2007-05-04

75% of Americans are Without Health Care Insurance?

Sometimes you have to wonder. I was listening to "The Fan" sports radio show based in Toronto earlier tonight. The panel opened up talking about the Kentucky Derby and Barbaro in particular. They discussed the outpouring support and premium health care the deceased thoroughbred received. Then, Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail came in with this gem, "...this is a place where three-quarters of Americans can't get health insurance..."

If I heard right, and I actually hope I didn't, his assertion mathematically means 225 million Americans do not get proper health care in the United States. For assumptions sake, let's assume I heard wrong and he said 25%. That's still 75 million. Not one reputable study on health in America has ever had the number that high. The general accepted figure is approximately 44 million of which roughly half willingly choose to not have health coverage. Leaving the figure around 23 million Americans without coverage. Naturally, this figure includes the unemployed, downtrodden and quite possibly the lazy and ignorant. Whatever, that's a big difference than what a journalist for Canada's biggest newspaper is spewing.

Of course, I invite American perspectives here. You would know better than me. All I have is what I read and what friends and family tell me.

Misunderstanding the American health care system in the U.S. is nothing new for Canadians. Perhaps Mr. Blair should pay closer attention to the crisis we have in our own backyard. The figures are disclosed for the public. But hey, we ALL have access. So what we have to wait 34 weeks for minor surgeries, eh? There's more than enough information pointing to the third-world like conditions in our alleged compassionate hospitals.

We run a medical management company and we've had to study the health care landscape in this country. The general conclusion? This country does not perform well among OECD countries. Of course it doesn't, there are NO NATIONAL STANDARDS. No one is looking to us for pointers. Heck, we still rely on block budgets. It is unbelievable what Canadians have to endure. It's remarkable that we've allowed it to stumble like it has.

We've simply bought the government health care as a core value gibberish crap. I fear that holding on to this only prevents us from making any meaningful changes and adjustments to the system. What I advocate is a little more pragmatism.

Anyhow, what was surprising is that Blair was surrounded by host Bob McCown hockey writer Jim Kelly - both American - who remained silent on his comment.

Assuming, as I said, if I heard right. Still, it doesn't take away from the general tenet of this post. Many Canadians take liberties with America when it comes to health. I'm here to say let's clean up our own mess before we pass smug judgment.

2 comments:

  1. It's ridiculous, of course, to say that 75% can't get health insurance.

    To be honest, I don't know the figures, but anything over 1 person is unconscionable in my opinion. I'm not aware of any state law (certainly not federal!) that requires employers to carry health care for employees.

    As a matter of fact, I'm not covered by my job. Thankfully my wife has a really good job with really good benefits. As it stands, we can literally not afford for her to quit or be fired.

    See, it's always the little guy that you hear about in America. But it's more often the middle-class that's being shafted. We make way too much for government assistance, and way, way too little to afford health care for ourselves.

    I've noticed that you harp on Canadian health-care from time to time. I can't hold that against you, but it must be awfully nice knowing that you are covered regardless of losing your job, being a smoker, what have you.

    For those of us who are healthy only by the good intentions of the companies that we happen to work for, we certainly don't take it for granted.

    I don't mean to carry on, so I apologize for the length of this post. But I want to relay a story.

    When I was younger, I had a minor panic attack while at work. I was able to drive myself to the emergency room, and waited for 2 hours to be seen by a doctor. He pronounced me physically fit and discharged me.

    Several weeks later, I received a bill for over $1000. I was working as a waiter at the time, making maybe $350-400/week. You can imagine the time it took me to pay even that small amount off.

    But $1000+ for 30-40 seconds of coverage?

    If I weren't already insured, I'd probably die of a heart-attack before I'd try going back to the hospital.

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  2. Hey, Kom. Thanks for this. The length is fine. I harp (and I have been yapping and harping lately. Stupid Shane Doan story. It's gripping me) about our system not because it's universal but because it is inefficient. Many of us have become vocal because we want the government to get off its ass. Quite frankly, the conditions are unacceptable. It's difficult to compare the two systems but I know for a fact that the Canadian health system is one of the worst performers in the OECD - relative to our bragging of course. None of us are asking the dismantling of universal health care - that would be wrong - what we are saying is that for people who have the means or values to jump and go into the private sector let them. It should not be illegal in any way - after all, our politicians and athletes do it all the time. Their wait times are next to nothing. As for the rest of society - and you mentioned the middle class who get screwed and squeezed - they have to wait patiently for serious surgeries. Worse, for the major surgeroies they have to go guess where? The U.S.

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