A few weeks ago I developed a dark, rough lump on my left shoulder.
Yesterday after work I dropped in to my doctor's office to have it examined because of the burning sensation associated with it.

There was no bill for the examination.

I was immediately booked for an appointment in day surgery at the hospital at 8:30 am this morning.

It is now 9:30 am and I have had the lump removed. It's on the way to the lab for a biopsy and I am at home relaxing.

There was no bill for the procedure.

Anyone who listens to the fearmongering garbage related to single payer healthcare that is spouted by the idiots at Fox Network and other similar bastions of right wing crapola should take note that Canada's healthcare system works.

I have no idea as to what the out of pocket costs to the individual would be for this in the U.S. but here in Canada, under government run single payer healthcare, no worries.

I am a fan of the single payer insurance. WHat about the horror stories Faux news presents where people have to come to the US to get treatment. Are these people real? Are they just a few that think they'd get better service in the US? I'd have assumed that their isn't a waiting list for heart surgery or anything that would cause death or serious injury?
Personally I think the horror stories are a manipulation of a few fact distorted to show how bad health care in AMerica could be. As if the 45 million Americans aren't already living their own horror stories or are horror stories in waiting

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

Almost every case of a Canadian going to the U.S. for medical treatment is for elective surgery or for something that isn't a priority but they want it immediately.
There are wait lists for joint replacements and things not of a threatening nature.

You health care is not free. Your still paying for it in other ways.

True, but its the out-of-pocket costs that kill most people. Most ER visits are $500 right off the bat (and not paid for by most insurance companies), and it can be hell on your finances if the doctors can't find what's wrong with you.

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So to get ahead of the line you go to the ER?

You health care is not free. Your still paying for it in other ways.

true, but having paid it on taxes, at least i knoow where some of that money goes if it happens i need surgery or just appointment with doctor, or dental care, and i don´t have to pay anything.

Ahead of the line? Why would we prefer to go to the ER and spend all of our money that we don't have if there were another way?

Careful with your assumptions. Not everyone's body is built the same, and not all problems are easily solvable through normal checkups and other doctor-scheduled visits.

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You health care is not free. Your still paying for it in other ways.

The coverage is universal.
No one is refused, even those with pre-existing conditions are covered.
There is no deductable.

We live longer than Americans.
Our child mortality rates are far lower than America's.
Our poor and our homeless are covered.
No one is forced into bankruptcy or the loss of their home due to medical expenses.

Neo-cons, republicans, libertarians, corporatists and right wingdings hate it because the dirty people are treated at the same levels as the elites.

I never claimed it is free...but I do claim that it's damned fair to all.
I received first class care this morning in a clean hospital by caring healthcare professionals who aren't driven by the profit motive.

It's the 21st century. Time to catch up with the rest of the civilized world America.
Time to start caring for your fellow citizens.

PS: Rent the movie Sicko by Michael Moore if you want to have your eyes opened to the truth about healthcare.

There is one misnomer here.
child mortality rates.
In the US if a child is considered premature it is still considered a birth whether it survives or not. A birth at 5 months is still considered a birth Most other countries including Canada exclude premature births from their data. Where the child mortality rate looks elevated in the US its actually much lower when you do not count the premies like everyone else.

some elevation in childhood mortality occuring in the US is due to the nutty folks that refuse to immunize their children from common deadly diseases. Some of this is from the fear of autism. WHat these folks fail to see is their child has a bigger problem than autism if they die from the measles

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In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face.
Diogenes Of Sinope

I've been watching with great interest while the debate over healthcare in the U.S. has exited the Universal Single Payer path and started down the corporate driven open market competative insurers path.

How has that whole open market thing worked out for many of you up to this point?
How many citizens have been refused healthcare because of the corporate mandated percentage of denials of coverage that are built into the system?

I would suggest to any American citizens interested in Universal Single Payer coverage that they had best start writing their representatives and expressing their desires before the corporate healthcare lobbyists have the house vote giftwrapped and delivered to the privateers.

An opportunity for change like this comes along very seldomly. The moment may not come again for generations.

Make your voice heard while you still can.

I'd go for a single payer government run system in the USA anyday over the current a zillion and one insurance company rip off schemes we have. What I definitely do not want is to be mandated to buy insurance like they have done in the state of Mass. I am going to pay the gov. one way or another. I am either going to pay taxes for a single payer system, or I am going to pay fines for not buying mandated insurance. I'd rather pay taxes and get something.


The best health care is prevention. Medicine might be high tech, but I think for the most part they are clueless about most health issues.

I'd go for a single payer government run system in the USA anyday over the current a zillion and one insurance company rip off schemes we have. What I definitely do not want is to be mandated to buy insurance like they have done in the state of Mass. I am going to pay the gov. one way or another. I am either going to pay taxes for a single payer system, or I am going to pay fines for not buying mandated insurance. I'd rather pay taxes and get something.


The best health care is prevention. Medicine might be high tech, but I think for the most part they are clueless about most health issues.

As I understand it, you won't be mandated to buy it. However if you don't buy it, you will have to fork over about 1/2 the premium amount as an additional line item on your tax return. Don't you love it, your health records tied to your income tax return. It says here your disabled so just how did you make that .....
Can you say police state?

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LOL
Monger the fear.

There's nothing to this.
Universal single payer means everyone is covered...even those who haven't paid one red cent of taxes.

The End

The elites and the corporatists don't like it because they lose their front row seats under universal single payer.

Universal single payer means everyone is covered...even those who haven't paid one red cent of taxes.

Were that the system being discussed to be implemented in the USA you would be right. That isn't the system being planned for the USA, so you are wrong.

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Universal single payer means everyone is covered...even those who haven't paid one red cent of taxes.

Were that the system being discussed to be implemented in the USA you would be right. That isn't the system being planned for the USA, so you are wrong.

The direction that the system overlords are allowing to be discussed still involves private insurers. It does not eliminate these insurers from the equation.

Since I am talking about government run universal single payer, under the heading I originally posted under, I am correct.

I am also likely to outlive you because of the health system we have in Canada.

2 things

Name 1 thing ANY government does well?? besides taking your money!!

If this is so great why are the government elites NOT going to have this "insurance"

socialized medicine "works in some countries" because the people there DONT have anything to guage it against. why is the cancer survival rates in canada and europe lower than the US, why was Diana Princess of Whales sitting in an ambulance for 45 minutes dying, here in the US her type of injury has a 50 percent survival rate which sucks right? in socialized nations it is 5 percent.

The cost for medical coverage is so high because trillions of dollars are INVESTED in high tech BUSINESS's that develope new ways of keeping you alive they do it to MAKE MONEY!! and they damn well deserve it. yes things need to be improved but the world is not perfect some people get sick and DIE sorry!!

as for how has the current US capital system helped us out?
well how many life saving medicines and procedures have come out of socialized nations? how about a big fat ZERO!! you people are riding the coat tails of OUR GREAT system and guess what it is ending soon.

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Sorry dude your wonderful system has you at 73.7 and the us at 74.3 allthough your wife will outlive mine by 3 yrs.

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Name 1 thing ANY government does well?? besides taking your money!!

Police, firefighters, national parks, NASA, water and sewer, garbage collection, defence, health and safety, health regulations...Developement of telecommunications, television, radio, computers ...highways, border inspection,
there's more but you get the idea.

Name 1 thing ANY government does well?? besides taking your money!!

Police, firefighters, national parks, NASA, water and sewer, garbage collection, defence, health and safety, health regulations...Developement of telecommunications, television, radio, computers ...highways, border inspection,
there's more but you get the idea.

I agree, governments are responsible for police, fire, public transportation and protection from other nation states or groups. Governments should not be in the business of providing services or developing technology such as "telecommunications, television, radio, (and) computers". Private industry does a much better job. The point is government should do what it does best and private industry should do what it does best.