"People often talk about so-called government run health care or socialized medicine — we don't actually have that in Canada. What we have is a system where the insurance is paid for through a public plan. The services are paid for through general taxation, but the services are not delivered by government employees. [As] a family doctor, I am not an employee of the government. I deliver my services in a very similarly looking model to Americans physicians. But instead of billing a private insurance company or billing my patients directly, I simply bill the government plan."
— Danielle Martin, Canadian physician, talking on NPR's All Things Considered with host Michel Martin.
Republicans who rail against the Canadian health care system count on their base agreeing with the rants because the talk matches their perspective toward Canada and health care, regardless of facts. And since Americans know little about what is happening in Canada, Americans don't know the good or bad from the Canadian health care system.
In fact, since Republicans say negative things, and no one says positive things, some Americans might indeed think Canadian health care is not that good.
"I probably don't need to tell the people Alaska about the failings of national socialized healthcare because it's right in our neighbor and you see the results every day," Mike Pence said recently on an Alaska radio talk show.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) was a bit more coherent and gave specific examples. Unfortunately for Barrasso, his accounts belong in the fiction section.
Sen. Barrasso told CNN's Wolf Blitzer last month that those looking for an artificial hip in Canada: "You're not going to get it if you're over a certain age." He said Canada has "trick or treat medicine, because if that hospital runs out of money, Wolf, by Halloween, October 31, it's time to wait. And then you have still got to wait until the next year to get in line."
Barrasso says healthcare rationing is true for artificial joints and cataract surgery. "And if you do have the heart operation in Canada, your chances of not surviving are a lot higher than if you have the same operation in the United States."
The last part isn't knowable. Vice News Canada goes through Barrasso's wild rhetoric.
CanadianCrossing.com health care coverage
One Canadian expert that has been making the rounds in the United States is Canadian physician Danielle Martin. The above quote is part of a longer conversation about the reality of Canadian health care including wait times.
Dr. Martin stood alongside U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as he proposed a 4-year transition to single payer in the United States. Martin also went on the Bernie Sanders radio show to talk about how Canada needs a national pharmacare program for prescription drugs.
10 over-the-top warnings from Americans about Canadian health care. Via @macleans https://t.co/Ly4Z7RPHFk
— Danielle Martin (@docdanielle) September 27, 2017
Sen. John Barrasso got a lot more viewers watching his lies than an actual Canadian doctor got for spelling out the reality in Canada. Let's hope that ratio changes and more Americans can hear what is really going on in Canada.
photo credit: Bill Clark via Getty Images
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