The Vancouver Sun
February 8, 2010
Premier Danny Williams, who had heart surgery at a U.S. hospital last week, is recovering very well from the operation, a spokeswoman said Monday.
Elizabeth Matthews said the Newfoundland and Labrador premier was released from intensive care on Friday and is expected to be discharged from hospital sometime this week.
Williams’ decision to have the surgery performed at an undisclosed U.S. hospital, because the procedure wasn’t available in his home province, touched off a mini-firestorm, with some critics in Canada and the United States pointing to it as proof of problems in Canada’s health-care system.
Last week, deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale said the criticism of Williams was unwarranted and an invasion of his privacy. She said the premier would address the issue after his return home.
And…
Danny Williams and the best health care in the world
By Mark Watson
The North Star National
February 7, 2010
Danny Williams, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, underwent heart surgery in an undisclosed United States hospital on Thursday.
According to Deputy Premier Kathy Dunderdale, Williams received treatment from a ârenowned expert in the procedureâ that the premier needed.
Does Williamsâs decision to travel to America for his heart surgery suggest that the procedure he needed was unavailable in Canada, or does it mean that the wait time required for getting the treatment was too long for him to survive before eligible for the procedure?
President Obama has extolled the virtues of the Canadian single-payer medical plan repeatedly in the past.
Perhaps this would be a good time for Obama and other Democratic leaders pushing hard to implement their so-called health care reform to rethink their plans.
If a Canadian-style single-payer system isnât good enough for a Canadian premier, how long will it be until a universal medical coverage plan in America will not have sufficient resources for a member of Congress?
The fact that the Premier had to seek treatment outside his own country is an indictment of the Canadian health care system, nothing more, nothing less.
Response to Mark Watson by T. Rand Collins PhD MD
February 8, 2010
There is a great deal of sniping back and forth across the border from those who would use both systemsâ problems for their own ends. Sadly, both systems are broken, but in different ways. America has excellent health care and world-class technology, but a significant part of the population cannot afford it. And another part of the population can just barely afford it, surrendering the equivalent of their mortgage each month just to be protected against a medical catastrophe. I talked in November to the owner of a clothing store in the Miami Trade Center, who told me that she was paying ~$2,000 per month for health care – and Mark Watson is knocking Obamaâs efforts to make sure his people can go to the doctor?
Canadians are privileged to get complete care for a nominal cost. It may be slow, and it may have problems, but health care is a right, not a privilege.
I am, ironically, as Senior Vice President of International Health Care Providers, an Ontario-based medical travel firm, one of those who help Canadians find health care options in the US. But that doesnât mean that I donât believe in the Canadian system. Canada needs a private option, which is what the worldâs most successful medical systems have – a combination of private AND public options for health care.
American arch-conservatives cry âSocialismâ whenever government takes part in providing services or setting regulatory standards. Besides the fact that most Americans cannot define socialism (and more than a few canât spell it), there are some things that are too important to be left to private interests whose primary interests lie in keep the shareholders happy.
Even a good concept like health care as a right for all can have times when those who manage it are short-sighted and unresponsive. Democracy was a good idea, but under Bush, who will go down in the books as the least competent president in the history of this country, freedom of speech and freedom from government spying were severely threatened.
I have dual citizenship in the US and Canada and have practiced medicine in both countries, and, were I pushed to choose, I would definitely opt for the Canadian system.
http://www.northstarnational.com/2010/02/07/4240/
International Health Care Providers
http://www.ihcproviders.com/ourteam.php
Comment:
By Don McCanne, MD
It is a relief to know that Premier Danny Williams (Newfoundland and Labrador) is doing well after his heart surgery here in the United States. This news is a refreshing and reassuring breather after having been inundated with the callous releases from right-wing extremists celebrating Premier Williams’ medical misfortune, used to both denigrate the Canadian health care system, and tout the quality of the U.S. system (for some).
The North Star National article by Mark Watson is but one of those insensitive and distorted reports and certainly would not be worth including as a Quote of the Day, except that it provoked the response of an executive of a Canadian medical travel firm who also happens to be a physician who has practiced in both the United States and Canada.
We do not agree with Dr. T. Rand Collins that Canada needs a “private option.” That would create a two-tiered system with even longer queues in the public sector. They simply need to continue moving forward with their ongoing efforts in queue management.
Considering that Dr. Collins’ firm is in the business of bypassing Canadian queues by arranging for care in the United States, his fundamental assessment of the systems of both nations is certainly noteworthy. As he says, “… were I pushed to choose, I would definitely opt for the Canadian system.”