Patient's choice: Wait 14 weeks or pay $5,000

[nightflight]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/serv...cancer31/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/home

An Ontario cab driver was faced with this choice: Wait more than 14 weeks for cancer surgery, or travel outside of Canada and purchase the lifesaving operation he could not receive here quickly enough.
In the end, Branislav Djukic returned to the place he fled in 1995, the former Yugoslavia, seeking a better life in Canada. In Belgrade, he underwent surgery to remove a portion of his left kidney at a cost of $5,000.

 

[utdbear]

that's socialized medicine for ya.

 

[Aidan Pryde]

He was reimbursed for the $5,000, it looks like the system worked after all. He got the operation he needed and the government covered the cost of it.

Of course if we didn't have universal health care he would have simply had to do the same thing except the government wouldn't have covered the costs in the end.

Seems like despite it's flaws our system once again proves itself to be superior to others in the end.

 

[nightflight]

Thank goodness there doctors in the U.S. who can take the cases Canada can't handle.

 

[CCGirl]

Sounds like the system worked well for this man!

 

[Aidan Pryde]

Thank goodness there doctors in the U.S. who can take the cases Canada can't handle.

You might wanna read the article, he went to Serbia for the operation not the United States. I suppose by your way of thinking that means that Serbian doctors are better than American doctors.

 

[Ave Maria]

Wow. Well I'm certainly glad he was able to get his operation.

 

[Jacey]

I don't get it. The system worked. I wish WinAce had only needed $5000.

 

[Fantine]

Stories like that make the Canadian news precisely because they are unusual......

In America, you're more likely to read articles that discuss cases like that in percentages--

Case in point:

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=4426

In 2003, 1 in 7 Americans reported going without needed medical care.

 

[JustOneWay]

I don't get it. The system worked. I wish WinAce had only needed $5000.

Agree. I am still bummed over that.

 

[ElvisFan42]

that's socialized medicine for ya.

Yeah, because no one in the US ever dies because they needed surgery they couldn't afford. Funny, socialized medicine works pretty well in eastern Europe. Some of the best medical care on the planet is available in Boston, New York, California and Switzerland. One of them is socialized medicine, the other three are in the most liberal parts of the country.

Funny, you complain about how much US automakers pay per vehicle compared to Japanese automakers. The US spends about 15% of it's GDP and has 50 million uninsured people and Switzerland spends about 11% and insures everyone. Cuba has better infant and adult mortality rates than the US, and has a life expectancy nearly equal to ours. The US spends a little over $6,000 per capita while Canada spends a little over $2,000 per capita and has a longer life expectancy. For someone so concerned about automakers wasting money and teachers being overpaid, you would think wasting medical dollars would be of concern.