they go to the US because they don't want to wait a few months for non-life 
threatening procedures.
they also pay top dollar for treatments and procedures, availible in canada, 
but that they must wait for.
Again, nothing that is life threatening or that is easily availible here.
certain cancer treatments are availible in the US that aren't here, and that 
is due to cost of treatment, and monopoly on a market...IE, the US has over 
300 million potential patients, canada has about 30 million...if i was a big 
drug company or company selling a ground breaking treatment, I'd sell to the 
highest bidder...american hospitals and doctor organizations that make their 
money off the backs and from the illness of US residents.
as was stated before, if you have a multi-million dollar illness, such as 
cancer, the US is the place to be for newest treatment technology and 
care...as long as you can pay for it or have insurance that will pay for it.
doesn't mean the canada health care system isn't adequit as far as those go 
though either.
case in point, a friend of mine recently devloped non-hodgkins limphoma.  A 
recently approved drug, that would have cost $100 thousand over the term she 
took it, was free, and it completely eradicated the sell mass that was 
forming.
perhaps, if she had payed $200 per month in the US to an insurance company, 
they may have approved this new relatively untested drug, but the canadian 
government approved it right away and it was literally a life saver.
Other kemo and radiation treatments didn't work in this case.
So my point is, that some choose to go south of the boarder because they're 
impatient, have lots of money to throw around and want special treatment.
the national healthcare system here is world class, not the absolute best, 
but certainly adequit to our needs.
is it the same as a private clinic in the US at 5000 dollars a day? no, but 
the end result is very similar.  People are treated for their ails, cured or 
kept as healthy as modern medicine can keep them.
73
Colin, V A6BKX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed Malmgren" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2010 4:58 PM
Subject: Re: This has nothing to do with ham radio


> Sure is funny why so many people come to the U S A from Canada for health
> care then.  Go figure.
> Ed  K7UC
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2010 4:33 PM
> Subject: Re: This has nothing to do with ham radio
>
>
>> absolutely.
>> Cuba has one of the best health care systems on earth for their general
>> population.
>> there might be allot of other things wrong with cuba, but their health
>> care
>> is second to none.
>> I would venture to guess that the US is the only industrialized, first
>> world
>> country that doesn't have a national health care system by which all
>> residents are treated to adequit and timely medical care without having 
>> to
>> pay for it directly.
>> Obviously taxes support a national health care system, but at least in
>> other
>> countries, you don't have to pay your taxes, and pay for medical care on
>> top
>> of that.
>> The american way seems to be pay, pay, and pay some more, and still not
>> receive adequit service or care.
>> I would say that a country more interested in trillion dollar wars may 
>> not
>> see a good healthcare system for their population as a priority.
>> Canada didn't always have a healthcare system either, but the one we have
>> now, though always problematic as any large national organization is, is
>> adequit and timely as far as care goes on the front line.
>> No one must pay out of pocket, or go into debt to stay healthy or to
>> receive
>> care for an illness.  Or, stay sick because they can't pay.
>> We pay our federal and provincial taxes, and that is enough to provide
>> basic
>> human needs for us.
>> what is the point in having a government, if that government won't even
>> assist the general population with basic human needs? sooers, running and
>> clean water, land, safety and security, healthcare, education and
>> employment.
>> those are absolute basics, and implementation of programs to meet those
>> needs doesn't fall under the definition of socialism.
>> Any government who is put in charge of a society or population can be 
>> said
>> to be socialist to one extent or another.
>> Socialism seems to be a catch all phrase for anything americans don't 
>> like
>> about federal programs.  Throw up that red flag named socialism and
>> everyone
>> starts thinking about the soviet union, cuba, china, and the eastern
>> block.
>> social programs does not equal communism, two totally separate things.
>> Capitalism and the "american way" can thrive and still do very well under
>> a
>> higher level of "socialist" style programs and services.
>> You pay less as a citizen, and you have more opportunities for education
>> and
>> healthcare and employment.  where is the negative here?
>> 73
>> Colin, V A6BKX
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Howard Kaufman" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2010 4:06 PM
>> Subject: Re: This has nothing to do with ham radio
>>
>>
>>> They said the same thing about President Trumann.  Let's wait thirty
>>> years
>>> and then judge.
>>> The Health Care Reform act is a bad law, but it's a start to put us on a
>>> par
>>> with other industrialized nations.  The problem is it doesn't reform the
>>> system.  Money is made by curing catastrophic illnesses, not by
>>> preventing
>>> them.  Where do you think the brightest minds in medicine go?  Right to
>>> specialization rather than to primary care.
>>> America has the best health care in the world, that is if you have a
>>> million
>>> dollar illness like cancer.  Your child has a higher statistical chance
>>> of
>>> living to the age of five in Cuba than he or she does by being born in
>>> America.
>>> We fiddle while Rhome burns.
>>