Its over, the Dems win

[bomelia]

Originally Posted by Ralphy

Bomelia I read that article maybe 2 days ago. Also hows about paying for healthcare 4 years in advance so they could fudge the numbers by the CBO. Ex, it's all an illusionnn......

Yeah, but somebody plz help me find it!

[Wayne Maybury]

A couple of comments about Canada's healthcare system, drugs, etc.

Firstly most Canadians have a relatively positive opinion about our healthcare system. The problems lie in the over crowding primarily because people go to the ER's, that do not really need professional care. I firmly believe that there should be a minimal charge for visiting a doctor or hospital. This would put dollars into the system and more importantly, it would reduce the number of unnecessary visits. We also have a problem with non-citizens coming into the country to obtain free health care that they cannot get in their own country. Our Medicare cards are being updated in an attempt to cut down on fraud.

Secondly, the drug manufacturers have nothing to do with our socialized healthcare system. These pharmaceutical companies are usually Canadian subsidiaries of US or other major drug companies. Our laws protecting name brand drugs are not exactly the same as the US laws however. Many US citizens, especially the elderly, living close to the Canadian border routinely come up here to get their perscriptions as our prices tend to be lower. This was especially true before the US dollar went in the toilet but that is another story.

Each country has it's own drug approval process. The US has the FDA and Canada has Health Canada. Our two countries work in a very similar way but there is no guarantee that a drug approved in the US will also be approved in Canada, and vice versa. That does not mean to say that drugs authorized for sale in Canada are dangerous or unsafe, they are just not (yet) authorized for sale in the US. Most dangerous drugs tend to be produced somewhere in the world and then sold over the internet by who-knows-who. These internet drug sites can indeed be selling dangerous products as they are totally uncontrolled.

Wayne

[Ron61]

Wayne,

The people flooding to the emergency rooms is a problem here already and this crappy so called health care bill isn't even law yet. They have had two investigations into the two hospitals here about people going to the emergency room and having to wait hours for any treatment. But first they don't work them like a triage and take the worst first regardless of when they came in, and second we have to many that ruin in every time they get a splinter in their finger and it is free so they just fill the emergency rooms up all day long. It is also another great excuse for getting a day off work and still getting paid for it. I don't know what they can do about it as it isn't the hospitals fault, and they are already short of doctors and nurses. I think a minimum charge would be a great idea. All the investigations came up with was they have to do better, but no suggestions as to how.

Ron

[PDUB]

Originally Posted by Wayne Maybury

A couple of comments about Canada's healthcare system, drugs, etc.

Firstly most Canadians have a relatively positive opinion about our healthcare system. The problems lie in the over crowding primarily because people go to the ER's, that do not really need professional care. I firmly believe that there should be a minimal charge for visiting a doctor or hospital. This would put dollars into the system and more importantly, it would reduce the number of unnecessary visits. We also have a problem with non-citizens coming into the country to obtain free health care that they cannot get in their own country. Our Medicare cards are being updated in an attempt to cut down on fraud.

Secondly, the drug manufacturers have nothing to do with our socialized healthcare system. These pharmaceutical companies are usually Canadian subsidiaries of US or other major drug companies. Our laws protecting name brand drugs are not exactly the same as the US laws however. Many US citizens, especially the elderly, living close to the Canadian border routinely come up here to get their perscriptions as our prices tend to be lower. This was especially true before the US dollar went in the toilet but that is another story.

Each country has it's own drug approval process. The US has the FDA and Canada has Health Canada. Our two countries work in a very similar way but there is no guarantee that a drug approved in the US will also be approved in Canada, and vice versa. That does not mean to say that drugs authorized for sale in Canada are dangerous or unsafe, they are just not (yet) authorized for sale in the US. Most dangerous drugs tend to be produced somewhere in the world and then sold over the internet by who-knows-who. These internet drug sites can indeed be selling dangerous products as they are totally uncontrolled.

Wayne

Funny Wayne, I worked in health care just south of you for years, in northern New England, and many of the Canadians that could afford it would come to the states for their healthcare... I saw it over and over again. And they weren't shy about expressing their distaste for your socialist system!

Alternatively, we had a family friend who lost a spouse due to delayed care in the UK's wonderful system.

This isn't going to be pretty...