>Hi Jake.
>
>>Would you like to compare cancer care in other countries to the US. First you need to be able to get the treatment in a timely manner, I guess that leaves the US.
>
>>Neither the Canadian nor British systems are truly single-payer anymore. They are both allowing private clinic care paid out of pocket in addition to the government provided plan. Both still have very long wait times for critical tests and procedures and both are moving away from universal coverage rather than towards it.
>
>It appears to me from some of your comments in this thread that your sole source of information about health care in other countries is reading news articles. Remember that journalists always like to sensationalize things -- taking a grain of the truth and blowing it up so it seems like the major portion of the truth.

I have a microscopic amount of anecdotal information about the Canadian health system (My cousin's family spends 5 months there each year). So yes, most of my information is from newspaper articles. Some is from a few studies.

>So, when you read an article about nationalized health care, the article is almost always about how long the waiting lists are.

Waiting lists, hidden costs, governmental control, your supreme court rulings, etc. Of those, waiting lists seem to be the big thing right now because of the politics.

>However, the reality in Canada is that while waiting lists are long for non-emergency care such as elective or orthopedic (e.g. knee or hip replacement) procedures, the care for heart ailments, cancer, and other issues where time is of the essence is both timely and excellent. Jim pointed out his experience in one of his messages and mine and that of my family and friends is similar. There are always horror stories in the news (I recently read about a woman who, after being diagnosed with breast cancer, had to wait a couple of months for some diagnostics tests), but these are almost always exceptions due to human error (someone lost the paperwork, they couldn't contact the patient one day and neglected to try again, etc.). The press loves to make them sound like they're the norm because it sells more papers and magazines that way.

I brought out a few specific articles earlier due to Walter's challenge for me to 'ask one Canadian'. There are a number of articles and studies available online which talk about average wait times. If they're wrong then I'll change my assessment but, to me, it is unacceptable to wait for diagnostic tests.

>I suggest listening to people with actual experience rather than relying on biased news reports before forming an opinion on a topic that you don't have direct experience with.

This is fair enough. Just remember that that cuts both ways. ;)

>
>Doug

Also, while others may take every study as the gospel I always remember that studies are performed by human beings with opinions, agendas, and metholodigical flaws. As such this still remains as my favorite study of all time: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7915