The Affordable Health Act and Canadian Health Care Myths

With the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, holding the law as constitutional and the final vote cast by Chief Justice John Roberts, U.S. conservatives have taken to the blogs to discredit Canadian Health Care. The system may not be perfect, however it works for most of us in this country.

"Medicare is a Canadian success story. Not perfect, but good enough to be envied by much of the world.

Canadians now take it for granted they will receive high-quality health care when they need it, without financial or other barriers. In a country where we compare everything we do with what happens south of the border, we are surprised but pleased to find we have fashioned a health care program which delivers better care, with better results, to a much higher proportion of the population, at a much lower cost, than in the United States.

Confronted with these facts, policy-makers and the media have drawn the predictable conclusion: Canada's health care system is in crisis -- gravely ill at best, perhaps even on its death-bed." 10 Health Care Myths

Those opposed to Obamacare have described the long waiting lines, unavailabilty of physiscians as major problems of the Canadian system.

While there are some problems, some stories just make your hair stand up, especially when they refer to a province that you are very familiar with. One such story appeared on an American right-wing blog this morning. The author described a pilgrimage to an emergency room, during a blizzard because the pysician they had for 40 years had retired and they couldn't find a replacement. Thus the emergency room was a fact of life for them. The story reads like a novel that reminded me of people telling you how the walked five miles to school uphill both ways, in a snowstorm.

"The red light on the old alarm clock read 7:00. The morning news began with the top stories. It was the first Monday of the month, so my wife and I began our pilgrimage to the emergency clinic in Calgary, Canada. My extended family saw one doctor for 40 years; but because he retired and there are so few doctors in family practice, we now have to visit day clinics.

This particular Monday was during winter. A blizzard had rolled in off the Rocky Mountains, making the roads almost impassable. We felt strong enough to walk 3/4 of a mile in snow-driftedsidewalks to the clinic to get the prescriptions we need for Angie’s lupus and my asthma.

The real emergencies the clinic deals with every day are a shortage of doctors and waves of patients. Some of the patients, like us, just want a refill of a prescription; others are junkies, looking for a sympathetic doctor to give them their fix. Personal Liberty

There is actually an extensive list of physicians published by the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Alberta. While there is a shortage occasionally in rural areas, this is often corrected by hiring foreign physicians both in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

From a personal perspective, after retiring from the military I was confronted with finding a civilian doctor. Eventually my choice came down to three general practicioners, all accepting new patients. Just two years ago I changed doctors without any difficulty. The point here being that the physicians are out there if you take the time to look for them.

As people get older their reliance on healthcare increases. Alberta Health has good basic coverage and provides Blue Cross to its seniors, which covers a good portion of prescription needs. Politicians are held accountable for the delivery of health care and if they ignore the public's plea, they do it at their peril. Canadians expect good health care coverage. Are there isolated incidents of malpractice? You bet, but if you dig you can find the same problems in the United States under a private system.

Two of my friends recently lost their battle to cancer. In both cases the health care provided was second to none. There are a lot of myths promulgated about the Canadian Health Care system, but most of them are bogus and isolated incidents.

Take it from a Canadian, the coverage is more than adequate for the most part. The best part about the Canadian system is that you don't lose your shirt when you get sick. Fact check anything you read about the Canadian system. There are normally two sides to the story.

Let's face it most civilized nations provide health care for their citizens. Germany is case in point. The so-called socialist country, according to some, has combined capitalism with social programs, Their hospital system is such a combination. Article: Germany's Hospital System Works

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