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jong@wonderware.com (Jonathan Gwynne) writes:

>You want an example of a single-payer system which stands on its own merit?  
>Look at Canada.  Their system isn't perfect (far from it in fact) but it is 
>better than ours by every meaningful measurement there is.

No, it is not, and such a sweeping statement without a glimmer of support
seems to be typical of your arguments.

In almost every aspect of medical technology, the US has more units per
person than Canada.  To name a few: 

open-heart surgery
cardiac catheterization
organ transplantation
radiation therapy
mri
pacemakers
cat scanners
kidney dialysis/transplants

(Health Affairs, Fall 1989 and the National Center for Policy Analysis)

The length of time spent in a hospital is less. (OECD Health Data File, 1989)

Press reports in Canada of people on waiting lists coming to the US or
dying.  ("Grief, Frustration Left in Wake of Man Who Died on Waiting List",
Globe and Mail, January 25, 1989)

Regardless of the costs of health care in the US, it simply  cannot be argued
that Canada has a better medical system.  The reason we have higher costs
than Canada (besides being better) include:

Higher teen pregnancy rate (The Health of Nations, Leanard Sagan)
Higher incidence of violent crime (The Medical Cost of America's Social Ills)
More drug-exposed infants (Drug Abuse Warning Network)
More drug overdoses (same)
More AIDS patients  (Federal Spending for Illness Caused by HIV)
Higher commitment to the elderly and neonatal care (numerous)

and on and on.

The solution to lowering health care costs lies in competition, not emulating
a Canadian system that even they admits does not work.  Since Federal funding
for health care system is declining (The Fraser Institute, Vancuver), the 
provinces are moving away from a single-payer model to mixed public and
private systems.  Ontarios is considering reorganizing along the lines of 
US HMOs.  Over 65 percent of Canadians now purchase private supplemental
insurance.  Analysts predict that Canada will reintroduce private health
insurance within the next five years.  (Why We Spend Too Much on Health Care,
Bast, Rue, and Wesbury)

Scott
-- 
Scott Nesbitt             Organel Software 
scottn@crl.com            Makers of AFS/DFS administration and user tools.
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