I write as a canadian whose husband has had stage 2 colorectal cancer, with operation and 3 year follow-up treatment, heart attack which required stent and meds and ongoing monitoring regarding diet and exercise, and recently a full hip replacement. This was all paid through our public health care. there is no dealing with any insurance company, the government handles it all on our behalf. He is also a pain clinic patient, but no narcotics are given there, only epidural injections which work rellly well and prevent drug abuse.

We pay 6.11 for our medications, but some such as sleeping pills, are not included in the plan. But all medications for cancer, for the heart, are subsidized and 6.11 is all we pay.

I think the US insurance companies are the ones who don't want you to have a health care plan because their profits will be less of course. But how can you go on being at the mercy of insurance companies who judge you fit or not to be accepted? THere is none of that here, every single canadian from the day of birth is eligible for full health care, and it has given us tremendous impetus to focus on preventive care. In Canada, the problem of prescription drug abuse does not even come close to what is going on in the USA. With public health care, the government takes extraordinary measures to keep the population healthy, we feel often like we are being babysat, but at our age,we sure appreciate having it.

Support your president and what he is trying to do for you.

Perfect post Kyk...you captured my frustration with those on the far right who view guaranteed healthcare for american citizens as a cash cow, a view that I find offensive personally. My taxes pay for plenty of services that I don't use: education for other people's children, Highways that I don't drive on, etc. I fail to see how helping to pay for heatlh insurance coverage for my fellow citizens, and fellow human beings differs.

Leonne: Most Americans want health reform. It's just those opposed are very good at making it loud and clear. I'm burned out talking about it here at DB but my thoughts are with you. Gotta go watch Obama sell it!

I write as an American. I believe that the reasons some Americans are against the "public option" are twofold. We are a free country, with a rebellious spirit, not part of an Empire (Even though the British Empire is now symbolic) and do not want the government controlling 20% of the economy and a Federal Government that they fear.

For other people it is simply timing, we now have 9.7% unemployment. It also has never been explained exactly what the plan is and how we will pay for it. As of today the Senate Finance Committee has still not figured out how to do it. Believe it or not most people seem to believe that it is not the number one problem facing the country. It seems is more important to President Obama and the left than it is for the average citizen. Do me a favor, support your own politicians or the Queen.

Thanks for the information, I have a relative in BC and she sounds exactly like You.

Geez Old, it took a Canadian to get a straight answer out of you!

Now if we can get straight, true answers from Obama we'd be better off.

Time will tell Old....

my sister is married to a Canadian, has two children and lives up there. we have always been told that there healthcare is horrible and they have long waits for simple procedures and our system is just far superior.

but my brother in law said something. just a comment about life not pushing any sort of agenda it wasnt even a healthcare or gov discussion.

i said "yea i was referred out to yet another specialist and this guy cant see her for 9 weeks." and he said "yup we have to wait sometimes too. but i never get a bill."

and btw...socialism is evil. we hate it. except if our socialist brothers are helping us fight a war.

My niece is from Canada and I have several customers who use to live in England and they say people die waitimg to get their medicines and it takes years to get operations.I asked what they do instead and one said that they carry expensive health insurance. You can't pay for the parts {meds. treatments etc. that the Government doesn't allow]. It's a all or nothing plan.

This is a good example of our Gov., they took over a Thieving Whore house on the skirt of Los Vegas and had it bankrupt within a year. Only they could manage that.

PLUS IF YOU THINK IT'S FREE LOOK AT THE PRICE FOR AN ITEM IF PAID FOR IN CANADA [usually aleast 2 bucks more]

I personally think we need regulations in teh private insurance companies.

What I DONT want is more government control.

You guys up north may enjoy breastfeeding off of the government your entire lives.

But I personally want the federal government out of my doctors office AND out of my gun cabinet.

And I am not a republican saying this either.

I just want to address some of the concerns of those who have I believe a very erroneous opinion about the Canadian health care plan, and our country in general.

First, we never deal with insurance companies. If you a pre-existing condition, it does not matter, you will be guaranteed a specialist for your cancer, your hip operation, your arm injury, you will upmost care by the some of the best surgeons who support this system which by the way is even better in France and in England.

For canadians over 65, a guarantee income of $13,000 I believe it is now, is assured for every citizen, every man and woman, not per couple. So at least everyone is assured of some income, something similar to you I think. It is adjusted to the inflation.

My daughter has a doctoral degree and works at a high salary exceeding the 100,000 mark. She gives half of this away to taxes and her pension. We are retirees with pensions and will are receiving 6000 a month for life. It is worth investing in your pension through taxes, and helping others in the process.

The government is heavily involved in prevention and it is working. My husband had a heart attack in 2003 and he still sees his specialist every 3 months, at no charge to us, it is a public health care system, you present the card the government has given you. The government is concerned about keeping the nation healthy, that is the goal, they are not at all concerned about the profits of the insurance companies and there are NO insurance lobbyists trying to get money from our government.

So you know I am not complaining, if we have had to deal with insurance companies, my husband would have been disqualified because of health, the insurance companies need money to pay off those members of congress and others who support the capitalist plan which when it comes to your health, and the health of your family, makes no sense. Insurance companies are crooks, and have always been there for profit, not for your good health.

I was alive when our health care system came into effect, I was 16 years old when I received my health card, and it changed our lives, the lives of my parents and grandparents, who all lived long and happy lives, free of medical money worries, and were able to leave very worthwhile estates. Probably those debt free estates would never have come our way if that health care system did not exist, Such is the reality you have to look at the long term benefits of things in all areas.

Thank you for telling us about your experience.

Obama's speech last night was terrific, and he said the words that I was longing to hear, mainly that discriminating against pre-exisiting conditions, and applying spending caps to illness will be illegal under his plan. I think that the President has left plenty of room at the table for Private Insurance Cos to continue to operate (I've heard that the Swiss have a private/public system also.) I also liked Obama's forceful delivery last night, firm even when some Southern Fried Idiot yelled "you lie" at him, I hope that Barack has grown a pair, and that he means it when he said that Healthcare reform will pass in our time.

When I watch the media, it seems the only area of agreement
is that both sides would like to see costs lowered.

The President and both houses are Dems now. If it's not passed - it's their fault. They have the majority.


(What the Hell was wrong with Pelosi last night? My Gawd).

Well, I guess as long as he "says what you want to hear", your happy.

But remember, what politicians SAY and what politicians DO are two very separate things.

Can you name three, yes only three government social agencies that are not completely screwed up and nearly a total waste of money?

Again, I am 100% for the regulation of private insurance.

But people who are poor or under 18 can already get health insurance in EVERY state.

Since 1992, every state has been required (and do) give health insurance to those who cannot afford it.

So, why does Obama act like thats not happening?

What if I do not what to pay for health insurance? Is he going to charge me anyway?

And lastly, why should I be required to pay for other peoples health?

The last time I checked, thats not how America is supposed to be run.

I dont mind paying for old people, veterans or children. But every single man/woman in America is going to be from tax payers?

What if someone was driving drunk and smashes into a pole and is crippled his entire life. I am all of a sudden responsible to pay his insurance the rest of his life because he made the wrong choice?.

An alcoholic needs a liver transplant, so does that mean tax payers are going to foot the $300,000 bill because he chose to destroy his/her own liver?

Im a liberal Independent, and I dont want to live in a country like that.

I've heard it summed up this way:

Obamacare = My kids will pay for
the effects of his smoking habit.

First let me say I'm a total idiot when it comes to politics (disclaimer) so please, don't shoot me if I say something completely stupid. I don't really follow any of this and I'm not much of a news reader (and I don't own a television) but I read the headlines on Comcast and all I saw about health care was that they were going to start charging Americans who didn't pay for personal health care. That is what I thought this discussion was about. I know, I need to read more and get more involved. I thought, how idiotic is that? To charge people who already cant afford health care. Obviously, there is a lot I am missing. Anyone want to fill me in?

Not if the politicians keep their private, high priced plans.

She looked like her normal self to me.

It is a gimmick to help pay for the "plan". So, people like me who pay as I go for care would have to pay $3800 to the government to pay for some other people's health care.

One thing about "Obama's plan" is the fact that there is no such "plan". No such bill, law, etc. Only the House or Senate versions. Our Dear Leader's "plan" for us is really what he knows is good for us.

Clearly you didn't listen to the speech last night, because you have the details of the plan mostly wrong. Yes, the Insurance Companies will face regulation under the proposed plan; no more discrimination of pre-existing conditions, or gender; no more spending caps on catastrophic disease, after that you become completely clueless. Obama is speaking of coverage for mostly middle-class Americans, as you must know, there is a program to cover the poor, and most poor children, called Medicad. Most Americans who are not insured can't afford insurance, or have pre-existing conditions that make it virtually impossible to get insurance; these people are not "poor," they are the self-employed, or the employees of small businesses who also can't afford to offer insurance, in short, these are your neighbors from middle-classland, and not the mythical ghetto, land of milk and free government honey. Obama wants to level the playing field enough through regulation, and the creation of a non-profit agency that will insure that all Americans have access to affordable insurance (which won't be free, you will still have to pay premiums. BTW, ALL Children DO NOT have access or guaranteed health insurance...don't know where you got that idea, but it clearly illustrates how ignorant most Americans are to the true condition of Healthcare in this country. As for why you are anyone should pay into a system that covers all Citizens, again, why should I pay to educate your children, or build highways that you drive on, but I don't? Americans pay taxes to support the DEA for God'ssakes, so there are plenty of agencies, and programs that Individuals may object to, but still collectively pay into. As a matter of fact, we all pay into Driver's Insurance, which even covers drunken idiots, although we are personally safe drivers. The same sort of "pool" situation will occur with Universal Healthcare coverage. To think that there are people in this country who die, at least 22,000 per year, which I think is an underestimation, according to statistics, for lack of healthcare is shameful, as is the sight of thousands of Americans, citizens of this great and rich country, lining up at for hours for basic health services at third world style "Health-Fairs," shame on us. As pointed out in Obama's speech, Republican Teddy Roosevelt suggested Universal coverage over 100 years ago, and we are still diddling over the matter today even as every other Democracy in the World has full coverage for their citizens.

I don't agree that "Americans are against public health care." If we were we wouldn't have Medicare, Medicaid, the VA, many state plans, etc. What Americans want is free choice. As long as there are both public and private plans available we can choose what we want.

The usual huge corporations that own our government (all parties, not just the ones in power) are doing their normal job of misinformation, scaring people and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to muddy the water and kill reform. Just like they did with energy, environment and dozens of other things. The cost to kill something that is good for the public but bad for them is peanuts compared to the profits.

In the 90's, it was said that the Japanese were able to buy our congress on votes that helped them for roughly $100 million at a time. That was pocket change to them. The same thing has been happening with healthcare and other industries for several decades.

In my lifetime, and I'm a lot closer to the end than the beginning, hospitals and HMOs were all non-profit by law. Once that was changed huge for-profit corporations sprang up, Like Hospital Corporation of America (if they're still called that) that and profit came before care. Back when they were all non-profit, medical care was available at reasonable cost to almost every American except the very, very poorest. Since then, only the rich can afford the care we used to get before the profit motive.

And the drug companies are the worst of all. They create illnesses out of the blue like "restless leg syndrome" that we never even knew existed, then spend millions advertising and driving demand and then charge $5 or $10 a pill for the "cure" that has 3 cents worth of chemicals in it. That's why we're so far down the list of healthcare quality and life expectancy of major industrialized countries when we used to be at the top of both.

We are the only major industrial nation to have no national health care system. This is unacceptable as we always find money for bailouts, pork-belly projects and any war (of course, we don't declare war anymore, we just fight them).

Take care of the people, or you risk class-level revolution. For a person to get sick in this great society and risk losing everything you own just to qualify for government assistance, is both insulting and insane.

PK,

As usual you are concise and on target. The cost of a good public healthcare system is far less than the cost of the War in Iraq and a small fraction of the money we spend on useless weaponry like the F-22, The Abrams Fighting Vehicle, The Asprey and the Sgt York system, among many others that never worked (Star Wars any one?). The problem is that the major corporations own this country, especially the weapons manufacturers. And it doesn't matter who is in power politically. The big Corps will always make sure that there are wars and coups all over the world so they can sell their killing machines. And, of course, make sure we put hundreds of billions per year into their pockets. With just a fraction of the money we spend on the military, we could provide GREAT healthcare for every American AND insure every American child a college education! Oh, and we'd have enough left over to provide housing for our less fortunate as well!

You are absolutely right! We spend the money to defend the world (troops still in Korea, Japan, Germany?! Not to mention Iraq!) and they use the money they don't have to spend on defense because we spend ours for them and provide their people with healthcare and other benefits with that money.

It takes 60 votes to pass in the Senate. The Dems have 59 now that Ted Kennedy has died. And some Dems may vote against it because in truth they really aren't Dems. They are Republicans who ran as Dems in 06 and 08 because they knew they couldn't win as Republicans in their state or district (in the House) The Republicans have 40. Maybe one may vote for it but that's not certain. So if ALL Republicans vote AGAINST healthcare, it's the Democrats fault it loses? You must be kidding!

And I'm an Independent and don't believe that EITHER party cares a rat's butt about the people. They only care about giving big corporations whatever they want so they can continue to get the huge dollars from them that they need to get re-elected and continue to enrich themselves at our expense! We are an Oligarchy. We have not been a Democracy for a VERY long time.

You got that right. Basically moderate Republicans have been forced out of the Party since the crack-pot faction took over, and Politicans, who otherwise would have been with the GOP, are now "Blue Dog" Democrats.

The right-wingers did what the Dems could not. These zealots which control the core of the Rep party have likely changed the voting pattern for a generation. Of course, the Dems cannot lose this opportunity to make changes at so many levels which are so desperately needed or their hold on power could be challenged.

We had a generation of Reps leadership and I ask everyone reading this, who feels that they, the country or our country's reputation globally are better off today?

Hey PK,

As I have stated, I am a solid Independent, but I will state that our country's global reputation is better today than it was before January 20th.

Not that it changes the fact that the average American has NO representation in our government nor does any person in congress care about anything but raising money from the fat cats for re-election and building their own net worth and then paying them back at our expense!

First, I truly believe in Health Care for all Americans. Now saying that what scares me the most in this whole plan is we have NEVER had National Health Care and unlike Canada or the UK where these systems have been in place for eons do we really have the resources to put such a plan in place correctly? Also what cost will it be in the future for not only us, but our children? Forgive me, but I have little faith in our Legislators being able to define and build such a monumental program.

I can not help to reflect back on the past year and still wonder how we are going to pay for all the other Bailouts. I personally do not mind my taxes rising some to balance out others, but still no one can define any true costs to any of us, and that is what worries me.

Don't worry about it. Our Dear Leader has announced that it will be "revenue nuetral". Fat chance. No matter what, another point to consider; it is the moral thing to do, the empathetic thing to do. As far as doctors, we can also get the finest doctors in the world from Cuba and Mexico.

Reputation? That's nice. Our reputation is one of a pussy. Iran, North Korea and Libya are all laughing in our face. Obama just capitulated today to North Korea. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and Russia are joining forces. That's great!

We have no clear plan for winning (or leaving) the "good" war in Afghanistan. They must like us because we are becoming as poor as some other countries with our 9.7% unemployment. We have nationalized large parts of the economy. China owes a big chunk of our debt and is lecturing us on capitalism. Yea, it's great! I makes me want to go work for Acorn and spend some government cash helping set up brothels.