Publicly-Funded Medicare IS Sustainable

Of course it's sustainable. If it wasn't Ottawa wouldn't be posting surplus after surplus. Imagine if Ottawa doled out more of that surplus to the provinces for health care, we would definitely be in even better shape.

It can't be forgotten that these right-wing folks who try to criticize medicare with unfounded arguments are master manipulators. Take anything they say with a grain of salt.

It doesnt hurt either that they get PAID to find certian conclusions for private interests. They wouldn't make things up now would they?

My favourite Fraser Institute moment comes in the documentary The Corporation when the head goofball at the Fraser Institute tries to tell the world that workers in the world 'appreciate' the jobs they have even though the multinational corporations rake in insane profits while they can barely afford to eat twice a day. "25 cent wages are good for those used to trying times".

re: the "system ain't broke" - oh really? go into a hospital in Ontario for some simple procedure, something with a little anaesthetic let's say.

It's like the pride of Soviet Industry in Medical delivery - line up, get herded like cattle through drab and dirty environs, get put on a stretcher half-naked in a hallway while everyone and their uncle is wandering around you, staff may be pleasant or rude towards you - doesn't matter to them in the least - they can't be fired etc. etc. etc...

And, one has to wait months for this privelege!

The system is broke and the more money they pour into it - the longer the waiting times get.

Lots of medical services are already privatized thankfully, otherwise a person would wait months for X-rays and lab test results too. But it's a haphazard arrangement so a completely privatized delivery system would be the best solution for health care.

I'm a NDP supporter and I believe that they should look to countries like germany and sweden. They get to see a family doctor, specialist and have surgery within a week!!
10% is privatized care and 90% is public. In Canada it's 30%private and 70% public and look at how long our waiting lists are with more privitization.

My point is if the NDP followed policies like the Nordic country I wouldn't be against privitization.

As Canadians, I think we view privitization as in it's going to become like the American health care system. In Europe it's not seen as that big of a deal probably because European countries aren't so capitalist as Canada.

Good point. I suggested we use a healthcare system similar to England, Germany, and Sweden before. I think if we use their style of healthcare, we can probably fix many of the problems we have now. We would also have to get rid of the thiefs in Ottawa and other provinces first to get it to work properly!

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Alliance Atlantis films proudly presents...
Anakin Skywalker will fall and the Empire will rise May 2005.

The only reason our health care is having troubles is because it was designed half a century ago. Back then, most of the medical attention needed was accute care - jobs were less safe so there were more job-related injuries. I think even Tuberculosis was a problem back then. That's acute care.

Nowadays, our problems are primarily longterm. Most patients who walk through emergency room doors don't need emergency attention at all. Most would get better care for the same price (or cheaper) through highly skilled nursing teams and community health centres. What we need to do is recognize that we don't need bigger hospitals - we need smaller community health centres that offer all basic health services under one roof. And that includes everything from dentistry to physiotherapy.

For more information, check out this website:

http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/Detail/?ID=31

Funny thing is that BC NDP party policy has been saying these things for years. And I don't doubt that it's the same for the NDP nation-wide.

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Kory Yamashita

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Anon who say's the system is broke.

You obviously didn't read the entire article if you can come up with a response like that. The author clearly explained what he meant by saying the system isn't broke. He describes some of the problems and explain very clearly some changes that need to be made. His main point is to explain how its a myth to say it is not completely sustainable. Cause it is.

Kevin

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War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
--Bertrand Russell

Maybe there should be a deductible to pay when one goes to see the doctor or goes to emerg. I think a big problem in the system is people who go to the doc for a runny nose or multiple docs for multiple prescriptions, doctors who keep patients coming back on a regular basis unnecessarily and people who use there docs for bogus wcb claims. we need some penalties for those people. If someone is caught cheating the system, they should get immediate surgery... castration!
I like to see the resulting federal surplus, if we could keep politicians and all related programs (including healthcare) free from greed and corruption for just one year! The cow isn't sick, she's just got parasites!

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Canada for Canadians

Nah, i say just tax the rich and the corporations more, as well as have the Bank Of Canada create the money, and behold, you have not only affordable health care, but an expanded system to include dental, pharmacy, home care, etc. But of course, to do anything worth while, you have to have leaders who care, which of course, presently, we don`t.

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Dave Ruston

Don't you understand that the line-ups you complain of have been created by politicians acting at the behests of lobbyists for interested parties just waiting to capitalize on the collapse of the public system (namely, the insurance industry and those providers who want to set up businesses to make millions per year)?

For example, in Calgary there are waiting lists for joint replacement surgery that have been growing for years. However, this was only after Ralph Klein blew up one hospital and sold two others (for firesale prices) thereby taking over 20 operating rooms out of service. The real galling thing is that now in order to clear up this backlog of surgeries the Klein government has come up with a "brilliant" plan to rent back operating rooms from one of the hospitals he sold at a cost of $1000 over and above what the public system pays for each surgery. It also just so happens that one of the main investors in this private hospital is a joint replacement surgeon who stands to make millions from this deal. Where was this person with some creative suggestions for the public system to care for his patients while they were waiting two or more years in pain. Greedy physicians are just as bad as greedy politicians.

By the way, this doctor's name was Stephen Miller who was the president of the Canadian Orthopedic Association for many of the years Ralph Klein was doing the above and neither he personally nor his organization said a word in protest of losing so many ORs.

Dave's right. Paul Martin deliberately low-balls his surplus projections. Then when the fiscal year ends, he announces this great surplus that's $5 billion bigger than expected. And pays down the debt. Well almost all our debt (more than $500 billion out of our debt that's less than $600 billion) is from interest accrued, NOT from actual over-spending. And the reason we have to pay such high interest is because we're letting private banks play the middle man for NO reason. We borrow from ourselves (Gov of Canada borrows from the citizen-owned Bank of Canada), but for some reason cut the private banks into the middle of the deal. It's disgusting.

Paying down the debt makes no sense unless we do something about the outrageous interest payments we're making.

-KY

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Kory Yamashita

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Hey, a NONAMouse 7:39, you picked the wrong guy on the wrong day.

Listen up !!!!

Wednesday, November 24:

I drive my ex-wife down to Peterborough to stay in a motel so we can be at the Civic hospital by 8 AM Thursday, the 25th; We get to the lab, she has tests that last for 2 hours for a clogged artery in her left leg; They find it as long as my diddlin' finger, (you'd know all about that,) then they send her for an angiogram, a chest x-ray, and do the paperwork.

They keep her in overnight so they can perform surgery on the morning of the 26th;

I'll let you know how it turns out.

You want to criticize the system ??

How come she got in and is going to have the surgery the VERY NEXT DAY ??

How do you figure that happened ??

It's NOT because we paid for it !

Get a life and start looking at the positive side of our system. It still ranks among the best in the WORLD !!

Now, do you have another comment so I can go on another rant ??



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"Arrogance is unacceptable. Do it to my face, and I will react" - Jim Callaghan

Kory, you are absolutley right.

The deficit was the main debt load that kept increasing due to compound interest.

The debt is actually made up of multiple deficits, and paying interest on our own money is a cruel joke that's been played on us for many years.

It's called USURY.

Cut the private banks out, force them to carry a reserve of at least 10% for now, and increase it over time.

We are being suckered by the banking institutions world wide, and it makes my blood boil.


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"Arrogance is unacceptable. Do it to my face, and I will react" - Jim Callaghan