Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - An Interesting Look at Universal Health Care

james t kirk · 03-09-2004, 02:49 PM

I have often heard the arguement that a government run system discourages inovation.

I am not so sure about that one.

I think there was more inovation back in the 40's and 50's then there is now. Back then the gov'ts of the world used to finance research through universities and they found a vaccine for polio, TB, and host of others. They pioneered heart transplant surgery, and pace makers.

Now, everything is private sector (the large drug companies) and maybe public private partnerships. What was the last big medical break through that you can recall in the last 10 years???

What universal health care coverage does is eliminate the profit angle. Hospitals and doctors don't operate on that principle any longer.

Doctors in Canada often migrate to the US in search of more buckage, but often they come back too. They grow tired of being accountants and having to deal with money issues and would prefer to practice medicine. There is no doubt that a doctor in the USA makes more than a doctor in Canada. But they don't do too badly here either, don't kid yourself.

And I will bet you that every med student at Univ. of Toronto when he or she had his entrance interviews gave the "I want to help humanity speech" in order to get accepted. Well, if that's the case, and you know that Canada has a universal health care system, you shouldn't be leaving Canada upon graduation to the USA. I would think that they should pay back the government for the cost of their heavily subsidized education. (That's the lefty in me talking!)

The other thing is that Americans often think it's going to be some exotic disease that's going to get them and that they need state of the art everything. The truth of the matter is that it probably something pretty basic (heart attack, etc.) that gets them. 95% of the population needs sound basic health care than they will ever need exotic health care.

03-09-2004, 02:49 PM	#19 (permalink)
james t kirk Junkie Location: Toronto	I have often heard the arguement that a government run system discourages inovation. I am not so sure about that one. I think there was more inovation back in the 40's and 50's then there is now. Back then the gov'ts of the world used to finance research through universities and they found a vaccine for polio, TB, and host of others. They pioneered heart transplant surgery, and pace makers. Now, everything is private sector (the large drug companies) and maybe public private partnerships. What was the last big medical break through that you can recall in the last 10 years??? What universal health care coverage does is eliminate the profit angle. Hospitals and doctors don't operate on that principle any longer. Doctors in Canada often migrate to the US in search of more buckage, but often they come back too. They grow tired of being accountants and having to deal with money issues and would prefer to practice medicine. There is no doubt that a doctor in the USA makes more than a doctor in Canada. But they don't do too badly here either, don't kid yourself. And I will bet you that every med student at Univ. of Toronto when he or she had his entrance interviews gave the "I want to help humanity speech" in order to get accepted. Well, if that's the case, and you know that Canada has a universal health care system, you shouldn't be leaving Canada upon graduation to the USA. I would think that they should pay back the government for the cost of their heavily subsidized education. (That's the lefty in me talking!) The other thing is that Americans often think it's going to be some exotic disease that's going to get them and that they need state of the art everything. The truth of the matter is that it probably something pretty basic (heart attack, etc.) that gets them. 95% of the population needs sound basic health care than they will ever need exotic health care.