Canadian Prime Minister: Heart Surgery in U.S.
If this were me, I’d be pretty damned embarrassed.
N.L. Premier Williams set to have heart surgery in U.S.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams will undergo heart surgery later this week in the United States.
Deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale confirmed the treatment at a news conference Tuesday, but would not reveal the location of the operation or how it would be paid for.
“He has gone to a renowned expert in the procedure that he needs to have done,” said Ms. Dunderdale, who will become acting premier while Mr. Williams is away for three to 12 weeks.
“In consultation with his own doctors, he’s decided to go that route.”
Mr. Williams’ decision to leave Canada for the surgery has raised eyebrows over his apparent shunning of Canada’s health-care system.
“It was never an option offered to him to have this procedure done in this province,” said Ms. Dunderdale, refusing to answer whether the procedure could be done elsewhere in Canada.
Hey, I have an idea, maybe we need a health system more like Canada’s?
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4 Responses to “Canadian Prime Minister: Heart Surgery in U.S.”
Comment from Dale
Time April 3, 2010 at 3:33 pm
It’s not socialized insurance it is a tax. It is required after the first year, I don’t have a choice to buy or not buy that makes it a tax.
My health care cost over the past 10 years including dental is less than $3000. So why do I need health care insurance? I pay my way out of pocket as the need arises this will force me to spend thousands of dollars a year to buy something I neither need or want. And once the Government controls the purse stings to the insurance company’s they will control the insurance companies. I bet all of them are separating their health insurance divisions from the rest of the company so they can have some independence.
Comment from Liberty
Time April 4, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Julie: If socialized healthcare is such a great thing, then it stands to reason that someone from Canada shouldn’t need to go to a non-socialized country for care. If it was something experimental that Canada doesn’t provide, why the lack of transparency?
Comment from Liberty
Time April 4, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Correct Dale, it’s going to cost us whether we want it or not. Just wait until the IRS starts enforcement.
Comment from Julie
Time March 30, 2010 at 1:16 am
Your post regarding the “Prime Minister” of Canada is misleading. In Canada the Prime Minister is equivalent to the “President of the United States”. The gentleman in question is not the Prime Minister. He is a Premiere of a province, similar to a Governor of a state.
His having surgery outside of his province is not a reflection of the quality of medical care in Canada. Until more detail is known regarding the specialized nature of the procedure he requires becomes available, a conclusion such as this is spurious.
For example, the procedure he is having may be experimental and may not be approved by Canada at this time. When American citizens with spinal cord injury journey to India for treatment not available in the United States, is this a sign of weakness in the US health care system, or more accurately simply a procedure in another country that is not available in the US.
Furthermore, the Canadian health care system is not socialized. Health care is privately delivered. It is a socialized insurance system, meaning that the medical coverage is provided for each citizen. Medical decision making is made by the physician or health care provider for the best interest of the patient and is not regulated by arbitrary limits placed on care created by a profit calculator.