Nothing is perfect..

That is a bit less than perfect, I say thats a crisis.

I'm going to buy this book to learn more on this subject.

<i>Lessons from the North: Bus Travelers Bring the Reality of Rationed Health Care and Price-Controlled Drugs over the Border</i>

Lessons from the North reveals:

- The true cost of ?free? health care in Canada.
- Increasing waiting times for treatment in Canadian provinces.
- How Canada rations care and limits high-technology medicine.
- How provincial drug formularies force Canadians to look elsewhere for prescription drugs.
- Why drug reimportation will not help Canadians or Americans.
- How price controls will hurt the quality of health care by limiting research and development.

interesting stuff.

health care is a right,

and in the usa you spend about the same percent of GDP that canada does

only thing is in canada its payed in taxes and managed by the government,

while in the states its private and comes out of your pocket when you get sick,

but society to society we both pay about the same percent wise,

I beleive health care is a inherent human right so I dont think rich people should get the best care while poor people get fuck all,

and its like that in canada, everyone gets the same care,

and the waiting lists are just fuck up from missmanagement from the last few years,

my friend is a nurse, they have sent patiences across the border and payed for everything including hotels,

the system in canada is just a bit fucked now but it will get cleaned up soon, but its not like anyone is going without,

hospitals in canada have all the newest equipment and everything they nead to provide care,

and its tops in the world

They'll get it worked out eventually...

Well, you can't expect much when you let the french ass fuck a whole country.

way off.

'The report gives specific examples of dangerous and outdated equipment:

A CAT scan machine in a suburban Montreal hospital cannot be turned off, because it is so medically primitive that replacement parts are no longer available, including the on-off switch.'

http://www.ncpa.org/pi/health/pd101300c.html

Yes, but don't we also pay FICA and some Medicare out of our taxes as well? I know Social Security for sure. But yes we still need private insurance to get care or pay out the ass. So, we are also paying for medical with our taxes, we just do not get to use it till we are old... and then it is still not enough.

Hell, if Bush has his way, he will piss away Social Security before I can even collect what I have been paying into all these years.

we have a "two-tier" healthcare system now. I was seriously fucking ill and had to pay out of my own pocket for private care on TOP of ridiculous taxes.

Took me 16 months to get a lung capacity / effeciency test done. If it was cancer I would have died while waiting like many people do in this country.

Wake the fuck up - private health care systems are the only ones that work consistently.

yah thats one hospital,

like there are not shit holes in usa,

my aunt works in a hospital, and so does a close friend,

ok and when my girlfriend grandmother died I went to the hospital,

there were at least 10 computer built into every piece of equipment, the bed, everything was all new or at least under 2 years old,

also my aunt is always getting training on new surgical techniques,

also my aunt works 25 minutes from the american border and her hospital, does, 2 sugerys a day from american HMOS,

that right her hospital can give equal service at a lower costs, than american hospitals,

because there is no 1 million dollar a year mal practive insurance,

also, we have private clinics in canada,

I can get a cat scan for 400$ canadien, thats less than 300$ us,

call your local clinis and see what its gonna cost you

the system is missmanged and under funded, because our government is stupid,

taxes and the system are not the problem, just its management

I still think public is better than private,

if I die of cancer I dont want my kids to have to sell my house and borrow money to burry me

to cold :(

:glugglug

Canadian Sponsorship Wanted:

Anyone want to hire me on a temp basis so I can move up there?:Graucho

dude,

you dont nead to be sponsored,

just come across the border and dont go back,

no one will bother you,

get a six month visitors visa,

and find a job,

you only nead to get that shit if you want to have the health care and vote

Interesting... Thanks, I will look into that.:thumbsup

let's leave out healthcare.. why else is Canada better than US? just wondering.

well yes, but this is beyond mismanagement, and it is the norm for the present Canadian federal government.

It won't be changing anytime soon either without a real opposition.

well its true,

I mean you can get into this country with a drivers license,

I mean you can get a bank account, mail box, apartment, phone all in your name with american ID,

trust me, you would be surprised,

youll only have a problem if you go back and forth alot, the customers people will catch on,

but the worst that can happen is they will turn you away,

I mean if you have kids or heath problems, obviously you have to be legal,

but if you just want to hang out in canada then just show up,

I know peeps who just flew to vancover from amsterdam and were there almost a year just hanging out, on visitor visas

an I know other people who just show up adn dont have anything,

your right, they wanted to balance the budget, and they downloaded onto the provinces, who cant do shit when the federal fucks up there budgets,

but those fucsk just download to the cities,

I mean thats the problem in canada, not enogh tax dollars to go around and they cant justify a tax increase, the conservativees gave us a 15% sales tax and all the rest almost 10 years ago

and its aint gone up since then and everyone is used to it,

the government jsut neads to make due with the money they got and fix shit, causes its miss managed like crazy

I have been wanting to check it out for a long time now. Knew I could go up for a visit with no special papers or anything but was not sure how long I was able to stay.

So, I do not have to be a citizen to rent a place or get a bank account... but what about work.. any stay of lenght would require me to work. Would I need something special to get hired on somewhere?

Your suggestion sounds great.. this way I can see if I really like it there or see if I can make the adjustment from what I have been living under for the past 38 years of my life.

Don't get me wrong, I love it here, just very unhappy with our govt. and their stupid laws. Canada really seems to care about its people and that is something I really admire. Although I am sure every place has its problems, I know it would be a trade off... this problem for that. But I would like to see the problems I would be facing there... as I know the problems I have here.

Thanks :winkwink:

A Canadian is drinking in a New York bar when he gets a call on his cell phone. He hangs up, grinning from ear to ear, and orders a round of drinks for everybody in the bar because, he announces, his wife has just produced a typical Canadian baby boy weighing 25 pounds.

Nobody can believe that any new baby can weigh in at 25 pounds, but the Canuck just shrugs, "That's about average up North, folks...like I said, my boy's a typical Canadian baby boy."
Congratulations showered him from all around, and many exclamations of "WOW!" were heard.
One woman actually fainted due to sympathy pains.

Two weeks later, the Canadian returns to the bar.
The bartender says, "Say, you're the father of that typical Canadian baby that weighed 25 pounds at birth, aren't you? Everybody's been making' bets about how big he'd be in two weeks. We were gonna call you....... so how much does he weigh now?"

The proud father answers, "Seventeen pounds."

The bartender is puzzled, and concerned. "What happened? He already weighed 25 pounds the day he was born."
The Canadian father takes a slow swig from his Molson beer, wipes his lips on his shirt sleeve, leans into the bartender and proudly says, "Had him circumcised."

:sleep :sleep :sleep

On the health care out here...

My grandpa just found out 3 months ago he has Non Hogkins lymphoma cancer (dunno how to speel, we call it NHL). Anyways, that day he was at burnaby general getting a checkup with the head of the cancer clinic. Within a week they had him on his full routine and he is getting excellent care.

I don't know all the therapies he is on, but he is getting this mix of 3 types of chemo, plus this new drug to boost red blood cell counts so he doesnt require blood transfusions. They also sat down with him and my grandma and explained the whole situation, laid out a meal plan for him (he is a PICKY eater, only likes simple foods, strange for someone who survived the depression). Anyways, he has to pay for only two prescriptions, one is to help him keep his meals down and I cant remember the other, but total cost of prescriptions is less then $100 per month.

I drive him out to the hospital once a week and am amazed at the level of care in the cancer ward. It is great and for once I am quite proud of my country.

I guess it all depends on what you need to get done tho. When I busted myleg, it was done right away (of course) and I didnt pay a dime... But hey, maybe MRI machines are in short supply...

Who knows.

Sorry, I still think something is better than nothing.

besides.. if they decriminalize pot.. that will help ease the suffering while you wait :winkwink:

:1orglaugh

That article is from October 2000. They've given out millions of dollars in federal medical equipment funding in the last two years, and that's just the stuff I know about, because my family's long term care facility received some of it. Who knows how much the hospitals have been getting in addition to that.

OTHER than health care?

Pretty much litter-free cities
Not everyone is packing
Even most burglars don't have guns, so you have a fair shake at things
I can walk downtown at 2 in the morning in Vancouver and not worry about my safety
No, I don't lock my doors at night. I have an alarm, but that's for all the computer stuff, and I only turn it on when I go out.
Very laid-back people
no BIBLE BELT, come on folks
Even the Christians here are cool-ish, they're not trying to send me to hell
Gays are getting the right to marry
You can drop by a movie or tv set any time you like in Vancouver, they're shooting all the time, all over the city


One thing that sucks? No Interstates. Man, those rock.

I don't.

Be rignt over :winkwink:

nice country but far too cold for me and the taxes are too high.. sorry! :winkwink:

Cold is relative. How much colder can it be if you're within an hour of the 49th parallel, anyway? Just stay away from the cold states, and you'll be fine, ie: the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, etc. :) And for goodness' sake, don't go north-north. It's bloooody chilly up there!

We have our bbq going all year round,so how bad can it be?

You know what's kinda cool, though?
http://www.pgc.nrcan.gc.ca/seismo/recent/wc.50evt.html

http://www.cbc.ca/servlet/Weather?query=Vancouver,BC

Just don't go too far north. You're liable to get eaten by a wolverine or something with big teeth. :)

Hey, it get's cold in the desert too... When you get use to 110 all summer, 40 is pretty fucking cold.

it's not "cold" when i can go out side at night and not wear a jacket.. i also like wearing shorts.. :winkwink:

No doubt. I wasn't saying otherwise. But you can't say they've gone from old equipment to 'the tops of the world' as far as equipment goes. That was all I was saying. No doubt they have updated since then, but in no way are they the best hospitals in the world as was claimed. ;)

Ya, definately not.

Although there are some hospitals here that would be considered top notch, but for every one of those there would be a shitload that are in sad shape.

The federal money I mentioned helped out quite a bit, and they seem to be committed to increasing funding every year, at least in Ontario. This is different from years ago when the only talk you heard about hospitals in Ontario were the discussions over which ones were going to close.

Looks like I finally posted a good thread :thumbsup I think this is my biggest.

What about Canadian Chicks???

Yes... tell us.... Do they shave their armpits and legs or are they hairy like real french women? :1orglaugh

Think about how many people are in Canada, and how many are in the US.. and then say 5% of each population is sending their govt. letters.

Born and raised in Vancouver, moved down here 2 years ago, and I'm already disliking it... To big, to poluted, and the police act like nazi's :)

The only thing I'd like to see in Vancouver that there's an abundance of here is freeways. Makes getting from point a to point b alot easier.

I'm definitly moving back home in a few years (not that california sucks or anything, I just dont feel at home)

Best part about canada? The chicks seem to put out more :Graucho

Canadian chicks are HOT, take my word for it. McDonald's hasn't quite reached the market saturation it would like up here, so the women are a little trimmer than down south. The webgirls I can think of off the top of my head.. Seska, CarolCox, Jamie Wylde, Angeliquexxx, myself, Dawn's Place, Amy's Playpen, Naughty Tracy, KCat, and tons more. Very nice women here. :) Oh, and it's semi-legal to go topless in some cities :)

Yeah, it's no Tucson up here. I was in Tucson for a year and dried out.. my webbed toes even cracked! :) I missed the ocean, but it sure was nice not having to guess what the weather was going to be like every day. :) And i LOVED the lightning storms.

Yeah I am from Canada too and I am happy to be from there cuz we are the best at hockey in 2006 we're going to destroy the usa again without a fucking doubt. Remember Salt Lake City 2002 haha.

Uhm, I have news for you... The Office of the Prime Minister of Canada only replies to letters concerning marijuana. Try writing to those fuckers about their obscene 50+% tax rates and see if you get a response.

I probally would not write back about that either :)

I guess since they are getting so much shit from the US they want as much support from us as they can get... Hey I am happy to help. I look at it this way, if Canada decriminalizes it, we will have to rethink our views on the subject.

I was just happy that someone cared enough to take the time to write, no matter if it was a form letter or not. It's the thought that counts. :winkwink:

Basically you just need to live in a border city or close enough to drive over. - Most canadians live very close to the US border anyways...


Then you can get the best of both worlds. I know if I was seriously sick and they told me to wait 4 - 8 months for a test etc, I would say fuck that, drive over the border pay some $$$ and get my money back from insurance... and have the peace of mind you can't get from waiting wondering wtf you have...

On the other hand, if I have some shitty cold I can go get a check up for free, although I may have to wait and hour or whatever...

Plus I can get reactine without a prescription up here... well I don't even buy reactine anymore, I buy the generic brand of cetirizine hydrochloride (reactine) for a few bucks less...