AT WHAT POINT WILL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
I Will Write About My Personal Opinion Of American Healthcare . . . in Comparison to Canadian Healthcare Near the End of this Editorial.
Luigi Mangione Was Captured In A Small Pennsylvania Town . . . Not by Extraordinary Local Police Acumen, Not as a Result of a Crazy Shoot-Out or by a Wild Police Chase, But Rather, Because Mangione was Recognized by a Diner at the McDonald’s where Both were Eating.
So Why Did Governor Josh Shapiro Hold a Press Conference as if he was some kind or Conquering Hero who Saved the Day, Especially since I know of Nothing that Indicates the Shooter, Mangione, Committed his Crime (Murder) Anywhere Near Pennsylvania, and there was No Great Pennsylvania Police Work that Brought Mangione to Justice.
In My Opinion . . . Shapiro Is A Political Whore . . . Like Most of the Rest of them, who in his Case Has an Appetite for the Run at the White House in 2028, and is Looking for any Media-Time he Can Get to Stay in the National News as some Kind of Political Savior . . . Even At The Expense Of A Murdered Man (CEO – Brian Thompson).
While Speaking Of Political Whores . . . I Used To Have Great Respect For Joni Ernst.
Senator Joni Ernst Was Read The Riot Act . . . Therefore She Will Now Vote Yes For Hegseth, Not because of Strong Principles, or Beliefs that Pete Hegseth will Do a Great Job as the Secretary of Defense, But Far More Likely, To Save Her Own Ass From The Wrath Of Trump.
TAKE YOUR PRINCIPLES & THROW THEM OUT THE WINDOW:
Ernst Has Shown Herself To Be The Embodiment For Everything Wrong In Politics.
Mangione Murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, all of it Caught on Camera, Morphed Into Several Spin-Offs. The Murder Brought the Issue of American Paid Healthcare to the Forefront. And it Gave the Media a Wonderful Free Filler for their Airtime on their News Shows & Editorials.
People Are Murdered Every Day Somewhere In The United States Of America. Some of the Victims are Good-Guys, while Some of the Victims are Best to Have Been Removed from Society.
I’m Neither Saying Nor Suggesting that the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was Either of these . . . But What I Am Saying (Writing) . . . Is That The Murder Of Brian Thompson Has Opened An Extremely Serious Debate In America That Needs To Be Had.
NO ONE COULD EVER ACCUSE ME OF BEING A SOCIALIST:
Not Being A Socialist Doesn’t Mean Not Having A Heart & Common Sense.
At One Point In Our Active Business Career, Anne & I Did More Than 50% Of Our Business With American Companies, Specifically American Media (Mostly Radio Stations), which Gave us a Tremendous Opportunity to Move to the United States of America with Green Cards, Which Anne & I Both Strongly Considered.
Several Issues Kept Us From Making The Plunge. We Both Had Canadian Family Considerations, Close Friends in Canada, a Well-Established Canadian Social Media and our Physical Canadian Living Habitat, which was Long in the Making & Quite Terrific . . . Then There Was The Big Bugaboo – Healthcare.
I Personally Had Several Serious Health Issues . . .
1 – Gall Bladder Surgery.
2 – Cancer With All The Trimmings – Surgery, Radiation Therapy & Recovery.
3 – Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Ulcerated Throat, Crohn’s Disease – Etc.
Of Course – There also were Many of the Usual Health Hazards which Included some Pretty Spectacular Injuries Related to Work on the Farm, Riding & Handling Horses, Plus Stuff That Falls Under The Category Of CRAP Just Happens.
For Medical Treatment For All Of These Issues . . . I Was Never Charged A Penny. I Never Went to Sleep Worrying About How I was Going to Pay for any Injury or Illness for which I Needed Treatment. And I Never Worried if I Would be Able to Get Treatment for Acute Issues that Needed Immediate Resolution.
The Free Drugs Are Because I’m Over Age 65 . . . The “Free” Patient Care Is At Any Age.
As A Diabetic I Need Medication, which Includes Once a Week Ozempic & Daily Insulin. Because of my Ulcerated Throat, I Need a Drug (Daily Pill) to Keep Severe Acid Reflex from Happening. And Because of my Slightly Elevated Blood Pressure, I Take Two Pills Daily. And As A Canadian Over the Age Of 65-Years . . . My Cost for all of this is Next to Zero. And If I Was in A Lower Income Bracket – The Cost Would Be Zero.
But Nothing In Life Is Free . . . As an Employer in the Province of Quebec for Example, Anne & I were Required by Law, to Add a Certain Percentage of our own Corporate Contribution (Approximately 3%) to Government Healthcare, Based Upon our Employees’ Income.
We – Along With Virtually All Canadian Employers Were Perfectly Fine With That.
Anne & I Also Had A Personal Trust At the Jewish General Hospital In Montreal – as Our Thank You for their Incredible Services. And for a Short Time, I Served on the Board of Directors at the Lake Shore General Hospital on the West Island of Montreal.
To Be Absolutely Clear . . . There are Many Problems with Canada’s Healthcare System that Needs Fixing, But Not The Principle Of It.
While it is True that there are Many Elective Procedures & Needed Treatments Like Joint Replacements that Could be Strung-Out for Up-To a Year or Longer in Canada, and that Canada has a Serious Shortage of Doctors & Other Health Professionals . . .
I Wouldn’t Trade My Canadian Healthcare That Is Very Fixable . . . With The American System That Is Built Upon Corporate Greed & Doctor Avarice That Seems To Be Unfixable.
So You Tell Me . . . How Sick Is The Following?
I Am Not Condoning The Murder Of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, But when I Read that Thompson was Paid $10-Million Dollars A Year, and his Company Earned Profits of – TWENTY-TWO BILLION DOLLARS IN 2023 ALONE . . . That Is Unconscionable.
And UnitedHealthcare is Just One in a Vast Group of Medical Insurance Companies that Probably Earn Similar Profits & Control More than a Trillion Dollars in American Healthcare.
When I Hear Of American Medical Insurance Costs & The Attendant Shenanigans, I Cringe. There is Something Incredibly Sad When Healthcare Providers (Doctors Included) in America are Practicing Business Far More than they are Practicing Medicine. Whatever Happened To The Kindly Old Family Doctor?
I’m Thinking The Coming Of RFK Jr Is Long Overdue & Can’t Come Soon Enough.
Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov
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12 Comments
We are fat self-satisfied unhealthy eaters. Health care costs could be enormously reduced by our health care system recommending a vegetarian diet instead of a bit of everything edible. The doctors I’ve seen seem to feel that their job is to give people pills and cut out pieces of flesh that are diseased. They are good at those functions but real preventive care using exercise and diet should be part of their function.
Howard, on this blog I agree with and disagree with you at the same time. There is more to the profit issues with the American medical system. It consists of government regulations/paperwork, lawsuits against doctors raising medical costs, insurance companies lowballing healthcare providers, insurance risk is spread unevenly, lack of medical competition and putting decisions in the hands of the patients. Lastly, I have relatives who come to the US from Canada because of better healthcare
Howard; My father was the epitome of the “Last Angry Man”, and practiced until his early cardiac demise in the Bed-Sty region of Brooklyn. A $2 office visit sufficed for his patents. My upbringing led me to practice medicine (Surgery) in a similar manner. It was always about patient’s needs, not the $ amount. So you might see that there are some in the field of Medicine here in the US who refute your accusations of greed!
Personally i disagree. Despite “ free “ government healthcare ( and the crazy taxes associated with it ) , Tens of thousands of Canadians die every year because they can’t get a family doctor , or have to wait a ridiculous amount of time , to see a doctor. As a result , what should have been proactive care , turns into reactive care , as in “ the emergency room “ , and premature death.
I disagree with some of what you said. My only experience with free health care (NHS) is thru my mother-in-law, who was Scottish. She was a WW2 war bride, so she was here while her whole family was still in UK. She was very much against NHS. Its slow response or no response to health problems. She preferred US healthcare. I like the doctor I have, but it did take a few tries to find him. He listens & takes seriously what I say. / I don’t understand deeply abt health insurance, admittedly.
I mostly disagree with your health care comments. Because the US System is a for profit business, their technology is far ahead of Canada. Canada’s system is a bloated monopoly, largely controlled by Unions. It is also a “ration” system. We desperately need an alternative private system. And don’t forget that in the US, anyone over 65 gets inexpensive Medicare coverage, and most working folks and their families have “company” paid insurance. Many European blended models are bette
I disagree with your assessment of the American medical system. I have many Canadian friends and family in Canada, we had long discussions about healthcare and if given a choice, most if not all, prefer the American system with “all its faults” because they know that it will be there when they need it and not a year later. Having said that, one major problem that both Canadian and American health systems have, is that medical schools only teach doctors how to “fix” but not how to prevent.
I am blessed healthcare-wise because I also have Tricare for Life in addition to Medicare. My husband’s 20+ years in the US Air Force gave us that. It pays what Medicare doesn’t (co-pay). I will say that the cost of a few days to a week in the hospital could easily bankrupt someone retired on Social Security & a small monthly IRA payment; so am very thankful for the coverages I have.
The United Healthcare system financial reports show ~6% profit margin. Very normal as a $22 giga profit means revenues of ~$366 giga a lot of services. Not out of bounds for a business. Apple does ~25% margins. Also Canada is piggy backing on U.S. advances in medical research: pharmaceuticals, equipment, and procedures. There is a lot of room for improvement to lower costs such as more doctors, hospitals, and better approval mechanisms but government control is not one.
As a physician with 8 years of specialty training in Canada & the USA after graduating from McGill medical school (1980) and having practiced in both countries I can say that there are advantages and disadvantages to both systems, both for patients and physicians. To set the record straight concerning Medicare in the USA (65+), my monthly premium is significantly higher now that I am over 65. This is because of IRMA (Income Related Monthly Adjustment) that takes into account your past income.
Another fantastic editorial Howard giving us all something to think about! I’m happy with my medical care now that I have found another DR. because mine retired he was a Dutch South African, as is my new DR. excellent DR’s both of them. Living in a small town some DR’s do not stay…three new DR’s arrived this Fall with a contract to stay for 3 yrs. a wait an see game. Our Medical Plan in MB is not Free you pay for it yearly in your Income Taxes! Nothing is FREE!!!
I believe that we Americans learned of another person (josh shapiro) not fit for our White House who pontificates and takes credit for something he did not do. Whew-we dodged that bullet. As a person who, like many others, has lived with debilitating pain since the age of 12, that pain has never caused me to want to kill someone who’s.a CEO of a health insurance company. In fact, my “weapon” of choice is my words. And I’ve been successful many times by using my letter writing.abilities.
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