TORONTO- Jim Murray, 52, went to his doctor for what he thought would be a regular check up. Since Canada's medical system is mostly publicly funded, the visit was free. It seemed like a good deal, but it turned out to be a death sentence. "Given my blood pressure and family history," Murray explains, "the doctor said I have only forty years to live. Forty-five, tops." So much for government run healthcare, eh?
Murray is not alone. Studies show the death rate in countries with socialized medicine to be 100%. Every man, woman, and child who receives government funded healthcare is virtually guaranteed to eventually die. Some studies even place the death rate above 100%, as access to cheap and reliable contraception prevents millions from being born in the first place.
All of a sudden, our current system doesn't seem so bad, at least not to Morgan Wytuck, one of 46 million uninsured Americans. He's never even seen a doctor. "We're strong in this country," he says. "We live longer than anybody." Technically speaking he's wrong. Americans rank 42nd in world life expectancy, and 28th in infant mortality, but we remain number one in American spirit.
"If I were French, I'm sure I'd go to the doctor all the time," Wytuck says. "He'd probably make me do a bunch of sissy stuff like eat salad, or cut this giant growth off my neck instead of just putting a hat on it. But that's not how we do things here."
Not yet, anyway. If the Obama healthcare plan passes, Wytuck and millions of Americans like him may be condemned to universal healthcare, just like the citizens of every other western industrialized nation.
As for Murray in Canada, he's resigned to his fate. "I've only got a few decades left," he says, "all I can do is make the best of them."
No comments:
Post a Comment