A couple of items cross my desk that gave me pause.
The first was an excellent IBD editorial yesterday.
There is no free lunch, as the article insists, contrary to the “its free!” cry from some of my Canadian relatives. In France
a Frenchman making a monthly salary of 3,000 euros has 350 of them deducted for health insurance. Then the employer throws in an additional 1,200 euros.
That is a whopping 36% of his total compensation cost going to health care. Thank God it is free, otherwise, no-one could afford it.
Is the care better?
during an August 2003 heat wave — when many doctors were on vacation and hospitals were stretched beyond capacity — 15,000 elderly citizens died.
Second item is this chilling email from my sister-in-law, from Canada.
I know you have been spending a lot time reading and writing about the Canadian health care system and I thought I’d give you an example of a problem we have.
About two weeks ago, my dad accidentally cut off his finger cutting wood. Anyway, he went to the emergency room (he had the finger) and they couldn’t sew it back on because they couldn’t get surgeon to the hospital for 5 hours and the tissue died. Frankly, I don’t think they had the skills or technology anyway, but he did sit there for 5 hours waiting for a surgeon. I don’t know if you find that interesting but I did.
Are you as chilled as I am? Government run health care is not the answer. IT will be MORE expensive (sorry Mr. Obama) and produce poorer results.
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