Medicare Good for Canadians

It has been interesting to watch some of the debate, if we can call it that, around President Obama’s attempts to get some sort of medicare system working in the USA.

The has been a hot button issue in the states for some time now, perhaps it always was but, the rhetoric from the right is heating up and, if it wasn’t so downright dishonest, it would be funny. In fact, when you think about it, it is funny. Just ask Jon Stewart.

The main focus of the right has been to attack the Canadian system but the fact is that for the average citizen, our system beats the American one, hands down. There is no question that the Canadian system has some problems. It is expensive to maintain but, it is high quality, universal and it is free. I wouldn’t trade our system for the American one in a million years.

A peer-reviewed comparison study of health care access in the two countries published in 2006 concluded that U.S. residents are one third less likely to have a regular medical doctor, one fourth more likely to have unmet health care needs, and are more than twice as likely to forgo needed medicines. The Canadian infant mortality rates are lower and men and women live longer in Canada. What does that tell you?

Critics were scathing of Michael Moore when he put together Sicko accusing him of being dishonest. Michael can be a bit over the top but when you compare what he put together to the stuff the right wing is making up these days to fight Obama’s proposal, it pales in comparison. The medical insurance companies are running scared, and that is a good thing.

Too many people are getting their information from Fox News so, let me put it in simple terms.

Canadian heath care system good.

Medicine for profit bad.