[bullseyebarb]

Originally Posted by Eric

Just checked this one ... I don't know of anyone who finds it "necessary" to visit the US for health care. No doubt, there are well-heeled Canadians who go there and pay for whatever service they need without having to wait ... and waiting times in Canada are getting shorter all the time; I had to wait about three weeks for my surgery. Much of that time was taken up by visits to one or the other of the two major hospitals in our city for pre op testing .... after the surgery, I had three days in ICU and ten days in hospital. When I went home, I had home care. Cost to me ... nothing. Admitedly, there are a few extra cents tax on cigs, booze, and gas.

But it seems to me that your argument is not about the level of medical care .... you so serenely ignore the WHO stats ... but about your paranoid fear of your own govt., or of any govt. Seems like, for you, this is a conspiracy theory thing and should be debated in "Anything Goes"

Perhaps you don't, but it's still going on....and it isn't just the wealthy who come down here for care. Even your own government often finds it necessary to send Canadian patients to American hospitals for treatment. And you
only have a population of 34 million. Dr. Anne Doig, president of the Canadian Medical Association, said this year that your NHS was "imploding." Canadian doctors agree.

I ignore nothing - serenely or otherwise.

The U.K. is already considering changing their system as they cannot continue to give "free" care to everyone. They suggest an emphasis on prevention rather than curing. Looks like they are out to target smokers, heavy drinkers, the obese and the elderly....for starters.
Remember, he who holds the purse gets to make the rules.

One of the justifications for the massive growth of government in the 20th and now 21st century was the need to promote what the government defines as fair and just. But this begs the more fundamental question: What is the legitimate role of government in a free society? It is here that you and I have divergent opinions. I am not by nature a conspiracy theorist, nor am I paranoid. However, I do have more than merely healthy skepticism when it comes to centralized power. Considering what is going on in Washington DC at the moment, I think I am more than justified in that.