to the un-trademarkability of "conservative"), run by the same nutjob that tries to protest everything on TV. Got it.

The word "Democrat" appears nowhere on the page. In fact, the only thing that even specifies dates is a section in which it appears that Clinton tries to save "OPM" by making travel authorization more accountable:

In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed the Travel and Transportation Reform Act, which was supposed to save taxpayers’ money on government travel. The act required government employees to use government-issued charge cards to theoretically reduce travel costs and streamline the processing of government travel expenses. In fact, since Clinton signed the law, the amount of money charged by federal employees on taxpayer funded travel cards has almost doubled, rising from $4.39 billion in 1999 to 8.28 billion in 2008.

What happened between 1999 and 2008? Must be those damn Democrat Bush Appointees running up all this travel cash.

It's God, not god!
oc

"...It's God, not god!
..."

...Or, in the Jewish tradition—among others—"G-d".

"...Everything under that makes no sense, has nothing to do with health care,..."
Eye surgery isn't health care?

"...[It] appears to be more in the vein of "credit card fraud". I didn't know that fraud was something unique to Democrats. If you can prove that..."
Democrat credit card "entitlements" are slowly creeping into the news, although not so much on TV news. (Not to mention embarrassing wiretaps revealing Senator Burris' offer of a personal check to gain a Senate seat! —WCBSTV).

A school near me has "the hireling wife" of its administrator exceeding over ¼-million dollars to her school's credit card. None of it can be traced to purchases for the school!

The administrator is even denying any knowledge of it, although he has to walk around her purchases in their own house!

"... Must be those damn Democrat Bush Appointees running up all this travel cash..."

Only a Democrat—or some other "entitled bureaucrat" in this present administration—could possibly think of getting away with his/her entitlement to OPM!

"...run by the same nutjob that tries to protest everything on TV. Got it..."

You deny the veracity of the news article?

You believe what's spoon-fed to you on TV?

"...has nothing to do with health care...And for the love of god throw us a link every now and again, it sucks having to google every quote every time..."

OK, more Nationalized-Heathcare fraud, rationing, and restrictions of services
coming up!

(With links "every now and again").

>>

Peace_through_Weakness

xrayspx's picture

You're either missing the point, or choosing to ignore it so it doesn't interrupt your flow.

The point behind making all travel arrangements through govt. credit cards was to increase the accountability and paper trail, so it is easier to catch people abusing the system. People like the ones you cited. Who were caught. Abusing the system.

Prior to the credit card expenses system there would have been a maze of paperwork authorizations that would make it damn near impossible to find people gaming the system.

I have seen no indication of the political leanings of the asshole who spent my $3700 on his eye surgery, and I really don't care. He's committed credit card fraud and embezzlement. That should be enough. In either case, thanks to Clinton's signing that bill, we caught him.

You seem to be blaming Liberal Clinton for signing the Travel and Transportation Reform Act. An interesting bit of history is that the Travel and Transportation Reform Act was sponsored in the House by a Republican with 5 co-sponsors, only one of whom was a Democrat. It then passed the majority-Republican House was sent to the marjority-Republican Senate, where it passed unanimously.

Now why is this a "Bad Law"? Just because it was signed into law by a Democratic president? It seems like fiscal responsibility and accountability being introduced into a process where there was none, and which had lots of waste and theft.

Do you understand what they were trying to accomplish (and have accomplished, since they've caught abusers) with this legislation?

Educate me. Tell me why this has anything to do with Canadian healthcare.

Good Post Xray!

Should Natasha Richardson (famous actor's wife) had her ski accident in the US or in Canada?

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Natasha-Richardson-Skiing-Ac...

xrayspx's picture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_skiing_deaths

According to that sample size of 23 celebrities, it proves to us that she was in the country best equipped to deal with her injuries. If I were a celebrity, I'd be scared shitless to ski in the US, since 1/3 of the skiing deaths were here.

Tell Sonny Bono or Michael Kennedy they were in the best country to handle their injuries.

Or we could say "Accidents happen, people die". There are now people trying to pass skiing helmet laws ffs.

Point being, she fell down on a ski slope in a country with:

1) nonexistent air rescue service, but a 2½-hour ambulance drive to two different hospitals.
2) CT-scan expert off-duty.
3) only one CT-scanner for the entire Province.
4) No head-trauma doctor available because of rationing
5) The first hospital did not have a CT scanner. The second hospital, 2 1/2 hours away, did.

Comments:

"I am by birth a Canadian and lived under the Socialist system of medical care. I now live with the U.S. system legally - by choice and common sense - as we grow older we realize our needs become mandatory if we are to survive our gradual decline in comfort and reasonably good health.

"Socialism and medicine are not a healthy combination no matter how the proponents scream it."

----------------------------------------------------

"Dr. Crippen from across the pond in the UK, blames the American wussification of today’s doctor, saying that the brave physician would have drilled the burr holes without the benefit of a CT scan:

"It would be a career making or career breaking decision. Few American doctors are brave. [Attornies like John Edwards (D-NC) have made] defensive medicine is the order of the day. You cannot have a migraine in the USA without someone ordering an MRI scan."

----------------------------------------------------

"While I realize that there are problems with the American system, as a Canadian I would far prefer it to the “universal” Canadian system.

"Commenting on the Canadian health-care system, Justice Deschamps of the Supreme Court of Canada said:

"'Some patients die as a result of long waits for treatment in the public system when they could have gained prompt access to care in the private sector.'"

(See Chaoulli v. Quebec (Attorney General), [2005] 1 S.C.R. 791 at paragraph 37)”

----------------------------------------------------

-> Stopping such an uncaring system depends on using this unfortunate example to drive home the fact that rationed care is inferior care.

----------------------------------------------------

->"The idea of ready access to the latest techniques and technology is a noble one. But is it realistic? Because the Government in Canada sets hospital budgets - and severely restricts them - investment in technology is much lower there than in the U.S. As a result, one province has only one CT scanner for half a million inhabitants, and waiting periods of several months for such routine procedures as pap smears and mammograms are common throughout the country.

"When bureaucrats run health-care systems, they make arbitrary decisions - as they have done in Toronto - that, say, radiation therapy services will be located in one hospital only. By contrast, access in Boston is more assured because six hospitals compete to provide radiation services."

----------------------------------------------------

>>

Peace_through_Weakness

Natasha Richardson initially refused medical treatment and didn't get to the hospital until the late afternoon. By then it was too late for anybody to repair the damage.

At least you can have your baby at most Canadian Hospitals!
oc

xrayspx's picture

Anyone can spin this in any direction they want. I've watched Sicko, and even among people who don't want national healthcare for all, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't think American healthcare is horribly broken. I've also read and watched many things critical of Universal healthcare, Canadian in particular.

Here, have some numbers to go with your anecdotes. It could just be that Canadians and Britons are way more polite than we are, or it could be that the majority of their citizens are happier about their healthcare situation than Americans are.

xrayspx's picture

Quebec's total population is roughly that of all of Massachusetts, but in a much larger area. So yeah, their scanners are spread out. However a 90 minute ride from a ski resort to a major hospital is not at all unusual (it's 90 minutes from the ski resort she died at to Montreal, I mapped it).

Besides, your point about there being only one CT Scanner in all of Quebec isn't even a little bit true. However since you never cite any sources, I'll have to assume you just made it up on the spot.

An Irish lady called in to a talk show last night and said her Dad had to wait 7 months for a hip replacment. When his turn finally came up, they said it was too far gone and there was nothing they could do for him at this point. So now he is a wheel chair.

"...your point about there being only one CT Scanner in all of Quebec isn't even a little bit true. However since you never cite any sources, I'll have to assume you just made it up on the spot..."

Unable to find anything newer, I quoted a NYT "guest editorial" from the late '80s. Things have improved—it would seem—in the intervening years.

Perhaps Canada is paying for it by selling the U.S. more of its oil?

"...you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't think American healthcare is horribly broken..."

Today, I can schedule a hip replacement for the middle of next week: Try that in Canada.

"...I've watched Sicko..."

I have not, but I've seen some awful photos of the interior of Cuban hospitals.

Maybe you haven't noticed that Michael Moore's so-called "Documentaries" have been sued for misrepresenting the truth. (i.e., also known as "lying").

"...[H]ave some numbers to go with your anecdotes. It could just be that Canadians and Britons are way more polite than we are, or it could be that the majority of their citizens are happier about their healthcare situation than Americans are..."

They're comparing their Socialized Healthcare—to what?

At least in the UK they can consult with a private practitioner: Try that in Canada.

In Canada, you get fixed by crossing into the U.S.A.

Even a Canadian MP "crossed over" late last year!

--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------

"...and even among people who don't want national healthcare for all..."

Some have seen the Massachusetts' DMV, and are appalled:

But you haven't seen "Unbound-Bureaucracy" like what Washington, DC harbors!

"Except for the murders, Washington DC is a safe place"
—Washington DC Mayor Marion Berry

»

Peace-through_Weakness

xrayspx's picture

Everything below is moot because your argument about CT scans and famous skiing bimbos is moot. You lied about the "The second hospital, 2 1/2 hours away, did. (have a CT Scanner". Someone made a phone call. Where I was only searching the web, these enterprising young fella's, some might call them "journalists", picked up a phone and said "Hey, parley vous CAT SCAN"? "Oh, oui oui, onh honh honh CAT SCAN" (I speak not a word of French). So yeah 40 minutes to the nearest CT scan from the mountain. The only thing closer you'll find is Cranmore where the hospital is at the base of the damn mountain.

These are all appallingly apt examples of your lack of attention and ability to research. You toss a number of "One CT Scanner in the entire PQ" out as fact, citing no source, and expect people to believe that as truth for the situation in 2009. Where do you even /FIND/ a newspaper from the '80's to mis-appropriate? All I did was search for "CT Scanner" "Quebec" and "CT Scanner" "Montreal".

Here's an example:
At least in the UK they can consult with a private practitioner: Try that in Canada.

If you'd taken the time to notice the source of my previous link, it went to....wait for it.... "Findprivateclinics.ca", which is a guide to finding a not-illegal private clinic in Canada.

For the facts of the legality of private care in Canada, head to the wiki, wherein we note: "This does not constitute a ban on privately funded care; indeed, about 30% of Canadian health expenditures come from private sources, both insurance and out-of-pocket payments"

CT Scan technology was still in its "wild west" days in the mid to late 80's, the first production model able to do a 3d scan of a bone was in 1985, they didn't have spiral scans until '89, and you couldn't resolve a blood vessel until years after that. They weren't exactly what you'd call "common" anywhere at the time of that article, they were too expensive and improving too quickly.

Take MRI machines for a modern example. They're $3,000,000 today, which is a drop in the bucket compared to 10 years ago. That's why there's a fleet of portable MRI trucks still driving around from hospital to hospital.

While searching for MRI machines in Montreal (there are lots), I stumbled across an article that might interest you, about how "Montreal leads the nation in private health care"

Re: Sicko

You may recall from another thread that I noted my feelings on Michael Moore. In case you missed out:

Roger and Me - Funny as hell
Bowling for Columbine - Funny, and informative/disruptive
Fahrenheit 9/11 - Stupid and self-aggrandizing misrepresentative and beyond everyting, not entertaining.
Sicko - I didn't feel one way or the other about it as a film, as a subject matter it gives you quite a lot to think about. I've never thought twice about leaving the country and what happens if I get sick. Evidently it's pretty common for Canadians to go to Sears and buy Trip Insurance to cover them if they get sick on vacation here.

I used to travel pretty regularly to Bermuda, Canada and Jamaica for work, and it never really came up. I don't know what would happen if I got creamed by a dump truck in Bermuda on my swell 50cc scooter. Those dump truck guys are nuts. And roosters just flying out of the woods at random in front of you. If nothing else, Sicko made me think of what could have happened. I was not even considering my insurance situation, especially on my trips to the "Re-insurance capital of the world". Everyone needs a claim to fame I guess.

xrayspx's picture

At least you can have your baby at most Canadian Hospitals!

ZING! Yeah I wouldn't walk back into Huggins on a bet.

xrayspx's picture

It's sad when anyone dies, rich or otherwise, however, we're speaking about one celebrity, who as it turns out, got perfectly adequate care. Where are we when poor US citizens, be they inner-city or out in the Appalachian boonies somewhere can't afford insurance or their insurance denies them coverage and die from treatable illnesses? Does our country have no compassion? Stupid question, sorry.

I felt bad, so here is a much less politicized article on how nothing particular about Canadian healthcare "killed" Natasha Richardson, however I did like how the other guys just picked up a phone and called the hospital. Couple quotes:

"According to Canada’s Globe and Mail, “ambulance workers were not called to Ms. Richardson’s luxury hotel room until more than two hours after she tumbled and hit her head at the Quebec ski resort.” It should be noted that an initial ambulance was refused and sent away, some 17 minutes after her fall."

"After picking her up from the hotel, there was a 40-minute drive to the community hospital, the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien. She did have a CT scan there, and the decision was made within 2 hours to transport her to a tertiary care center, another hour away in Montreal."

So I don't see the problem here. She fell down, went to the Hoteley, hung around, felt worse, called the ambulance. At this point, there isn't an EMT in their right mind in the US that would call medevac, since they're for acute emergencies. I don't think they would have dropped a helicopter on top of her hotel in the best of cases.

Huggins has a CT scan too, but if you stroke out on the lake after 3pm or on a weekend, you better hope their "CT Expert" is within pager range. Just like those lousy Canadians and their resistance to having a CT Technician in the building at all times, just in case someone sort-of famous who doesn't know what they're doing falls on a bunny slope and dies.

If you need an MRI, hope you're not going anywhere for about a month. Now, if Huggins bought an MRI machine, I would expect an uproar from you locals, since as OC points out, you can hardly even have a baby there. I have no reference for that beyond what I've read on the board the last year or so...

"...Where are we when poor US citizens, be they inner-city or out in the Appalachian boonies somewhere can't afford insurance or their insurance denies them coverage and die from treatable illnesses? Does our country have no compassion? Stupid question, sorry..."

Not necessarily stupid—but ignorant: Nobody with inadequate resources is denied Emergency Room care in the U.S.

(That is, unless a lawyer has made it advisable to remove the Emergency Room from one's locale).

"...You toss a number of "One CT Scanner in the entire PQ" out as fact, citing no source...Where do you even find a newspaper from the '80's to mis-appropriate...?"

I quoted the NYT—meaning—the New York Times. You know, "The Newspaper of Record"?

"...You lied about the "The second hospital, 2 1/2 hours away, did. (have a CT Scanner"..."

I stated they had a CT Scanner. What they didn't have, was "Air-Rescue" support.

What seems to have been left out in your source is whether a technician was available to operate the CT—something I didn't choose to research. (An omission on my part).

Your source is also one I'd not be recommending EVER be quoted, because it closes with the words, right-wing [fantasy]. No bias there? Bias should not be so readily revealed in one's "unbiased" sources.

-> As to "private clinics", they are decried here last year:

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:z9d99eeZAEQJ:www.canadians.org/medi...

QUOTE:
"...The professionals who practise in private clinics are spending their time away from the public system where there are arguably more people with greater needs – including the elderly, the disabled and the chronically ill..."

-> Another of your supplied links reads:

QUOTE:
"...In 2006, a Canadian court threatened to shut down one private clinic because it was planning to start accepting private payments from patients..."

-> Why? Because Canada failed "to look the other way", when, in fact, private healthcare in Canada was illegal?

Keeping in mind that yesterday's Wikipedia may not be the same as today's Wikipedia, your own Wikipedia link shows Canadians "crossing over", including the following, rather important, people:

QUOTE:
"According to a September 14, 2007, article from CTV News, Canadian Liberal MP Belinda Stronach went to the United States for breast cancer surgery in June 2007. Stronach's spokesperson Greg MacEachern was quoted in the article saying that the US was the best place to have this type of surgery done. Stronach paid for the surgery out of her own pocket.[45] Prior to this incident, Stronach had stated in an interview that she was against two-tiered health care.[46]

"When Robert Bourassa, the premier of Quebec, needed cancer treatment, he went to the US to get it.[47]

"In 2007, it was reported that Canada sent scores of pregnant women to the US to give birth.[48]

"In 2007 a woman from Calgary who was pregnant with quadruplets was sent to Great Falls, Montana to give birth. An article on this incident states, "There was no room at any other Canadian neonatal intensive care unit."[49]

"Champion figure skater Audrey Williams needed a hip replacement. Even though she waited two years and suffered in pain, she still did not get the surgery, because the waiting list was so long. So she went to the US and spent her own money to get the surgery.[50]

"A January 19, 2008, article in The Globe And Mail states, 'More than 150 critically ill Canadians – many with life-threatening cerebral hemorrhages – have been rushed to the United States since the spring of 2006 because they could not obtain intensive-care beds here. Before patients with bleeding in or outside the brain have been whisked through U.S. operating-room doors, some have languished for as long as eight hours in Canadian emergency wards while health-care workers scrambled to locate care.'" [51]

Maybe you missed those—plus the Canadian Supreme Court Justice stating he preferred the US system to Canada's?

What nerve!

But with a "System" like Canada's, is it so surprising that medical marijuana is so freely dispensed for painful delays—to ultimately repair a citizen's RATIONED care?

(Or, to save a LOT of money—to wait to see if he dies first?)

>>

Peace_through_Weakness

xrayspx's picture

I quoted the NYT—meaning—the New York Times. You know, "The Newspaper of Record"?

Yep, I know you did, but you quoted a 20 year old article. That is farcical on its face. Should I be quoting 20 year old articles on network technology to my boss and recommending we switch everything to Token Ring?

Not necessarily stupid—but ignorant: Nobody with inadequate resources is denied Emergency Room care in the U.S.

True, but they are denied treatment for cancer, liver disease, kidney disease, etc. That's what I was getting at.

"...You lied about the "The second hospital, 2 1/2 hours away, did. (have a CT Scanner"..."

I stated they had a CT Scanner. What they didn't have, was "Air-Rescue" support.

You said "She had to go to two hospitals to get to one with a CT scanner, and then there was no technician". The truth is that she turned down care at the resort, putzed around for two hours before calling for help. As I said, Medevac helicopters don't land on hotels, an ambulance response was completely legitimate.

Turns out, the first hospital she arrived at DID give her a CT scan.

I also quoted a second source "because I felt bad about the first one".

Therefore, yes, moot in the sense of "not worth discussing", as in "the argument was based on invalid data, and therefore the argument is invalid".

As to all the anecdotes of people coming to the US that you cite, you missed my prior point that we are not Canada. Don't you think we could provide adequate healthcare to our citizens in such a way that it works well and saves people money?

We're Americans, we innovate, we need to innovate this trainwreck. If it puts some insurance companies out of business, I'm fine with that, because the primary role of government is to protect its citizens, not to protect a business environment.

"...you quoted a 20 year old article...."

It's the NYT article that I had in hand: until starting today, I had found no others to quote: Even then, it takes 6 months to get an MRI in Canada.

In the US, you can get one for your cat in a day.

"...Medevac helicopters don't land on hotels, an ambulance response was completely legitimate..."

-> I'll give you a second shot at that one!

"...As to all the anecdotes of people coming to the US that you cite, you missed my prior point that we are not Canada. Don't you think we could provide adequate healthcare to our citizens in such a way that it works well and saves people money...?"

I cited anecdotes of bureaucrats who decide how many wheelchairs to give out and whether helicopters should be provided: They're the same bureaucrats who cross over to the US to get their healthcare!

Or, another way: Politicians will trade budget dollars for lives while they get front-of-the-line privileges for medical care. It will be no different here as there.

"..."the argument was based on invalid data, and therefore the argument is invalid"..."

Here's more data with a UK description:

QUOTE:
Coventry Telegraph By Karen Hambridge on Mar 19, 2009

"She was taking lessons and was not wearing a helmet when the slip occurred and she banged the left side of her face. Initially all seemed well and Natasha appeared unhurt, getting up and laughing. She refused to see a doctor and even signed a medical form saying she didn't need help. But the fall had apparently torn a blood vessel in the brain which started a slow bleed. Within a hour she was complaining of headaches, nausea and dizziness and lost consciousness. She was taken to the Centre Hostopial Luarentien where her condition deteriorated. A CT scan revealed a tear in the temporal artery in the left side of the brain and she was immediately transferred to the Montreal Sacre Coeur Hospital. Doctors administered steroids in a bid to reduce the bleeding but scans showed the level of activity was minimal. She underwent surgery to remove the blood clot but shortly afterwards she suffered a devastating stroke when the tear to the artery widened. She was put on a life support machine, although doctors said even then that she was brain dead."
http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/

Another, with the Montreal hospital director's comment here:

QUOTE:
"It's impossible for me to comment specifically about her case, but what I could say is ... driving to Mont Tremblant from the city (Montreal) is a 2½-hour trip, and the closest trauma center is in the city. Our system isn’t set up for traumas and doesn’t match what’s available in other Canadian cities, let alone in the States,” said Tarek Razek, director of trauma services for the McGill University Health Centre, which represents six of Montreal’s hospitals. Being driven by ambulance to two separate hospitals rather than airlifted by helicopter directly to a trauma center could have cost Richardson crucial moments, he said. “A helicopter is obviously the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B,” he said.

Another here:
QUOTE:

The U.S. has 33.9 CT Units per 1 Million persons. Canada has 12.0 CT units per 1 million persons. The U.S. has 26.5 MRI Units per 1 Million persons. Canada has 6.2 MRI Units per 1 million persons. But does not even one helicopter in a Canadian Province of almost 8 million persons.

->Medevac helicopter would have had her in Montreal in ½-hour or perhaps even half of that. Montreal DOES have a single fixed-wing transport, but no helicopters—something they are beating against Quebec's HUGE deficit of $3.9 Billion deficit next year:

-> Paramedics didn't call the private Canadian helicopter transport "Air Medic". Why? Because PARAMEDICS ON THE GROUND AREN'T PERMITTED BY CANADA'S SOCIALIZED MEDICINE TO CALL A PRIVATE FIRM!

"...We're Americans, we innovate, we need to innovate this trainwreck. If it puts some insurance companies out of business, I'm fine with that, because the primary role of government is to protect its citizens, not to protect a business environment..."

Calling it a trainwreck doesn't make it one. If anything, Natasha Richardson's case shows how bureaucrats can use OPM to create a trainwreck ! (And then run across the border for their own care!)

BTW: How is that "American Innovation" doing with that Social Security trainwreck?

More points:
-> Quebec's Socialized Medicine chooses to trade human lives for budget savings.

-> You can be sure that Quebec politicians will be looking at helicopters for a Province that's three times the size of France, and that if her case exposes the Canadian health care system for what it is and keeps it from coming to the United States, maybe she will not have died in vain..

-> A CT performed in Canada is as of high a quality as a CT performed in the U.S. The difference is that you do not wait four months to get it in the U.S.: The difference is availability of care.

-> Here in the US, we spend far more money saving the life of one American in our county than the Province of Quebec spends in burying a dead Canadian.

-> Socialized medicine means “Dying in Line!”

->So much for Free Healthcare!

>>

Peace_through_Weakness

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