Alright, so I saw this article about a nurse practitioner in NL who is offering private medical services. Of course, her services are affordable, fast, easy and convenient. So obviously a lot of people are complaining – could this be opening us up to private healthcare? I HOPE SO! But instead of embracing this, she insists her private healthcare will not lead to a general privatization of the healthcare industry.
Do you know another word for private? It’s voluntary. And another word for “public” is forced. Canada and especially Newfoundland has a total garbage healthcare system. People go in to the emergency room and routinely wait 8, 9, 10 hours or more just for a basic visit. The doctor swings around and sees them for 5 minutes or less, throws some pills at them and tells them to go home.
People routinely complain about the horrible wait times, lack of doctors, terrible service, but then to suggest some people with enough money be allowed to pay for their own healthcare, people react with horror. It’s like they think because they have crap healthcare, everyone should have it. What an envious position.
When I say “allowed”, I literally mean it. Imagine I work really hard every day to save up money in case I need it. One day I, or a loved one, becomes ill. It’s a terrible situation but at least I saved up several thousand dollars to obtain quality healthcare. But then I find out if I pay for healthcare myself, I will be sent to prison. And if a doctor provides this service, he’ll be arrested. In desperation I go to the public hospital only to find out it will take 6-12 months before a doctor can see my loved one. They might live, they might die, oh well we’re all in this together.
I would be allowed to use the money to buy twinkies or a sports car or a nice house, but literally saving someone’s life, that’s illegal.
The sad part is you have no control over your own healthcare. Instead, it’s rationed out at the whims of politicians and taxpayers. If greedy and envious taxpayers don’t want you to be allowed to pay for healthcare they won’t let you.
Some people retort that you could always just go to the States or some other country. Yes, and I retort back to them that slaves could escape through the underground railway. That doesn’t make slavery right. Why should some dumb ass politician have the right to tell me where I can spend my money? Fundamentally this has nothing to do with effectiveness, it has to do with morality. If a politician can dictate if and how you can take care of yourself, we’ve stopped living in a free society. We now live in a dictatorship.
Also, as far as I know, Canada is the only country in the world where it is illegal to purchase private healthcare. Even in countries with a public healthcare system, they pay much less for much more service. And most countries do not make it illegal to take care of yourself voluntarily.
In the 1800s the US had a completely free medical system – free in the sense of free people, you had the freedom to receive medical attention from anyone you wanted and to buy any medication you wanted. They were known for having the best medical system in the world. And please don’t make the mistake of thinking the US healthcare system is “free market” now. It’s almost as bad as Canada. But at least you don’t go to jail for entering into a voluntary exchange for services.
I think when you live in a country where you can buy a million dollars worth of candy, but can’t spend even one extra dollar on healthcare unless you are specifically allowed, you’ve ceased living in a free country.
Article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/nurse-practitioner-says-some-people-happy-to-pay-for-health-care-1.3041952
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