January 12, 2005

You're Sick, Eh?

Think the U.S. health care system sucks ass? Thinking about going to Canada because their system is better than ours? You might want to hold off on those travel plans until you read "Miracle Cure" by Sally Pipes, or at least this column by Walter E. Williams.

"The median wait for an MRI across Canada was 12.6 weeks. Patients in Prince Edward Island experienced the shortest wait for an MRI (six weeks), while Newfoundland residents waited longest (33.5 weeks)." Overall, Canada's total waiting time between referral from a general practitioner to treatment averaged about 18 weeks in 2004.

I'm going to have to put "Miracle Cure" on my reading list, and if I get to it, I'll let you know what I find out.
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2 comments:

  1. PetiteDov1:59 PM

    Have you seen The Barbarian Invasion (a favorite of mine)? It deals with many things including the Canadian health system (and how flawed it is). It also subtly comments on the pros and cons of a socialist vs. capitalist government.
    The sad truth no matter how bad the Canadian health system, the US healthcare still sucks. The argument should not be about whether we should have universal or private healthcare. It should be how do we make our private healthcare better. Right now the healthcare plan picks you instead of you picking them. Costs are rising and people feel (a lot of times) helpless. The healthcare providers should be competing amongst themselves to both deliver better coverage and lower prices to the patients.

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  2. Dead Serious6:34 PM

    Jenerator,

    Thanks for the insight. That's just awful that you have to wait that long.

    Funnya,

    I haven't seen it, but I'll try to track down a copy. My fear is that health care, like so many other high-profile political tools (Social Security, anyone?) will never get fixed.

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