>>More healthy, educated and employed people equals a larger group from which to draw taxes. If the numbers are right, the group may support itself for these benefits. We might be able to call it a right to be healthy, educated and employed. Conservatives fail to acknowledge this 'upside' to the issue.
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>What do you think of the Canadian health care system?

I have no complaints. The emergency room lineup complaint we hear from the American conservatives is, for the most part, just triage. There are even signs posted to explain how .. say, . . a heart attack victim will have a much higher priority than a person with a sore throat, so the sore throat group wait while the others are treated. My wife passed away last October after well over a decade fighting severe rheumatoid arthritis, a stroke and other complications. When the disease finally took her knees and she couldn't get to help the help came to her whether it was a doctor, nurse, home care people or just someone to help her have a bath. Occupational therapists came in and assessed her mobility needs. From there they brought in a new walker, an electric stair lift and even a pole that was installed beside her bed so that she could get herself to a sitting position. Grab bars were also installed. They even put in a hydraulic lift for the bathtub that would lower her into the water. After six years, one night her knee collapsed sideways and she could no longer walk. I called an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital where she was treated and took therapy for six weeks to try to recover and be able to get to the bathroom again. I could not continue to be the primary care supplier at this point, so she was transfered to a nursing home where she had 24/7 care from nurses and doctors. It was a nice place where there were many folks in the same predicament. She passed away there. We seniors, so the cost was covered completely by medicare. We did pay for her meds, but the maximum for each prescription is $25.00. When we were working $44.00 each per month was deducted from our paycheques for coverage. Our employers also paid a portion. If I were American I would be in debt for the rest of my life for that kind of care. All we paid for was meds. So, when you're young you really don't have much need for medicare but someday you'll be older and will need more attention than the younger generation and you'll appreciate the way everybody contributing takes care of money headaches. The doctors love it too. They get to see and cure all the sick people, instead of just those who can afford it. And they know that if they write a prescription that it will be used and not avoided because of the cost. For a few extra bucks as month we can upgrade the coverage through Blue Cross.

So, what do I think of the Canadian Health Care System? By nature I am a conservative who follows Ayn Rand (hard core), but I must say, I like it. Medicare works fine here and I say that from my house, which I still own because I didn't have to pay a huge bill.