Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Canadian Politician Comes to U.S. for Heart Surgery

CANADA'S NATIONAL POST -- Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will undergo heart surgery later this week in the United States. He is expected to be away from four to six weeks.
A decision to leave Canada for the surgery, especially if it is available here, raises questions about the Premier's confidence in Newfoundland's health care system.

MP: This raises the question: Where will U.S. politicians go for heart surgery if we ever adapt Canadian-style health care?


Thanks to Bob Wright.

13 Comments:

At 2/02/2010 10:17 AM, Blogger Paul said...

Well, yeah, but what about crop subsidies?

 
At 2/02/2010 10:56 AM, Blogger juandos said...

"This raises the question: Where will U.S. politicians go for heart surgery if we ever adapt Canadian-style health care?"...

India?

 
At 2/02/2010 11:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am from Canada and i have to go in a private clinic to get a good service. For $ 75 CAD i have a consultation in the next 2-3 hours after my phone call.

Or I have the choice to wait over 12 hours in a very dirty emergency with over 50 people and miss my job for one day.

 
At 2/02/2010 1:58 PM, Anonymous Benny The Man said...

Paul-

You finally get it.

The topic is never crop subsidies, or ossified lard in the Department of Defense, or the home mortgage interest tax deduction, or the extensive panoply of rural subsidies.

Nevermind that everyone has known for decades that surface ships are prone to sinking in any real war. The mightiest aircraft carrier will be known as the USS Sunkfast if a sub hits it with a torpedo--and a Chinese sub surfaced right in the middle of our most powerful fleet on exercises recently! No one had detected it! It could have sunk several of our ships! But let's change the topic, quickly. The right-wing never wants to talk about how it copsts $1 million a year per soldier for our military to put a solider on the ground---in marginal costs. The full cost is multiples higher. Do you think we might need radical reforms? Just maybe?

BTW, I am not sure I support nationalized health care as proposed in the USA.
I think we have to go either/or. Privatize entirely, or create a national health corps and do it that way.

 
At 2/02/2010 3:39 PM, Blogger Paul said...

Benny The Obama Voter,

"The topic is never crop subsidies, or ossified lard in the Department of Defense, or the home mortgage interest tax deduction, or the extensive panoply of rural subsidies."

And what color is the sky in your world where the right-wing applauds crop subsidies, or Pentagon excess?

 
At 2/02/2010 4:03 PM, Anonymous Benny The Man said...

Paul-

Let's review Carpe Diem's topics for the last year.

How many were on the one-time, sunsetted, $3 billion auto clunkers program, vs. the $8 billion in annual subsidies for rural telephone users?

I think the score is 12 to 0.

The right-wing constantly does the waa-waa over perceived liberal programs, but the right-wing has its own, and larger, sacred cows.

I assume Dr. Perry has never combed through the federal budget and regulatory apparatus, and so does not know this.

So I post to add some balance.

 
At 2/02/2010 4:14 PM, Blogger Paul said...

Benny The Obama Voter,

"The right-wing constantly does the waa-waa over perceived liberal programs, but the right-wing has its own, and larger, sacred cows."

Oh yeah, like farm subsidies, right? Then explain to me farm state Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Ben Nelson, Senator Russ Feingold, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Roland Burris, Senator Kent Conrad, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Al Franken, Senator Herb Kohl, etc.

Explain how the guy you voted for, the same guy who just submitted a staggering record deficit budget with trillion dollar out yr deficits for eternity, enthusiastically supports the ethanol boondoggle.

 
At 2/02/2010 4:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Don't worry Mr. Perry, us Canadians have other options. Singapore and Bangkok have amazing private hospitals. They're more like hotels than any hospital North Americans are accustomed to, and they're rather affordable.

When I'm in Canada, I dread going to the hospital for anything. I usually wait to get back to a country that knows how to deliver medical services in style.

 
At 2/02/2010 4:38 PM, Anonymous Benny The Man said...

Paul-

Go to page A4 of today's Wall Street Journal. You will see that
in 2000, the US military budget was $300 billion.

We took a hit from 24 punks-terrorists, mostly Saudis, armed with box cutters on 9/11.

No nation-state or military force attacked us, or has even threatened to.

Today our military budget is $688 billion, not counting VA outlays, from DOE outlays, and "Homeland Security," or "Civilian Defense."

Obama is currently presiding over this enormous waste of resources. Bush started this waste of resources.

We have to pay taxes for this.

In fact, we should demand that our military defend us for less than the 2000 outlay of $300 billion. As Dr. Perry has pointed out, most hardware in the private sector costs less every year, not more. But military hadrware just costs more and more and more.

I never, ever hear right-wingers do the waa-waa over military outlays--which primarily flow to Red and rural areas.

Just telling it like it is.

You are right--plenty of Deficit Democrats join hands with Red Ink Republicans to fleece US taxpayers.

 
At 2/02/2010 4:52 PM, Blogger Paul said...

Benny The Obama Voter,

"Obama is currently presiding over this enormous waste of resources. Bush started this waste of resources."

We're killing terrorists all across the Middle East, hardly a waste, and at least it's Constitutionally mandated.

If you want to talk about a waste of resources, consult today's top editorial in the WSJ regarding Obama's budget monstrosity.

I propose a a 90% idiot tax on Obama voters to make up for his staggering budget shortfalls.

 
At 2/02/2010 5:02 PM, Anonymous Lyle said...

To answer the question, a lot of hospitals will be set up in the Bahamas and British Caribbean outposts, (an idea for the caymans after their banks get killed off). US physicians who don't like what is happening here will move there and not have to worry about mal-practice since it is based on the British view of civil justice. Note also from Newfoundland Boston is likely closer than Montreal or Toronto where the Canadian centers likely are.
This emphasises the issue that the health care is not about the elites they will always get the best because they can pay, it is how the rest of us will get our care rationed, one way or the other, either by insurance/no insurance, or by other means. Hard question but is it worth $100,000 to prolong a life by 2 months, clearly if private pay, but with insurance the issue is less clear.

In the spirit of a modest proposal by Swift, there is a way to control health care, require that insurance pay only for those techniques and drugs around in 1950 or some other date.

 
At 2/03/2010 8:08 AM, Blogger juandos said...

pseudo benny has a real hard time perceiving reality it seems...

From the WaPo: House Passes Massive Farm Bill
Tax Issue Prompts GOP Opposition


By Dan Morgan
Special to the Washington Post
Saturday, July 28, 2007

Its all politics pseudo benny but you don't let that stop you from making silly comments...


CARPE DIEM

 
At 3/08/2010 11:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps we need look no further than the government regulations to explain the high cost of insurance.

Torte reform is but one piece of the puzzle that would lower our costs for insurance. Crossing state lines as in every other instance of "commerce" is a way to increase competition for a lower premium.

The government is NEVER the answer. People who WANT to run the lives of others should ALWAYS be suspect. What kind of arrogance does this expose? We would have good people in gov if we would reinstate our 6th and 10th Amendments (Constitution).

Health care should remain between a patient and his/her doctor. A bureaucrat is definitely NOT the answer. What I eat, drive, sport, or any other aspect of my life is not up for discussion nor edict.

I am always concerned that those speaking with accents are trying to make this country like the ones they left for the freedom of choice which is mankinds' birthright and then work toward changing this country into something closer to what they left.

"Row, Row, row YOUR boat gently down the stream (w/o capsizing any others' boat"...what ever happened to "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS"!

 

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