Has Canada Got the Cure?

Alec had open heart surgery about 4 years ago and so he is on meds for that.

I have adult onset epilepsy (7 grand mal seizures since 1998) and I was recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. I take medications for those.

And both of us have claudication. “a circulation problem that causes pain during exercise. It’s usually related to peripheral arterial disease.” Claudication: When circulation problems cause leg pain from MayoClinic.com (No meds for this one ~ walking is supposed to help and we try to do some every day ~ but it is painful.)

And we don’t have health insurance because we are self-employed. We are private pay when we see doctors which is expensive. We order our medications from a Canadian pharmacy which saves us some money.

At any rate, I thought this article was interesting:

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Has Canada Got the Cure?

Since 1970, Canada has had a publicly funded, single-payer health system. Today, all Canadians are equally healthy, regardless of income.

Should the United States implement a more inclusive, publicly funded health care system? That’s a big debate throughout the country. But even as it rages, most Americans are unaware that the United States is the only country in the developed world that doesn’t already have a fundamentally public–that is, tax-supported–health care system.

and

The United States spends far more per capita on health care than any comparable country. In fact, the gap is so enormous that a recent University of California, San Francisco, study estimates that the United States would save over $161 billion every year in paperwork alone if it switched to a singlepayer system like Canada’s. These billions of dollars are not abstract amounts deducted from government budgets; they come directly out of the pockets of people who are sick.

read all of Has Canada Got the Cure? by Holly Dressel ~ posted on Alternet on August 29, 2006.
reprinted from Yes! A Journal of Positive Futures

1 thought on “Has Canada Got the Cure?”

  1. In the UK we have the NHS, funded through taxation with care free at the point of delivery and free medication (there is a small charge for drugs prescribed to those working), the unwaged receive completely free care and medication. I can’t imagine living in a country where you have to pay a Doctor as you see them, and pay for all the medication, it must be a real worry for people on limited budgets and for people who can’t afford insurance. I think a publicly funded health care system would be a good system for the US to adopt, and lead to healthier citizens, saving money by less sick days off work and less disabilty if illness is caught and treated earlier.

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