Another CanuckCare© #InconvenientTruth

Show me the (Canadian) money:

"Canadians’ out-of-pocket health costs are nearly identical to what Americans pay — a difference of roughly $15 per month. In return, Canadians pay ... roughly $50 in additional taxes per dollar saved in out-of-pocket costs."https://t.co/3ZHdNW0dKC

— AssocAmerPhys&Surg (@AAPSonline) February 28, 2020

#Medicaid4All

But hey, Free: A Critical Look

An oft-repeated theme here at IB is that Coverage ≠ Care. That is, having insurance (or Medicaid) is no guarantee that one will successfully obtain the care one needs. To wit:

"Twenty percent of Ohio adults reported that they or a household member go without medical care because of the cost even though more than 90 percent of them have health insurance"

So that's half of the puzzle.

We also know that all of the current crop of Democrat-party Presidential contenders favor some form of "universal" health care (be it Single Payer, a Public Option, or some other variation on that theme), often citing CanuckCare© as a model.

And of course, we've demonstrated any number of ways that the Canadian model does not, in fact, actually deliver on its health "care" promise:

"Rationing—in the form of waiting lists—has left hundreds or even thousands of Canadians to die without surgeries."

So we can safely put that little gem to bed.

But what about the idea that our Northern neighbor's health care scheme saves money? This claim, by the way, has been made by several of the aforementioned front-runners (at least as regards to nationalized health care schemes in general).

Well, as it turns out, not so much:

"Canadians spend less on health care than Americans mostly because they are not allowed to use as much — not because they are getting a better deal."

But that was then (last Spring). Surely this is a one-off?

Um....no. As co-blogger Bob V informs us:

"[I]n Ontario, the country’s largest province, the cost of nationalized health care took up 46% of its entire budget in 2010. By 2030, that number is projected to be 80%."

But hey: Canadian moolah.

CanuckCare© Update

#Brampton has declared a Healthcare Emergency

Harsh Reality at EPI-CENTRE of #ONHealth & #HallwayMedicine Crises:

"They strung a white bedsheet up from IV poles to give a family in hallway privacy as their family member died. She passed in the hallway behind a sheet." @dockaurG pic.twitter.com/Bmhm4XDVso

— Your Ontario Doctors (@OnCall4ON) January 31, 2020

Sure, sure, but hey: Free!

And this, dear readers, is what's in store for us under #Medicaid4All.

[Hat Tip: Kulvinder Kaur MD]

Chicken or Egg: The VA/CanuckCare Conundrum

So yesterday we noted that the American VA medical system continued circling the drain:

"Atlanta VA hospital suspends routine surgeries amid ... shortages in sterilized equipment and sutures, staff not showing up on time."

It's worth noting that the VA is a prime example of gocvernment-run health "care;" no less so than that "enjoyed" by our Neighbors to the North©, who are quickly following suit (or have lead the way - tomayto, tomahto:

"Federal government cuts reimbursements for military health care, hospitals on the hook for millions ... The federal government has quietly rolled back what it pays hospitals to take care of military members."

 Oh, goody.

#MedicaidForALL

[Note from HGS: Please excuse the light posting - we've had a family medical emergency and things are pressed here. Thanks for understanding!]

CanuckCare, EHR, and Wait Time #Fail

So, what do you get when you mix together government-run health "care," electronic health records and "quality measures?"

Regular readers probably already know:

"Emergency room wait times at The Ottawa Hospital were the longest in the province this summer, in part because of the introduction of a new electronic medical records system."

When the person whose ostensible job is to provide care is instead clicking and typing, well, that's what you get.

In fairness, EHR has become quite the bane here in the US, as well.

If you want proof, and are on Twitter, you should be following @EPICEMRparody.

CanuckCare© FTW

Heh:

Whatever Canada is doing for healthcare is working for our business.

Patients fly from Canada and use our surgical facilities all year long.

Good job Canada and big thank you to our Canadian patients.#free #enterprise

— Dutch Rojas (@DutchRojas) September 17, 2019

Tuesday Linkage

In no particular order:

■ As we've long documented here, Britain's Much Vaunted National Health Service© has a fetish for offing innocent children:

"Coroner demands NHS 111 changes after six-year-old Sebastian Hibberd's death"

The poor 6 year old was another victim of free health "care."

Fortunately for Oliver Cameron, his parents were afforded a unique, lifesaving opportunity:

"[T]hanks to the tireless efforts of his parents and doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital, Oliver is alive and thriving today."

He had been born with a non-cancerous tumor, the likes of which British doc's were unable to treat.

#MedicalTourism tourism in action.

■ Meanwhile, on this side of The Pond, our northern neighbors, subject to whims and vagaries of CanuckCare©, seldom fare so fortuitously:

Canadian Medicare, our northern neighbor’s universal health care system, generally receives rave reviews from proponents of socialized health care, yet the Fraser Institute found that more than 63,000 Canadians left their country to have surgery in 2016. https://t.co/BnUwfDavYd

— Dutch Rojas (@DutchRojas) July 18, 2019

But hey: Free!

■ And finally, our friend Allison Bell alerts us to the latest Health Savings Account news:

IRS Notice 2019-45 will help HSA holders use high-deductible plans to pay for insulin, statins, etc. on a pre-deductible basis - and it shows that the IRS can tweak the HSA deductible rules by expanding the HDHP preventive services package. https://t.co/jRdhz8dd2j

— Allison Bell (@Think_Allison) July 18, 2019

Unfortunately, this will be of benefit only to those who own HSA-compliant plans, which of course means duplicate and unnecessarily expensive coverage for folks in ACA versions.

Once again I'll ask: why must one own a specific type of insurance plan (or, indeed, any plan) to have an HSA?

(Yeah, I know)

Wednesday Roundup: International edition

■ We've written before about the so-called 'Secondary Market' for life insurance:

"And so, as part of HIPAA, a new word entered the popular lexicon: viatical. Basically, one can sell one's plan to a 3rd party with little (or no) tax consequence."

But of course, the good ol' US of A isn't the only place on Earth where this type of sale takes place. Our Neighbors to the North also have this available, but it's getting a little more 'iffy' as to the buyer's benefits. According to FoIB Allison Bell:

"Manulife Financial Corp. and other Canadian life insurers won a legal battle against hedge funds that contended the insurers should be compelled to take unlimited deposits into high-yielding investment policies."

This basically serves to limit the tax-advantaged growth available to certain plans, and re-focuses on the death benefit itself. Will be interesting to see if these restrictions wend their way here.

■ One of our most enduring memes here is that coverage ≠ care; that is, insurance doesn't guarantee that actual care will be available, either quickly or even at all. And so we look again at CanuckCare© as a warning to those who advocate MedicareForAll:

Yes & many USers don't know or just ignore wait time. More info @FraserInstitute https://t.co/YwCFJLN3wn
Beyond waiting is that ppl in Canada can't directly make specialist appts. No looking up online/in yellow pages & just phone for appt. Must go thru GP first & little choice.

— Kitty Antonik Wakfer (@KittyAntonik) March 18, 2019

Be careful what you wish for.

■ And piling on, we look Across the Pond to Britain's Much Vaunted National Health Service©:

"HIP replacements, cat­aracts, varicose veins and tonsillectomies are among a string of surgical operations that will no longer routinely be carried out on the NHS "

[Hat Tip: Sally Pipes]

Since even (especially?) socialized medical care schemes have proven unsuccessful at reining in the cost of care, the only viable alternative is to ration deny it.

Cheerio!

Scary Health "Care" Tricks

And for once, it's not about The MVNHS© or CanuckCare©, but in our own Golden State:

"A California woman is accused of posing as a pharmacist and handling out nearly a million prescriptions before she was caught"

Turns out, she'd fraudulently claimed to have graduated from pharmacy school, and then "borrowed" the licenses of two other actual pharmacists with names similar to her own.

Yikes.

And Ms Le isn't the only one in trouble:

"The [California Board of Pharmacy] is looking at revoking Walgreens’s pharmacy license at the stores where Le worked. Walgreens couldn’t tell the Board if they’d requested or reviewed Le’s pharmacist license and couldn’t furnish her employment application during the agency’s investigation."

Ooops.

Seems like maybe they should be working on their employment screening process (although one wonders if there's a bit of a PC angle there, as well).

One wonders how much actual damage she might have done, though: there's no mention in the article of any pending civil litigation from her "patients."

Still my absolute favorite take-away is this:

"During questioning, Le told the Board “me and my son would be very grateful if you could just forget about this.”

I bet.

Canuckcare© Follow-up: She got better

Nothing really earth-shattering here, just a news item from this morning that caught my eye:

"Former Magna International Chief Executive Officer Belinda Stronach is rejecting claims of mismanagement made by her father Frank ... Belinda Stronach, a former Canadian lawmaker, is seeking about C$33 million ($25 million) from her father."

Reason that piqued my interest was because I was pretty sure that was a familiar-sounding name. And it was.

From Aught Seven:

"[Canadian] Liberal MP Belinda Stronach, who is battling breast cancer, travelled to California last June for an operation that was recommended as part of her treatment."

From politics to the boardroom.

At least the American healthcare system worked for her.

CanuckCare© Continues Swirling

But hey,it's free:

60 hour wait in ED for a hospital bed.

Even 90th percentile waits (which are bad) still miss waiting at the extremes. #CanadaWaits #cdnhealth #onhealth https://t.co/7BPKcDXQ0N

— Shawn D. Whatley (@shawn_whatley) January 9, 2019

[Hat Tip: Dr Michael B]

A CanuckCare© Two-fer

Shot:

"Had a patient today who had a skin cancer on her nose. 6 month wait for Mohs surgery removal in Toronto and no pathway for Facial Plastic Surgery nasal reconstruction following. She went to the US and was treated the next day."

Regular readers know that situations like this are a common occurrence under Canada's state-run health "care" system. Unfortunately, those who advocate such a system here seem to be, well, oblivious (or just don't care).

Chaser (courtesy of our friends at OOC):

"In Ontario, it is illegal to bill a patient for medically necessary care if the government has decided that the care in question is 'not eligible for payment'." https://t.co/sovAWCr8Yq

— AssocAmerPhys&Surg (@AAPSonline) December 29, 2018

CanuckCare© Gone ... Wrong?

Earlier this month, we reported on a service available to our Neighbors to the North© that helps them obtain health care while they can still use it:

"Check out Timely Medical Alternatives in Canada, which specializes in helping Canadians find affordable care (for cash payment) instead of waiting in the queue."

Well apparently that isn't sitting too well with the rocket surgeons who run the country's free health "care" system:

Canadian Hospital Waiting Room Promotes Euthanasia https://t.co/w4CSAcaXg2

— Þe Political Hat with "Ralph" The Wonder Llama (@ThePoliticalHat) November 14, 2018

Ooops.

CanuckCare© Gone Private

Regular readers know that Canada's "free" health care system has, well, issues. Some years ago, we noted:

"A group in British Columbia has offered medical waiting-list insurance to members whose government treatment is on hold."

And, of course, it's well-documented that this is a problem for a lot of our Neighbors to the North:

"My father’s first oncologist appointment was scheduled for after he died."

Well, better late than ... Oh.

A half dozen years ago, Bob posted on the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which "operates on a cash only basis. They do not accept health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid funds."

Turns out, our Neighbors to the North also have their own version:

"Check out Timely Medical Alternatives in Canada, which specializes in helping Canadians find affordable care (for cash payment) instead of waiting in the queue."

And indeed, when one visits the (aptly named) "Timely Medical Alternatives" site, one is greeted with an informative banner that touts their 14 years of experience, 20 facilities in Canada and the US, and (like their Sooner State colleagues) significant discounts. Best of all, they touch on two IB "hot buttons:" speed and transparency.

Speed:

"Recent evidence suggests that Canadians who require surgeries wait on average for approximately 20 weeks to receive the treatment they deserve, more than twice as long as national averages from when data first was collected a little more than 20 years ago"

But hey, free, right?

And transparency: one has only to select from the menu of services provided, and with a click of the mouse receive a free, no obligation quote.

Nice.

[Hat Tip: Twila  Brase]

CanuckCare© FTW

Surprise!

This woman spent 47 hours waiting for surgery in the Sunnybrook ER, with shattered wrists, a broken elbow, cracked ribs and internal bleeding. An investigation into the overcrowding of Toronto ERs..https://t.co/by2dxBLjLO pic.twitter.com/5m0oyaDELC

— Dutch Rojas (@DutchRojas) October 28, 2018

Money quote:

"There was a curtain, but no switch to turn off the lights at night. That location would be Yerxa’s home for the next 19 hours—and her predicament would get worse from there."

But hey: Free!

Singer Quits, Medical Tourism Wins

Longtime entertainer and 4-time Grammy Award winner Michael Buble, whose hits include "Haven't Met You Yet" and "It's a Beautiful Day" has put his career on hold to care for his liver cancer-stricken son, Noah:

"Going through this with Noah, I didn’t question who I was, I just questioned everything else. Why are we here? 'Is this all there is? Because if this is all there is, there has to be something bigger."

A selfless act by a successful musician. Yasher koach, and may Noah experience a full recovery.

Which is all very noble, Henry, but what the heck does it have to do with insurance, let alone medical tourism?"

Well, as regular readers know, we have pointed out many times over the years that CanuckCare© may be free, but that doesn't mean it's terribly good. And how do we know this? Because folks with the resources to do so choose American health care when lives are at stake:

"Both he and Luisana put their careers on hold to be there for their son - they jetted to the US so Noah could undergo treatment for hepatoblastoma." [emphasis added]

Of course, with a $46 million a year income, he and his family can afford to do so. But what about average Joe Poutine?

Gives one pause, no?

[Hat Tip: FoIB Michael Bertaut]

CanuckCare©/Medicare4All: A study

Shot:

My discussion with a friend who grew up in Canada, cautioning about single payer healthcare. There those who think Canda’s socialized healthcare works well, this will dissuade you. pic.twitter.com/qeKH5LIKoa

— Naomi Levin (@NaomiLevinNY) October 10, 2018

Chaser:

"On a Slippery Slope, Canadian Hospital Unveils Physician-Assisted Suicide Plan for ‘Sick Kids’"

Hat Tip: FoIB The Political Hat

About that "free" CanuckCare©

'Nuff said:

Average Canadian family paying more than $12K to fund public health care: study | CTV News https://t.co/NBPwfSI3AJ pic.twitter.com/XhNZ7MnOLn

— Sally Pipes (@sallypipes) August 19, 2018

Another CanuckCare© success story

For certain values of "success," of course.

Friend of mine (Canadian ex-pat) just posted this on Twitter*:

"My cousin just called. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in March, was put on the urgent list for surgery. It’s mid-August. “Oh well I just have to wait”, she says. Every day untreated means progression of disease. #CanadaWaits #socializedmedicinekills"

Then:

"It’s “a good cancer to have”, in that typically they can just cut out the affected organ. But who knows if, in the ensuing time, it’s affection other systems?"

"I am so angry that people are treated like this. Six months almost with no surgery date. In a first-world, technologically advanced country."

From another friend in response:

"I’ve had arguments online w/Canadians about how this kind of thing doesn’t happen & I’m a stupid American & don’t know what I’m talking about. A friend of a friend came to the US for hernia surgery because he was in excruciating pain & the wait was 1.5 years."

And finally, from my ex-pat pal:

"My father’s first oncologist appointment was scheduled for after he died."

But hey: Free.

(*Anonymized to protect her identity)

CanuckCare© Takes a Shot

So it seems that Britain's Much Vaunted National Health Service© has some competition in the race to the bottom. From our friend The Political Hat:

"Canadian Hospital Pushes Euthanasia on Disabled Patient"

As we've oft-noted, killing off pesky, expensive patients is a sure-fire way to rein in out-of-control health care costs.

(And by the way: have we noticed yet that even nationalized schemes have been unable to keep health care costs in line? Just wondering)

And it seems to be becoming a pretty routine, if final, "solution:"

"Foley tells the man that he’s “always thinking I want to end my life” because of the way he’s being treated at the hospital and because his requests for self-directed care have been denied."

This is far form Dr K's assisted suicide apparatus: no matter what one thinks of that process, at least it was (ostensibly) voluntary. This is full-blown actively pushing for the patient to pull his own plug not for his own betterment, but for the savings to the health "care" system.

Which begs the question: what, they ran out of ice floes?