Rosie O'Donald gets a small lesson in Gov't healthcare.

[MSR 6]

I don't normally weigh in on topics concerning U.S. vs Canadian health care, however, I wanted to share an experience very similar to the woman speaking in the audio clip. I am Canadian, just moved to the U.S myself and have a very close friend who had this procedure about two years ago; She began the process in late 2005 early 2006, therefore waited approximately two years for the procedure.

I can't speak for the woman in the clip however, she does have every right to seek assistance from another doctor if she feels her situation is life threatening. If her doctor had deemed her situation life threatening, she would have been placed in high priority and would not have waited as long as she has.

The wait times for elective surgery are longer however this is because they are cosmetic in nature.

Edited January 5, 2011 by MSR

[mawilson 2,133]

The woman has to wait a decade for surgery and this is your first thought.

WOW!

And how many more die in the US because they do not get surgery at all?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Can you please stop trying to stir everything Danno. All it illustrates is that you don't know what you're talking about.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Can you please stop trying to stir everything Danno. All it illustrates is that you don't know what you're talking about.

Not until you admit that the U.S. has the best healthcare EVER!!!!!11

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I can't because it doesnt. Unless you are fabulously wealthy in which case you could afford the same standard of care in ANY country.

[Krikit 1,165]

What has been omitted is that the woman wanting the elective surgery (or "thinks" she wants, as stated in the clip) is that she is free to have the procedure done elsewhere at her discretion and the cost will be covered by the Canadian healthcare system. What is also omitted is, by the very nature of the fact that she has waited so long thus far, leads me to believe that she is ignoring her GP's advice and/or the GP has other information which is not self-serving to the person who is complaining.

Rob, your post to Danno has been noted and you are not going to like the result.

[The_Dude 1,142]

What has been omitted is that the woman wanting the elective surgery (or "thinks" she wants, as stated in the clip) is that she is free to have the procedure done elsewhere at her discretion and the cost will be covered by the Canadian healthcare system. What is also omitted is, by the very nature of the fact that she has waited so long thus far, leads me to believe that she is ignoring her GP's advice and/or the GP has other information which is not self-serving to the person who is complaining.

Rob, your post to Danno has been noted and you are not going to like the result.

So, the woman was just lazy?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

It is an economic boon for Vermont plus it gives US much better health care than we should or would logically have in an area with a population so low. The medical services here are heavily used by people from Quebec and some from Ontario (Ottawa region) and as such we have a lot of facilities we would otherwise not have. Lots of those Canadians are opting to come to the USA for their procedures. If you live 30 minutes away in Quebec and have to wait years for care what would you do? Wait? Or drive 30 minutes south?

[MSR 6]

Is it not plausible that these particular Canadians are visitors, business travelers, People on holidays, that may require medical care while outside Canada?

I think it's a rather far stretch to assume they are Canadian medicare refugees especially considering we don't know the context of their medical care use in the U.S.

There are many Retirees from Canada who spend up to 6 months a year in the U.S. thus during this time may require medical care.

Edited January 6, 2011 by MSR

[Danno 1,228]

I don't normally weigh in on topics concerning U.S. vs Canadian health care, however, I wanted to share an experience very similar to the woman speaking in the audio clip. I am Canadian, just moved to the U.S myself and have a very close friend who had this procedure about two years ago; She began the process in late 2005 early 2006, therefore waited approximately two years for the procedure.

I can't speak for the woman in the clip however, she does have every right to seek assistance from another doctor if she feels her situation is life threatening. If her doctor had deemed her situation life threatening, she would have been placed in high priority and would not have waited as long as she has.

The wait times for elective surgery are longer however this is because they are cosmetic in nature.

So this is what it is down to....-Life threatening situations get prompt care... all other suffer until your number is called.

Thats a sweet gate-keeper on costs I suppose.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Is it not plausible that these particular Canadians are visitors, business travelers, People on holidays, that may require medical care while outside Canada?

I think it's a rather far stretch to assume they are Canadian medicare refugees especially considering we don't know the context of their medical care use in the U.S.

There are many Retirees from Canada who spend up to 6 months a year in the U.S. thus during this time may require medical care.

Sure. You do the math. A HUGE medical complex located in a city with a population of 50,000 people in a STATE with a population of 600,000. About 1/4 of the population of the CITY of Montreal, just 23 miles north of the border. Within a 1-1/2 hour ride of this hospital complex (Fletcher Allen Healthcare) 90% of the population is CANADIAN. It has an underground, long term parking garage and the majority of the license plates in that garage are from Quebec.

So...lets assume that hundreds of Quebecois everyday come to Burlington to go shopping and they all park at the hospital and then take a bus downtown? keep dreaming.

Burlington Vermont has 4 times the MRI facilities as Montreal. To serve the shoppers.

Speaking of shopping. WHY are they shopping here? Because Quebec has a 15% sales tax (Federal and Provincial combined) to pay for health care and we have NO sales tax on clothes and shoes and food. Gasoline is 30% cheaper on this side of the border, and it is easy to go back and forth.

As I said the whole health care in Canada thing is a huge bonus for us in Vermont. Our airport makes announcements in French and English. More than 50% of the cars in the airport garage are from Quebec. Our traffic from Quebecois is up 24% in 2010 at the airport. They are building an addition to the garage and TWO new airlines have announced service from Burlington to various US destinations, including SOUTHWEST Airlines. Why? Check tha airfares from Trudeau to Washington DC, for example vs. from Burlington.

More? Check the price of skiing at Mont Tremblanc vs. Jay Peak. There are more Canadians skiing on this side of the border than on the Canadian side of the border.

Thank you very much. We LOVE our Canadian neighbors and Canadian Healthcare!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Is it not plausible that these particular Canadians are visitors, business travelers, People on holidays, that may require medical care while outside Canada?

I think it's a rather far stretch to assume they are Canadian medicare refugees especially considering we don't know the context of their medical care use in the U.S.

There are many Retirees from Canada who spend up to 6 months a year in the U.S. thus during this time may require medical care.

How many people do you think retire from Montreal and move to Burlington? Must be for the warmer weather?

Yes there are a large number of Canadian citizens that have homes here, mostly for summer. We jokingly refer to the fleets of sailboats on Lake Champlain as the "Quebec Navy" but then why would they eschew FREE healthcare and not drive 1 hour NORTH to enjoy the FREE healthcare?

On the other hand they can drive 1 hour SOUTH and get an MRI today. What do you think?

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Makes one wonder how these Canadians - and the citizens of every other developed country - lead longer, healthier lives than the population of the country with the supposedly best health care system in the world, doesn't it? Well, not really.

Yeah! And why are they so white too?

[Dakine10 5,452]

How many people do you think retire from Montreal and move to Burlington? Must be for the warmer weather?

Yes there are a large number of Canadian citizens that have homes here, mostly for summer. We jokingly refer to the fleets of sailboats on Lake Champlain as the "Quebec Navy" but then why would they eschew FREE healthcare and not drive 1 hour NORTH to enjoy the FREE healthcare?

On the other hand they can drive 1 hour SOUTH and get an MRI today. What do you think?

Someone who came from Quebec to Vermont for an MRI (for example) because the wait time in Quebec is too long would be eligible to be reimbursed by provincial insurance for the amount that would be covered in Quebec. In some cases the Canadian provincial governments have even contracted services with US hospitals so that the cost is billed directly to the Canadian Health care plan.

It sounds like hospitals in Vermont (and other border states) are really making a market for Canadians who don't want to wait. The AVERAGE Canadian wouldn't be coming to the US if they had to pay the whole amount out of pocket, but it's different when they are getting 30% discounts from the US hospital and maybe 50% reimbursed by the Canadian government. That ends up being a 20% copayment for same day service - definitely an option for some who don't want to wait and can afford it.

Now the folks with summer homes and sailboats in Vermont on the other hand - probably not representative of the average Canadian.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So this is what it is down to....-Life threatening situations get prompt care... all other suffer until your number is called.

Thats a sweet gate-keeper on costs I suppose.

Yes, as oposed to the US where those that need livesaving treatments are denied such treatment and simply left to die. Not by the insurance industry but by state government. Arizona is now two down on the 100 or so people that have been cast aside to die by Gov Brewers death panel back in October.

Patient cut from transplant list dies

A patient who was refused a liver transplant because of state budget cuts has died, Tucson's University Medical Center confirmed Wednesday.

The death was "most likely" due to the defunding of certain organ transplants that had been previously covered by the state's Medicaid program, said University of Arizona Surgery Department spokeswoman Jo Marie Gellerman.

She could not release any further information about the patient, who was taken off the waiting list Oct. 1 when Arizona stopped paying for certain organ transplants for patients covered by the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

The patient did not die at UMC but had been waiting for a transplant at the Tucson hospital before being removed from the waiting list, Gellerman said. She said the patient died at another health-care facility.

The patient is the second person known to die after being denied a transplant due to the funding cuts. A 38-year-old Goodyear man on AHCCCS who was denied a bone-marrow transplant died in November.

Between 95 and 100 people who were waiting for transplants in Arizona were affected by the cuts.

So, cry me a fcuking river over some fat lady that can't control her food intake and wants her stomach surgically reduced to manage her weight issues. I'd rather the health care system focuses on those that actually need the care to live.