Canadian Premier on US health procedure: 'This was my heart, my choice and....

[James]

Canadian Premier on US health procedure: 'This was my heart, my choice and my health'...



An unapologetic Danny Williams says he was aware his trip to the United States for heart surgery earlier this month would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout over the controversial decision.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Williams said he went to Miami to have a "minimally invasive" surgery for an ailment first detected nearly a year ago, based on the advice of his doctors.

"This was my heart, my choice and my health," Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla.

"I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h0QC7bditrEb3wYz_6_b-gsGGDxA

________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ _

So Politicians from Counties that have Universal Health Care go elsewhere when it is their health on the line,  

and...

Our very own Politicians have exempted themselves from getting Obama Care

Anyone still think this pos is a good thing ?

[24KT]

Canadian Premier on US health procedure: 'This was my heart, my choice and my health'...



An unapologetic Danny Williams says he was aware his trip to the United States for heart surgery earlier this month would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout over the controversial decision.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Williams said he went to Miami to have a "minimally invasive" surgery for an ailment first detected nearly a year ago, based on the advice of his doctors.

"This was my heart, my choice and my health," Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla.

"I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h0QC7bditrEb3wYz_6_b-gsGGDxA

________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ _

So Politicians from Counties that have Universal Health Care go elsewhere when it is their health on the line,  

and...

Our very own Politicians have exempted themselves from getting Obama Care

Anyone still think this pos is a good thing ?

Bravo!!! and good for him!

Anyone who thinks his decision to seek surgery in Miami as some sort of "lack of faith" in universal healthcare is a fool.
Williams' decision to seek treatment from a specialist where that specialist was located, is in no way shape or form an indictment of Canadian universal healthcare. He made the best decision, he could have for himself, ...and for the people of NFLD. Had I been in his shoes, ...I would have done the same. had he consulted me, I would have urged him to take the very steps he took, ...and I have no doubt, had he consulted the Federal Health Minister, they would have advised the same thing. Do you have any idea what the population of NFLD is?

If I had a choice between a very invasive procedure that involved broken ribs and months in the hospital, ...or a minimally invasive procedure that was in & out, no broken ribs, and back in the saddle in a few days... it's a no-brainer.
If I had to choose between getting surgery from someone who did 5 or 6 open heart surgeries a year, and someone who specialized in a minimally invasive surgery who did 3 0r 4 a day, ...I'd go with the specialist who does the operation so often, he could probably do it in his sleep. If it is an indictment of anything, ...it is an indictment on the very health of Americans themselves, that so many of these procedures need to be done on her citizens and therefore on the healthcare or lack thereof to be found south of our mutual border. That's not healthcare, ...that's disease care, or disease management, ...but clearly the state of relative health of your population, leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Williams' decision to utilize a specialist, should not however hinder Joe Lunchbox's ability to get healthcare without going bankrupt, should he fall ill tho... which is what the opponents to universal healthcare are essentially advocating.


Williams said his decision to go to the U.S. did not reflect any lack of faith in his own province's health care system.

"I have the utmost confidence in our own health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador, but we are just over half a million people," he said.

"We do whatever we can to provide the best possible health care that we can in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian health care system has a great reputation, but this is a very specialized piece of surgery that had to be done and I went to somebody who's doing this three or four times a day, five, six days a week."

[drkaje]

Nationalized healthcare will lead to decreased quality for many Americans.

Nothing proponents of the current plan can speak louder or articulate better than the Canadian Prime Minister's actions did. His feelings that no one in all of Canada was qualified to perform this procedure speaks volumes.

[24KT]

Nationalized healthcare will lead to decreased quality for many Americans.

Nothing proponents of the current plan can speak louder or articulate better than the Canadian Prime Minister's actions did. His feelings that no one in all of Canada was qualified to perform this procedure speaks volumes.

A doctor in Miami was referred to him for a specialized type of surgery. he chose it.
had this specialist been located in St. john NFLD, he would have had the operation there.

Do you have any idea what the population is in NFLD & Labrador? We're talking less than 500,000 in both provinces.
Less than the population of my city... in an area large enough to encompass 7 or 8 entire US states.

There aren't as many hospitals & doctors, or specialists... not due to a lack of quality, but rather due to geographical & population restrictions. It's the equivalent of Sarah Palin flying to Miami for the same surgery. Not because healthcare in Wasilla is crap, ...but because the population is so small, it would not support a high humber of specialists. how many hospitals do you think exist in Wasilla Alaska? How many highly specialized surgeons there?

the problemm is not quality of healthcare, ...the problem is a logistical one based upon population dispersal over a wide area. You guys who live in the USA sometimes fail to understand just how vast Canad, and Canadian provinces are. you guys who can literally drive through numerous states in one day, fail to understand that that it can sometimes take an entire day, just to get to the next province over. You're like the Europeans, who can drive for 3 hours and cross through several countries in the process. up here in Canada, you drive for 3 hours, ...you're not only not out of your province, ...chances are, ...you're not even out of your own area code.

This ENTIRE country has a total population roughly the same as California, ...and a good 80 - 85% of those live within 1.5 hours of the 49th parallel. our population base simply cannot support a large number of doctors, hospitals & specialists, ... we;re too few in number, ...and we're too healthy overall. however, despite the logistical and demographical hindrances... we are able to provide excellent quality healthcare to our citizens when they need it, and we're able to do it in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Yours is the equivalent of me saying telecommunications in the USA is crap, based on the fact that a friend of mine in Wyoming, had to wait from November to April, just to get a 2nd phone line in her house. Is that a reflection on the entire state of telecommunications in the USA? Or is that a reflection of the geographical & logistical nightmares of living on a remote mountain top in Wyoming where the ground is frozen most months in the year? Get real!

I find it interesting that the only people up in arms about this are American opponents to universal coverage.
I wonder what type of a picture one would see if the proponents of universal healthcare started showcasing the healthcare refugees that flood across our mutual border everyday, ...or those who have to endure medical "tourism jaunts" around the world, simply to get life saving surgery their insurance providers claim is unecessary, or deny coverage for. How many times have we seen coverage dropped and life saving surgeries cancelled because an individual failed to disclose a yeast infection from 8 years ago, ...or a bout with the flu from 5 years ago.

[drkaje]

A doctor in Miami was referred to him for a specialized type of surgery. he chose it.
had this specialist been located in St. john NFLD, he would have had the operation there.

Do you have any idea what the population is in NFLD & Labrador? We're talking less than 500,000 in both provinces.
Less than the population of my city... in an area large enough to encompass 7 or 8 entire US states.

There aren't as many hospitals & doctors, or specialists... not due to a lack of quality, but rather due to geographical & population restrictions. It's the equivalent of Sarah Palin flying to Miami for the same surgery. Not because healthcare in Wasilla is crap, ...but because the population is so small, it would not support a high humber of specialists. how many hospitals do you think exist in Wasilla Alaska? How many highly specialized surgeons there?

the problemm is not quality of healthcare, ...the problem is a logistical one based upon population dispersal over a wide area. You guys who live in the USA sometimes fail to understand just how vast Canad, and Canadian provinces are. you guys who can literally drive through numerous states in one day, fail to understand that that it can sometimes take an entire day, just to get to the next province over. You're like the Europeans, who can drive for 3 hours and cross through several countries in the process. up here in Canada, you drive for 3 hours, ...you're not only not out of your province, ...chances are, ...you're not even out of your own area code.

This ENTIRE country has a total population roughly the same as California, ...and a good 80 - 85% of those live within 1.5 hours of the 49th parallel. our population base simply cannot support a large number of doctors, hospitals & specialists, ... we;re too few in number, ...and we're too healthy overall. however, despite the logistical and demographical hindrances... we are able to provide excellent quality healthcare to our citizens when they need it, and we're able to do it in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Yours is the equivalent of me saying telecommunications in the USA is crap, based on the fact that a friend of mine in Wyoming, had to wait from November to April, just to get a 2nd phone line in her house. Is that a reflection on the entire state of telecommunications in the USA? Or is that a reflection of the geographical & logistical nightmares of living on a remote mountain top in Wyoming where the ground is frozen most months in the year? Get real!

I find it interesting that the only people up in arms about this are American opponents to universal coverage.
I wonder what type of a picture one would see if the proponents of universal healthcare started showcasing the healthcare refugees that flood across our mutual border everyday, ...or those who have to endure medical "tourism jaunts" around the world, simply to get life saving surgery their insurance providers claim is unecessary, or deny coverage for. How many times have we seen coverage dropped and life saving surgeries cancelled because an individual failed to disclose a yeast infection from 8 years ago, ...or a bout with the flu from 5 years ago.

Tons of people go there for cheap and often botched Lasix surgery, too!

Most people know the Canadian system couldn't work here because of differences in population and overall need. It'd be cheaper for us to send chronically ill patients and lardasses your way.

[Skip8282]

the problemm is not quality of healthcare, ...the problem is a logistical one based upon population dispersal over a wide area. You guys who live in the USA sometimes fail to understand just how vast Canad, and Canadian provinces are. you guys who can literally drive through numerous states in one day, fail to understand that that it can sometimes take an entire day, just to get to the next province over. You're like the Europeans, who can drive for 3 hours and cross through several countries in the process. up here in Canada, you drive for 3 hours, ...you're not only not out of your province, ...chances are, ...you're not even out of your own area code.

You're full of shit as usual.  There's no logistical issue.  If he can get to Miami, he can get to any specialist in Canada.  The issue is quality.  We have it, you don't.

[James]

the problemm is not quality of healthcare, ...the problem is a logistical one based upon population dispersal over a wide area. You guys who live in the USA sometimes fail to understand just how vast Canad, and Canadian provinces are. you guys who can literally drive through numerous states in one day, fail to understand that that it can sometimes take an entire day, just to get to the next province over. You're like the Europeans, who can drive for 3 hours and cross through several countries in the process. up here in Canada, you drive for 3 hours, ...you're not only not out of your province, ...chances are, ...you're not even out of your own area code.

Just as skip said, you are full of shit.

He wanted the best, and he did want to have to wait. So he came to the USA, Case Closed.

[rockyfortune]

Bravo!!! and good for him!

Anyone who thinks his decision to seek surgery in Miami as some sort of "lack of faith" in universal healthcare is a fool.
Williams' decision to seek treatment from a specialist where that specialist was located, is in no way shape or form an indictment of Canadian universal healthcare. He made the best decision, he could have for himself, ...and for the people of NFLD. Had I been in his shoes, ...I would have done the same. had he consulted me, I would have urged him to take the very steps he took, ...and I have no doubt, had he consulted the Federal Health Minister, they would have advised the same thing. Do you have any idea what the population of NFLD is?

If I had a choice between a very invasive procedure that involved broken ribs and months in the hospital, ...or a minimally invasive procedure that was in & out, no broken ribs, and back in the saddle in a few days... it's a no-brainer.
If I had to choose between getting surgery from someone who did 5 or 6 open heart surgeries a year, and someone who specialized in a minimally invasive surgery who did 3 0r 4 a day, ...I'd go with the specialist who does the operation so often, he could probably do it in his sleep. If it is an indictment of anything, ...it is an indictment on the very health of Americans themselves, that so many of these procedures need to be done on her citizens and therefore on the healthcare or lack thereof to be found south of our mutual border. That's not healthcare, ...that's disease care, or disease management, ...but clearly the state of relative health of your population, leaves quite a bit to be desired.

Williams' decision to utilize a specialist, should not however hinder Joe Lunchbox's ability to get healthcare without going bankrupt, should he fall ill tho... which is what the opponents to universal healthcare are essentially advocating.


Williams said his decision to go to the U.S. did not reflect any lack of faith in his own province's health care system.

"I have the utmost confidence in our own health care system in Newfoundland and Labrador, but we are just over half a million people," he said.

"We do whatever we can to provide the best possible health care that we can in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Canadian health care system has a great reputation, but this is a very specialized piece of surgery that had to be done and I went to somebody who's doing this three or four times a day, five, six days a week."

haha..what a crock of shit..do you really believe the bullshit you are spewing? 

choice...go to a canadian hospital to get a delicate procedure done...or go to america and get the best healthcare?

answer: go to america..if this isn't an indictment of socialized healthcare i don't know what is...

[24KT]

You guys just don't get it do you?  

Okay, ...let me put it in another context that perhaps you might understand.

It is understood, that Canadian snipers are the best in the world.
As one American commander put it... "Thank God the Canadians were there".

Now, ...if you're going up against insurgents planting IED's... you're going to want a Canadian sniper in the bird's nest, ...but would that make the Canadian military stronger, mightier, and more formidable than the American military? Of course not. A Miami specialist was recommended, he saw the guy, liked what he heard, liked his credentials, and it was a done deal. Why should he shop around north of the border to find the same thing. if i'm in NY city, and I see something I like, ...I'm not going to hold off on my purchase to see if I can find the same thing in a Canadian store.

The Canadian healthcare system is world class, and overall ranked higher than the healthcare available in the US. We have world renowned hospitals up here. One of which is Sick Kids. Kids from all over the world including the USA are routinely flown to Toronto's Sick Kids to undergo specialized paediatric surgery. Does that mean paediactric healthcare in the US is crap. No, ...it means there is a specialist at Sick Kids who specializes in a particular procedure, and they do more of this type of procedure and are more adequately equipped to care for larger volumes of this particular type of patient.

Ponder this unrelated example to draw a parallel. Right now the USA is leading the gold medal count in the winter Olympics. Heck, ...the US men's hockey team, actually won against the Canadian men's hockey team the other night {spit}    ...despite this... does anyone truly, in their heart of hearts, believe that Americans overall are better than Canadians at winter sports, ...or hockey? lolol. Canadian kids grow up on hockey, our citizens will outskate American citizens anyday of the week. We grew up on skates in frozen backyards, and on frozen ponds. Your olympic athletes may outperform ours at an event that rolls around once every 4 years, ...but there are only so many Olympic athletes, ...and as extremely talented as they may be, they do not represent the level of athletic prowess to be found among everyday Americans. Throw a typical average everyday American and a typical average everyday Canadian on an ice rink, and we Canadians will skate circles around Americans any day of the week. This is what I am talking about. You may have some of the best cardiac specialists in the world, however, their services are not available and accessible to the vast majority of the American citizenry. What we are talking about here is an overall system to meet the needs of the masses. The system in place in the US does not meet the needs of the masses, only a small few. This is the disparity that is at issue, and needs to be resolved south of our mutual border. I'm sure there are many Americans in need of the specialized services the NFLD premiere received, ...but the current state of the system being what it is... their insurance refused to cover it, so their CEO could get a bigger year end bonus, own another mansion, or yacht. As Americans, does it not bother you that a rich Canadian has better access to specialized healthcare in America than Americans? Does it not bother you that your American healthcare system gives priority to a Canadian life over an American's?