Why cant a Universal Health Care system work in the US like it does in Canada.?!
Question: I am writing you this from Ontario, Canada. But I once lived in the USA, for 10 years, in Arizona. Currently, I have phone/email frineds in the USA.
I will make the discussion short in point form.
You should be able to flesh it out with some internet research, and by asking the 2 sides in the US Debate.
Some Church, Anti-poverty, and Social groups would very much like a Canadian System.
Most Right-wingers, Wealthy People, Hospital Corporations, and doctors do NOT.
So now you know where to go for research.
Look up the name Tommy Douglas on Google. This will tell you the history and Source of the Canadian System. In Wiki, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Dougl...
Michael Moore also has some good stuff, but he is overblown, and some of his "facts" are just plain wrong.
Reasons why the system is NOT wanted in the USA.
- Fear of the unknown and fear of something new.
- The boogieman of socialized medicine.
- Hospital corporations are afraid of loss of earnings, loss of their "freedoms", etc.
- Doctors are afraid they might not get as rich.
- Doctors fear they would be overworked.
- Generally Republicans and Right-wingers are philosophically opposed, they oppose it on general principles, not because it is good or bad.
- Canada has between 32 and 40 million people (depending on how you do the survey), spread almost 6000 miles wide, and with most of the population living within 100 miles of the US border. We are more "condensed than the US's population is, and we have fewer people. The USA has between 350 and 400 million people (again depends who does the stats) sreap over a huge whack of land. You would have to have one heck of a national health care system to get 50 states to agree. We can't even get 10 Provinces to agree on most stuff.
Reasons why it is wanted in USA
- Over 60% of the US population has no health coverage.
- Some 30% has NO health care at all - they cannot afford any.
- Some Doctors would see it as a good thing as they see it as a sure way to get paid for their work.
- Some smaller hospitals see it as a good thing: Guaranteed paying patients!
- Democrats like it on general philosophical principles.
The truth:
Our system is not perfect. Neither is yours. The British System covers more stuff than ours, and is true socialized medicine, but they have too many patients, and their organization of it is badly messed up. Even they admit they need reform. They just cannot agree on what reforms.
Other European Countries have systems with similarities to Canada's, but also major differences.
Rather than have the US convert Canada to it's viewpoint, or Canada convert the US to Canada's viepoint, we would be better off working together fixing the problems of both systems.
Answers: I am writing you this from Ontario, Canada. But I once lived in the USA, for 10 years, in Arizona. Currently, I have phone/email frineds in the USA.
I will make the discussion short in point form.
You should be able to flesh it out with some internet research, and by asking the 2 sides in the US Debate.
Some Church, Anti-poverty, and Social groups would very much like a Canadian System.
Most Right-wingers, Wealthy People, Hospital Corporations, and doctors do NOT.
So now you know where to go for research.
Look up the name Tommy Douglas on Google. This will tell you the history and Source of the Canadian System. In Wiki, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Dougl...
Michael Moore also has some good stuff, but he is overblown, and some of his "facts" are just plain wrong.
Reasons why the system is NOT wanted in the USA.
- Fear of the unknown and fear of something new.
- The boogieman of socialized medicine.
- Hospital corporations are afraid of loss of earnings, loss of their "freedoms", etc.
- Doctors are afraid they might not get as rich.
- Doctors fear they would be overworked.
- Generally Republicans and Right-wingers are philosophically opposed, they oppose it on general principles, not because it is good or bad.
- Canada has between 32 and 40 million people (depending on how you do the survey), spread almost 6000 miles wide, and with most of the population living within 100 miles of the US border. We are more "condensed than the US's population is, and we have fewer people. The USA has between 350 and 400 million people (again depends who does the stats) sreap over a huge whack of land. You would have to have one heck of a national health care system to get 50 states to agree. We can't even get 10 Provinces to agree on most stuff.
Reasons why it is wanted in USA
- Over 60% of the US population has no health coverage.
- Some 30% has NO health care at all - they cannot afford any.
- Some Doctors would see it as a good thing as they see it as a sure way to get paid for their work.
- Some smaller hospitals see it as a good thing: Guaranteed paying patients!
- Democrats like it on general philosophical principles.
The truth:
Our system is not perfect. Neither is yours. The British System covers more stuff than ours, and is true socialized medicine, but they have too many patients, and their organization of it is badly messed up. Even they admit they need reform. They just cannot agree on what reforms.
Other European Countries have systems with similarities to Canada's, but also major differences.
Rather than have the US convert Canada to it's viewpoint, or Canada convert the US to Canada's viepoint, we would be better off working together fixing the problems of both systems.
It does not work in Canada. There have been many stories recently of women who have had to come to the US hospitals to have their babies or to get care for preemies because Canada can't handle it. People die on waiting lists to see doctors. To see a doctor, you have to take an ambulance to a hospital. The doctor's are unmotivated due to the conditions and restrictions on income placed on them by the government. Many Canadian doctors come to the US to work. Anything ran by a government is expensive and inefficient!!!
Oh yes, could work in the US like in Canada and UK. Rationed care; long waits; denied procedures because you're old, etc.....
That's why we shouldn't want it here.