Re: The Death of the Canadian Model
From: Ina May Gaskin (midwifeim@earthlink.net)
Tue Feb 28 02:10:16 2006
>Interesting. Of course, if the woman was terminal, being in a
>hospital might not have been better than being at home or with
>hospice care.
I know of a Tennessee Amish woman who died 10 years ago, who would
likely be alive today had she lived in Canada (as do many of her
relatives). She considered herself thrifty and healthy, which meant
that she skimped on health care for herself, such as routine prenatal
care - $200 for everything, and paid for health care for her kids.
That was okay for the first 10 kids, but then she developed
pre-eclampsia and didn't know it until her liver ruptured. The Amish
wouldn't accept TennCare (Tennessee's version of Medicaid), because
it is means-tested, and their bishops won't have that. But Canada's
insurance for all is accepted, since it isn't means-tested.
Ina May
>I did a Gyn Onc rotation in Canada while I was a resident, as we did not
>have much of a cancer service. It was a wonderful experience, and the care
>was top notch by and large, but I was jarred by one thing. During morning
>rounds one day, the chief of service asked which 2 patients could be sent
>home that day. I was stumped as no one was actually medically ready to go
>home, though some were ready for hospice care. I was told that the
>Provincial authority had decommissioned 2 Onc beds, and we had to empty
>them. We transferred 2 terminal patients either home or to hospice, I don't
>remember which. This was the only source of gyn onc care in the province
>(another bizarre thing from my perspective. I mean really, flying a
>thousand miles for a colpo!?) I am not sure what was happening. I couldn't
>begin to imagine emptying beds because the state said I had to. I still
>can't.
>I loved my time there, and I learned so very much from the wonderful
>attendings I had, but it gave me a very jaundiced view of single-payer
>medical models. If there is no competition, there is no incentive to
>improve. Good intentions are not enough.
>
>William D McIntosh, MD, FACOG
>Clarksville, TN
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net [mailto:ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net] On Behalf Of art
>fougner, md
>Sent: Monday, February 27, 2006 7:05 AM
>To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L
>Subject: Gen: The Death of the Canadian Model
>
>Proponents of single-payer health care reform in the United States have
>long pointed toward Canada as a model for the US to emulate.
>
>The New York Times reports that the Canadian system is imploding. A
>recent Candian Supreme Court decision allowed private health care (oh,
>the shame, the horror) and as a result, Canadians tired of waiting for
>radiation therapy, eye surgery and hip replacements have turned toward
>private alternatives springing up under the new legal environment.
>
>The Times reports:
>
>Canada remains the only industrialized country that outlaws privately
>financed purchases of core medical services. Prime Minister Stephen
>Harper and other politicians remain reluctant to openly propose sweeping
>changes even though costs for the national and provincial governments
>are exploding and some cancer patients are waiting months for diagnostic
>tests and treatment.
>
>But a Supreme Court ruling last June - it found that a Quebec provincial
>ban on private health insurance was unconstitutional when patients were
>suffering and even dying on waiting lists - appears to have become a
>turning point for the entire country.
>
>"The prohibition on obtaining private health insurance is not
>constitutional where the public system fails to deliver reasonable
>services," the court ruled.
>
>The key paragraph:
>
>The country's publicly financed health insurance system - frequently
>described as the third rail of its political system and a core value of
>its national identity - is gradually breaking down. Private clinics are
>opening around the country by an estimated one a week, and private
>insurance companies are about to find a gold mine.
>
>Posted by Russell Roberts in Health
>http://cafehayek.typepad.com/hayek/2006/02/the_death_of_th.html
>
>Art
>
>--
>art fougner, md
>Support Free Speech
>Buy Danish!
--
Ina May Gaskin, CPM
The Farm Midwifery Center
41 The Farm
Summertown, TN 38483
http://www.inamay.com
http://www.rememberthemothers.net
