Why I Love Canadian Health Care
Last week, I had the flu. I’ll be the first to admit it was bad. After two days of Trick emptying his stomach into buckets, he was finally holding food down.
And the bug had passed to me. It wasn’t kind. On Monday night I passed out twice while being sick. I cut my head open, and gave myself a black eye.
This week, I was asked what the doctor said when I went to see him, and I was baffled. Why on earth would I go to the doctor for the flu?
Now, I was pretty sick, but I still didn’t feel the need to go see someone. Maybe if I’d still been passing out on Tuesday… but not over one night of passing out. I’m not the first person to get hit with a bug that’s kept them out of commission for the better part of a week, and I won’t be the last, but I knew what I needed. Rest. Fluids. And Pepto Bismal.
It helps that we have a few nurses in the family… but it also helps that I have the Canadian health care mentality. Unlike some of my American friends, I do not instinctively think I should run to the doctor for every little thing. I go to the doctor when I absolutely need to. Perhaps less than I need to. I don’t remember the last time I saw a doctor for myself.
With the raging health care debate in America, it’s impossible to turn on talk radio without hearing people trash Canadian health care. The media has dug up every possible negative story and milked it for all its worth. We don’t want to be like Canada. That’s the proclamation. Heavens, you’d think that Canadian health care was killing people at the rate of the black plague, the way some of these people talk.
And the misinformation is incredible. This week, it was about our Prime Minister going to Florida for medical treatment. Only problem was, Danny Williams isn’t Canada’s Prime Minister. And when you can’t get those facts wrong, it’s hard to take the rest of your points seriously because you don’t even have google-able, basic truths right. It’s the kind of ignorant statement that makes many roll their eyes at naval-gazing Americans.
Here are a few basic truths.
1. Canada’s health care system isn’t perfect. The American health care system isn’t perfect either. You will need to leave this earth to find one that is.
2. The medical needs of different countries are not the same. That stands to reason. Canada is the second largest country in the world, geographically speaking, but has a tenth of the population of the US. The need to transport patients over large distances is a reality. However, in other countries - say, Luxembourg - it’s pretty safe to say they don’t have the same transportation issues at play.
3. Everyone will feel differently about health care if they’re the one who’s sick.
Canada’s health care system isn’t perfect. It has failed people. But so has the American system. This isn’t about saying one is inherently better than the other, but it is about a fair comparison. I don’t say that I love Canadian health care and mean by it that all other health care systems suck. I also don’t mean that I think it’s flawless or that there’s no room for improvement.
But I love the fact that when I was seriously ill, I could go to the doctor without worrying about how much money treatment would cost me. I loved the fact that if I was in a car accident I didn’t have to worry about waking up in the hospital with a huge bill that would bankrupt me and keep my kids from going to college. I loved the fact that the small amount of money I paid for health care - because it isn’t free, most provinces have a health care premium you have to pay, depending on your income - ensured I would always have access to a basic level of care.
I’m personally not opposed to two-tiered health care. Hell, no matter how much some Americans want to delude themselves, they have two-tiered health. There’s free care for the poor through Medicaid. And they don’t just get free doctor visits; they get free prescriptions too. We know. When we assumed full custody we moved the kids off their mother’s coverage - medicaid government hand-out - and on to Brian’s plan, but before that happened we had a phoned-in prescription, and through their mother’s coverage it was free of charge.
I actually don’t think the current health care bill solves the right problems in the American system, and I feel very uncomfortable about it. The main reason I feel uncomfortable is because the politicians don’t seem willing to play by the normal rules and are changing voting procedures in order to get the bill through. That makes me nervous. That’s not democracy. And that makes me wonder how bad the bill is, if it can’t pass on its own merits.
I also don’t think you can fix American health care without a fundamental shift in the philosophical views of many Americans, and that will be a long time coming. A large percentage of the population wants minimal government involvement in their lives, and they don’t want the government interfering with health care.
For my part, with the Canadian system I know there was abuse. But there’s abuse in the US. A big part of the bill targets medicaid fraud. There are those who feel free health care is an entitlement. And there are certainly those who go to the doctor more for a social visit than anything else.
In the US, people also have the view that if they’re paying for health care, they may as well get their money’s worth. If you want to be tested for something, why should you be denied if you’re paying? In Canada, you have to earn those referrals to specialists for some legitimate medical reason.
Neither system is perfect, but at the end of the day, one thing I know is that if I’m in a car accident on this side of the border, I’m screwed financially. And sometimes, it’s hard not to think of the irony that the US is the presumptive leader of the world, setting the standards for other nations, when it’s a country that can’t even take care of the most needy within its own borders. Those who are seriously ill are least able to work and afford medical coverage, and it becomes the burden of the families to care for them. I never really worried about that in Canada. Now, I realize if I get sick here, I have to hope and pray my family has enough sense to let me die rather than incur the debt of my medical bills.
March 20th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
And this is why living 20 minutes from Canada is something I think about all the time. Everything seems saner there. There’s no tea party either. Never was.
March 20th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Patti, sometimes when I listen to how people talk, I realize all these generations later, they’re still trying to depose the king. And it’s amazing, because where I’m from, no politician would ever be sworn in amongst such pomp and ceremony, the way American presidents are. I think all that happened is that the inherited monarchy was replaced with an elected one.
And I say that as someone who likes Obama.
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Sandra,
You hit the key point on the head: people should not be afraid of losing their homes and futures because they get sick or hurt. My company is switching me to a high-deductible system, which is okay. I pay for the routine stuff, up to my deductible limit. It may end up costing me a little more money, but I also know that a hospital stay will blow through my deductible in about six hours, and my maximum out of pocket in a couple of days. My mortgage is not in question.
Unless they find some reason not to cover me. Which this bill addresses as well. You’re right, it’s far from perfect, but it’s a start.
As for Americans, I’ve become convinced the “average” American’s greatest fear isn’t terrorism or crime or AIDS or the economy. Americans are terrified that someone might be getting over, and it won’t be them.
March 24th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
You know what I want a really good answer to, Dana? If it’s a constitutional right to life, liberty, etc… how does that factor in if you’re denied health care that can save your life if you can’t afford to pay for it?
April 10th, 2010 at 7:33 am
loved this blog post!
June 30th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Regardless of whether Danny Williams is the Prime Minister or Premiere of Labrador, it doesnt negate the point that Canadians are coming to america for healthcare. Nor does it negate the point that the Canadian system forces people in need of emergency care to seek it elsewhere or possibly die waiting. The fact that he was a high ranking official doesnt exactly show faith in the Canadian system. Let just say that a family member of mine in the US was diagnosed with a similar heart condition and within two days found himself on an operating table and has been healthy ever since.
I agree that neither system is flawless and both have serious issues. But given the choice between a system where at worst I’m paying for coverage and possibly not receiving emergency care in time and dying vs receiving emergency care and incurring debt but living out a healthy life, I choose living.
You made the comment that the philisophical view of Americans has to change before things somehow get better. You are alluding to the fact that somehow only the government can save the people. Name one program that the American government has executed successfully? Social Security, Medicare and medicaid have all been failures and a boon to future generations of Americans. Americans was founded on the philosophy that people have a god given right to be free and that government should be limited in their powers. That philosophy propelled this nation to the strong world leader it is today. It rediculous to think that this is somehow an outdated philosophy and that we should change our philosophies in line with the very line of thought that Americans revolted against more than 200 years ago.
As far as your constitutional assertions, you should read the US constitution before you make comments. There is no “constitutional right to life, liberty, etc”. In fact no where in the constitution will you find those guaranteed rights. The line you refer to is present in the Declaration of Independence. Rights that are guaranteed are listed in the bill of rights and list things that the government may not do to you, not what the government must do on your behath.