boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

The Dems want single payer. We don't have single payer--here is the difference. My good friend went to his Orthopaedist complaining of low back p ain. On exam the Doc was very concerned and referred him to an Oncologist with the instructions to treat him as if he were a family member. The next day the PET scan "light up" with stage 4 Hoghkins Lymphoma. There are only 50 PET scanners in Canada, over 2500 in the US. So he would have a long (months) wait for a scan. He went on chemo immediately and 9 weeks later he is cancer free. In canada he would be dead, or soon to be dead. THATS the difference between our fee for service program and a single payer. Single payer works well for well patient care but not if you are trully ill,

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Let's see: fee-for-service imaging in the US: If you go to any hospital around here and have an MRI you will be charged $3,000 if you do not have insurance. If you have insurance, THEY will only be charged about $400. The DIFFERENCE between Canada and the US is that NO ONE in Canada will be bankrupted by developing lymphoma. And by the way - 50 PET scanners seems about the right number for Canada.

chrisscholbe Loc: Kansas City, MO

I understand that having 2500 scanners will make it more convenient for us to get one.

And I will be very happy if one of them is near me (if/when I need one), but, how many of these scanners do we really NEED?

Do you think that this is only one instance of why our health costs are so high?

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

So they get to die debt free. What a consolation gift 'eh.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

I think this about sums up the republican thought process.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/12/hawking_british_and_alive/

Kraken Loc: Barry's Bay

Why do Canadians outlive Americans?
Canadians are outliving Americans, in some cases, by as much as a decade. Is public healthcare the secret to longevity?
When Erick Bauer was first diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF) as an infant, his parents were told he'd be lucky to make it to his 20th birthday.
Now turning 32 and expecting his first child, Mr Bauer attributes his relatively good health to the close relationship he has with his medical team at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, which he says helps him maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.
He takes about 60 pills a day to help control the hereditary disease, which can affect the lungs, pancreas and gastro-intestinal tract.
"For all those younger CF patients who live with the disease right now, it is really important to just keep searching for that cure or that control for that disease," he told the BBC. "That is my hope for the future."
Life expectancy for cystic fibrosis patients has increased much faster in Canada than it has in the US, a new study published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine found.
Canadians living with cystic fibrosis lived on average 10 years longer than Americans with the same disease, in part because of the very different healthcare systems in the two countries, the study found.

WNYShooter Loc: WNY

It's one of the reasons we have so much medical imaging equipment here in WNY, proximity to more than 1/3 of the Canadian population.

Oh, and SB, MRI's don't cost that much if you pay cash. Here's the current price list for one of the imaging groups here:

http://www.wnyig.com/canadian-pricing

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

Sorry, sb...... Scare tactic!

I went for an MRI at one of several imaging centers here... Played them back and forth and got a complete image of my knee for $295 cash.

Yes, if I had been lazy and just followed the hospital network it would have been closer to $3000.

One just had to do a LITTLE work and not sit around waiting for uncle Sam to handle everything for them.

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

👍

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

Your comments are Anecdotal, which makes them somewhat useless. Hell, we have entire counties in Colorado where the life expectancy its 87 years!


So, let's check the current avg. Life expectancies....

Canada. -81.4
U. S. ---79.1

Big freaking deal----2.3 years.

This can easily be rationalized with the higher stress levels here in the U S ( we work a lot more hours than most) and our much less homogenous race diversity, along with things like total population, more road driving, worse diets, more pollution, etc.

Further, using base percentages is useless without providing the raw numbers. Example..... If the survival rate of a disease increased from 1% to 3%, it sounds like a huge increase but it's still dismal, yes?

Kraken Loc: Barry's Bay

How much do you want for the two years you are not planning on using?

Cykdelic Loc: Now outside of Chiraq & Santa Fe, NM

It "depends" on my condition.