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1. 

   Pacejv said, 1 day ago

   GOOD ONE TONY!

2. 

   toasteroven said, 1 day ago

   Whoa. Cool it on the caps, son.

3. 

   ANandy said, 1 day ago

   Can we count this as a job saved? She isn’t really unemployed. The logic’s the same.

4. 

   kensurg said, 1 day ago

   Unfortunately these are the types of decisions that will have to be made if we are going to lower the overall cost of health care. The country can not possibly provide unlimited care to all people for all things. Somethings got to give.

5. 

   algurka said, 1 day ago

   How about cutting back on tests and examinations for our illustrious Congressional representatives, too, to save money? I’m sure these old guys in their 60s and 70s wouldn’t mind waiting every 10 yrs to have a prostate examination and stress test. I’m sure we could provide some statistics to show they’re getting them too often right now.

6. 

   Gary Kleppe said, 1 day ago

   If we get rid of the hundreds of billions of dollars in administrative waste associated with our fragmented system of for-profit insurance, we can cover everybody for less than we’re spending now. Other countries have done it.

7. 

   Bruce4671 said, 1 day ago

   Which countries???

8. 

   lonecat said, 1 day ago

   It’s very hard for people to think rationally about risk assessment. If I say in the abstract, Hey, here’s a new medical procedure that costs a lot of money and seems to do no good overall, let’s all do it, people would probably say No thanks. If I say, here’s an old medical procedure that costs a lot of money and seems to do no good overall, let’s stop doing it, probably most people would agree. But if I say, The evidence shows that mammograms between the years of forty and fifty don’t make any difference overall, let’s stop doing them, lots of people go crazy.

   There is, of course, a large test group – Canada. (And the word ‘Canada’ is enough to get make some people crazy all by itself.) It’s been standard practice in Canada for I don’t know how long to start mammograms at fifty. Now and again someone says, Hey, we should start mammograms at forty, because that’s what they do in the US, but then they look at the numbers, and lo and behold, Canadian outcomes are no worse than US outcomes.

9. 

   Gary Kleppe said, 1 day ago

   Bruce: Canada. Japan. Pretty much all of Western Europe.

10. 

    Josey Wales said, 1 day ago

    I would like to touch on a point made here about ‘cutting back on…for our illustrious congressional representatives’. Hey…consider this…why don’t we end congressional pensions ENTIRELY? Most of them are double or triple-dippers, anyway, in that they get a state pension from some state office they’ve held, & perhaps a corporate pension, too…imagine the money we could save! End all federal pensions! Put ‘em on Social Security, & them let ‘em work on fixing that overburdened system.

11. 

    Bruce4671 said, 1 day ago

    Japan seems ok. The fact that people would rather come to the US from Europe and Canada to get faster service seems suspect. The fact that Canada is saying that their system is too expensive and cuts have to be made or taxes raised. The fact that the UK rations HC and taxes the fool out of their citizens is also suspect.

    OK my info comes from newspaper accounts and may or may not be bias. The only first hand info from Britian is from a fellow worker that was from there and he thought it was ok BUT it did cost a lot in taxes and they STILL had out-of-pocket expense.

    Look, we CAN DO it but it does not have to cost a trillion dollars and it doesn’t have to fine people or business. FIX THE THINGS THAT ARE BROKEN FIRST like government fraud and corruption, private industry fraud and corruption. That 500 billion would pay for health care for the uninsured right now. Then go after the lawyers…wait all politicians are lawers might not work.

    Think, do we really need 2000 pages of lawyer speak? Use the KISS principle…pardon my rant it’s just all so stupid….

12. 

    charlie555 said, 1 day ago

    It’s funny there is so much discomfort with statistical decisions, which is all we will have under government health care.

13. 

    DrCanuck said, 1 day ago

    Bruce4671 said: “The fact that people would rather come to the US from Europe and Canada to get faster service seems suspect.”

    DrCanuck is incredulous: Bruce, I should HOPE you find that claim incredulous. It is not commonplace; neither would we Canadians “rather” travel to the US for treatment. We do practice 21st century medicine here and the overwhelming majority of Canadians are quite happy with it. On the rare occasion that very rich Canadians want treatment RIGHT NOW rather than next week and DO travel south, American insurance companies blow it up out of proportion as if it were always done, just to protect their profits. Please do not believe everything you hear on Faux News.

14. 

    iamthelorax said, 1 day ago

    Here’s the logistical problem with letting the government take a monopoly on health care. Right now it’s a high profile issue, politicians wouldn’t dare start taking money away from it…..20 years later though, it’s as sexy an issue as ditch digging.

    Now politicians end up wanting to spend the money on different things that are more election worthy so little cut after little cut later, you’re waiting all day to see a doctor in an emergency-only clinic, wondering what these “family doctors” are they talk about on tv and MRIs are a minimum 5 month wait unless they think you’re actually going to die.

    Make d** sure they don’t trick you into taking a monopoly on health care, politicians are not qualified to receive this much of your trust.

15. 

    Bruce4671 said, 1 day ago

    OK Doc. I believe you on the part where you are happy with the process. That’s good. The thing is, our system can be fixed without the government being the provider. That’s the thing with Americans. We used to believe that government just got in the way and restricted freedom (I still believe that). The problem isn’t how it is administered but that the government will only bring more cost, more corruption into the system not less. Our elected representatives (using the term in it’s broadest sense) should be fixing the corruption and fraud that their programs have generated and that the private sector has ethusiastically embraced. While that is being done, lets give tax breaks to those doctors and hospitals that care for the homeless and unemployed. Should be able to pay for all of it with the fraud/corruption money. Maybe I’m just stupid but it seems that special interest is in the front row with their hands out for my hard earned dollars…….

16. 

    Gary Kleppe said, 1 day ago

    The only thing you guys are showing is your bias. You swear that government financing health care for all will lead to doom and gloom, but you can’t advance one coherent argument towards that conclusion, and in fact every other country who’s tried it has gotten vastly better results than we get here.

17. 

    cdward said, 1 day ago

    Read T.R. Reid’s “The Healing of America.”

18. 

    churchillwasright said, 1 day ago

    DR.SHAMUCK: Why don’t you quit your Faux outrage and wise up?

    Dr. Anne Doig, the incoming president of the Canadian Medical Association, said her country’s health care system is “sick” and “imploding,” the Canadian Press reported. (8/17/09)

    “Waiting too long to see a specialist and not getting the right diagnostic tests at the appropriate time are unacceptable”, she said.

    “We joke in our community that some women have to book their ultrasounds before they even know they’re pregnant.”

    “We all agree that the system is imploding, we all agree that things are more precarious than perhaps Canadians realize,”

    She was probably looking at your avitar when she made that statement.

    ———————-

    I also can’t understand why we would look to Canada and Europe as a healthcare model when our cancer survival rates are so much higher than theirs.

    http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/secondhandsmoke/2009/07/21/most-cancer-survival-rates-in-usa-better-than-europe-and-canada/

19. 

    bradwilliams said, 1 day ago

    Everythig you quote Dr. Doig as saying about the Canadian system can be said about our current system.

20. 

    ANandy said, 1 day ago

    Nanook and I have gone through this before, though I’m sure she would rather forget the discussion.
    I lived near the Canadian border in a neighborhood with Canadian expatriots, have worked for a Canadian firm and traveled extensively in Canada and have Canadian relatives. I know the Canadian health-care system status. The US props up the Canadian system with services not available in Canada with both procedures and drug subsidies. If Canada pratices 21st Century medicine, the US pratices 22nd Century medicine.
    As before, Nanook will accuse me of lying, which will be a lie. Nanook is a Communist with a world government view.
    
    My response to Nanook, take a hike, feed a Polar Bear.

21. 

    iamthelorax said, 1 day ago

    Dr C. is happy with the process, but you need to understand that different areas have different standards. Poor rural ares have less tax revenue to use, some provinces have been able to keep politicians from cutting as much from the budget as others.

    The biggest issue is having access to the doctor. Once it’s you turn you’ll be taken care of, but it’s like there’s a huge wall separating you from that care.

22. 

    wminfield said, 1 day ago

    Dr C…I am not sure why you care so much about our HC system anyway. I have seen some of your previous, snarky posts such as “You have to pay when you go to the Dr, what a concept”. You pay for your Health care, unless you dodge your taxes. Do you know how much of your taxes go towards HC? Is it a reasonable amount?

    You say the people who can’t wait a week come to the US. That is a joke. Most people who come here are waiting months and months and may not survive if they wait for the care in Canada (if they can even get it), from anything I have seen. All I have is your personal experience on the positive side. Can you point me to some actual articles or links that actually point out how great the Canadian system is? I would love to read them and learn more of the long term effects of what our Democratic politicians are proposing.

23. 

    comYics said, 1 day ago

    If trying to save some cash by moving the age to 50, the tests should be done free of charge.

24. 

    DrCanuck said, 1 day ago

    Yeah, sure, guys; we did all this discussion about two months ago where all the facts and figures were laid out plainly in front of you, and you never bothered to counter them or probably even read them, and then you simply waited two months and then started repeating the same old tired arguments against a system that you know NOTHING about beyond what your insurance companies tell you.
    I don’t CARE about the US system, I have no agenda concerning it, so if you care to reject an objective observer’s information in favour of the propaganda fed you by insurance companies wishing to keep making massive profits off you, you just go right ahead. I only post these comments to those willing to learn new things.
    And yes, INanity is a liar. She hadn’t even HEARD of Canada before I started posting.

25. 

    NoFearPup said, about 23 hours ago

    Kick these fools back out of office.

26. 

    pbarnrob said, about 21 hours ago

    Just over at Amazon looking at T.R. Reid’s book, and was reminded of the PBS Frontline, Sick Around the World, looking at several countries’ systems, and the models behind them.

    How about an element of the ancient Chinese system? The village doc (more like a military Medic/Corpsman or PA nowadays) got a tiny stipend from everybody in the village, just enough to live on. But if you got sick, your payments stopped until you were well. Positive reinforcement!

    Fact remains (I’m into Facts) that we pay about twice what the rest pay, for worse health (WHO puts us 37th). Isn’t it time we took the profit out of sickness?

27. 

    NoFearPup said, about 20 hours ago

    Pay about twice what for what? Worse as what? Letting babies die on the table? Letting grandma expire in her government-repossessed home? Where DO you get your figures, Libs? MoveOn.org?

28. 

    Jase99 said, about 13 hours ago

    As opposed to the bastion of non-partisanship you get /your/ figures from?