Canadian Union Writes Obama & Congress Defending Canada’s Healthcare

I posted this in the Labor Forum awhile back and it didn't get many replies. Thought I'd post it here to get some comments.

OS


http://www.healthcare-now.org/canadian-union-writes-obama-congress-defending-canada%E2%80%99s-healthcare/

Canadian Union Writes Obama & Congress Defending Canada’s Healthcare

July 29, 2009 by Healthcare-NOW!
Filed under Single-Payer News

The President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), one of Canada’s largest unions, has written President Barack Obama and all members of the U.S. Congress asking them to look past the “malicious misrepresentations and scare tactics” in the current debate over American health care reform and see the true value of Canada’s single-payer health system.

James Clancy, NUPGE President, said he felt obligated to write to the U.S. legislators after conservative Prime Minister Harper and Health Minister Aglukkaq refused to step in and counter the anti-Canadian propaganda being spread by private health care interests battling health care reform in the United States.

Clancy said a multi-million-dollar tidal wave of special-interest propaganda is trying desperately to obscure the fact that Canada’s single-payer health care system has been “a triumph of values and
economics” for more than 40 years.

Clancy wrote that his country’s health outcomes, on almost every critical measure, are among the best in the world, and Medicare covers all Canadians at substantially less cost than U.S. citizens pay for a system that leaves millions without coverage.

“It’s totally unthinkable to Canadians to experience bankruptcy due to medical bills, as do over one million Americans every year. Unlike in the U.S., not a single Canadian who is unemployed has lost the ability to access health care during the current economic recession.”

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada’s largest labor organizations with over 340,000 members.

Full Text of Letter at link.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6229317

Read about a test that would cost $86,000 in the USA and cost NOTHING in Canada!

Wed Aug 05th 2009, 07:56 PM
Please pass this around!

One of my sons almost lost his life because he had no health insurance. I am FOR a public option that would be run like Medicare. If someone you know thinks that the private health insurance companies aren't feeding them bull crap and that the Canadian Health Insurance public option isn't a good service then please let them read this. AND remember the private HMO's aren't spending BILLIONS to defeat this for nothing!!!

This is a true story about the mother of Daniel Negreanu (the Poker Star) who had a stroke while living in Las Vegas, Nevada. She and her son are native Canadians and when she was taken to a hospital in Las Vegas they wanted to do a test that would have cost her $86,000 in the USA and cost her NOTHING in Canada!

http://www.pokerroad.com/blog/daniel-negreanu/posts/my-mother-is-very-sick

.............

I don't think we can get this message out there too many times!

Thanks for posting this!

"...Our system speaks volumes about the character of our nation. It provides all Canadians with equal access to care on the basis of need, not wealth or privilege or status. Previous generations understood that sickness doesn’t discriminate and they made the collective moral decision that health care shouldn’t discriminate either. It was a courageous initiative by visionary men and women that changed us as a nation and cemented our role as one of the world’s compassionate societies. We will always defend the proud legacy we have inherited from previous generations of Canadians.

Indeed, Canadians today still strongly support the core values on which our system is premised – equality, compassion and solidarity. In fact, our Medicare system is now tied to our understanding of citizenship. More than just a social program, Medicare to us represents a birthright and an identifying mark of “Canadian-ness”. It is, we believe, the clearest reflection of who we are and what we value....


...Times of great need, we are told, are the times when true leaders emerge and display the ability to separate fact from fiction and the courage to set aside political agendas for the sake of the common good. The challenge facing health care reform in the U.S. demands that kind of ability and courage from each of you.

I would be pleased to speak or meet with you at anytime, or if you’re interested we could arrange a “study mission” to Canada, to ensure you have an accurate picture of the benefits and popularity of Canada’s most cherished social program...."

...recommended.