Health Cares
I know this is an old topic, and at some point or other, I've participated in various discussions about this in other blogs. Though for some strange reason, I never thought of writing about this on my own.
But I stumbled upon an old article that Old Jack wrote for the Huffington Post a couple of months back:
Jack Layton: Defending Canada's Health Care: Truth and Lies
It brought back fond memories of why I used to like Jack before his "politican game-player" colors started coming out. It also brought back memories of me LMAO-ing before needing to turn off CNN in disgust as their right-wing pundits belched one lie after the other about how evil Canada's socialist healthcare system is and the change that everyone was glorifying during Obama's election is actually the herald of the apocalypse.
It also brought back memories of the gnawing annoyance I felt when Stephen decided to downplay the importance of the Canadian Healthcare system when Obama gave him the perfect opportunity in the world stage for people to have a better understanding of our healthcare system. Then again, it was expected. Stephen is a well-known advocate of trying to tear apart Canada's Medicare system to push for a private two-tier system similar to what the US has now.
But to be fair, and all biases aside, Stephen did have a good point. US and Canadian society evolved and walked towards different directions... and what works for Canadians won't necessarily work for Americans. Though, at the same time, Jack also has a good point. Sixty years ago in Saskatchewan, when Tommy Douglas pushed for Universal Healthcare, he met the same opposition as Obama is facing now. Canada's mindset is essentially one whole generation later in the issue compared to the Americans.
If you ask any young Canadian, or even those from my age group, of a world without Universal Healthcare... its something that's totally incomprehensible to us. And I am personally weirded out why an "advanced" society like the United States of America, can't grasp the idea that its unacceptable for people, regardless of social and financial status, to not have access to free healthcare. We, as a nation, agree that we have a certain degree of moral and ethical responsibility to take care of each other. And yes, most Canadians will be willing to pay higher taxes to insure that our our Health Care, Education, and Social Programs remain intact and is better improved.
On a side note, I was floored to find out from my US friends that they pay between USD $15,000 -$20,000 just in tuition fees for post secondary eductation. Sometimes per semester. Here in Canada, ten years ago, it cost me approximately CND $16,000 in tuition fees for a 4-year Bacalaureate in Science Degree thanks to government education subsidies (and back then we still complained that our tuition fees are to high). Mind you, I think tuition fees has climbed a bit more from 10-years ago... but its still not as jaw dropping as 20 grand per semester! (Of course, that's nothing compared to the scholar university I attended back in the Philippines for a year... Because it was a special government -sponsored university, I essentially paid equivalent to USD $30 per semester back then. If I came from public school, it would have been free). Anywayz... that's an entirely different subject altogether...
Going back to the original subject matter... My parents came from a healthcare society that has the same principle as the US. I spent my childhood in the Philippines and watched family friends and relatives lose fortunes and fall into poverty because of hospital bills. I've seen people die needless deaths from easily treatable illness because they have no ability to pay for healthcare. I've read letters from former classmates who did their doctor residencies in government hospitals write their frustration and guilt for turning away patients from the emergency rooms because they can't afford to give a downpayment deposit for their hospital stay or operations. I've seen desparate people go and get scammed by faith healers instead of getting the care they need because they have no choice. And I hear these same third world country medical horror stories from people living in the United States of America. It's totally ridiculous!
I've used the Canadian Healthcare system and I work in the Canadian Healthcare system as well. I'm well aware of the flaws our system has both as a patient and as a registered nurse.
Waiting in ER for 6 hours is not a lot of fun... especially if you have a then undiagnosed migraine headache and was left to wonder if you have a brain tumor or aneurysm or an alien is ready to burst out from your skull... while witnessing a family you were waiting with brought to the "special private room" by the hospital staff and you hear them start wailing from the room a few moments later... Ha-ha! You can just imagine what was going through my imagination at that time... I was so scared that I actually called my family doctor from the ER asking if I can check myself out of ER and drive myself to his office. (He convinced me to stay, of course.)
Lesson learned from ER: Never go alone (its freaking scary when someone dies next door!) and bring something to entertain yourself with.
Long waiting times for MRI and such? Yes, very frustrating, I agree. It takes between 6-weeks to 3 mos before we can get an appointment for some of our patients for MRI (re: memory-related issues at least) around 2-3 years ago. Though I also want to point out that for patients who obviously need an MRI (suspected brain tumor, etc), they get an MRI almost right away. I didn't get an MRI during my ER visit mainly because I think they already suspected that my incapacitating headache was really a migraine. But I had a barrange of CT scans and bloodwork just to make sure that what I had was not an aneurysm or anything. And those were all done within an hour after I was admitted to ER.
Before people think that patients suffering from heart attacks or gunshots and also wait long hours in ER, not true. Immediate emergencies and symptoms that could indicate life-threatening conditions (such as chest pain, shortness of breath) are immediately rushed into ER. I once fainted in the waiting room for a separate incident (I was rear-ended in a car accident and I think I had delayed shock or something)... and within 10 seconds, I had staff swarming around me and next thing I knew, I was already being wheeled in a gurney, hooked to a monitor, IV, the works. The staff worked like they were a Nascar team or something... it's pretty amusing looking back at it.
Personally, ER congestion is actually a symptom of another illness of our Healthcare System is suffering from. We need more doctors! There aren't a lot of GPs or Family doctors readily available in the community. There are a lot of ER patients in the waiting room who are there for symptoms that could have been seen by a Family Doctor... if they had one. Because GPs are so overburdened, its very difficult to find one who are still accepting patients. Walk-in clinics have just as many waiting times so people, not knowing where else to go, head to ER.
But despite the horrible traumatic and inconvinient ER experiences I've had... will I trade our Healthcare system for something else?
Hell no! Our system may not be perfect, but it works and we're working hard to improve it. And 85% of Canadians echo the same sentiment. The idea of more Canadians going to the US for medical treatment... fallacy. In 1990, BC had a program wherein the government would send citizens to Seattle for bypass heart surgery to relieve the burden of waiting period until a fourth facility was finished construction. There were 50 slots available at the time. Ironically (despite a public outcry due to waiting times), only 9 Canadians signed up for the program. Apparently, when the surgeons gave their patients the option, most of them decided they would rather wait.
Bottom line is, many Canadians who go cross-border medical shopping are those who are able to afford to. The average Canadian can't afford US hospital bills. Many Canadians have this mentality... to quote a very colorful co-worker of mine... "If I ever get sick while travelling in the US, God willing, I'll ask the ambulace to take me to the nearest border. I'll crawl back to Canada if I have to."
If Obama suceeds in the US Healthcare overhaul, I think that will be a great achievement in US society. It's just going to be the start of a long battle though. But if 60 years from now and the US has an entire generation looking back and not being able to comprehend the idea of a life where people die because simply of the idea of not having access to free healthcare... I think that's an awesome investment to look forward to.
But I stumbled upon an old article that Old Jack wrote for the Huffington Post a couple of months back:
Jack Layton: Defending Canada's Health Care: Truth and Lies
It brought back fond memories of why I used to like Jack before his "politican game-player" colors started coming out. It also brought back memories of me LMAO-ing before needing to turn off CNN in disgust as their right-wing pundits belched one lie after the other about how evil Canada's socialist healthcare system is and the change that everyone was glorifying during Obama's election is actually the herald of the apocalypse.
It also brought back memories of the gnawing annoyance I felt when Stephen decided to downplay the importance of the Canadian Healthcare system when Obama gave him the perfect opportunity in the world stage for people to have a better understanding of our healthcare system. Then again, it was expected. Stephen is a well-known advocate of trying to tear apart Canada's Medicare system to push for a private two-tier system similar to what the US has now.
But to be fair, and all biases aside, Stephen did have a good point. US and Canadian society evolved and walked towards different directions... and what works for Canadians won't necessarily work for Americans. Though, at the same time, Jack also has a good point. Sixty years ago in Saskatchewan, when Tommy Douglas pushed for Universal Healthcare, he met the same opposition as Obama is facing now. Canada's mindset is essentially one whole generation later in the issue compared to the Americans.
If you ask any young Canadian, or even those from my age group, of a world without Universal Healthcare... its something that's totally incomprehensible to us. And I am personally weirded out why an "advanced" society like the United States of America, can't grasp the idea that its unacceptable for people, regardless of social and financial status, to not have access to free healthcare. We, as a nation, agree that we have a certain degree of moral and ethical responsibility to take care of each other. And yes, most Canadians will be willing to pay higher taxes to insure that our our Health Care, Education, and Social Programs remain intact and is better improved.
On a side note, I was floored to find out from my US friends that they pay between USD $15,000 -$20,000 just in tuition fees for post secondary eductation. Sometimes per semester. Here in Canada, ten years ago, it cost me approximately CND $16,000 in tuition fees for a 4-year Bacalaureate in Science Degree thanks to government education subsidies (and back then we still complained that our tuition fees are to high). Mind you, I think tuition fees has climbed a bit more from 10-years ago... but its still not as jaw dropping as 20 grand per semester! (Of course, that's nothing compared to the scholar university I attended back in the Philippines for a year... Because it was a special government -sponsored university, I essentially paid equivalent to USD $30 per semester back then. If I came from public school, it would have been free). Anywayz... that's an entirely different subject altogether...
Going back to the original subject matter... My parents came from a healthcare society that has the same principle as the US. I spent my childhood in the Philippines and watched family friends and relatives lose fortunes and fall into poverty because of hospital bills. I've seen people die needless deaths from easily treatable illness because they have no ability to pay for healthcare. I've read letters from former classmates who did their doctor residencies in government hospitals write their frustration and guilt for turning away patients from the emergency rooms because they can't afford to give a downpayment deposit for their hospital stay or operations. I've seen desparate people go and get scammed by faith healers instead of getting the care they need because they have no choice. And I hear these same third world country medical horror stories from people living in the United States of America. It's totally ridiculous!
I've used the Canadian Healthcare system and I work in the Canadian Healthcare system as well. I'm well aware of the flaws our system has both as a patient and as a registered nurse.
Waiting in ER for 6 hours is not a lot of fun... especially if you have a then undiagnosed migraine headache and was left to wonder if you have a brain tumor or aneurysm or an alien is ready to burst out from your skull... while witnessing a family you were waiting with brought to the "special private room" by the hospital staff and you hear them start wailing from the room a few moments later... Ha-ha! You can just imagine what was going through my imagination at that time... I was so scared that I actually called my family doctor from the ER asking if I can check myself out of ER and drive myself to his office. (He convinced me to stay, of course.)
Lesson learned from ER: Never go alone (its freaking scary when someone dies next door!) and bring something to entertain yourself with.
Long waiting times for MRI and such? Yes, very frustrating, I agree. It takes between 6-weeks to 3 mos before we can get an appointment for some of our patients for MRI (re: memory-related issues at least) around 2-3 years ago. Though I also want to point out that for patients who obviously need an MRI (suspected brain tumor, etc), they get an MRI almost right away. I didn't get an MRI during my ER visit mainly because I think they already suspected that my incapacitating headache was really a migraine. But I had a barrange of CT scans and bloodwork just to make sure that what I had was not an aneurysm or anything. And those were all done within an hour after I was admitted to ER.
Before people think that patients suffering from heart attacks or gunshots and also wait long hours in ER, not true. Immediate emergencies and symptoms that could indicate life-threatening conditions (such as chest pain, shortness of breath) are immediately rushed into ER. I once fainted in the waiting room for a separate incident (I was rear-ended in a car accident and I think I had delayed shock or something)... and within 10 seconds, I had staff swarming around me and next thing I knew, I was already being wheeled in a gurney, hooked to a monitor, IV, the works. The staff worked like they were a Nascar team or something... it's pretty amusing looking back at it.
Personally, ER congestion is actually a symptom of another illness of our Healthcare System is suffering from. We need more doctors! There aren't a lot of GPs or Family doctors readily available in the community. There are a lot of ER patients in the waiting room who are there for symptoms that could have been seen by a Family Doctor... if they had one. Because GPs are so overburdened, its very difficult to find one who are still accepting patients. Walk-in clinics have just as many waiting times so people, not knowing where else to go, head to ER.
But despite the horrible traumatic and inconvinient ER experiences I've had... will I trade our Healthcare system for something else?
Hell no! Our system may not be perfect, but it works and we're working hard to improve it. And 85% of Canadians echo the same sentiment. The idea of more Canadians going to the US for medical treatment... fallacy. In 1990, BC had a program wherein the government would send citizens to Seattle for bypass heart surgery to relieve the burden of waiting period until a fourth facility was finished construction. There were 50 slots available at the time. Ironically (despite a public outcry due to waiting times), only 9 Canadians signed up for the program. Apparently, when the surgeons gave their patients the option, most of them decided they would rather wait.
Bottom line is, many Canadians who go cross-border medical shopping are those who are able to afford to. The average Canadian can't afford US hospital bills. Many Canadians have this mentality... to quote a very colorful co-worker of mine... "If I ever get sick while travelling in the US, God willing, I'll ask the ambulace to take me to the nearest border. I'll crawl back to Canada if I have to."
If Obama suceeds in the US Healthcare overhaul, I think that will be a great achievement in US society. It's just going to be the start of a long battle though. But if 60 years from now and the US has an entire generation looking back and not being able to comprehend the idea of a life where people die because simply of the idea of not having access to free healthcare... I think that's an awesome investment to look forward to.