Canadian politician travels to U.S. for surgery

B_starinvestor

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The Canadian Press: 'My heart, my choice,' Williams says, defending decision for U.S. heart surgery

A top Canadian politician elected to travel to Miami, FL to undergo a cardiac procedure [out of his own pocket] rather than to have the surgery performed in Canada which would be covered under the universal healthcare system.

The attached article quotes the politican as giving the obligatory 'Canada's system is very good, etc etc.' disclaimer, but ultimately jumped a continent and a few thousand miles for the procedure at his own expense.

This may speak to some of the failures and inadaquacies of the universal healthcare system.
 

midlifebear

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Big deal, most folks WITH private health care in Nevada opt to have open-heart surgery in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, or any part of the USA that has a concentration of cardiac surgeons. They don't exactly grow on trees in Vegas and Reno. And the majority of those (note, I wrote majority) patients end up paying for 80% or all of the expenses for the medical care, because Blue Cross of Nevada goes out of its way to make certain it doesn't have to pay a dime if it doesn't have to; even when more than one physician makes the recommendation (known as a prescription for medical referral) for a patient to seek treatment out-of-state.

Edit: That's why I had brachytherapy in Spain, after researching my options for six months with three physicians in the USA and two in Argentina. Not only was it completely FREE because I have residency, I also had Edgardo Becher, arguably the best urologist in the in both Spain and Argentina. And we know how Starpooper likes to argue.
 
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B_VinylBoy

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Nice try star...
The man had a choice and chose what he thought was better for his health. That differs from person to person. He felt that for the particular procedure he wanted to undergo, he would be better treated by a particular doctor that lived in America. That is not a sign that Universal Health Care is bad, no matter how you try to twist it into one.

If anything, this story illustrates the options are available to those who have the financial resources. For those who are poor and can't spend the money to get a specialist to take care of their health problems, they should have an option as well. Universal Healthcare would provide that option to these individuals. Just because you don't think Universal Healthcare won't work for you, doesn't mean that it wouldn't work for others. So be honest... admit that you're allowing your greed overrule your judgement and say that you don't want your tax dollars being spent on a government run healthcare system that would provide aid to people you personally think don't deserve it. Because that's what this is all about.
 

vince

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Not buying it Star.

"I have the utmost confidence in our own health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador, but we are just over half a million people," he said.

"We do whatever we can to provide the best possible health care that we can in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian health care system has a great reputation, but this is a very specialized piece of surgery that had to be done and I went to somebody who's doing this three or four times a day, five, six days a week."

In other words, his little, rather poor province, doesn't have any high-end, very specialized surgeons for this procedure. So he went down to Florida for it and where he could recuperate in his own vacation home.

He will also seek to get a reimbursement from the provincial health care system.
 

justasimpleguy

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I'd say this just goes to illustrate the point that America has great healthcare, but only if you can afford it. If you can't, well don't get sick. If you get sick, just kill yourself so your family isn't broke too.
 

B_starinvestor

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In other words, his little, rather poor province, doesn't have any high-end, very specialized surgeons for this procedure. So he went down to Florida for it and where he could recuperate in his own vacation home.

Under the framework of their healthcare plan, do you know if they are required to get treatment within their own province in order to get reimbursement; or can they travel to other areas of Canada where perhaps there are more specialists?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_100_largest_metropolitan_areas_in_Canada

There are at least a dozen Canadian cities that are larger than Miami. Toronto is 10 times as large as Miami - it seems odd that they wouldn't have skilled specialists in this procedure.
 
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midlifebear

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I'd say this just goes to illustrate the point that America has great healthcare, but only if you can afford it. If you can't, well don't get sick. If you get sick, just kill yourself so your family isn't broke too.

That is the 'Mericuhn way! :smile: :usa::07::BoomSmilie_anim:
 
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vince

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Under the framework of their healthcare plan, do you know if they are required to get treatment within their own province in order to get reimbursement; or can they travel to other areas of Canada where perhaps there are more specialists?

List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are at least a dozen Canadian cities that are larger than Miami. Toronto is 10 times as large as Miami - it seems odd that they wouldn't have skilled specialists in this procedure.
OK. Here you go.
Canadian health care survives Danny Williams’ surgery - John Geddes - Macleans.ca

Macleans is a news mag like Time or Newsweek.

If you were so interested you could have looked it up yourself. But more likely you are just looking for an argument.

Surgeons in Toronto wrote the book on mitral valve repair.

At least a dozen Canadian cities bigger than Miami? LOL, Have you ever been to Canada? Or Miami for that matter? There are only about a dozen cities in the US bigger than Miami. T.O. is only slightly bigger than Miami.

You know even less about public healthcare than you do about basic American geography.
 

B_starinvestor

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OK. Here you go.
Canadian health care survives Danny Williams’ surgery - John Geddes - Macleans.ca

Macleans is a news mag like Time or Newsweek.

If you were so interested you could have looked it up yourself. But more likely you are just looking for an argument.

Surgeons in Toronto wrote the book on mitral valve repair.

From your link:

But the reality appears to be the opposite of what I feared. Williams needed an operation on his mitral valve. His office admits the procedure was, in fact, available in Canada. It’s more than that, though: Canadian cardiac surgeons happen to be renowned for their expertise in valve repair.

Hmm.

'renowned'

Yet he dismissed their 'renowned' skills and flew 2000+ miles to a city that is 1/10th the size of Toronto - outside of the Canadian healthcare system - to have the procedure performed?



At least a dozen Canadian cities bigger than Miami? LOL, Have you ever been to Canada? Or Miami for that matter? There are only about a dozen cities in the US bigger than Miami. T.O. is only slightly bigger than Miami.

You know even less about public healthcare than you do about basic American geography.

LOL. I have. Surely, you haven't.

Please note Miami, at 43rd in the U.S population, at 413,000. One-11th the size of Toronto.

List of United States cities by population - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pretty much speaks for itself, eh?
 

eurotop40

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Edit: That's why I had brachytherapy in Spain, after researching my options for six months with three physicians in the USA and two in Argentina. Not only was it completely FREE because I have residency, I also had Edgardo Becher, arguably the best urologist in the in both Spain and Argentina. And we know how Starpooper likes to argue.

For sure - as far as I understand - you need to keep your prostate off the greedy US american surgeons who will basically castrate you in order to pay for their 20th car in their garage.
 

B_talltpaguy

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The Canadian Press: 'My heart, my choice,' Williams says, defending decision for U.S. heart surgery

A top Canadian politician elected to travel to Miami, FL to undergo a cardiac procedure [out of his own pocket] rather than to have the surgery performed in Canada which would be covered under the universal healthcare system.

The attached article quotes the politican as giving the obligatory 'Canada's system is very good, etc etc.' disclaimer, but ultimately jumped a continent and a few thousand miles for the procedure at his own expense.

This may speak to some of the failures and inadaquacies of the universal healthcare system.
Actually, what it speaks to is the fact that Canada is obviously overpaying its politicians. Who wouldn't want to take a trip to resort-like South Beach for surgery, if your bloated salary enabled you to do so?
 

B_talltpaguy

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Stop looking for an excuse to argue, star...
That's what trolls do. He's only here to get a rise out of antagonizing others, not actually share ideas or learn something about the perspectives of others.

Which is why I aptly call him a bigot whenever I get the chance.
 

B_starinvestor

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Stop looking for an excuse to argue, star...

Look at Vince's post.

I was clearly not the one looking for an argument. And if you read the thread, you will see that my concerns are validated by the links provided.

That is, why would somebody travel to a city - thousands of miles away in a different country - to have a surgery performed when supposedly one of the top facilities for that procedure is in his very own country?

I know that the answer isn't popular with most on this forum, but is that a valid reason to dismiss the question?
 

B_starinvestor

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That's what trolls do. He's only here to get a rise out of antagonizing others, not actually share ideas or learn something about the perspectives of others.

Which is why I aptly call him a bigot whenever I get the chance.

It's obvious that nobody likes the facts presented in this thread.

However, VB and Vince are capable of debating and have a history of providing thought-out contributions - whether or not they are agreeable to mine or not.

Midlife is obviously a mortal enemy of mine. But he, too, thinks things through and I respect his input despite the fact that he makes me nauseous.

I can hardly bear the hideous liberal credo spewed from Maxcok - but it is clear that he performs due diligence and obviously is a well-informed and thoughtful poster here.

But you, tallpaGUT, are nothing more than a simpleton troll with no thoughts or merit, no intellect, and no purpose aside from attacking positions and people with which you disagree.

You are a thoughtless, misinformed fool of marginal intellect and likely without skills or abilities. Kindly direct your trollish ignorance into another forum and stay away from legitimate political discussions.

Amatuer.

Edit: Congratulations. In nearly 4 years on this site - you are officially the first person that I have identified and accused of being a troll. Quite an accomplishment.
 
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Gillette

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That is, why would somebody travel to a city - thousands of miles away in a different country - to have a surgery performed when supposedly one of the top facilities for that procedure is in his very own country?
Because he has ready accommodations in Miami, not so in Toronto.
I'd want to recuperate in sunny climes where I already had a home, rather than a hotel room in a cold climate, too. Who wouldn't?

Maybe he just wanted other Canadians who need the surgery but don't have the money to jaunt out of country to be able to access the Toronto surgeons with that little less of a wait.
 
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B_starinvestor

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Because he has ready accommodations in Miami, not so in Toronto.
I'd want to recuperate in sunny climes where I already had a home, rather than a hotel room in a cold climate, too. Who wouldn't?

I can buy into this suggestion - particularly if $$ isn't a concern.

Maybe he just wanted other Canadians who need the surgery but don't have the money to jaunt out of country to be able to access the Toronto surgeons with that little less of a wait.

This may be pushing the boundaries of realism.:wink:
 

B_talltpaguy

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It's obvious that nobody likes the facts presented in this thread.

However, VB and Vince are capable of debating and have a history of providing thought-out contributions - whether or not they are agreeable to mine or not.

Midlife is obviously a mortal enemy of mine. But he, too, thinks things through and I respect his input despite the fact that he makes me nauseous.

I can hardly bear the hideous liberal credo spewed from Maxcok - but it is clear that he performs due diligence and obviously is a well-informed and thoughtful poster here.

But you, tallpaGUT, are nothing more than a simpleton troll with no thoughts or merit, no intellect, and no purpose aside from attacking positions and people with which you disagree.

You are a thoughtless, misinformed fool of marginal intellect and likely without skills or abilities. Kindly direct your trollish ignorance into another forum and stay away from legitimate political discussions.

Amatuer.

Edit: Congratulations. In nearly 4 years on this site - you are officially the first person that I have identified and accused of being a troll. Quite an accomplishment.

I suppose you need a Kleenex, some warm milk and a hug from mommy after that little tantrum.

Wow, way to show us the flip side of sanity.