In article TY1Ag.303358$iF6.152609@pd7tw2no,
Paul Hinman wrote:

J. D. B. wrote:

Well at least your estate will get to keep your life savings. If you
get sick late in the year, and the healthcare facility/hospital shut
down for the rest of the year because it ran out of government money
(a typical scenario in Canada), there will be no one to give you any
care and you'll just die. But hey, your life savings will still be
intact! Is socialized health care great or what?


- At least in Canada you get to keep
- your life savings if you get sick.

I am a Canadian with serious chronic health problems and I have much
more experience with the health system than I would like to have, I
have come close being a silent key several times, I am sure that there
are some who feel that is too bad that I was allowed to breed before my
medical problems became obvious. In the minds of some I suppose that I
have peed in the genetic pool.

I have never heard of a Canadian hospital shutting down because the
money did not last until fiscal year end. While there are some
weaknesses in our system such as delays in elective procedures but when
the sand was running out of the hour glass there was always a system to
help me out. Here everyone can get insured, there is an option to opt
out of medicare but who would?

Think of the overhead that American doctors face having to deal with
multiple insurance companies, each with different forms and procedures.
Think of the people who can't get medical insurance no matter what the
cost. Think of those who don't have because they can't afford it. And
then there are those who exercise their right not have it.

In a situation where people get treated but can't afford to pay, the
rates for everyone else must go up to compensate.

Canada is not perfect but it is a pretty nice place to live and we try
to contribute as best we can.

By the way, if I were an American I would vote republican but I am not a
single issue voter so don't construe that to mean that I from the far
right wing. Consider me a fiscal conservative with a social conscience.

Interestingly, my wife is also a Canadian, she moved down here to the US
just before we got married. She worked only part time in Canada.
Aparantly, the health care is NOT universal, as many meds she needed she
had to pay for out of her own pocket, and had to wait months for an MRI
(She just had one here on one weeks notice). Yup, there are issues here
too, but the Canadian system is far from perfect either.