I Wish I'd Said That

is still moving along and is still providing great comic relief in a stressful time. It’s like watching a reality TV show, it has no basis in reality and the outcome is a huge who cares.

The Left can’t figure out what they want to do or how to do it. The President wants change, the Speaker of the House won’t pass legislation without a public option which no one else seems to want, Harry Reid wants to get re-elected and there are usually 3 or 4 different bills floating around Congress and the Senate. It seems that the Democrats would rather run around in chaos instead of sitting down and putting together a single coherent plan. The Right knows exactly what they are doing, simply discredit everything that comes from the Left.

The most fascinating part of the debate for me though, is the way the story changes over time. Initially I was astonished to find out just how bad the Canadian health care system was when I first heard Sean Hannity, Dick Morris and others on the Right talk about it. Now, being a Canadian and having used the health care system for 47 years as did all my family and friends I was quite surprised to hear how awful it was. The folks on the Right started by arguing against the Canadian system using specific facts and figures that supported their argument. Over time, however, their argument has changed, now they just say bad things about the British and Canadian systems with complete disregard for any facts at all. I suppose the pundits on the Right believe that they have made their case so now they can just make any statements they want , even if it is a complete lie. The truth, it seems, has no place in politics or cable news.

The reality is that from a patient’s perspective the Canadian health care system is superior to the U.S. system in every way. First of all the cost is almost nothing in comparison to any plan in the U.S. When I lived in Alberta 10 years ago we paid $90.00 per month per family. Some friends in British Columbia tell me they are currently paying $100.00 every 3 months and the rates are probably similar across the other provinces. The other financial win in Canada is that you never get a bill. If you go to the doctor for the sniffles or you spend months in a dialysis machine and then have your kidney transplant you never get a bill. The concept of bankruptcy because of medical bills doesn’t exist in Canada. I also like the fact that I can go to any doctor any time any where in Canada. Here in the U.S. insurance companies like to dictate which doctors you can go to. I was rather surprised when I got my first health insurance card in the U.S. and it had a physicians name on it. I was surprised and asked a co-worker, what’s this, do doctors advertise on health care cards? He laughed and said, no, that is the doctor you have to go to. I was even more surprised the first time I went to a doctor and actually got a bill afterwards. It was a delightful pile of paper carefully explaining what had been done, what was covered by insurance and what I was responsible for. Personally I’ve seen little difference in the quality of care between Canada and the U.S., my experience has been about the same in both. My wife, however, has seen a rather large difference. In 10 years here she has never actually seen her doctor, she has alway seen a Nurse Practitioner, the cost, however, remains the same. Folks in the U.S. like to tell me about the long waits in Canada which is always good for a laugh. The longest waits we’ve ever experienced, even for a basic appointment, are here the U.S.

I could go on writing volumes about the differences but having used the U.S. system for 10 years and the Canadian system for many more than that, I can honestly say the Canadian system is far superior for the average consumer.

The truly sad part of the U.S. health care debate is that everyone seems ready to make changes so there is a unique opportunity to craft a great system and that opportunity is going to be wasted.

written by Rob Caljouw

the dueling duo at 9:00. Someone on the cable news networks has a great sense of humor it would seem.

I confess, I actually watch Sean Hannity, usually his repeat show at midnight EST. I find that a really good laugh helps me sleep better but now I’m in a terrible quandary, do I watch Hannity or Behar? What is a poor TV watcher to do?

I have watched Joy Behar on the View a little but never cared for much for morning shows. They generally waste an hour of my life I can never get back so I pay little attention. Now that she has been given an hour on CNN I thought there might be something actually worth listening to so last night it was Hannity versus Behar at my place.

Sean Hannity was, as always, predictable but entertaining. He does his usual spin on facts and statistics, lines up guests that support his view and manages to fire up the extreme Right and annoy the Left. Having seen that Hannity was on his usual track I excitedly switched to CNN to gain enlightenment from Joy Behar and her guests. My disappointment was overwhelming, I was really hoping for the same kind of fact twisting fanaticism that I got from Hannity but it was not to be. Joy Behar did exactly what I have come to expect from the Left, throw around childish insults about people, big deal, back to Hannity.

I really enjoy a good discussion no matter what the subject and it’s always fun to play devil’s advocate should the opportunity arise. I suppose this is why I listen to people like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and others on the extreme Right. I just wish there were folks like that on the Left which is why I had high hopes for Joy Behar on CNN. When I switched to Behar’s show the topic under discussion was Sarah Palin, which was no big surprise, she seems to be a favorite for discussions on the Left. I was so disappointed when the conversation was exactly what I have come to expect from the Left, just a bunch of insults. I really wish they would twist facts and statistics like their counterparts on the Right to make things more interesting. I heard comments like, “Sarah Palin is just promoting her book which is strange since she has never read a book”, and, “… George Bush who never read a book…”, which is just what I have come to expect from the Left. I was never a fan of George Bush and I’m always happy to debate his presidency and policies. From what I understand of the past President he was actually very well read, perhaps not the greatest speaker, but well read nonetheless which makes these kind of comments just insults and lies. Come on Joy, you can do better, I’m sure of it. Joy Behar really should try and learn more them Hannity and Limbaugh, if she did, people like me might actually watch her show once in a while.

Listening to Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and other Right wing characters is annoyingly frustrating and you want to jump in and straighten out the facts. Listening to Joy Behar, Janeane Garofalo and other Left wingers just makes you want to change the channel. Twisting facts and statistics to make your point is one thing, just calling everyone stupid and racist is childish. I guess I’ll be watching Sean Hannity again tonight.

written by Rob Caljouw

There are 3 or 4 bills, it’s hard to keep track without a program, floating around the house and the senate at any given time lately. The health care debate in the U.S. is still going full force and is as entertaining as ever, so what happened to the economy? It seems that for the past few months health care has been front and center in the U.S. federal government discussions. The economic problems seem to have been relegated to the back burner with the Left saying the Stimulus bill was a success and Right saying it was a failure.

To most average folks debating the Stimulus bill is a waste of time. 250,000 people hit the unemployment lines last week and I’m pretty confident that they care little about the debate. I would also suggest that problems with the health care system are also low on their list of priorities at the moment. Now, I’m aware that there has been lots of discussion about the economy but it would seem that it the federal government were really serious about helping it would focus more on the problem. The health care debate has consumed an inordinate amount of time in Washington and one has to wonder where the economy might be if a similar effort were put into it.

written by Rob Caljouw

in the U.S. has been most entertaining for the past few months. Watching the process unfold has truly been a delight and great fun.

My favorite part has been watching the right beat up on the Canadian and British health care systems. Being a Canadian I have found this aspect of the debate particularly enlightening. I’ve learned that the constant bashing of something you know nothing about to further your own political view is a great way to get your point across. I really enjoy the ads the Right produces showing Canadians complaining bitterly about their health care. What the folks on the Right don’t understand is that the two top pastimes in Canada are sports, particularly hockey, and complaining about the health care system. Finding a Canadian who is willing to complain about the system in Canada is a matter of simply finding a Canadian. I think if more Canadians realized that they could get paid to complain about the health care system they would line up for the chance.

Those folks from Canada who are getting their 15 minutes of fame on U.S. television are fun to listen to but I’d really like to hear their response to some other questions. For example, they seem to think the U.S. system is wonderful so let’s give it to them. I got a quote from Kaiser Permanente and Blue Cross for health care. I only had to pay $650.00 per month with a $10,000.00 per year deductible for their service. Not bad by U.S. standards but I can already hear the Canadian response, including those in U.S. TV ads, and most of it are words that are not fit to print.

The bottom line of the dialog, however, has nothing to do with health care, insurance companies, premiums, quality of care or anything else being thrown around. The real conversation here in the U.S. is all about two things; getting your way and laying blame. If you watch the discussions taking place be they on the news or in town hall meetings they are always the same, Right versus Left, period. Everyone wants to get their way and blame someone else for all the country’s woes. It’s fascinating to watch, when anyone puts forth an idea support and criticism is immediately split down party lines. I find this interesting in that it proves to me that no one really wants to solve the problem,they simply want to get their way. If someone puts forth a proposal and the congress or the senate were split, say 50/50, for and against based on the merits of the plan that might be something. The reality is that any idea proposed will immediately be supported or opposed straight down party lines which simply negates the concept of trying to find a solution.

One part of the discussion that I found particularly intriguing was that of Tort law reform. Everyone, both Left and Right, seemed to agree that this was something that significantly added to the cost of health care in the U.S.. I was immensely impressed with everyone in Washington because they all agreed that this was a big problem and so I was anxiously awaiting to see how the bipartisan fix to this problem would be approached. Alas I was once again disappointed by the government of, for and by the people. They all agreed that although this was a big problem there was nothing to be done because the trial lawyer lobby is one of the largest in Washington. Huh? In most of the civilized world this would be a non issue, in fact, in many advanced societies lobbying the government is considered graft, corruption and criminal activity, but not in the U.S. Here it’s all about the money, which again, negates any incentive to find a good solution to the problem at hand. Any solution arrived at will be one where all the big lobby groups are made happy, basically a compromise between special interest groups.

I was more than a little dumbfounded when I heard that the law makers in Washington don’t read the bills they pass, I honestly thought, this can’t be. Then I saw a number of the fine members of Congress actually laugh at the idea. After thinking about how incongruous this seemed I realized that they were right in laughing at the concept. If every bill passed by the U.S. federal government is a compromise between all the big lobbies and special interest groups why bother reading them. Agree or disagree, there is nothing you can do to change it so what the heck, vote! If it’s a bill by my party I vote for it, if not I vote against it, life is really simple in Washington and they get paid for this, what a great job!

The health care debate has been great fun to watch and it will hopefully continue for while yet. It’s always nice to a little comic relief in such dark economic times.

written by Rob Caljouw