A nation's health care system reflects the values of that society

This editorial appeared in Newsweek magazine 11 years ago.  It expressed the viewpoint that a country's health-care system reflects the societal values that predominate in that country.  Examples are provided. That article is still relevant and it is still available online.

 

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IS A MORAL CHOICE

http://www.newsweek.com/univer sal-health-care-moral-choice-7 9223

The design of any country's health-care system involves political,

medical, and economic decisions. But the primary issue for any

health-care system is a moral question: should a rich society provide

health care to everyone who needs it? If a nation answers yes to

that moral question, it will build a health-care system like the ones in

Britain, Germany, Canada, France, and Japan, where everybody is

covered. If a nation doesn't decide to provide universal coverage,

then you're likely to end up with a system where some people get the

finest medical care on earth in the finest hospitals, and tens of

thousands of others are left to die for lack of care. Without the moral

commitment, in other words, you end up with a system like America's.

 

 

I was 48 years old when I immigrated to Canada in 2005, along with my wife and daughter (who was 14 at the time). Canada had a new conservative government when we moved here, and "privatization" of the health care system was a hot topic. The "Obamacare" debate in the States caused a lot of Canadians to educate themselves about our own health care system. And that education has been of immeasurable value to  Canadians.

 

Under the auspices of the NAFTA treaty (as skilled work immigrants) we became eligible for Medicare after a three month wait. And we have no complaints.

 

We've been in Canada now for 15 full years; we have used three different hospitals, emergency services, and specialists in genetics, gynecology, and oncology.  We have nothing but praise for the medical care we've received.  

Waiting lines for non-essential medical care have never been a problem for us, not in this province, but I have heard stories of people having to wait for some procedures.  

The Canadian single-payer health care system is often criticized for long wait times for non-emergency medical procedures.  It is true that any non-emergency surgery, though, is likely to put you on a waiting list.  But in an emergency — a real emergency — you go straight to the head of the line, if your doctor says you need a procedure; you get it.  Without waiting.

In Canada, medical decisions are left entirely up to doctors, and there are no requirements for pre-authorization whatsoever  If your family doctor says you need an MRI, you get an MRI.  I did, immediately, in August 2012, after a serious accident on the farm.  No "waiting list".  In the US, if an insurance administrator or HMO rep says you are not getting an MRI, then you're not getting one regardless of what your doctor thinks — unless, of course, you pay for it out of your own pocket.  Which is why far more Americans are paying for necessary medical procedures out of their own pockets than there are Canadians who find it necessary to do that.  

Two-thirds of all bankruptcies in the US are the result of medical expenses.  That's over 500,000 Americans who go bankrupt due to medical bills each year. The number of medical bankruptcies in Canada is precisely zero.  What is that worth to any society?