Don't Fall and Hit your Head in CanadaI remember Natasha Richardson from the remake of The Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan, and Maid in America. She fell on a bunny hill in Canada and hit her head... Caused her brain to bleed... And now she is dead.
I know nothing of what was done for her, or the quality of care that she received.
In the United States, if you suffer any ill effects from a blow to the head, you get a CT scan... Whether you can afford it or not... No matter how old you are... And you don't have to get in line for it. Even a remote, tiny hospital like the one I work in has a CT scanner... And an MRI scanner... And a lot of other very expensive cool stuff... And if you're poor as dirt, you have the same access to it as the richest man in town... We can't turn anyone away.
Canada has socialized medicine, like the kind President Obama wants to introduce here. In Canada you have to wait in line to get things like heart caths... And CT scans... If you're deemed worthy. Of course in an emergency, your hospital may not even have a CT scanner to diagnose you... Because the government may not think your hospital is worthy of having a CT scanner.
So if you fall and hit your head, you're better off to do it in America... For now.
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16 comments:
Oh, but it's "free" in Canada, and that makes it ideal, right?
Good point. I hadn't thought about that.
I very much hope that people do not just roll over and allow socialized medicine to gain a foothold. That's a very scary prospect.
She refused treatment until it was largely too late, Malott.
I bet when vultures see you, even they remark about your lack of compassion.
Jacob,
You liberals are so full of nice words for the poor... But if socialized medicine comes to the States, I maintain the poor will have less care, and that care will be poorer.
I'm sure that's just fine with you... Because you really care only for your left-wing priciples... Not the poor.
Socialists never provide the poor with richer lives, they just make everyone poorer.
...principles
Maybe we will officially declare war on inaccessible healthcare. The war machine would be socialized medicine. It would probably work out as well as the war on poverty. How nice for the poor.
Chris, Jacob makes the liberal point perfectly. It's all about "feelings" based governing.
Malott:
They don't always take a CT. My child hit his head when he was younger. He almost passed out, staggered, then sat. We took him to the hospital ER and they just looked him over. Told us no xrays were needed, just watch him. Use ice on the big lump on his head.
That was a few years back. But, they don't always do CT's.
That doesn't take anything away from socialized medicine being worse than the worst HMO's in our country.
Using Natasha Richardson as an example is kinda a stretch. Between her money and Liam Neeson's money, they could afford to pay for it. Since they are not citizens of Canada - they would have to pay anyway, I think.
Just some thoughts.
I'm a liberal and I think that healthcare isn't something that should be treated like BMWs or fancy houses. Everyone has a right to them, regardless of whether they can afford it or not. As a person who CAN afford my own healthcare costs, and who pays tax, I'm perfectly happy to pay for those who cannot.
But according to you I'd be a fool and a Socialist to suggest anything like that.
My bad.
Everyone has a right to IT, rather.
But that wasn't even really what I cared about that I commented. The American system is very different to the Australian system and, really, I don't have the energy to argue with you or the other facile members of the Malott Squad. (Gooo team!)
You're a vulture, and that's all I can say about this post. I still remember that post about Ted Kennedy after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. It's the same story then and it's the same now.
Jacob, in America no one is ever turned away from a hospital or refused treatment based on their ability to pay.
I don't want the government making my healthcare choices, and that's exactly what will happen once the government starts to pay my bill.
Ahh... the liberal methodology of public discourse.
After another scathing round of rants that carry no content, Jacob signs off. He is done with this discussion. He has dropped his little hate bombs and headed for the shed.
What he chooses to not address is the empirical evidence that demonstrates that collectivist attempts to control any sector of an economy - housing, retirement, health care, whatever - result in failure. That is, if failure is measured by less liberty, higher cost, less service and availability, and more centralization (re: power & control) of the few who govern. This is not a matter of being more or less compassionate; it is a matter of reality. However, since compassion is a concern, consider all the political criminals that continue to be incarcerated in collectivist nations.
BTW, I have NO PROBLEM with your compassionate desire to help others by helping pay for their health care. Have at it. What I have a problem with is the liberal dictum that EVERYONE pays for someone else's health care. That is not compassion; that is called extortion.
See, libs love to take other people's money. Here's a partial list of what everyone is supposed to pay for on behalf of others: health care, mortgages/rent, animal management, environmental protections. Any one of those sectors could eat up anyone's entire earnings. Just how much of our earnings is the government supposed to take, Jacob?
The historic ideologies and results of collectivism (aka, socialism, communism, fascism, imperialism, totalitarianism) are polar opposites of the foundational basics of liberty espoused and practiced by America's Founders. So, to further anger a liberal, the logical conclusion is that collectivism is anti- or un-American.
How do you anger a conservative? Tell her a lie. How do you anger a liberal? Tell him the truth.
Now I'm going to change hats and play the liberal.
I think that family and friends of Natasha should now begin a movement to impose their will on everyone. All skiers, snow boarders, etc. should be required to wear protective helmets at all times while on the slopes.
After all, no one should have to go through what they have just gone through.
Jacob,
You really fail to see the full spectrum of reality when you say people have the right to health care.
In the US, those who apply themselves and make fairly decent life choices in order to obtain a decent job will get one that comes with health care as a benefit. Like me, they may have to cover part of the premium.
To say that all those who knowing their outcome still refuse to make good choices now have the right to take money from me to pay for their health care is lunacy.
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