OT Health Care

[Upscale]

Doctors aren't assigned in Canada, unless you're referring to the doctor on duty in an emergency room. A person is always free to request or seek another physician. And as to formal complaints of incompetence, I believe they're all looked into, however the College of Physicians has the unfortunate reputation of being pretty lenient on many of their members. But, sometimes they do take actions as confirmed by the resulting case of Dr. Charles Smith, former chief forensic pathologist for the Province of Ontario. Many, many lawsuits pending because of this guy's incompetence.

Of course, another doctor might not be available in the middle of the night in an emergency room. In that case assuming the emergency isn't dire, one can walk across the street to another hospital, which is something I've done after four hours of waiting. Triage is a bitch sometimes. Going to another hospital is easier to do in a place like Toronto, but relatively difficult when you live up north where another doctor or hospital might be many hours away.

And family doctors are getting increasingly hard to find in Canada. The USA keeps thieving our doctors by offering better pay and few working hours. Guess I can't blame them for that, but I think doctors graduated in Canada should be required to commit a specified period of service in Canada before they move lock stock and barrel to sell their Canadian acquired skills elsewhere.

[Upscale]

What's the physician availability like there Chris? Is there a doctor shortage. Ok, stupid question, I'm hearing more and more about shortages everywhere. Let me rephrase. Do people seeking a personal physican have to wait very long before they find one, as far as you know?

I've got a friend who is considering hiring a midwife. Was it expensive and did you find his/her services worthwhile?

[HeyBub]

Two observations:

• My GE rep tells me there are more MRI machines in Seattle than there are in all of Canada - and Seattle is not known to be the MRI capitol of the hemisphere. I shudder to think how many MRI machines there are in my town, Houston, what with 28 hospitals and two medical schools on just one medical center campus.

• My internist tells the story of a lab tech at his residency hospital in Chicago. Her mother, a Canadian, suddenly went blind. Inital tests revealed a tumor on the optic nerve. The CHS denied any further treatment, but would pay for a nursing home. In other words, they looked at a chart: 79-year old woman, brain cancer. Nope. No-can-do.

The tech told that story to a Neurologist on staff and he said that malady is fairly common, that the tumor is probably benign, and that removing it was a 30-minute procedure (they do it laproscopically through the nasal passage). Further, he said if momma could get to Chicago, he'd do the procedure for free.

The tech fetched mom to Chicago, and the tumor was removed on an out-patient basis. Mom could see again and the total bill was about $5,000 for the hospital facilities.

Point is, in the CHS they have benefit-to-cost ratio charts that deterine, in many cases, the course of treatment.

Couple of other observations:

• We hear that medicines are cheaper in Canada. That's generally true with two exceptions: 1) While brand names may be cheaper (Plavix, Zantax, etc.), generics are often more expensive. 2) Some medicines are NOT in the Canadian formulary. The government refuses to dispense them because of cost when alternatives are available even though the alternatives are not quite as effective.

• Abortions are free in Canada, but there is an eleven-month waiting list (It's a JOKE, son.).

• The survival rate for many chronic diseases (breast cancer, for example) is MUCH greater in the U.S. than in Canada.

[Steve Turner]

[Cooniedog]

[Cooniedog]

It would seem that the U.S. is definitely headed toward some kind of nationalized health care and all the doctor organizations, insurance and pharmaceutical companies are dead set against it.

To my way of thinking anything that those entities listed above are against I'm for since they have done nothing but increase our costs of health care and more and more Americans can't seem to afford any health care at all.

This th>> Britain. They are currently running TV ads here in the States saying

[Chris Friesen]

Around here, it's no problem. Some of the smaller towns are having a real difficulty, and up north it's a big deal. I think some of the larger cities are having problems with this as many MDs are specializing because they can make more money with less work. I understand that some family docs have a sideline of cosmetic surgery work to bring in some extra cash--there has been discussion about the possibility of conflict of interest when the same doctor is practicing both privately and publicly.

I may be biased, my mom is a midwife. :)

To clarify, doulas and midwives are two different things. A doula is like a birth coach, she (usually it's a woman) is there primarily to help the individual mother. (As opposed to the hospital staff, who are handling multiple mothers and are worried primarily about physical rather than mental wellbeing.) Doulas are in addition to the regular obstetrician.

A midwife generally replaces an obstetrician. They generally handle low-risk births. They are generally willing to do home births if there are no complications, they have hospital admitting privileges, can prescribe medications, and they generally spend more time on each individual patient than an obstetrician does. The wikipedia article on midwifery is fairly good.

As for expense, it's going to vary by area. I have no idea what the going rate for a midwife is.

Chris

[David Nebenzahl]

On 5/13/2009 3:40 PM Cooniedog spake thus:

True what you said except for the doctors part: many doctors, probably a plurality, are actually strongly in favor of a single-payer system or something close to it. (Their organizations, like the AMA, of course are probably trailing this opinion by quite a bit.)

[evodawg]

sounds to me like a big political scam. The same will happen in the US or worse. The White House says restore all benefits and pay and rehire all fired union workers or lose the Stimulate Package. Have a funny feeling that only union workers will benefit by this Health Care Crap.

[Swingman]

Last time it worked in this country was when doctors lived in the neighborhood and there were no insurance companies, or government, involved ... way back when there was no concept of a "right" to medical care and the inevitabilities of life were gracefully accepted.

... I was there, and lived it.

Ironic, these "rights" we have been boondoggled, in ignorance, into cherishing as inalienable, eh?

There is little doubt that history will prove the "right" of every citizen to vote in this country will be at the very root of its downfall .. it certainly wasn't set up that way.

[Tom Watson]

Just received this email:

Good afternoon,

You are receiving this email because you signed up at WhiteHouse.gov. My staff and I plan to use these messages as a way to directly communicate about important issues and opportunities, and today I have some encouraging updates about health care reform.

The Vice President and I just met with leaders from the House of Representatives and received their commitment to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill by July 31.

We also have an unprecedented commitment from health care industry leaders, many of whom opposed health reform in the past. Monday, I met with some of these health care stakeholders, and they pledged to do their part to reduce the health care spending growth rate, saving more than two trillion dollars over the next ten years -- around $2,500 for each American family. Then on Tuesday, leaders from some of America's top companies came to the White House to showcase innovative ways to reduce health care costs by improving the health of their workers.

Now the House and Senate are beginning a critical debate that will determine the health of our nation's economy and its families. This process should be transparent and inclusive and its product must drive down costs, assure quality and affordable health care for everyone, and guarantee all of us a choice of doctors and plans.

Reforming health care should also involve you. Think of other people who may want to stay up to date on health care reform and other national issues and tell them to join us here:

Health care reform can't come soon enough. We spend more on health care than any country, but families continue to struggle with skyrocketing premiums and nearly 46 million are without insurance entirely. It is a priority for the American people and a pillar of the new foundation we are seeking to build for our economy.

We'll continue to keep you posted about this and other important issues.

Thank you, Barack Obama

P.S. If you'd like to get more in-depth information about health reform and how you can participate, be sure to visit

This email was sent to [e-mail] Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy

The White House · 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW · Washington, DC 20500 ·

202-456-1111 Regards,

Tom Watson

[Larry]

Swingman wrote in news:YL6dnQ6izOy5wpbXnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

You are absolutely correct. It started last November...

Larry

[Rusty]

I have rarely heard of long waiting lists in Canada except when Americans tell the story.If you have aggressive cancer or some other deadly illness your in the hospital right now.Only reason I can see causing waiting lists is lobbyists from the States trying to get some in power in our Gov. to take payoffs and force us towards private care. Not going to happen. Would be a great thing if it happens in America But Republican taking payoffs from health care lobbyists and some of the not well informed buying there talking points"Long line ups" "Can't chose your own Dr." "be afraid" "Iraq has nuclear weapons". If your American just don't get sick or hurt, Me I'll just rely on the great Canadian healthcare system.

[Doug Winterburn]

A Canadian snowbird friend explained another "string" in the CHS. He must not only remain in Canada, but in his home province for at least 6 months of the year or lose his CHS benefits. Being retired and wanting to travel not only around the world but in Canada, he doesn't care for this part of the system.

[David G. Nagel]

Several years ago the Prime Minister ( or Premier, I'm not sure which title is correct) very proudly made an announcement that the waiting list for coronary bypass surgery was down to ONLY 400 patients.

[Upscale]

That I certainly agree with. 30 years ago at the age of 16, I had plastic surgery done on a burn on my arm to make it less noticeable. Entirely a cosmetic procedure. A referral from the family doctor to the plastic surgeon, two weeks later the surgery was done and not a hint of a bill. That kind of cosmetic service would never be funded these days. It seems there was more money available for that kind of stuff then, maybe fewer patients or less demand. Probably a combination of all three. Now, I think the first criteria that is considered is it medically necessary coupled with cost.

I'm sure you're right. There's just too much demand and too little money available.

[LD]

And last year in the UK they got the waiting Time for care of Critical Cancer patients down to Six Months.

[Upscale]

I actually considered moving to Saskatchewan at one point. All that flat land and me hating hills so much. Now I'm glad I didn't. The land would be flat, but I'd have been washed away in the floods. :)

[Charlie Self]

giganews.com:

You need a history lesson.

[Leon]

Robert, I think the answer is to eliminate the insurance industry from the medical industry. Perhaps in San Antonio certainly in Houston there are TV commercials paid for by particular "medical groups". These groups are most often made up of select doctors, select clinics, select pharmacies, and select hospitals. These groups DO NOT accept insurance and require you to become a member of their group.

I never paid much attention to these commercials as they sounded like the typical ambulance chaser attorney ad. Anyway 6 or 7 years ago I was listening to a talk radio program that was focused on health care. A doctor from one of these groups was the guest and they were taking listener phone calls. The basic theme of the program that day was how to control and afford health care. INSURANCE to the health care industry is similar to the Labor Union and the Automobile business, they both costs through the roof. Anyway you join the group for about $50-$75 per month for you whole family and when you get sick you simply go to this "group". There is no deductible or co-pay, you pay the full bill at the time of the procedure. BUT the typical office visit is $15-$20, prescription drugs are a fraction of the normal cost that you would normally pay if you did not have insurance. Basically you pay a little more than an insurance co-pay but the cost is till quite reasonable.

A listener phoned in to attest to how well these groups work out for his family. His daughter was an up and coming tennis player, apparently she was quite good. She injured her knee and had a persistent pain that would not go away. They took her to their medical group and were told the bad news, surgery would be needed, arthroscopic surgery. Long story short, $2800 later she was good to go. He indicated that he shopped around to get competing prices from other doctors and hospitals for the same procedure and with out insurance. IIRC the cost was going to be well in excess of $18000.

Apparently these medical groups are doing well as I see more and more of them in different fields, dentistry, family practice, eye care, etc, advertising on TV more and more. From what the doctor indicated on the radio show eliminating the insurance companies from the equation saves everyone money. The doctors office does not need as many people to work the paperwork to collect from insurance companies. Insurance claims are not turned down because there are no insurance claims. Insurance rejections on certain procedures are not turned down because there are no insurance claims. There are no reductions of the amount paid for particular procedures because there are no insurance claims. Cash flow is much better as there is no longer a 2 -4 month wait for claims to be paid because there is no insurance claim. These benefits all repeats themselves for the pharmacies, and hospitals. When the medical industry has to write off and spend billions to simply deal with the insurance industry medical costs naturally go sky high. With these medical groups you don't get treatment if you have no money so non paying illegals crossing the border to have babies for free no longer inflate the cost for medical care for the rest of us.

It used to work in the distant past, why not now? I suppose that the typical citizen/ person working in the U.S. has come to expect to pay nothing except a nothing or a small co-pay and let his employer foot the bill for the insurance costs.