People come here from the U.S. to our fertility clinic. The clinic and the staff are excellent, but primarily it is the cost that brings people here. In many cases it is cheaper for couples to spend money on meals, hotels, and travel to come to Victoria for IVF treatments than it is to pay for it in the United States. That is unfortunate.
Dear neighbours1 to the South:
Universal Health Care is an idea that most developed nations have adopted, and we love it, honestly. It’s not perfect, but if you get sick here, you will be taken care of, which we consider our collective right. You may come to see it that way too.
Don’t let insurance lobbyist scare you by shouting “Socialism.” Your government gave billions to bail out auto companies. It is too late to label government involvement in the economy as evil. That ship sailed a long time ago. You should at least get something for your money.
Most of you want to see changes in your health care. It seems like you have a big battle ahead of you. I hope you win. You deserve it. Until then, come up to visit Canada for your fertility treatments. We’d love to have you.
Good Luck,
Dirk
P.S.
I almost hate to mention it, but the Metric system, seriously, it’s here to stay. Every nation except Burma, Liberia, and the United States use it. That’s embarrassing.
In summary, Universal Health Care, it’s a good thing, and the Metric System, not a passing fad.
Resources
- A cartoon argument for Universal Health Care
- CBS Poll & Angus Reid Poll – most Americans favor Universal Health Care
Footnotes
- Yes, that’s how we spell it. We like to throw useless u’s into the middle or words. I don’t get it either. [↩]
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We’ve been in Berlin not three day and have had 2 conversations about Canadian health care. One Brit was trying to fuel his argument with the Americans on our tour and some crazy looking guy waiting for the ‘third reich’ tour (which we were not on, by the way) overheard we were Canadian and starting asking us about health care…apparently a hot topic…
Hmmm. Yeah. I like reading your interesting thoughts about this issue. Very near and dear to my heart in more ways than one. It’s one of those multi-million dollar questions that even if you find the answer, you can’t win a prize. Really enjoyed your comments on IF Optimist’s blog….that’s how I found myself here. I love Canada, BTW.
Billions of dollars at stake, with Republicans, Democrats, lobbyists, doctors, lawyers, hospitals, and the public, all pulling in different directions. The symbol could be a bandage tied in a Gordian knot. I mean it when I say, “Good luck.”
It’s crazy how hard some people are fighting to keep the mediocre care they have now. I am studing health and nutrition, and last semester I took a whole class on the US healthcare system. I still don’t fully understand it, but I know that universal health care is a vast improvement and why. A lot of Americans don’t know how the system works, why things are expensive, etc… so they don’t understand the proposed changes very well either.
A trip to Canada for IVF? Tempting. We will see what the future holds.
If you need further encouragement we’ve been killing time until the pregnancy test doing fun tourist things, like the Butterfly Gardens and Poet’s Cove.
K (above) made a comment on another post. It is relevant here, so i have moved it:
K’s Comment: And not to be a pot-stirrer, but since “we” were discussing this the other day, thought I’d pass this [video] along. I’m just the messenger.
Thanks for the video link K.
This is a good example of why I never watch network news. The idea of presenting a balanced argument has become archaic. Everything is polarized. It’s rare to find a news source that at least attempts to present more than one viewpoint. This piece presents a heavily distorted view of government run health care.
Most of John Stossel’s reporting is like this. He doesn’t even go through the motions of pretending to be objective. He tells you what to think in a completely biased manner, and supports his position with random interviews with one or two “experts” and a smattering of one sided “facts”. On top of it all is that smarmy tone of voice he uses, like he’s talking to a three year old.
In this piece he uses the opinions of a single Canadian doctor to depict the entire system. The doctor, incidentally, received a mention of his book on air, which I’m sure impacts his interview not in the least.
The examples he uses to glamorize the existing US system are tragically funny. A system that attracts people like: A famous opera tenor, a sheik, Italy’s Prime Minister, and Desmund Tutu. No doubt if you are any of those people the US system is second to none, it’s the rest of you that I am worried about.
The video references:
That systems in Canada and Britain, have problems. Agreed. No system is perfect, but despite the blatantly skewed picture painted in the video, I can walk down to the clinic two blocks from my home and see a doctor within twenty minutes for anything from a rash to a heart attack, and I don’t have to take my wallet. Every single person in my neighbourhood can do the same. I think that’s awesome.
An average of a 23 hour wait in emergency wards! I have no idea where this figure could have come from. I have been to Emergency many many times in my 37 years, and I have never heard of anyone waiting 23 hours. Ever. That this figure has been stated as the average is flatly ridiculous, and calls to question every other “fact” mentioned in this report.
The inability to get a doctor in a particular small town is used as an example of our system. This is in no way representative. It’s difficult to get people with medical degrees to distribute themselves evenly throughout the country. Michael Fox made a movie with that theme. This is not a problem you can attribute to government run health care. Good doctor’s are definitely at a premium. I suspect that is true no matter where you are in the world. However, I have never had trouble getting a doctor in any town or city I have ever lived in, including Victoria where we moved a couple of years ago.
Hi Again:
So it only took me 6 days to find my way back here and read your response to the video, which is what I was hoping to find. And I’m in full agreement with your tilted media complaints (and I can’t stand his voice either). So thanks for sharing your comments. This topic is heavily debated in my house and I love getting opinions, especially from those outside the US.
I no longer take our health care in Canada for granted. It’s not perfect, but like Dirk said, I can walk into any hospital with no money and get the best of care. I have had to wait in Emergency before, but never more than a couple hours. I have delivered 3 babies, in 3 different hospitals, and never had to pay a dime. I then had home visits from nurses,just to check up and see how we were doing. I love knowing that less than a half hour away is one of the worlds best childrens hospitals, the Stollery.
I have known several kids who’s lives have been saved there. One of them a family member. Again, not a dime is paid for this service. I’ve never known another system, but I know I appreciate this one and I hope it stays. I certainly hope that no matter where you live or how much money you make, you can get the same care.
Thanks for the comments Shannon…. It’s unfortunate that the U.S. is becoming a “haves” or “have nots” society when it comes to healthcare. It’s not the doctors’ faults. It’s not the hospitals’ faults. It’s about insurance companies dictating what procedure or med is allowed, what doctor you can or can’t see, and what they will and won’t pay for. Unfortunately these insurance companies have big, well-paid lobbyists who bend lots of political ears in Washington D.C. They’re very good about instilling fear and pandemonium in the American public as they line their pockets along the way. Dirk…hope you don’t mind we’re using your blog as a public forum!!!
I had not considered the idea, but public debate here is fine with me, providing it remains civil and polite.
I just backtracked through your blog (several times) through the links you have (starting with civil and polite). I don’t want to dig up old crappy shit for you, but I just want to say that I am so sorry. And, it’s a mistake anyone could make. Anytime. My DH has done it 4 times in his life and on himself, no less. He has been type I diabetic since age 20 and on 4 occassions he has given himself the WRONG dose (or double dose) of the WRONG insulin nearly costing him his life. On all 4 occassions, I have been there, noticed the symptoms, and given him the emergency glucagon shot that counteracts the mistake before there is brain damage. I dread the day I am not there for some reason to see it. And yet, 4 times he has made that mistake and we don’t know why. Fatigue? Distraction? In a hurry? Forgets? And, he is a doctor on top of it. My point is that it’s so easy to do. I hope you have cut yourself some slack.