Canada’s much touted life expectancy
Mark Steyn writes an article in Maclean’s about Canadian artists who live abroad (read: the USA), but mentions something very timely for our American friends as they stare down the barrel of the socialized health care gun.
Forget about the “health,” too. Proponents of government health care like to point out that in the United States life expectancy is 78.11 years, whereas in Ireland it’s 78.24 years, Germany 79.26, New Zealand 80.36 and Canada 81.23 years. For a while now, I’ve taken to responding that, once a society gets childhood mortality under control and observes basic hygiene, it’ll swing through its three-score-and-ten with the bonus of a few frequent-flyer miles at the end, and then I’ll usually cite a less obvious comparison: Libya? 77.26 years. Albania? 77.96 years. Bosnia and Herzegovina? 78.5. Boy, nothing like civil war and ethnic genocide to ramp up those life-expectancy numbers! And any American approaching his 78th birthday and minded to emigrate to Canada or, better yet, Macau (life expectancy 84.36 years) should bear in mind that these variations likely owe more to factors other than the health system—i.e., the high homicide rate among the African-American community, and other subjects from which the multiculturally squeamish would rather avert their gaze. And sure, when you’re getting up there, an extra three years in Thunder Bay or Trois-Rivières sounds pretty sweet, even if you’ll be spending much of it with your legs crossed: a recent report in Le Journal de Montréal revealed that severely incontinent Quebecers (that’s to say, going to the bathroom 12 times a night) wait up to three years for a simple half-hour procedure that could give them a decent night’s sleep.
Macau. Sounds nice. Perhaps Americans could look to Macau for a health care solution. Believe me, it couldn’t be any worse that what they’re thinking of now.
Again, for you slow and stubborn types: What America has now is not working for the majority. What Canada has now is not working for the majority. It’s time to look elsewhere for a solution instead of comparing these same apples and oranges.
Another point in case that brings our expected age down drastically in the US is that we count every birthed baby as a HUMAN. Most countries do not until the baby turns old year old. Most infant death, 95% occurs in the first year. Oddly, this is in the WHO Report that everyone uses to trash the US medical system. Yes, I read the report and afterward used it to level my pool table, that is all it is good for.
Comment by Paul Mitchell — July 16, 2009 @ 10:53 pm
Still,
the level of healthcare in Canada is still better than the UK where I emigrated from. Patients in one hospital over there were finding cockroaches cooked in their meals, poor sanitation pratices that cause disease outbreaks and an alarming number of misdiagnose d[patients who leave hospital in worse condition than when they were first admitted.
God Bless Canada!
Comment by The Lone Ranger — July 17, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Still,
the level of healthcare in Canada is still better than the UK where I emigrated from. Patients in one hospital over there were finding cockroaches cooked in their meals, poor sanitation pratices that cause disease outbreaks and an alarming number of misdiagnosed patients who leave hospital in worse condition than when they were first admitted.
God Bless Canada!
Comment by The Lone Ranger — July 17, 2009 @ 12:22 pm
RG - did you err when you said, “What America has now is not working for the majority. “?
or did you mean that it DOES work for the majority, as 77% of us are happy with our health benefits.
Comment by Beth Donovan — July 17, 2009 @ 6:20 pm