Over the past
five years I have been sharing my very personal
journey of Canadian health care in hopes to help
open the doors of communication between the powers
that be and the American public so that the message
stays on access to healthcare not access to health
insurance.
According to a
new survey, Canada ranks last among 11 OECD
countries in the latest survey on how quickly
Canadians can actually get to see their family
physicians. This is a growing problem in our
government run healthcare system which forces more
and more people into waiting rooms of local
emergency departments.
Right now in
Canada we have the same percentage of people without
family doctors (the gateway to health care) as
Americans that are uninsured. What do our citizens
without family doctors do? They go to the emergency
room in hopes for treatment.
Just what is
the anatomy of a wait time? Many people have
developed the idea that we have a shortage of
doctors possibly due to population. Quite often
people hear that the threat with is that doctors
will just stop seeing patients, or they will opt for
another field, placing the blame squarely on the
shoulders of doctors and giving the public the idea
that they are just money hungry.
But in Canada
our doctors salaries are capped and the government
determines just how much money they can make each
and every year. From that salary, they are expected
to stick to a pay schedule, run their offices,
employ staff, and insure themselves against
negligence. When they reach their quota, they stop
seeing patients. The number of doctors is controlled
by these same practices, so competition is just
unheard of. Hospital budgets allow for only so many
operating hours for surgeons, and only so many
dollars are allocated towards procedure. So what if
you are 36th on the list for a procedure that is
budgeted for only 12 times per year in a hospital?
See you in 3 years.
If you're
feeling lucky, there are options are for you. Some
physicians hold lotteries for open spots in their
practice for a new patient, or they do intake
interviews to determine if you are the type of
patient they want. Cancer drugs are not prescribed
due to effectiveness but by zip code alone. It is
reported that where you live does matter in your
ability to get health care. Does this sound like the
promises made to the American public with regards to
the Affordable Care Act? Or does it sound too
similar to "If you like your doctor, you can keep
your doctor. Period."? Good luck with that.
In a system
such as Canada's, the government's role is to set
budgets and stick to them. Every single person in
Canada is covered by the same insurance plan,
regardless of your economic situation, employment
status, or citizenship. If the government insurance
chooses to cover or not cover a treatment or
determines if that treatment is available, that's
the end of the story. There are no private hospitals
offering treatments that the government hasn't
approved. It is no longer just the wealthiest of
people who flee over the border for care; it is now
just the desperate.
Universal
health care does not end the suffering—it
redistributes it so that the rich man's son has the
exact same opportunity to suffer as the poor man's
son. Without question, Obamacare will only mirror
this restricted access to care.
As many of America's top hospitals are no longer
covered by most plans and they start their layoffs,
the public will quickly be divided by who is lucky
enough to receive care and who will wait. The
opportunity to go to places like the Mayo Clinic, or
the Cleveland clinic, or even specialized cancer
treatment centers will be a thing of the past for
the average American.
So why does
Canada matter? Because as your neighbors, we use
your system as a safety valve when we are so
desperate for care and are cruelly faced with
inhumane wait times. This is not the system that
Americans strive for. But inevitably it is heading
your way. As the pressure mounts on any such
government program, the answers are usually one of
two solutions: increase taxes, and/or reduce
services.
Some things
that many Americans do not understand about our
health insurance program is the things that it does
not cover—it no longer covers things like Dental
care, Vision, Prescription Drugs, Physiotherapy,
Preventive care—just to name a few. Yes you will
hear how the ACA will allow people to go to their
primary care physician for preventive care which
will reduce costs and lesson the burden on emergency
rooms. In theory it is wonderful but in reality, it
doesn't work.
Simply put,
Canada's health care system has let its people
down—and many of them are grateful for having the
option of turning to the U.S. system. More than
40,000 of my fellow citizens have done so this past
year. Faced with long waiting lists for surgeries
and other essential services, they have grown
accustomed to availing themselves of the best
medical system in the world.
The president may be frustrated that Americans have
had to wait to get online at
HealthCare.gov . |