Interesting Happenings

Some interesting things have happened over the past few months in healthcare. Apologies for not writing earlier, but what can I say, i've been busy. 1)Alberta announces its "third way". Basically fee for service for certain things such as hip replacement which allow you to jump the cue. The big problem everyone has is the Doctors can work in both public and private sector. Duh. Thats it? Doctors currently bill fee for service. Is that not private industry? Hmmmm.... 2) BC travels to Sweden and England to look at other private/public home care models. At least they get it. Private healthcare does not equal American Health Care. Hopefully they grow some balls and take a chance on somthing. Interesting enough, I was recently in BC, and all I will say is that it is the same as Ontario, only different titles. Same wait times. Same lack of innovation. Same reliance on the historical way. 3) Ontario passes LHIN legislation. Basically this is regional health care, ecept that the regional bodies make tough decisions such as budgeting and closing beds/service. Makes sense except that the propogandist McGuinty government will claim victory and involvment in any good news story and place blame on LHINs for any bad political decisions. Interesting enough, 2 years after their health tax was introduced (err..."premium"), the health care ssystem is no better, in fact arguably worse off. I continue to shun my wife for voting Liberal.Tags: healthcare, Liberals, private health, Canada, Ontario

Jack Layton and Private Healthcare

Well, many readers have been coming to this site searching for information on Jack Layton, leader of the federal NDP party who, 20 some odd years ago, had a hernia repaired at the "private" Shouldice Hospital in Toronto.
Lets set the record straight.

• I do not like Jack Layton - mainly because of is ignorance that private healthcare exisits in Canada (see sidebar for more info on previous posts). Case in point-- He had so-called private surgery done years ago, yet says that private care is the big bad monster coming to ruin this country.
• Shouldice Hospital in Toronto is technically a private hospital, though they recieve funding for surgerys through OHIP (Ontario's "public" health care insurance). Jack never had to actually pay for the service. Nonetheless, he still went there.
• Shouldice was set up after the war as a NOT FOR PROFIT clinic to treat mainly soldiers returning home with minor issues such as hernias, etc. Nonetheless they operate outside the public hospital/clinic realm and therefore are considered private (regardless if they make a profit or not - they just get better tax breaks).
• Jack claims he didn't know and that he followed his advice from a doctor - which begs the question, if the doctor said "Jack, you need an MRI---fast, in fact you should seek out a private clinic, its a matter of life and death...." do you think Jack would hesitate?
• Why is private care such a bad thing. Jack got his hernia repaired, presummably everything went ok, it happened quick, he never had to pay for the service...Why is it such a big deal?
• We should embrace these kinds of options, they work, they don't cost people more (although paying for care should be an option - you have more choice in vet care then healthcare), you get the procedure done quickly.

Hopefully that helps some of you out there seeking information. What is wrong with private healthcare? There are other options than the American system. They are not all bad. In fact, as I have written here before, the only nations with a 100% public system, whereby everyone recieves the exact same levels of care regardless of income are:

• Canada
• North Korea
• and Cuba

Now what do you think of this socialist care?

Ignorance is Bliss

Happy New Year by the way. Its exiting times as Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada actually has a chance of establishing a minority government ending the tax and spend days (as well as kickbacks) of Paul Martin and his gang of Liberal merrymen.

I recently recieved an email with some information on the Healthcare restructuring going on in Ontario (the so-called Bill 36 LHIN legislation). The article was esentially a policy paper done by the Health Care Coalition of Ontario. Its actually fairly well written although biased against any so called for-profit healthcare companies and partnerships. This is where ignorance is bliss on a number of levels.
1) The only difference between for-profit and not-for-profit is that the private companies pay taxes which go to supporting the public companies.
2) Private companies (especially in health care) are usually far more responsive, efficient, customer service oriented and treat their staff better than public companies (having worked in both, yes this is the case). The customer service is usually better because private companies have to fight to attract and keep clients while if a public company loses one, its usually someone elses fault and they will justify it to continue to recieve their same level of funding (or more). Where would you rather spend your tax dollars - I certainly do not enjoy waste accompanied by poor customer service.
3) This position paper is all well and great, but the legislation (although its a snoozer) but its passed second reading, and the liberals are in a majority. Maybe the OHC should have been lobbying back in the summer when someone was listening.
4) Lobbyist groups like this one, have some impression that money grows on trees and therefore ingnore other options like private investment (which already exisits - how do you think Hospitals expand - through donations from companies and indivduals (Like the Peter Munk cardiac centre at Toronto General Hospital)).

Sorry for the rant, but it is rainy outside and this one caught my attention. I thought I should share it. Until next time...

Suing the Government over healthcare

I recently read an article about a Canadian who is suing his provincial government for repayment of medical fees. Unfortunately I had intended to post this last week, but due to the holidays, I had limited access to a computer. So I will try my best. So this guy is very ill and needs a liver transplant. The provincial government/hospital (It was either Nova Scotia or Ontario, but I think NS) said that he was too unwell for the procedure to be done and basically "sorry, you have a few months to live". So the guy does what probably anyone would do, get a second opinion. He in fact goes to the UK and ends up getting his liver transplant, and survives, and in fact is doing very well (so much for that advice earlier!). The procedure and hospital stay costs him well over $750,000CAN, so he does again what any sane person would do - he invoices his provincial government for it. This being Canada, and all, and promoters of "The best darn public health system in the universe!" (to which we scoff HA!) refused to pay the bill.

Yes you read that correctly. Once again, becuase of the refusal to pay, especially for a life-saving procedure, the goverment has basically created a two-tier system! Which of course it is against. Interesting.

Nonetheless, the guy was not happy with the refusal, and is persuing the case to the supreme court, which, you read it here first - he will win, hands down.

Wellpoint Health

So, yesterday I posted about Wellpoint Health. Today on my adsense banner (click to the right please! I need to get paid!) is Wellpoint Health. By no means am I promoting these guys, but I thought that was pretty crafty of google. I mention Wellpoint, and voila. How about Blue Cross, Red Crosss, Kaiser Permanente?

So the blog never started out as a health care blog. But since I work in health care, in Canada (Not France like my bio says, nor am I 103 for that matter!) I think I am going to alter the format of this blog to talk mainly on the health care system, specifically on private health care, because I for one believe that this is the answer to many of our problems here in Canada. You see, here we like to trhow money at problems, hoping that they will go away, instead, everything just ends up costing more. There is tons of waste, tons of burocracy(sp?) and what do we get? Crappy care, waitlists, broken promises, lies etc. So I say, bring in private care, because really, the only difference between for-profit private companies and not-for profit (besides the whining from the not-for-profit) is that the for-profit companies pay taxes (of which the not-for-profit) companies usually use to fund their services/operations. So the not-for-profit companies should actually be thanking the for-profits. Sounds confusing, but it is really simple.

Private Health Care Part 2!

So I recieved this post from the supposed American Blue Cross, to which I say cool. I believe he was referred here through a google search for private health care. So I did the same, albeit on google.ca and here is what I came up with:

First google adsense ad is: Wellpoint
What is Wellpoint you ask? It is a private healthcare clinic or executive health care type of service that exists here in Canada. *GASP* What does that mean. Oh I guess just that I wasn't making any of this crap up. Truly.
Lets see what else we find....well there is 816,000 hits for Private Healthcare. Interesting. I can't find my own site though.
I guess just for my faithful readers, I will ask one small question (and of course provide the shocking, scandalous answer):
Name the only 3 countries in the world to have so called Social (non-private) healthcare systems in the world, not offering some sort of choice?
1. Is Canada, although private healthcare does exist, but as long as we don't awknowledge it, it can't be true.
2. North Korea
3. Cuba

Interesting.

New Suit

Don'tcha just love the feeling of a brand new suit. Moi aussi. I was out today and was given the early Christmas (ooops! Holiday) present of a brand spanking new suit. Charcoal grey. Fits like a suit should. Can't wait to wear it. I wear a suit everyday, but is something about a crisp new suit that makes me want to dance down the hallway all giggly like. Also, this being winter and the like, I got a new winter coat. Feels great. Oh yeah, and through all this I must answer that burning question you have - do I look good? Hell yeah! Damn good. I make the leaning tower of Pisa stand erect.