We're Not Dying Waiting In Line

I've grown a tad tired of hearing conservatives say people "die while waiting because they couldn't see a doctor" in Canada's (or any public health system), national health program. 

Is it expensive for what we get? I say yes. Are costs rising? Apparently so. Is there mismanagement. Yup. Do we have doctor shortages? You bet. Are wait times long? Depending for what in which province, yeah, too much for our taste. Do we wait long in hospitals and doctor officers (sometimes over four hours)? You bet we do. Is the system compassionate? Nope. Does the government have too much say and power? Damn straight they do. Do we lack access to advanced medical equipment? On a per capita basis, we fail on this point.

Are choices restricted? Yes. This is my biggest beef. If I don't want to go public for anything and I can afford it, the government should mind its business. It's not just for patients choice is restricted. Doctors are sometimes forced to go work where they don't want to and in Ontario, for example, the government prevents perfectly able doctors to perform certain surgeries if they dare go private. In Quebec, immigrant doctors are not allowed to practice here. We have doctors shortages and have a talented base of doctors but won't allow them to get to work. Instead, they go off and be RESP reps and taxi drivers. Real normal.

However, two things to keep in mind: One, despite all the illogical problems, it IS, I admit, a nice perk to have. And two, to get back to the criticism by pop American conservatives, serious illness and cases are taken immediately. They never did provide the stats for Canadians dying in line. Moreover, it would behoove us to track and disclose how sick some people are while waiting. For all we know, terminally ill people are included in this argument. Anyway, while it does happen, it doesn't happen often as far as I know - and I've been critical of our system.

It's also a bit of a straw man put up by conservatives. What, Americans don't die while waiting for surgery? From what I gather, Americans have no problems with access - if they can get it. So what's the difference/ We come from angle and they from another. People die. It's a fact of life and no system in the world can protect against this. There are so many unknown and known human variables it's impossible to account for each.

It all comes down to what trade off you're willing to tolerate. Some people are willing to pay whatever it takes to take care of its weakest links. Unfortunately, and this doesn't apply to just health, the list includes irresponsible, selfish and clueless people.

That's what the welfare state pushes. Personally, I would love to foster more community oriented clinics and hospitals free of government intervention. Alas, this may be unrealistic on my part. Or is it?