Response to the Senator accusing Canada of having "staggering" wait times from Canadian Surgeon

[RedEarth]

By Dr. David Zelt
The Kingston Whig Standard
6/24/09

Dr. David Zelt, chief of staff and vice-president, medical administration, at Kingston General Hospital, sent the following reply to McConnell.

I am writing with reference to remarks you made in an address this past week to the United States Senate.

As a surgeon and hospital executive in Canada, I am well aware of the debate now taking place in your country over the role of government in making medical services more widely available to the millions of your fellow U. S. citizens who are now without such vital protection.

The purpose of this letter is not to interfere in that debate, although I would be remiss if I did not declare that I am a proud participant in our public healthcare system in Canada and value its ability to guarantee quality and accessible care to all our citizens regardless of their financial circumstances. Is our system perfect? Definitely not. Are costs and ever-increasing demand a challenge? Definitely yes.

I am writing to you at this time to correct and update information that you provided to the U. S. Senate this week about Kingston General Hospital (KGH), where I am chief of staff and vice-president, medical administration. I am confident that you, as someone playing a major role in the current health-care debate in your country, would want to make your arguments based on material that is both correct and current.

You chose our hospital to provide “a glimpse of the effect that government-run health care has on everyday Canadians and the long waits they routinely endure for necessary care.”

At KGH we are proud of our reputation as a medium-size regional health science centre providing excellence in research, academic and patient care standards. I respectfully submit that the information you supplied to the U. S. Senate is not an accurate or fair “glimpse” of either our institution or our national health-care system.

For example, you state that at KGH wait times can be

“staggering.” This is simply not true. Our average and median wait times exceed provincial targets. Your researchers have taken data and interpreted it incorrectly, with the result that your information is inaccurate.

Your statement to the Senate: “Today, the average wait time for (hip replacement) surgery at KGH is about 196 days.” In fact, our actual average hip replacement wait time is 91 days — less than half of what you stated.

Your statement to the Senate: “What about knee replacements? Well, at Kingston General, the average wait time is 340 days, or almost a year from the moment that the doctor says you need a new knee.” In fact, our average wait time for knee replacements is 109 days.

Your statement to the Senate: “What about brain cancer? In Ontario the target wait time for brain cancer surgery is nearly three months; same for breast cancer and prostate cancer.” These are simply that, targets. In fact, at KGH our average overall wait times for surgical treatment of all forms of cancer is 31 days (16 days for breast cancer, 49 for prostate and eight for neurosurgical cancer).

Your statement to the Senate: “And for cardiac bypass surgery, patients in Ontario are told they may have to wait six months for a surgery that Americans can often get right away.” In fact, the median wait time for cardiac surgery in Ontario is 16 days (32 days at KGH).

In summary, Senator McConnell, in an effort to advance your position opposing public health care, you have maligned a very proud institution whose service to our community dates back some 170 years. The “glimpse” you have provided of our national healthcare system neglects to mention that at its very base is Canadians’ fundamental right to accessible and quality health care regardless of their financial circumstances.

In closing, Senator, I thank you for this opportunity to bring this information to your attention. We have an excellent data collection system at our hospital and I would invite you or a member of your staff to contact me or other officials of this institution for accurate and current information that would be helpful in keeping the American public correctly informed during your important and ongoing debate on health care.

Physicians for a National Health Program
29 E Madison Suite 602, Chicago, IL 60602
Phone [phone] | Fax: [phone] | email: [e-mail]
© PNHP 2009

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2009/june/response_to_the_sena.php

[Stellabella]

1. Gee, a repuke lying? WHAT a surprise.

Not.

[tooeyeten]

63. Shocked!

I'm utterly shocked the Republicans would lie!

:kick:

[MNDemNY]

2. Lying canadian. It's just part of the plot.

[BobTheSubgenius]

58. Can't trust us as far as you can throw us.

In fact, I might well be lying now.

[dae]

60. Well, I think you're lying about lying & BTW Red thanks for the

article. :)

[ejpoeta]

3. i wonder what kind of comparisons there are between wait times here and in other countries.

Because there are wait times here too. And I would be curious as to the wait times comparing insured and uninsured as well as maybe even between the different kinds of insurance. Maybe there is none, but even if the wait times WERE accurate, they don't give the comparison. oh, you have to wait 189 days for this surgery in canada.... but you have to wait 180 days here, so?? and that is in no way any accurate thing on my part, just showing that sometimes they say things that if you completed the analogy would not matter.

[northernlights]

13. the wait times here depend in large part

on the size of your wallet and the fame of your name.

[dotymed]

17. MY BROTHER

A heart patient, without insurance. Has to go to the
"free clinic." He fell,over a year ago and
desperately needs surgery on his rotator cuff. He is in
constant pain (the free clinic does not prescribe pain killers
or sedatives (sleeping pills etc..). I luckily. still have my
health insurance from the Carpenters Union. I have heart
failure and receive sedatives for my hypertension ( I take
over 20 meds a day and SS says I can work
"somewhere" lol). He has been waiting over a year to
get approved for surgery. He has been forced to live with our
mother. She was forced to pay for his ER bill when he had a
heart attack, she lives on a meager SS retirement check. I
save some of my meds and give them to my brother when I can
afford to visit. The free clinic also doesn't provide dental
care. He has teeth that are abscessed, for years. It is so
sad. A WAITING PERIOD? LOL.. at 51 he is just waiting to die
to relieve the pain.

[Bennyboy]

25. My Mother had a knee and a hip replaced in the last year...

When they did the hip, she had fallen. Immediate replacement. Just part though not the whole (Doc said she did not need the whole).

The knee was elective surgery, no fall involved. And it was about 90 days from doc's sugggestion to surgery.

Both she spent 6 weeks in a rehab hospital afterwards.

[bl968]

30. Wait times are nothing, having the ability to access to care is

The biggest difference is in this country, if don't have insurance and I am in a accident I might have to decline care, or face crippling debt. In Canada or any other civilized country, my taxes would pay for the healthcare I receive. My doctor would chose when I enter the hospital, and when I am able to leave it. Not Healthcare insurance company bureaucrats. Even if I had health insurance in this country, I would have to worry are they going to dig up something from my past and use it to retroactively drop my insurance leaving me saddled with the full cost of the care I received. I will give an example. I woke up one night with the feel of something in my ear, a mosquito had landed on my head and crawled into my ear canal. I had health insurance at this time. My regular non-emergency doctor told me he didn't cover things like that because he didn't have the equipment to deal with it. He suggested going into the emergency room, I was charged for the office visit even though he did nothing... I go to the emergency room, and 4-5 hours later I was finally taken back. I wait another 2-3 hours. I get seen by a nurse first, the doctor comes in looks into my ear and says he couldn't see anything. But Lets flush the ear canal out with saline solution anyway. We do this and I get sent home. A few weeks later I get the emergency room bill.

Doctors office visit copay $60 Time used 5 minutes.
Emergency room visit $190.00 time used 10 minutes.

Basically it cost me $90.00 for the staff time and $100.00 for less than a cup of salt water. Needless to say being 18 years old at the time 250.00 was almost a whole weeks paycheck.

I was at a local restaurant a few years later and overhear an ems crew talking about a ambulance trip to Nashville, and having to pay $650 for a box of saline iv's that would have cost them less than $50 here.

The point is that the best healthcare system in the world means absolutely jack if you can't afford if.

[Joe Chi Minh]

32. Plus, it's paid for out of normal taxes and free to the patient.

[ProudDad]

41. If you ain't got insurance

and you're not obviously injured...

count on at least 10-18 hours in the waiting room at your local county hospital E.R. -- and a whopping bill at the end of your visit.

Health "care" in USAmerica...

On the other hand:

What would you have done differently if you'd never had to worry about health insurance? How would life be different now? How would it change your plans for the future?

Go ahead. Think about it. Let yourself get good and angry. The current system has robbed an entire generation of Americans of their full potential. It has made us serfs. It has narrowed our horizons. It has undermined our families and communities. It has deprived us of the chance to save, to own a home, to educate ourselves and our children, to see the world, to retire in comfort, and to live to a healthy and robust old age.

It has left us in this swamp, chin-deep in alligators. And the first step in getting back out is getting very clear in our own minds that there are other places where people don't live this way -- and then angry enough to lean on our leaders, and make it just as clear to them that we don't intend to live like this any more, either.

Your representatives need to hear from you. Today.

http://tinyurl.com/nxmcfu

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/140918/we%27ve_been_trapped_inside_a_bad_health_care_system_so_long%2C_we_don%27t_even_know_how_much_we%27re_missing_/

[alstephenson]

4. If you have no insurance here, the "wait times" are irrelevant.

You're just shit out of luck.

[Joe Chi Minh]

34. ... in a nutshell. But it's good read that Canadian surgeon clinically destroying

the absurd contentions of our friend. Humour in a sad affair.

[Joe Chi Minh]

50. I mean the outright challenge at the end of his letter, for McConnell

to visit him in Canada, and see for himself the actual data - so that he wouldn't need to go on retailing the "old wives' tales", the Republican "folk" anecdotes.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. Dear Senator McConnell

Even if you weren't a bald faced liar and the wait time were 189 days, you're missing a major point here. It still beats the shit out of a wait time of never.

[NMDemDist2]

6. i hear that crap and wondered....

thanks for posting the REAL times

[tridim]

7. Expect a "Freedom" Bacon bill to be introduced shortly.

Suck it McConnell, you lying sack of crap.

[Dragonfli]

8. The Good Senator does not appear to realize than many of us know Canadians.

We laugh at statements made by intentionaly dishonest politicians Here in Buffalo NY (5 minutes away from Ft. Erie, Canada) when they try to bullshit us. It is also rather insulting that they assume we will believe such lies as if we are stupid people that do not know our neighbors and the challenges they face. I know that I find it quite insulting to be lied to in such an obvious fashion when I have one friend I talk to quite often that has a shop here in Buffalo yet owns a house in and lives in Canada. I find it insulting also because I cross the border often, sometimes visiting actual Canadians or attending their parties.

None have ever complained about their health care in any way at all that I can remember. Also, every time any one that I know personally needs care the wait is far less than I could expect here when I had rather good coverage (I am no longer insured due to cost, so I imagine waiting forever would be longer even still eh?)

I was at a group discussion a couple of weeks ago organized and attended by Ed Schultz right here in Buffalo, there were no empty seats in the auditorium and many that attended were actual Canadians that were very clear about the care they receive. Ed recorded the entire thing and I believe he intends to compile all such testimonial and questions after he is done with his tour, and then send copies to all the relevant politicians (are all the Canadians liars or are most Republicans liars?, remember many of them are friends and I was around when they were in the middle of receiving whatever care they needed at the various times so I already know the answer)

By the way, everyone at the event was loudly in favor of single payer universal (no ICs), whether this is because we are a border town and know how well it works, or if it is the majority view I could not say. It is the only thing anyone I know wants, we don't understand the need to falate insurance companies to coax them into denying us care - why Obama thinks we should do this, we do not understand, or more honestly - we don't want to admit what we understand because we want to like him more than tools like Baucus.

I would like to know (if anyone here has the answer) if it could be made illegal for our leaders to lie directly to us and others on the Senate floor while conducting Senate business?
Not only do they insult us as stupid when they do this, such lies can cause real harm to the actual stupid that may believe the lies. Remember the war LIES? Not just annoying this lying but rather deadly at times it seems, is there no legal recourse to protect us from dishonest politicians that use there position to cause us harm?

[dotymed]

21. IF, "WE THE PEOPLE"

wanted to make this lying, illegal, we could. We would first
have to PUBLICLY FINANCE OUR ELECTIONS and REINSTATE THE
FAIRNESS DOCTRINE. The FLA. Supreme Court, decided that
"NEWS" shows had no obligation to be honest. The
suit was brought by former FOX NEWS employees (fired because
they refused to lie). WE THE PEOPLE are the only chance
America has. We have to PROTEST and commit CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
before we can obtain real CIVIL RIGHTS. The civil rights
movement of the 60's showed us the way. We have to get the
people to realize that there is a problem first. These
brainwashed, "FAUX NEWS" watching retards cause the
same disunity that the "UNCLE TOMS" caused the civil
rights movement. I know that we do have millions of thinking
Americans who want real change. That is what they thought they
were getting with President Obama. We need to organize and
take to the streets. First we need real leaders who can't be
bought, not because they are already wealthy, but because they
believe. President Obama said "MAKE ME", we need to
strike while we have a chance. I honestly believe that
President Obama would follow our lead if we lead.

[sasquuatch55]

The Good Senator, and his cohorts do not know how the common man lives.

They lie and side with the moneymakers that line their pockets, and do it with reckless abandon. These fuckers need to be put in their place, and that's not the nests they have feathered! We have been hijacked by Governmental Organized Crime!

[Dragonfli]

59. I Wonder if RICO applies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RICO

Sounds like it should, but I am no Lawyer.

[sasquuatch55]

64. Sent McConnell this piece labeled: THE TRUTH

nt

[MasonJar]

9. McConnell is my senator and I can UNproudly say that he is a waste of

valuable space on an ever shrinking planet.

[zbdent]

10. Mrs. ZBDent recently had her mammogram ... Dr. called personally the next working day

(left msg on machine) saying that there was something on the exam that needed further investigation ... urgent ... so Mrs. ZBDent, in a panic, called to make an appt ... first they would get her in ... 3 weeks later ...

Yup ... There's no "waiting" in today's private health care system ...

edited to add:

everything did turn out okay ... just another cyst like other times ...

[wolfgangmo]

11. I need spinal surgery

Assuming that i still had insurance (which I lost when I lost my job which I lost due to a spinal injury) the wait time would be 6 months at the earliest.

Our wait times suck. The New England Journal of Medicine did a comparison of ER and some specialist times in the US and found that the ER waiting times are longer than any other industrialized nation and that many of the specialties were the same length or just a little shorter in the US.

We are 37th in health markers according to the WHO. And we spend more than twice as much per person as any other nation. We suck.

[Fedja]

54. Sad to hear that

Over here, in socialist Europe (and I don't even mean Sweden, a tiny country called Slovenia that's decidedly average in all respects)...

My friend tore all his ankle ligaments when he slipped and fell at home. Here's what happened:

- 70% paid sick leave from work for 1 month (would be 100% if he slipped at work or going to/from the office)
- Ankle surgery - wait time 2 days I believe
- 2 weeks fully paid recovery and physiotherapy in a spa

Total cost? Nothing at all. If he was unemployed? The same.

**speaking of your case, firing someone over an injury they sustained is unheard of here.

[Canuckistanian]

12. KGH is where my wife had hip replacement surgery.

Wait time: two months.

And they could have done it earlier, but my wife decided to delay it because she was a teacher and wanted to finish her school year.

I can't say enough good things about Kingston General. They were ALL caring professionals, from the admin people to the surgeons and nurses.

I never met Dr. David Zelt but I'm not surprised he's such a decent, caring guy.

[BR_Parkway]

14. hmm - once again - GOP talking = lying - maybe we shouldn't fight

them putting up the 10 Commandments everywhere anymore - I think they need them constantly around as reminders.

[NorthCarolina]

15. Forward a copy of this letter to McConnell...let him know "were watching" nt

[pattmarty]

16. When that ass hole Mcconnell is up for re-election...............

...............this fucking letter should be sent to every registered voter in Kentucky. I for one am for calling ANYONE who "misrepresents" ANY facts on healthcare should be called on TV and in the press exactly what they are: LIARS!!!! I hate the pussy terms like "misrepresent" or "sometimes" or "in some cases". Call these motherfuckers what they are.

[dotymed]

18. These

"MOTHERFUCKERS", and their Masters own our media, as
long as he does their bidding they'll keep paying for his
re-election and never allow their media to talk bad about him.
WE MUST PUBLICLY FINANCE OUR ELECTIONS  and REINSTATE THE
"FAIRNESS DOCTRINE".

[pattmarty]

38. I know this and TOTALLY agree (especially for public finance), but.............

........why did you have to go and ruin my Friday by that strong dose of reality?

[dotymed]

65. SORRY

[AlbertCat]

19. IOW....fuck you McConnell, you liar.

[redqueen]

20. This needs to be mentioned by Keith, Ed or Rachel.

Can't think of too many others who'd mention it.

[Number9Dream]

22. Thanks - Bookmarked & Printed n/t

[alberg]

23. We need to keep up the pressure

I'd prefer Single Payer but I support a strong Public Option if that's the best we can get this time around. The level of lies and manipulation being employed to confuse the American people is remarkable. They will stop at nothing to preserve the status quo and their profits. Keep calling and writing emails and faxing - and more important, get those folks in your personel network who haven't spoken up yet to get involved. Program the phone numbers of your Senators and Congressman into your cell phnoe and call them every few days. Don't stop fighting until we win this thing!

[WarhammerTwo]

26. It's a Gateway Plan....

That's what I think about the Public Option Obama is presenting. I think he'll present this public option and when people jump on and see that it works (hopefully it will) and how it shakes out compared to private providers, people will end up dropping their own insurance or they employer provided plans (especially if they are taxed)to the public option. I know I will. If it works. When the Public Option gets big enough, I can easily see the program flipping over to a single payer system. It'll act as the gateway to true universal health care. It's like the marijuana of health coverage. Yeah, I really believe this is the first baby step into much bigger and better things.

[colsohlibgal]

24. Not Certain

I'm not sure what the mixture is with Senator McChinless, between stupidity and lying to protect his rich buddies/big contributors. Whatever this guy is one of more than a few current wing nuts who seem to be wasting oxygen someone with a heart and brain could be using,

[Doctor_J]

27. Boxer or Feingold needs to read this on the Senate floor

so that it's part of the official record that McConnell is a liar

[Doctor_J]

28. Can McConnell be sued for slander or prosecuted for perjury

for making these false statements in the Senate?

[dana_b]

29. Thank you Dr. Zelt!!

I just hope his letter gets as much attention as the Senator's remarks.

[Alcibiades]

31. Stop it with the fact-based reality!

Republicans much prefer one that simply accords with their ideological prejudices.

[david_vincent]

33. My personal experience at KGH

I had a motorcycle and crashed it through excessive speed for the road conditions. On my way into the emergency room at KGH, I held up my OHIP card to them -- they didn't even take it from me, all they could see was that I had one, and they ushered me directly into treatment.
KGH is also where my father's life was saved by an intern who was on duty in the middle of the night.
If McConnell imagines that Americans are getting better medical treatment here, he's on crack. Or else he's just another right wing ideologue and corporate whore. Or both.

[DFW]

35. McConnell is just follwing the leader

In this case, Rush Limbaugh (and Republican Party Vice-chairman Bill O'Reilly),
for whom truth was never a serious obstacle to overcome.

[Noorvik]

36. Lying Senator

Good idea from NC ..... copy paste the letter and email it to the lying Repuke to let him know he is being watched, and held accountable.

It would be very helpful if we all included the contact info as links when we post items about the duplicity of our politicians, and other folks

who are screwing us without benefit of grease. They'll get more response about it if we make it easy to contact them.

[DireStrike]

37. Very creative accounting. I wonder if they factored in "never" to average american wait times.

In that case, the average wait time would jump to infinity.

As for the median... it's hardly appropriate to classify a sixth or a fifth of the country, which lacks coverage, as outliers.

[handmade34]

39. take that, Sen. McConnell

excellent, thank you for writing Dr. David Zelt

[Technowitch]

40. Summary: "Senator McConnell, you are a liar, sir."

But then we knew that. Lying is all they have left, because facts and reality have long since fled the sinking S.S. GOP.

[ProudDad]

42. How would your life have been different?

What would you have done differently if you'd never had to worry about health insurance? How would life be different now? How would it change your plans for the future?

Go ahead. Think about it. Let yourself get good and angry. The current system has robbed an entire generation of Americans of their full potential. It has made us serfs. It has narrowed our horizons. It has undermined our families and communities. It has deprived us of the chance to save, to own a home, to educate ourselves and our children, to see the world, to retire in comfort, and to live to a healthy and robust old age.

It has left us in this swamp, chin-deep in alligators. And the first step in getting back out is getting very clear in our own minds that there are other places where people don't live this way -- and then angry enough to lean on our leaders, and make it just as clear to them that we don't intend to live like this any more, either.

Your representatives need to hear from you. Today.

http://tinyurl.com/nxmcfu

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/140918/we%27ve_b...

[JBoy]

43. Mitch is an expert. He's been on the "Chin Implant" waiting list for years

[depakid]

44. Another lying Republican enabled and legitimized by the corporate media

[denverbill]

45. Are there any true liberal politicians who can get this read into the record?

Maybe call McConnell a bald-faced liar to his face?

[slipslidingaway]

51. Senator Sanders??? The only person mentioning a system similar

to the Canadian model.

:shrug:

[liberation]

46. I always thought that having procedures denied would be the most staggering wait time of all...

The proponents of a system rank at the bottom 5 of the top 40 health care systems in the industrialized world should not be trying to give lessons regarding a country which has their health care ranked 30 places above.

I am getting the distinct impression, that the real fear is coming from wealthy Americans who think a move towards universal health care in this country may increase slightly the waiting times of their elective procedures. There has to be a special place in hell...

[Autonomy]

47. You can tell the doctor writing this is not American

It does not sufficiently pimp-slap the addressee, as if he thinks the reader will have the patience to read the letter carefully, and the addressee will somehow become fair and reasonable after reading it. Americans don't make those assumptions about other Americans. We know those things will not happen.

[AllyCat]

48. The only part on which Dr. Zelt is incorrect:

"I am confident that you, as someone playing a major role in the current health-care debate in your country, would want to make your arguments based on material that is both correct and current."

It's not a lie or falsehood, just a misunderstanding of the Republican MO.

[riverbendviewgal]

49. Canadians love our one payer, especially me

My son and husband were diagnosed 2 months apart with Cancer. My almost 25 year old had seizures for the first time in his life while working. He was ambulanced to the nearest hospital and then taken again by ambulance to the a hospital in Toronto as the ct scan showed he had something on his brain. 3 days later after CT and MRI he had his first of 3 brain surgeries. He was diagnosed with Glioblastma Multiforme brain tumor. This was devastating for us family of 4 and his common in law wife. we were able to concentrate on his getting cured instead of worrying about paying the health bills. Two months later my husband was being tested for the lump near his belly button and then had surgery two weeks after the doctor discovered he had the lump to find he had Non Hodgins Lymphoma.
Our son had the chemo, radiation, was in intensive care after the 3rd operation for 6 weeks then moved to palliative care for a week. My husband had the one surgery, radiation , stem cell harvesting of his own stem cells, chemo, which he was in hospital for a month for. They both had all kinds of MRIs, ct scans and ultra sounds. My son had several emergency visits via ambulance. They both had nurses come and visit them while they were home from hospital. to check on vital and for my husband his chemo in tube (forget the proper term). He was in palliative care for 3 months.

At the same time we all were given psychotherapy as a family and separately. I was also being treated for fybromyalgia.

What did this cost us. NOTHING. They fought the good fight but died 17 months apart. The government even gave me money for their funerals.

I am American born but came to Canada before our two sons were born with my husband. We never had to worry about paying for anything for health care for doctor and hospital treatmetn As for , dental, optical needs , hearing aid needs (which I need.) and prescription drugs we had to pay for but our jobs had private insurance for these needs. The private insurance took care of semi private rooms too and massage theraphy, done by a chiropractor if we needed it. We had a great GP for our doctor and none of us were sick with anything major until this all happened. If we had a slight illness we never postponed any treatment but went right to the doctor. My husband had a hernia operation. didn't cost anything for that either.

I was so happy to see the Kingston doctor write this letter to McConnel and call out McConnell for the "misinformation". I write my American relatives but they keep telling me they don't want to pay for anyone else's health insurance. I keep telling them they got it all wrong. Of course they all watch FOX cable. My brother loves Hannity.
All I can say is I am sure happy to live in Canada. I love one payer health care. and I love DU

[irislake]

52. How sad so many Americans watch Fox

and believe such lies. I am tired of telling Americans how fortunate I feel to have Canada`s health care. Too bad SICKO didn`t come out NOW. I fear its message has been forgotten.

[JBoy]

53. Thanks for your story, and welcome to DU!

I'm sorry to hear about your son and husband, that would have been a very difficult situation to deal with. I'm glad it wasn't compounded with worries over how to pay for it.

Most Canadians don't realize how lucky they are to have universal health care coverage, because they never have to think about it. Not having to worry about it is a luxury that I savour. I'm quite happy to have a less-than-perfect system if it means those less fortunate than myself are also protected. It's part of what makes us Canadian, and can be traced back to the early settlers banding together to survive the cold winters. But I guess a Vancouverite shouldn't be telling someone from Elk Lake about cold winters... :-)

[Raster]

55. The good Senator is a lying sack of shit, and obviously owes his soul to "for profit" healthcare.

Just about EVERY negative we have heard about the Canadian system or the French system or the British system is either a lie or so blown out of proportion that it is close to a lie. And there is only one reason: for-profit healthcare spends a literal fortune to lobby and control our elected Senators and Representatives in Congress. For-profit--"managed"--healthcare was created specifically to introduce a profit-making cutout between the patient and his or her health professional. That is the only purpose they serve. To make a profit for some already rich parasite. People die daily in this country simply because they don't have the money to grant them access to healthcare. And the for-profit healthcare industry will use EVERY DIRTY TRICK in the book to insure their stream of dirty money continues.

[bobbolink]

56. Excellent! Thanks for posting! Can you send this on to Ed Schultz?

He is all over single-payer and this would be good info for him. Maybe he can have the good doc on his show?

Somebody needs to start a website collecting data and experiences of health care systems in other countries!

Thanks for this!

[colinmom71]

57. Like there aren't wait times in the US...

UGH! Even with damn good insurance, people still have to wait for medically necessary procedures based on open appointment times or surgery room schedules.

My son is now blind (and deaf) due to a delayed retina reattachment surgery because the necessary surgery room wasn't available for an elective procedure until over two months after the diagnosis. And we have damn good insurance for family coverage, not to mention that my son's disabilities qualified him for Medicaid coverage as a secondary insurer. It had NOTHING to do with money. The problem was having to wait for an open surgery bed.

This idea of "rationed" health care is an issue in every nation, even ours. And it has far more to do with the localized availability of medical services than the method of payment.

[valerief]

61. Kick!

[LittleGirl]

62. Thanks for the heads up.

I've sent this article and link to my republicans 'family' and friends. They need to know the TRUTH.