Canada has had government-run healthcare for many years, yet there are stories every day about Canadians coming to the US to get treatment. In British Columbia, private clinics, illegal under Canadian law, have been offering people an option to that system. Why are people flocking to them? Because of how bureaucratic medicine treats patients. One woman’s story: after waiting for a year for a diagnosis and the prospect of waiting over two years for hip surgery, a Canadian woman crossed the border to Montana and got surgery in two days. From the LA Times, In Canada, a move toward a private healthcare option
September 29, 2009
Moving Away From Government Run Healthcare
Filed under: Healthcare Reform — Tags: Canada, health insurance industry, Healthcare Reform, public option, socialized medicine — Northwest Indiana Patriots @ 12:47 pm
August 17, 2009
Canada Govt.-Run Health Care System Needs Reform
Filed under: Big government — Tags: Canada, socialized medicine — Northwest Indiana Patriots @ 10:24 am
Overhauling health-care system tops agenda at annual meeting of Canada’s doctors
SASKATOON — The incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association says this country’s health-care system is sick and doctors need to develop a plan to cure it.
Dr. Anne Doig says patients are getting less than optimal care and she adds that physicians from across the country – who will gather in Saskatoon on Sunday for their annual meeting – recognize that changes must be made.
“We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize,” Doing said in an interview with The Canadian Press.
“We know that there must be change,” she said. “We’re all running flat out, we’re all just trying to stay ahead of the immediate day-to-day demands.”
More at the link.
One reason why: Thousands of surgeries may be cut in Metro Vancouver, leaked paper reveals
VANCOUVER — Vancouver patients needing neurosurgery, treatment for vascular diseases and other medically necessary procedures can expect to wait longer for care, NDP health critic Adrian Dix said Monday.
Dix said a Vancouver Coastal Health Authority document shows it is considering chopping more than 6,000 surgeries in an effort to make up for a dramatic budgetary shortfall that could reach $200 million.
“This hasn’t been announced by the health authority … but these cuts are coming,” Dix said, citing figures gleaned from a leaked executive summary of “proposed VCH surgical reductions.”
H/T The Foundry