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June 30, 2009

Is Canadian Health Care Appropriate For The US?

This Denver Post article written by Rhonda Hackett, a Canadian living in the United States, makes an attempt to debunk myths about the Canadian Health Care System. Some topics that she covers include:

1) Taxes in Canada are extremely high, mostly because of national health care.
2) Canada's health care system is a cumbersome bureaucracy.
3) The Canadian system is significantly more expensive than that of the U.S.
4) Canada's government decides who gets health care and when they get it.
5) There are long waits for care, which compromise access to care.
6) Canadians are paying out of pocket to come to the U.S. for medical care.
7) Canada is a socialized health care system in which the government runs hospitals and where doctors work for the government.
8) There aren't enough doctors in Canada.

There is no doubt that America's health care system is in need of reform. As someone who is about to enter our health care system as an employee, I wonder the impact to medical jobs if the US adopted a Canadian-like system. Many health-care workers fear that the national plan would limit or lower their wages. While I'm entering the field for the care of people, I have to admit some curiosity about this. I also wonder what role massage therapy would or could take in such a system. I know that massage therapists in Canada have much more training than massage therapists in the US. As for the salary issue, I have yet to hear Canadian health care workers discuss the impact of a government run system on their pay.

Of course, following the article is the comment field; click to read oldest to the newest comments. It is always interesting to hear people weigh in with questions, fears, and alternative viewpoints about a topic, especially one as important as the future of our health care system.

Here's a counterpoint article published in the Wall Street Journal, the author of which is David Gratzer, a Canadian physician and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. His viewpoint suggests the need for a dual private/public health care system.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Posted by linda at June 30, 2009 4:13 PM