Some people are rich enough that they can afford to pay $1,000 for a CAT Scan instead of waiting a month. It's called "jumping the queue" and it is allowed. The same goes for knee replacements where waits can be 8-10 months. I would probably wait and use a cane/knee brace instead of paying $15,000 for a new knee. But those who voluntarily choose to pay for an expedited procedure are free to do so.
Private clinics do take pressure off the public system.
]]>Re: Patients being sent to American hospitals for treatment. It does happen but it is rare - not 1/3
of patients or anything close.
Sometimes the specialists and surgeons are backed up, or staffing shortages. They do send patients south of our border when it is best for the patient. Complicated pregnancies requiring a certain hospital to do the delivery, diseases where the best expert is in the USA, etc. However - when this happens - it is all at the Canadian Governments expense. Travel(Ambulance or Air Ambulance) and treatment are all paid for 100% by the Govt, not the patient. How many Americans get to travel to Canada when the top specialist is in our country, and have it paid for by the American Government? Sending patients to the USA for teatment, when appropriate, is a good thing not a bad thing.
RE: The "waiting lists" issue.
1. Nobody ever goes on a waiting list for emergency care. Heart surgeries, Cancer treatments, etc all take place immediately.
2. Yes we have waiting lists for some non-emergency procedures such as knee replacements, MRI scans, etc but wait times are not ridiculous and they are well prioritized. The big difference between Canada and the USA is Canadians will always get the procedure. ALWAYS. So what if they have to wait. It's not a perfect world.
3. In America I saw people die of Cancer with no treatment, because they were poor. I also knew several people who walked around on painful knees and hips because they could not afford the arthroscopy or joint replacement. I am certain they would have been delighted to get on a waiting list for a free joint replacement.
4. It makes me sick when I hear Americans complain about our system that takes care of every Canadian - from birth to death - regardless of ability to pay.
Beat Wishes to All
]]>When you get into high school they might teach you about the hundreds of climatologists who now believe in global cooling.
Just click the word "climatologists" in the first paragraph and do some reading. It looks like you just wanted to blow off some steam because Al Gore's sheeple are now the minority - see previous blog post/Rasmussen Poll - Yep, it sucks when your team starts losing popularty, and the "skeptics" become the enlightened majorty
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When I see the USA destroying the Muslim World - over 1 million killed, and 3.5 million "displaced"(according to Amnesty International)- it makes me proud that Canada said "No" when Mr. Bush said "You are with us, or against us."
I am certainly against your Iraq Crusade.
I feel sorry for all Americans and their police state.
Sincerely,
A free man in Canada
]]>It is important to look at global warming with a long term perspective. Here is a graph of Earth's temperature over the last 12,000 years:
ref: http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Holocene_Temperature_Variations_Rev_png
The climate history shows that we have had many "global warmings" since the great warming event that melted away the last ice age. The current warming is really nothing compared to many of those pre-industrial warmings.
The climate history shows that temperature peaked about 8,000 years ago, and is gradually trending cooler toward the next glaciation (which will last 90,000 years).
Our current Holocene interglacial is actually much colder that the previous (Eemian) interglacial 125,000 years ago. It is also the coldest interglacial recorded in the past 450,000 years.
ref: http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Ice_Age_Temperature_Rev_png
]]>ref: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/23sep_solarwind.htm
Harvard astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon says "The sun is just slightly dimmer and has been for about the last 18 months." He says the decrease in sunspot activity is responsible for the cold temps and record snowfalls the last 2 winters.
ref: http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-42006-181.html
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