The U.S. acts as a safety valve for Canada when it can't provide
adequate health care for its citizens. If Congress
nationalizes the American system, who will act as a safety valve
for us?
Reports the Detroit Free Press:
Hospitals in border cities, including Detroit, are forging
lucrative arrangements with Canadian health agencies to provide
care not widely available across the border.
Agreements between Detroit hospitals and the Ontario Ministry
of Health and Long-Term Care for heart, imaging tests,
bariatric and other services provide access to some services
not immediately available in the province, said ministry
spokesman David Jensen.
The agreements show how a country with a national care system
-- a proposal not part of the health care changes under
discussion in Congress -- copes with demand for care with U.S.
partnerships, rather than building new facilities.
Michael Vujovich, 61, of Windsor was taken to Detroit's Henry
Ford Hospital for an angioplasty procedure after he went to a
Windsor hospital in April. Vujovich said the U.S. backup
doesn't show a gap in Canada's system, but shows how it works.
"I go to the hospital in Windsor and two hours later, I'm done
having angioplasty in Detroit," he said. His $38,000 bill was
covered by the Ontario health ministry.
If President Barack Obama succeeds in extending government
control over American medicine, sick Canadians may be just as
disappointed as American patients!
