WASHINGTON – The vice-president of the United States has some less-than-complimentary words for Canada’s health-care system, which he accuses of certain “failings.”
Mike Pence made the remarks in an interview last week with Alaska radio station KFQD.
He was being asked about the Republican health legislation struggling to get through Congress.
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Republicans appear to be wrestling to get a bill that would repeal Obamacare through the legislature before a procedural deadline later this month – and the effort is in deep trouble.
Pence warned that if the legislative effort collapses, the U.S. will be on a course for something similar to Canada.
That’s because the Democratic party is starting to rally to an unprecedented degree around the idea of single-payer health care as a long-term solution to the U.S.’s endless health debates.
“We have a clear choice here,” Pence said.
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“You know, somewhere in between where I’m sitting in Washington, D.C., and (you) Alaska, is a place called Canada. I probably don’t need to tell the people Alaska about the failings of national socialized health care because it’s right in our neighbour and you see the results every day.
“Look, we’ve got a choice: It’s between big government, Washington, D.C., solutions that ultimately, I believe, will collapse into single-payer health care – or whether or not we’re going to repeal the (Obamacare) individual mandate.”
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Canada’s health system is known to suffer from long wait times, especially for elective procedures. On the other hand, Canadians not only have longer life expectancies, but also spend far less on health care than Americans according to World Bank data.
The Trump administration has just received a fresh round of bad news about its health-reform effort: After John McCain, Susan Collins became the latest senator Monday to say she opposes the Obamacare repeal bill, almost certainly dooming it.
The congressional budget office attempted to assess the bill, and released a preliminary report Monday. It said the legislation would end health coverage for millions, but reduce federal spending by more than US$133 billion over a decade.
But the non-partisan watchdog said it needed more time to properly analyze the bill – time it doesn’t have, because of the Republican rush to get a bill passed.
ColeYote on September 27th, 2017 at 05:16 UTC »
Oh, man, I haven't been this scared since they warned me about Mexicans bringing taco trucks.
Steelcityreserved on September 27th, 2017 at 04:04 UTC »
I sell medical products and every person I talk to from Canada is happy with their healthcare.
I meanwhile pay for insurance that I can’t afford, don’t use, get penalized if I don’t pay.
Oh and I owe thousands for medical treatment I had when I really couldn’t afford the insurance or the treatments.
Bring that shit on and don’t give me any bs about wait times or substandard care.
I’d rather wait in a line then owe the money for the substandard care I received here
HobbyHands on September 27th, 2017 at 04:04 UTC »
Canadian here!
When I was 10 my dad had to have open heart surgery and has been living with a heart condition for the past 20 years despite no issues with his cholesterol, sugar, weight or intake of drugs.
To date he has had 3 open cage procedures 2 of which were triple bypass surgeries not to mention the daily medications and more angioplasty procedures than we can count (seriously, we checked to see if he was getting close to a Guiness Record).
At no point during any of this were we concerned that the cost of keeping my father alive would make it impossible for my brothers and I to go to school or for us to own a home or have a dinner.
Pretty sure a few million people in America would be down for that.