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kramer · #38 (**permalink**) 04-05-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angel Of Mercy

I don't talk through my halo, SITB, and just as I backed up ALL the rest of the information in that post, I can back up the statement with which you appear to take issue. Ready?

This comes from the recent book by Noam Chomsky--which I just happen to be reading at the moment--and which is rigorously documented. I quote from page 225, about halfway down:

"An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that "over 2/3 of all Americans thought the government should guarantee 'everyone' the best and most advanced health care that technology can supply"; a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 80% regard universal health care as "more important than holding down taxes"; polls reported in Business Week found that 67% of Americans think it's a good idea to guarantee health care for all US citizens as Canada and Britain do, with just 2% dissenting' the Pew Research Center found that 64% of Americans favor the "US government guaranteeing health care for all its citizens, even if it means raising taxes..."

Now, unless you're prepared to argue with an esteemed gentleman who has more honorary degrees than you have fingers and toes, I would suggest it is YOUR statement which is "100% false."

Don't argue with me. I cheat. I use something called facts.

Quote:

Canada is now one of only two countries in the world where it is still illegal to compete with the government system – regardless of its abject failure in providing timely access to medical care. Even the Supreme Court in Quebec pointed out in a June 2005 decision that "access to a waiting list is not access to health care."

Quote:

Data from the Fraser Institute, the New England Journal of Medicine and various government sources in Canada confirm that Canadians wait an average eight to 12 weeks for necessary cardiac surgery, 10 to 20 weeks for brain surgery, 30-90 days for an MRI, up to five weeks to see a cancer specialist and 23 to 58 weeks for a hip replacement.

Quote:

Canada also ranks very low in access to modern medical technology, even compared with countries with significant government control of health care, albeit less than Canada's viselike grip. But the Fraser Institute says that, on the basis of the most recent five-year trends, Canada's public health spending in most provinces is on pace to consume more than half of total revenue sources by 2020, two-thirds by 2035 and all provincial revenue by 2050.

Quote:

Why do Canadians accept this lack of access to medical care? Perhaps many don't appreciate its significance, but those in the know are well aware of it. Brian Day, an orthopedic surgeon in Vancouver and the president-elect of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), was quoted as saying that "physicians have recognized that the status quo in Canada is not an option. The vast majority of doctors believe that significant reform is needed and that part of that reform should be looking at alternative systems."

source

From another source:

Quote:

London's Observer (3/3/02) carried a story saying that an "unpublished report shows some patients are now having to wait more than eight months for treatment, during which time many of their cancers become incurable." Another story said, "According to a World Health Organisation report to be published later this year, around 10,000 British people die unnecessarily from cancer each year — three times as many as are killed on our roads."

Quote:

Despite the long waiting times Canadians suffer, sometimes resulting in death, under federal law, private clinics are not legally allowed to provide services covered by the Canada Health Act. Regardless of this prohibition, a few black-market clinics service patients who are willing to break the law to get treatment. In British Columbia, for example, Bill 82 provides that a physician can be fined up to $20,000 for accepting fees for surgery. According to a Canada News article, "Shortage of Doctors and Nurses Could Hurt Medicare Reforms" (3/5/03), about 10,000 doctors left Canada during the 1990s.

source

Kramer