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The Canadian Healthcare Way

June 7th, 2009 at 8:04 pm David Gratzer | 10 Comments |

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Another reason why government-run health care is less expensive than private insurance: more efficient use of hospital resources.

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10 Comments so far ↓

  • gibberish // Jun 8, 2009 at 2:27 am

    http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=28828&sectionid=3510212a reason to close all private US hospitals now?no wait, that would just be a pathetic attempt to replace real argument with Limbaugh level dumbness. 1 horror story does not mean anythingbit like this appalling posting

  • Jeremy // Jun 8, 2009 at 4:42 am

    How stupid – why not write a story on the other 99.99% of successful births in canadian hospitals? It seems like the author can’t seem to distinguish between systemic problems and individuaual errors. Health systems are only as good as the individuals who work within thier ambits – and therefore inherently flawed. I’m sure I could drum up some antecdote demonstrating malpractice, or a screw up in an american private hospital. Why not float some ideas about how to deal with out of control health costs, rather than flogging other countries systems to death. Oh, I guess that would mean actually making an effort.

  • gibberish // Jun 8, 2009 at 5:51 am

    http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/45149332.htmlThis story has someone go to a Canadian Hospital and come out better! Thus “proving” that government run = betterUnless you prefer to base important decisions on a bit more than a random story picked out of google news. However, I now look forward to Dr Gratzer converting to full support of single payer after seeing my devastating “evidence” and carefully argued case for socialism as random stories seem the only thing he is interested inAren’t there any thinking right-wingers out there who could post some real policy options? You know as part of New Majority’s mission to find ways of attracting voters?

  • Churl // Jun 8, 2009 at 6:12 am

    To steer the conversation away from little anecdotes, here is an interesting downloadable PDF about the waiting periods for various procedures in Canadian hospitals in 2008. For those who are interested in some facts and analysis:http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/product_files/WaitingYourTurn2008.pdf

  • gibberish // Jun 8, 2009 at 7:25 am

    @churlwow – facts!they should employ you to post here. here’s a fact I found: infant mortality rates24. Canada 5.329. United States 6.9http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/news/20081015/infant-mortality-us-ranks-29thMind you the Democrats seem most interested in a government insurer/private provider model a bit like France or Germany rather than Canada’s system:9. France 3.911. Germany 4.1

  • ModerateGal // Jun 8, 2009 at 10:30 am

    Am I the only one who is horrified that Dr. Gratzer is an actual physician, but he doesn’t seem to understand that he should use science to back up his opinions? He seems to only rely on anecdotal evidence.

  • Churl // Jun 8, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Gibberish, I like facts and figures. Could you wrap your infant mortality number in the context of a study like the Fraser Institute work that I referenced (and, I am sure) you have carefully parsed?

  • gibberish // Jun 8, 2009 at 2:46 pm

    what do you want churl – the actual source is at the bottom of the article I posted? You can get the full pdf here is you are very interested in how the US infant mortality rate has dropped from 12th best to 29th in recent yearshttp://sanantoniomidwives.org/2006%20Infant%20Mortality.pdf

  • barker13 // Jun 9, 2009 at 9:35 pm

    Re: Churl; 6/8/2009 6:12 AM –17.3 weeks. Wow. Just… wow.Re: Gibberish; 6/8/2009 7:25 AM –Ahh… but are they comparing apples to apples, Gib?”Nearly seven U.S. babies die out of every 1,000 live births.”Fair enough… no doubt it’s a factual stat… but who are these babies – demographically speaking that is?Ahh… interesting… when I read further down the report you cited what do I find but the following:”What’s going on? Racial and ethnic disparities clearly play a role. In 2005, for every 1,000 live births, the infant mortality rate was: 13.63 among non-Hispanic black Americans; 5.76 among non-Hispanic white Americans. Premature birth is a factor in more than two-thirds of infant deaths. From 2000 to 2005, the U.S. preterm birth rate went up from 11.6% to 12.7%.”(*SHRUG*)Now I’m not saying it’s fine and dandy to have downward skewed health and well being stats disproportionally skewed here in the U.S. by… let’s face it… black and Latino stats populations as well as immigrant (particularly illegal poor low and no skilled labor) migration, but I’m guessing you – like me and like most (probably all) of our fellow posters, effectively enjoy the most advanced and effective medical treatment in the world when it’s needed.BILL

  • sinz54 // Jun 10, 2009 at 9:55 am

    Since the option of a single-payer health care system has been taken off the table here in America, the “Canadian healthcare way” is irrelevant. Good or bad, it’s not the system we’re going to have here in America. So it’s a strawman, as far as America’s health care debates are concerned.

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