Did so-called “universal health care” kill actress? posted by Donny Ferguson on Mar 26, 2009 at LP.org
Cody Williams, a Chicago physician, writes in today’s New York Post how Obama-style socialized medicine may have played a role in the death of actress Natasha Richardson, who died last week in Canada from a simple injury easily treatable in the United States.
Williams writes, in part:
Canadian health care de-emphasizes widespread dissemination of technology like CT scanners and quick access to specialists like neurosurgeons. While all the facts of Richardson’s medical care haven’t been released, enough is known to pose questions with profound implications.
Richardson died of an epidural hematoma — a bleeding artery between the skull and brain that compresses and ultimately causes fatal brain damage via pressure buildup. With prompt diagnosis by CT scan, and surgery to drain the blood, most patients survive.
Could Richardson have received this care? Where it happened in Canada, no. In many US resorts, yes.
You may read the entire column here. Medical technology such as CT and MRI scanners, found in most every city in the United States, are hard to find in “universal health care” countries like the U.K. and Canada.
That’s why the Libertarian Party supports the proven solutions of lowering health care costs and increasing access through increased competition and decreased regulation — instead of the Obama plan to put health care in the same hands that gave us the IRS, AIG bonuses, corporate bailouts and Walter Reed Hospital scandal.
all you can do is trash eachother
and rude
you are all stupid
Natasha Richardson died because she refused to get medical attention in Canada and waited too long to finally get medical attention back in the US. And no, CT and MRI machines are not scarce in Canadian hospitals and clinics. As long as Americans continue to listen to these lies and scare tactics dished out by the private insurance companies, the AMA, etc they will continue to pay far more money and get far less for their buck. Instead of regurgitating idiotic lies maybe people can make a more educated decision about healthcare reform if they actually did some proper research.
I’m Canadian and I’d be the first, not to defend Canadian healthcare. I agree that the system killed, Natasha Richardon, and frankly, Quebec’s medical system has gaping holes in it, not having a medical helicopter! That’s pathetic and that’s Canada’s medical system for you. This is the country where many of us will die on a waiting list before we ever receive healthcare.
How many homeless people have died in the US for lack of medical treatment?
Hospitals in the US are required by law to provide emergency room care to indigent patients.
How many homeless people have died in the US for lack of medical treatment? How much news coverage do those deaths get in the news? How many people point out the horror of them not getting treatment because they simply cannot afford it? Anyone truly interested in freedom and liberty should concentrate on who actually controls people’s lives with illegitimate power, the politicians and the corporations that pay their salaries. I don’t understand how providing people with a basic human right can be construed as trampling on people’s freedoms. Libertarians need to get their priorities straight.
Hi there writing from montreal .let me start by saying how terrible the accident N Richardson was. And sypathies to the family . however , on the issue of government delivered medical services I am shockingly surprised how misinformed the peoeple posting posts r . I cant get into all the little,big , repeated, misstakes the governmentof Canada/Quebec get into while managing medicare , but living in the system i can tell u it produces a product ( like any other socialist inspired system) which is quiet simply sub par compared to USA . Americans have the greatest ingediant to produce the best medical system in the world……..FREEDOM . something we canadians lack. Most canadians r so brain washed they think they have the best ( or one of the best } medical system in the world.Rality we do not.
we do not have MobilMRIs , in all of Canada there r about 250 MRI machines vs 8500 in the US. Even for me to buy and operate AS a BUSiness a mobile mri machine it is illegal. yet it is widely availble in the US . Sigh so much to say and limited by this primitive typing to transend my ideas .
In the book of Revelation the Devil and his minions will try to remove the ability to buy and sell ( hold property ) just like in Canadian medical system . I wish I could be FREE from it
I wish Obama would and both houses of Congress would enact Universal Health coverage. My friend’s sister lives in Canada. While visiting him here in the US she required medical. She paid for it, received a receipt and was reimbursed when she returned to Canada. That’s the kind of system we need here.
Thanks for looking out LG. My frustration level is pretty high right now, Marston just ticked me off at the wrong time.
I didn’t quit, but I do need to cut back.
you must be slippin P-daddy , wasnt that the cue for a cat in a tinfoil hat
As you wish.
Bob Marston // Mar 28, 2009 at 1:16 pm
What does signify your “ill intent” and that of your fellow Libertarians is the fact that you choose to exploit the tragic death of an individual to advance your agenda. It would be hideous even if your arguments held water which they clearly do not. But the fact of the matter is your knowledge of the events surrounding the death of Natascha Richradson is as complete as your understanding of the implementation of Health Care in Canada. That’s not very neighborly now is it ?So now you and your Libertarian cohorts expect to be treated with respect and courtesy ?Judging from the responses that are being posted from our neighbors to the North there is little doubt in my mind you guys have reaffirmed the reputation of the Libertarian Party as that of a bunch of goof balls. I hope the Canadian readers of this Blog will have the strength to endure your tasteless backhanded insults and understand what is being written only counts for the opinion of a very small segment of US Society.
you are a jack-ass bob , and i for 1 an VERY FUCKING PISSED that you would insult Paulie the way you did .
I have not read this whole thread but if there are any Libertarians who agree with this they are VERY few in number.
what paulie did was reprint an idiotic story from the LP website . I am thankful because I dont go to the site ever and need t know when they put out this ridiculousness.
this is a freakin blog , its got the good , the bad , the ugly , the true , the false , some slander , opinions , accusations , nitpicking , squabbles etc etc etc . nothing here is an endorsment of anything you fucking retard.
thanks for running off the only cool and hardest working blogger here.
I agree though that this was a BEYOND STUPID press release for Donny to do. What the hell was he thinking .
does he have any team or people that he collaborates with conerning what to release? that perhaps could have told him this one was dumb and in very poor taste?
or does he have sole decision making over what Press release go out?
sunshinebatman // Mar 30, 2009 at 12:04 am
Congressman Bono’s “skiing accident” was assassination, plain and simple. It has no bearing whatsoever on this case. The comparison is insulting, frankly.
you must be slippin P-daddy , wasnt that the cue for a cat in a tinfoil hat 🙂
My class is doing papers on universal health care. Does Canadian health care fit under this categlory or is the Canadian system socialized medicine?
At least we’ve all managed to avoid the debate over whether or not taxpayers should be forced to partially subsidize the healthcare costs of other taxpayers… Or whether government regulation of healthcare under any system leads to higher prices, limited choice, and crony back room deals that favor donors…
err, whoops.
Mr. Martson thanks for the follow up. I’ll dig into that.
MW
Your naivete only ensures your eternal political failure.
Sure, sunshine. You go on thinking that.
Congressman Bono’s “skiing accident” was assassination, plain and simple. It has no bearing whatsoever on this case. The comparison is insulting, frankly.
(Here’s some background on the case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRqgzzQOluM )
BTW, I’m not shooting the messenger either. Paulie just posted what Donny-boy said, and Paulie does not deserve criticism for that.
Seems to me that the whole post was out of line, because the real cause of her death was simply bad skiiing (something I happen to be an expert on, and I have the bad knee to prove it!).
Therefore, the best health care for this situation was not Canadian, American, Bohemian, Voodoo, or even George Washington’s leeches, but simple preventative care in good skiing lessons and wearing a helmet. See also Sonny Bono.
This is really sick. I confess to formerly being an active member of the Libertarian Party, and I am now very happy I quit. All the Barr/Root shenanigans aside, the LP has really reached a low point.
Garbage like this is the reason Libertarians (as opposed to libertarians) will always be on the lunatic fringe. Because only a lunatic would put out this kind of garbage.
BTW, I’m glad Paulie posted this S%$@ to demonstrate how politically retarded some people in the Libertarian Party really are.
What does signify your “ill intent” and that of your fellow Libertarians is the fact that you choose to exploit the tragic death of an individual to advance your agenda.
Actually, sir, you will find that much of the criticism of this news release DID come from Libertarians, myself included.
Please get your facts straight.
PEACE
Oh I missed this part.
Did you bother to read that Press Release ?
No, I get way too many of them for that. I haven’t read this one either. I just took my time at zero pay to repost it here so people like you can abuse me over its contents instead of thanking me for giving you an opportunity to comment on it.
Your continued insistence that I take up more of my time on this than I intended, and your nasty tone, is the last straw. I have had enough of this.
What I expect is for you to have an understanding of the subject matter being discussed.
My understanding’s not good enough for you? Great. Take over for me here. I’ve had enough.
you choose to exploit the tragic death of an individual
I did no such thing. I am reporting on what the LP posts online, just as I do with other parties. Me posting stories here has nothing to do with whether I agree with them or not.
your agenda
your arguments
When did I advance an agenda or make any arguments?
your knowledge of the events surrounding the death of Natascha Richradson
I have no knowledge of it whatsoever.
When did I say I did?
So now you and your Libertarian cohorts expect to be treated with respect and courtesy ?
What does reporting on what the LP office posted have to do with me?
You are out of line, and this is the last fucking straw.
I’m done here for the foreseeable future.
endure your tasteless backhanded insults
The only insults here are from you to me.
All I did was take my time, which I do as a volunteer, to give people here a chance to express their opinions about it, including you.
I didn’t express my opinion, and in fact I only read a small part of it.
I won’t be doing that anymore, and if anyone misses me doing so they have you to thank.
That is all.
The 911 calls have been released. It is now clear that Natasha Richardson received top care, and that US press has been misrepresenting the time it took to get her needed care. In fact, she received it faster than she would have had the same accident happened in Colorado.
It also sounds like she might have had a pre-existing condition, like the circulatory disease her niece suffers from, or an aneurysm.
paulie wrote: “I don’t always remember everything I read perfectly. That does not, however, mean I have ill intent or any kind of agenda.”
What does signify your “ill intent” and that of your fellow Libertarians is the fact that you choose to exploit the tragic death of an individual to advance your agenda. It would be hideous even if your arguments held water which they clearly do not. But the fact of the matter is your knowledge of the events surrounding the death of Natascha Richradson is as complete as your understanding of the implementation of Health Care in Canada. That’s not very neighborly now is it ?
So now you and your Libertarian cohorts expect to be treated with respect and courtesy ?
Judging from the responses that are being posted from our neighbors to the North there is little doubt in my mind you guys have reaffirmed the reputation of the Libertarian Party as that of a bunch of goof balls. I hope the Canadian readers of this Blog will have the strength to endure your tasteless backhanded insults and understand what is being written only counts for the opinion of a very small segment of US Society.
paulie wrote: “We get a lot of press releases at IPR. I don’t necessarily keep them all cataloged.
In this case it was easy to find.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=189”
Did you bother to read that Press Release ? No where in it does it infer that Obama or anyone in his administration put Single Payer “on the table”. What it said was Obama bowed to pressure brought about through a telephone campaign to include representatives from the Single Payer Movement in his Health Care Summit in WashingtonDC. Those two representatives were John Conyers the author of HR-676 andOliver Fein the President of PNHP. If you followed the news you would know that neither of those 2 individuals were afforded any opportunity to speak at the summit. This left many in the Single Payer Movement surprised and justifiably angry as it was pretty clear the invitations were extended for the sole purpose of heading off a planned protest. It also explains why the Single Payer movement is now organizing protests in front the regional summits that are now taking place.
paulie wrote: “But don’t expect me to chase down every single thing I remember reading on demand.”
What I expect is for you to have an understanding of the subject matter being discussed. If you do citing references would be childs play.
As to the “hostility” I will explain that in my next response.
It’s just amazing to us Canadians that Americans have been speculating that the hospital did not have the necessary scans, etc, to properly diagnose Ms. Richardson, blaming the Canadian universal health care system for not equipping all hospitals with adequate technology.
I’ve live in Montreal and I can assure you that, since Canada produce the majority of the world’s medical isotopes, you can find the latest CT, PET and MRI capabilities in all Canadian hospitals, with the possible exception of VERY (less then 10,000) small towns, in which case patients would be transported to the nearest large hospital with these technologies.
Montreal is still a city with a population of 3.6 million. Rest assured, Sacre Coeur hospital’s Level One Trauma room has all the equipment needed and its emergency department personnel is the same team of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals that treated drivers, track staff and the 100,000 spectators that attended the Canadian F1 GrandPrix in Montreal for the last 20 years.
My guess is if they are equipped to treat injuries caused by a 220 MPH impact, they are equipped for treament of a fall on a bunny hill.
Ms. Richardson turned down her instructor’s offer of a helmet. She also denied the initial offer for medical care at the ski resort, and it wasn’t until she developed a severe headache that she allowed for medical attention.
She was already brain dead by the time she arrived at Sacré Coeur and the family moved her to New York for organ donation and so that family and friends could see her one last time.
The only thing that may have impacted the situation is that someone decided not to call a medical airlift service (yes, there is an heliport at Sacré Coeur’s trauma center) and opted instead for ambulance transport.
So, if you take up skiing, wear the helmet they offer you. If you fall and a health professional asks you if you want to be checked out at an hospital, say yes…better be safe then sorry.
Michael H Wilson wrote: “So how is a single payer system going to help? Please explain. I am assuming Mr. Martson from your comments that you expect it to help.”
My expectations have little to do with the outcome. It is a fact that 17 Industrialized Nations use some form of State Financed Health Care and when measured objectively against the one nation that implements a For-Profit Insurance Based System they ALL produce superior health care at a much lower cost. Data from both the WHO and OECD prove this. Right now the US Insurance Based System operates at 32% Administrative Overhead. The government run Medicare System runs at 4% Adminstrative Overhead. The Canadian Single Payer System operates at 3% administrative overhead while the Socialized Medicine System implemented by the UK is the most efficient overall operating at 1% administrative overhead.
PNHP calulates the US Health Care System wastes between 350 to 400 Billion Dollars in unproductive administrative waste every year. This principly in the form of excessive staffing of claim adjusters and absorbent salaries paid to top management. PNHP estimates the Managerial Waste in the US System if applied to providing health care would completely fulfill the health care needs of the 47 Million people unable to afford Health Insurance today.
What a dishonest “argument” for libertarianism. In fact, at least 4 Canadian provinces have excellent chopper ambulance services. Quebec does not, although it has excellent trauma services in Montreal and a private medical airlift service. Things will soon change for the better in Quebec as well.
Sorry, “outsourced” would have been a better word to use:
“Walter Reed Disgrace Shows Outsourcing’s Dark Side”
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/03/walter_reed_dis.html
“In January of last year, the U.S. Army awarded a support contract to IAP Worldwide Services, a well connected contractor whose CEO, Al Neffgen, is a former executive at Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root. Under the $120 million deal, IAP is to provide administrative, managerial and operational support services at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., through 2011.”
Canadian, my ass.
What America really needs is a North Korean health care system.
Just think, if government did not provide all our food, how would any of us ever have anything to eat?! And I don’t want to even think about what it would be like if government did not give us air to breathe.
This is ridiculous. I’m alive today only because of socialized medicine. Thousands or Americans are dead because of free-market medicine.
She refused treatment, end of story. In the US they would have demanded proof of insurance before even offering treatment.
Becky, what discussions like this do is bring all the information to the forefront. Since Canada is NOT to blame for Natasha’s death, all this will do is bring out the mistakes Natasha made, thus looking like SHE is being blamed for her own death. Yes, she refused treatment at least three times, but there’s nothing to be gained in blaming the victim.
There are useful ways of discussing what should happen in the case of head injuries without personally airing every detail (or made-up story line as Cody seems to have done) without making Natasha’s every heart beat timelined in the press. The woman, even in deaht, has a right to privacy.
It is always strange how self-righteous ninnies will comment that it is improper to make a political point out of something like this–at least when they disagree with the political point. What rubbish–this type of discussion does not demean Ms. Richardson in any way.
Please tell me Mr. Etiquette, what would be the suitable period of mourning before it can be discussed
I rather doubt that all these outraged handwringers were equally outraged the legions who made use of the death to promote compulsory helmet laws.
WIN writes; ” The main reason the US spends so much more as a %age of GDP is administration;”
Yup and a lot of that is because so many U.S. doctors are single proprietors. It is estimated to cost 30% of healthcare dollars.
This was certainly in poor taste as is the Post piece, but I don’t think too many papers pick up the LP’s news releases.
Walter Reed was privatized
when?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Reed_Army_Medical_Center
Don’t compare Obama’s health care plan to anything we have here in Canada. Our countries are separate and distinct, and the systems that serve both must be also.
Remember we have a Conservative government here in Canada. Who knows what you Americans have got. Obama is no Stephen Harper.
By the way, I don’t know why Cody’s article keeps getting posted on the internet. It has the wrong time line, the wrong outline of care Ms. Richardson received, and how many times she refused medical intervention. It also says that if this skiing accident had happened in Colorado, Ms. Richardson would have live. Not so – two similar accidents happened recently in Colorado and both patients died.
By the way, it took less time to transport Ms. Richardson to both hospitals in Quebec than it takes for ski accident victims to get transported in Colorado.
The US trails the world in reading comprehension and math. If Cody is any representation of the average American, one can see why.
Canada has MRI and CT available in hospitals just like the good ole US of A, that doctor doesn’t know what he is talking about.
Oh – and Walter Reed was privatized, that’s why it had the problems it did.
Really I should just ignore anyone who begins by addressing me “This is a flat out lie and a distortion. ”
I don’t always remember everything I read perfectly. That does not, however, mean I have ill intent or any kind of agenda. If I find time to come back here, I’ll make a real effort to ignore anyone who starts out by assuming ill intent.
The article is full of inaccuracies and omissions, for example, the local hospital does infact have a CT scanner. Second, unlike ambulances, which are stationed locally, helicopters have to be dispatched to the scene from their base so Ms. Richardson’s transport time to the major trauma centre is not only the 15 minutes quoted but the 15 minutes it takes for the helicopter to get there, plus the time it takes to pre-flight the aircraft, prepare the flight plan. The difference in this case between helicopter and land ambulance is minimal. The province uses fixed-wing airplane ambulances and whether or not there should be helicopters is a vaild debate, but irrelevant in the case of Ms. Richardson.
Don’t tell us what you believe, tell us what you know and furnish a link to prove it.
We get a lot of press releases at IPR. I don’t necessarily keep them all cataloged.
In this case it was easy to find.
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=189
was what I was referring to.
But don’t expect me to chase down every single thing I remember reading on demand.
And please lose the unnecessary hostility.
I don’t have time for this any more, this may well be my last day here. If not, only a few days left.
even from a crass marketing perspective, this official LP blog posting is asinine.
The national LP has long been a leader in crass marketing. Which is why Root is such a good fit.
I’m pretty appalled that the LP would release this, and I am an LP member that is 100% against single-payer, nationalized health care. Sure it’s insensitive, but more importantly it is pseudo-philosophical garbage with easily falsifiable assumptions and giant leaps of logic. Hell, even from a crass marketing perspective, this official LP blog posting is asinine.
Stick to the REAL problems with nationalized health care. Or, better yet, point out the REAL problems with the American health system, instead of comparing a national health care system that sort-of works with a quasi-nationalized health care system that sort-of works.
@10: I can at least say that no Green Party press release ever stated that President Obama supports single-payer healthcare.
Here’s a video from 2003 of Barack Obama declaring his hope for single-payer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpAyan1fXCE
But by 2008, it was time for change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDAPLb-HVcM&feature=related
Yeah, a bit of rubbish. Quebec’s lack of air transport is absurd for a province that size, but that’s not reflective of the country — Ontario’s system is the largest in N. America. The reason physicians would prefer a single payer system is the reduction in administrative costs and avoidance of managed care, which is an overall disaster for patient care. The main reason the US spends so much more as a %age of GDP is administration; there are literally dozens of payers, all of whom want to minimize how much they pay and will do anything to minimize cost of treatment to patients or to avoid paying physicians for services (ask any US psychiatrist about DRGs). Interestingly, those in the US who attack our “socialist” health care don’t realize that Canadians have significantly more freedom than Americans when it comes to seeking care. We have no physician rosters, no artificial blocks to seeing the doctors we want to. Are HMO mandated restrictions any more acceptable just because they are not from the government?
Go figure! Only a greedy U.S. physcian would make such a horrible remark to put FEAR in our society! Ask any Canadian if they would want our healthcare system. Greed plain and simple. One of the seven deadly sins.
Perhaps it is an urban legend, like Obama will get us out of the wars in the middle east, that Obama would give us a socialized medical system. Whether it is true or not, I can’t prove one way or another. But certainly many of his supporters believed it.
That said, I have to agree with Bob above (#6) when he states something to the affect that this is extremely poor taste to be attempting to making a political point out of this tragedy.
PEACE
So how is a single payer system going to help? Please explain. I am assuming Mr. Martson from your comments that you expect it to help.
paulie wrote : “I believe it was a press release from the Green Party or one of the Socialist parties.”
Don’t tell us what you believe, tell us what you know and furnish a link to prove it.
Example: According to a poll conducted by the University of Illinois Medical Center last year 59% of Medical Doctors favored a Single Payer Health Care System. The previous time the poll was conducted in 2002 49% of doctors favored a Single Payer System.
PNHP (Physcian for a National Program) is accepted as the Brain Trust of the Single Payer Movement. They provide quick and incisive analysis on developments making the news. Russell Molkhiber wrote an article published Thursday in the Corporate Crime Reporter that debunked “The Public Option” quoting PNHP Sources. Here is the link : http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/howarddean032609.htm
OK paulie your turn. What do you have to support your assertion ?
There are plenty of grounds to attack the Canadian system or hypothetical domestic single payer, but this one’s a bit of a stretch. The woman took every opportunity to refuse considering her own health – she took on a death sport, refused a helmet, then refused treatment for a couple of hours after taking one on the head. Apparently there was more time to dither in the Denver area – yet the original NYPost article actually gives very little in the way of argument that the contrasts between the two local systems are structural at all beyond Quebec’s baffling lack of helicopters. Change the title and it reads like something the CO tourist board might have put out to snipe people thinking about traveling north.
This “article” is rubbish. It speaks clearly as to why the LP is such a fraud. Richardson declined treatment, the health care system in Canada did not decline to treat her.
I don’t know how many of you laisse faire fanatics have ever actually tried to get treatment in a US ER, but I have, and it was not exactly “choices” and “freedoms” – it was barely even health care. Let me restate: This “article” is rubbish. It speaks to how very lame the LP has become.
So Paulie tell us where you saw someone from the Obama Administration assert that “Single Payer” was on the table ?
I believe it was a press release from the Green Party or one of the Socialist parties.
paulie wrote: “He initially said he would take it off the table, then changed his mind.”
This is a flat out lie and a distortion. In the last week Obama and his people have picked up the public antipathy about the fact that they will be lead like sheep to slaughter in Obama’s Individual Mandate Program. As such Obama has proposed adding a “Public Option”. The grim reality is the Insurance Industry would never tolerate a level playing. PNHP did it’s own study of the “Public Option” and found if 95% of the Public enrolled in “The Option” the public would only see 16% of the benefit from implementing a Single Payer System.
So Paulie tell us where you saw someone from the Obama Administration assert that “Single Payer” was on the table ?
As to the Natasha Richardson incident I guess it was ineviditable that there would be someone lazy enough, sloppy enough and stupid enough to they could make hay out of Richardson’s death in an incident on Canadian soil.
What Donny Ferguson missed was the fact that Richardson returned to her hotel room after the incident before being taken to a hospital several hours later. Time is of the essence in any form of cerebral hematoma ! Did the NY Post blame the resort operator for not exercising proper medical procedures ?
The NY Post is owned by Ruppert Murdoch. Has anyone witnessed any effort by the Crusty Old One to underrtake any effort to change the Australian Health Care System from a Single Payer System to a Fee for Service insuranced based system ?
I know a number of Canadians who are quite happy with their healthcare system.
Lets not make this into a Canada vs. U.S. health care comparisons. But let it be known that Canada has immediate access to CT and MRI in all Canadian cities. Specifically for those taken to an ER and it doesn’t require payment for such access. To my amazement, I learned that only in Quebec, Medical Helicopters do not exist. It is important to remember the fact that Natasha Richardson signed off on being checked medically. Remember it’s so easy… in situations like this, to get into “if she/he had done this or done that”.
What a mean-spirited thing to say–trying to win political points, Until the whole story is out, we don’t know what could have been done to save Ms Richardson.. Perhaps a helicopter at-the- ready at the ski resort? If no one in Natasha’s party or the ski patrol realized something was very wrong–and if she declined care–you can’t blame Canada’s health care system.
Ironically, Montreal –so close to Mont Tremblant–has been the site of world-renouned brain research under the late Dr. Wilder Penfield.
I have family all across Canada–some with serious illnesses–all getting prompt, high quality, high tech treatment.
And I’ve skied in several US resorts–I doubt they all have MRI and CT scanners.
I join others who wish that Ms Richardson’s problem had been disgnosed immediately and treated in time to save her life– and my sympathies are with her family.
He initially said he would take it off the table, then changed his mind.
“Obama-style socialized medicine”
Obama IS NOT advocating for a single-payer system like Canada’s. I don’t know exactly what he wants, but I’m pretty sure his plan would make insurance mandatory – don’t know too much beyond that.