Dean,

As far as I'm concerned, your two links are nothing more than theorists practising theorizing.

We've had several columnists in newspapers here who also lambasted the Health Care system here. Some of them still do, but no longer those who've had a loved one (or themselves) NEED critical lengthy medical care that would have easily bankrupted them. These have been silenced by their own EXPERIENCE and some have even publically written that they were wrong. [more below...]

>>Some have died in the U.S. because they have no money to pay. In the U.S. ambulances are diverted to hospitals handling uninsureds, possibly killing the patient in the process.


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>I hope you're not blaming United States for these death (if it's true). Doesn't this reveal some flaw in the Canadian Healthcare system?

I am talking here of U.S. residents in the U.S., not Canadians who were sent there. They ask for pre-payment of the ambulance and/or your insurance coverage before they do ANYTHING, for god's sake!

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>Well at least the "rich" Canadian have somewhere to go for faster treatment. So I guess critically ill "poor" Canadians are doomed?

I don't care if the rich go to the U.S. People are free to spend their $$$ any way they want, within the law. What they're doing, actually, is making more room for those without dough. No problem.

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>>It was noted this week that President Bush, while Governor of Texas, signed a bill saying that patients could be discharged if they lacked funds to pay.
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>While this may or may not be true, no county hospitals will turn away a critically ill patient. Parkland Hospital, one the busiest hospitals in America, in Dallas will treat any critically ill patient, even illegal aliens.

I notice you use the word "county". Here it is ANY. I guess in Dallas an ambulance could go by 7 hospitals on the way to Parkland Hospital. That sure is helpful to the patient!

Our system sure isn't perfect, but it's a damned sight better than what you have down there!
I'd like to see if I could even get health insurance down there, given that I have a kidney transplant (pre-existing conditions and all that) or what it would cost if I could. Then, too, I'd have to worry about how I answered questions on the application form, fearing that they'd look for ANYTHING that might be construed as untruthful so they could deny me coverage.

The U.S. system is FANTASTIC (truthfully) when you have the $$$. The idea that a hospital would move to put a lien on your house as soon as your bill exceeded so many $$$ is simply repulsive.

cheers