D'OH, CANADA!

D'OH, CANADA!
Far from being a health care paradise, Canada's system is in disarray -- and getting worse. That's why it's pursuing private-sector reforms, even as we consider national health care, says Investor's Business Daily (IBD).

Consider:

*In 1998, 212,990 Canadians were on hospital waiting lists for surgery, waiting on average 13.3 weeks.
*Today, more than 800,000 Canadians are on waiting lists, waiting often 20 weeks or more.
*Survival rates for major types of cancer in the United States are higher than in Canada; as such, seven of 10 Canadian provinces send their prostate-cancer patients to the United States for treatment.

Americans have more access to advanced medical procedures like dialysis and coronary bypass surgery, and use more medical technology like CT scanners and MRI imaging machines. Canada's Fraser Institute puts it bluntly: "Canadian patients do not get the same quality or quantity of care as American patients."

Source: Editorial, "D'oh, Canada!" Investor's Business Daily, September 20, 2007.

For text:

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=275093998182089