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1. 

   nomad2112 said, 4 months ago

   We may have to ration this one.

2. 

   believecommonsense said, 4 months ago

   OK … so does anyone here know anything about state employees health care in Florida?

   and Lowe, who exactly is looking for a socialist workers’ paradise? Trying to provide healthcare insurance to millions of people without it is not socialism. And it won’t be FREE, for goodness sake.

   Jeez, the idea of a single payor system isn’t even being discussed on the Hill, much less a government-run plan like England where the doctors and other healthcare providers are government employees.

   So, Lowe, ditch the socialist fear-mongering and try to add a wee bit of truth to your toons on healthcare.

3. 

   wittyvegan said, 4 months ago

   And of course people will drive the doctors office and wait for half an hour to get a zit treated ….

4. 

   Corosive Frog said, 4 months ago

   There’s one solution to that problem; prioritize! Install a triage system, so the guy with the heart attack only has to wait five minutes and the one who has nothing has to wait much longer.

5. 

   DrCanuck said, 4 months ago

   Sort of like it’s done in all civilized countries.

6. 

   HOWGOZIT said, 4 months ago

   Yes like UK only allowing medicine for one eye.

7. 

   churchillwasright said, 4 months ago

   CF AND DR.SHAMUCK: I would like to hear your critique of the Steve Crowder video on Canadian healthcare that has currently gone viral.

   http://tinyurl.com/lhv354

   While informative (and funny) it’s 20 minutes long, so I understand if you don’t have time to watch it.

   Worth checking out!

8. 

   motivemagus said, 4 months ago

   We don’t have to do the Canadian plan - though they pay half as much in GNP terms as we do, with high rates of success. Obama’s scaled back to simply providing a competitive alternative. Gee, competition - how unAmerican!

   Regardless of what you think of single payer, the NHS, etc., currently we are paying more for less healthcare than any other industrialized nation, and placing a huge burden on businesses, doctors and the healthcare system in general. Would anyone care to suggest a solution, rather than criticizing any possible alternative?

9. 

   deadheadzan said, 4 months ago

   We have gone over the health care issue time and time again. In Pa. state employees had their pick of several health care options but put a certain amount of money into co-pays and stuff. Certainly we need a system that will insure everyone for affordable rates.

10. 

    rlsaxion said, 4 months ago

    There is no “socialist workers paradise”, because in socialism no one works, they just sit around waiting for the government to come take care of them. Socialism doesn’t work, cause eventually the money runs out.

11. 

    DrCanuck said, 4 months ago

    choichill: Good grief, THIS is where you get your information concerning Canada’s Health Care system?

    Have you ever considered going beyond simple-minded American entertainment to discover what’s going on in the world?

    Unbelievable!

12. 

    churchillwasright said, 4 months ago

    DR. SHAMUCK: Is that the best you can offer? Shame on you. You should remember that the video was by a transplanted Canadian, and everyone in it is Canadian.

    If you watched it and concluded that it is a lie, say so. If not, I don’t need your condemnation.

13. 

    4uk4ata said, 4 months ago

    So? Every system has its occasional failures. The British, the Dutch, the French, the Canadian - and the American one, too.

14. 

    DrCanuck said, 4 months ago

    Choich’, ask me any fair and serious question about the Canadian Health Care system and I shall respond in kind. But I feel no obligation to repond to the rubbish in a Youtube video that is being used simply to score political points.

15. 

    churchillwasright said, 4 months ago

    Fine SHAMUCK, since you refuse to watch the video because it’s beneath you (and I’m sure you won’t watch John Stossel’s report on Canadian and England’s healthcare later this week (?) for the same reason so I won’t be able to get your opinion on that either) I will ask you to comment on just a few points made in the video:

    The CANADIAN in the video went to a health clinic (hours 9-noon M-F) for a blood test. He was told he needed a referral from a primary physician. Since he didn’t have one, he would have to put his name on a waiting list of 3 years to get a primary physician (but since he was relatively young, that shouldn’t be too big a problem). This NURSE then told him that if he needed the blood test sooner, she recommended he go to a private clinic and pay $900 for the test. Comments?

    Some provinces have lotteries for individuals to get primary physicians. Is this true, and your comments.

    The video was filmed in Quebec. But some CANADIAN commentators say that while it is National Healthcare, it is administered on a local level by Provence. So the level of care, waiting times, etc, vary from Provence to Provence. That is like saying the U.S. will have a National Health Administration, but each state will have their own administration, which is not even being discussed. Comments?

    Where’s CORROSIVE FROG when you need her.

16. 

    DrCanuck said, 4 months ago

    choich’, what evidence do you have that this entire video wasn’t entirely a work of fantasy created by a couple of guys with a political agenda?

    How can ANYONE in this day and age say “Well, if it’s on the Internet, it MUST be true.”

    Get me an issue from a reputable news source or publication and I shall address it. No more fantasies, please.

17. 

    Corosive Frog said, 4 months ago

    First of all, there’s not A Canadian healthcare system, there are many. Each provInce has its own; Alberta’s is almost semi-private and Quebec’s is probably the slowest in the country, mostly because of political immaturity (one of the two dangers of government taking over healthcare, everything has it’s bad sides); they are supposed to built a new hospital in Montreal, but they have been arguing for years on where to build it.
    Things are much faster in NB (although some dumb decisions were made as well). But I lived in Moncton for four years and in the Dumont Hospital, blood tests are almost systematically done as soon as you get to the hospital (for some reason, some diagnosis could be made without that) usually within two or three hours.

    Nobody here goes bankrupt on top of having a heart attack. (talk about adding insult to the injury)

    In Quebec, with its dual-speed system (public/private) there are some lobbyist who are pressurizing MLA’s to make things even slower (like in that place arguement I mentioned earlier) so people don’t have any choice but to go to the private sector although they paid for public.

18. 

    4uk4ata said, 4 months ago

    churchillwasright - the author probably has some points, and I’m sure the Canadian system(s) can be made much better. What was your opinion of “Sicko,” by the way? Because it does the same thing for the US system.

    Oh, and don’t bother telling us about Moore’s agenda. Those guys who whine about the terrors of the Canadian system have one as well.

19. 

    DrCanuck said, 4 months ago

    4uk4ata: You’re right, of course; all publications and arguments, from Moore to the Insurance companies, have an agenda and should all be taken with a grain of salt. Interestingly enough, the only person who DOESN’T have an agenda concerning the American health care system is ME. As a Canadian, I have no dog in this fight. What do I care what system the US uses? Yet so many Americans would rather accept the advertising of insurance companies over my objective analysis.

    My only agenda is to defend the Canadian system when the conservatives so vilely misrepresent it. And also when several bloggers here claim to know more about the Canadian system than Canadians do (and more about science than scientists, more about economics than economists, more about religion than theologians….).

20. 

    churchillwasright said, 4 months ago

    CF: I can’t tell if you watched the video, and you only answered one of my questions, but thanks for the reply.

    DR.SHAMUCK: ‘Nuff said.