Pass It On

Well, a new study out of the Harvard Medical School, to be published in the July 2006 issue of the American Journal of Public Health has reiterated what many believe, despite the fact that it has been under attack by those whose friends may profit immensely by convincing us otherwise.

According to the study, the US and Canadian healthcare systems were compared by surveying 3,505 Canadians and 5,183 Americans between November 2002 and March 2003.

It was an all-around validation of Canadian socialized Medicare, despite the fact that the fear-mongers are trying to shock us into thinking we need more private involvement in our system, a move towards the US style.

According the the study,

Canadians are healthier and have better access to health care than U.S. residents. And, according to a new study, Canadians obtain better care for half of what Americans spend on their medical system.

"The data is clear and really irrefutable: Canadians are healthier than Americans and they have better access to medical care," Dr. Steffy Woolhandler of the Harvard Medical School said Tuesday. She added that medical care is easier to access for Canadians.

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...Americans had higher rates of nearly every serious chronic disease, including obesity, diabetes and chronic lung disease, even though U.S. residents were less likely to be smokers.

"We pay almost twice what Canada does for care, more than $6,000 for every American, yet Canadians are healthier, and live two to three years longer," said Dr. David Himmelstein, an associate professor at Harvard and study co-author.

The main focus of the scare tactics to try and funnel more of our tax dollars into the private sector involves pointing out that our wait times have been greater than those in the US, which is confirmed in the study,

"But when you look at the actual number, it was a little over three per cent waiting for medical treatment, which is a tiny proportion when you look at the big picture, although doctors and patients might disagree with that," she said.

Lead author Dr. Karen Lasser said that, while Canada gets negative press about long wait times for medical procedures, the health system seems to work better.

"No one ever talks about the fact that low-income and minority patients fare better in Canada," said Lasser, a primary care doctor at Cambridge Health Alliance and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. "Based on our findings, if I had to choose between the two systems for my patients, I would choose the Canadian system hands down."

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"The take-home message is: When you compare Canada to the United States, Canada is spending a lot less money to get better results," said Deber, who specializes in health policy, management and evaluation.

"There are small improvement in places that could be fixed and could be made better. But on average the system is working quite well."

Now let's hope that our media have the courage to hold our politicians to account on the findings of this study, although I am definitely pessimistic, as big business loves big business.

Take the message of this study, remember it, pass it on to friends, hopefully we can save what we have left before the likes of Campbell, Klein (and successor), and Harper can irrepairably destroy one of the greatest institutions we have as Canadians.

CTV Article