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Sickness and Health
Jan. 13th, 2008 11:37 pmSocialized public health care has been available in Canada for as long as I can remember; it's been around, nationally, since 1966. I'd definitely never want to have to pay to be seen at a hospital in an emergency, or even for a routine doctor's checkup. Last night, however, I watched Michael Moore's documentary Sicko, a diatribe against the privatized health care system in the USA. During the course of the film, he presents a number of rather dire charges against medical insurance companies, physicians, and hospitals in the country, and extolls the virtues of public health systems, much like the one we have here in Canada.
Although I realize the film is certainly biased in favour of public health, I can't quite figure out how much of it is hyperbole and how much is truth. It seems so alien to think of doctors, of all people, refusing sick patients treatment on the basis of their ability to pay – would that not violate the Hippocratic Oath, somehow?
And yet, so many people in the documentary have disturbing stories to tell about their treatment, and I've heard numerous other terrible things from friends who live in the States. One of them, a diabetic like myself, is unemployed and can barely afford to pay for the doctor visits and insulin that he needs to survive. Between having no insurance (and he wouldn't even qualify for most plans, nor would I if I moved there) and the inflated costs of drugs, it is a sorry situation, and one I can't even imagine living in.
But even though Moore praises our Medicare, as do the Canadians he interviews, many people here still complain about the system. Surgery wait lists are long, there aren't enough doctors or treatment beds in hospitals, and the quality of care is declining. Still, what would we face if we switched to a privatized system? It's possible that the complaints we have now could seem trivial in such a future. It's an issue that needs much consideration before any changes are put in place.
Although I realize the film is certainly biased in favour of public health, I can't quite figure out how much of it is hyperbole and how much is truth. It seems so alien to think of doctors, of all people, refusing sick patients treatment on the basis of their ability to pay – would that not violate the Hippocratic Oath, somehow?
And yet, so many people in the documentary have disturbing stories to tell about their treatment, and I've heard numerous other terrible things from friends who live in the States. One of them, a diabetic like myself, is unemployed and can barely afford to pay for the doctor visits and insulin that he needs to survive. Between having no insurance (and he wouldn't even qualify for most plans, nor would I if I moved there) and the inflated costs of drugs, it is a sorry situation, and one I can't even imagine living in.
But even though Moore praises our Medicare, as do the Canadians he interviews, many people here still complain about the system. Surgery wait lists are long, there aren't enough doctors or treatment beds in hospitals, and the quality of care is declining. Still, what would we face if we switched to a privatized system? It's possible that the complaints we have now could seem trivial in such a future. It's an issue that needs much consideration before any changes are put in place.
