Palin: Canada needs to dismantle their healthcare system

FlyLikeAnEagle

Well-Known Member
WASHINGTON — Marg Delahunty has braved the wilds of the American Midwest to come face-to-face with Sarah Palin.

Comedian Mary Walsh's beloved character button-holed the former Alaska governor at a recent book-signing in Columbus, Ohio, only to be strong-armed away from Palin by a cabal of security guards.

The action was documented on Tuesday night's "This Hour Has 22 Minutes," but four days later, Walsh was still marvelling at her close encounter with one of the most controversial politicians on the planet.

"We told her we're from Canada, and we're just looking for a few words of encouragement for the Canadian conservatives who have worked so tirelessly to destroy the socialized medicare that we have," Walsh recalled Tuesday from St. John's.

"Four huge big burly guys started pushing, and I pushed back, but I got her attention, and she told us to keep the faith, something like that, and said we're all trying for the same thing."

After being kicked out of the book-signing, Walsh and her crew then waited outside at a loading dock close to where Palin's bus was parked. When Palin emerged from the Borders bookstore, Walsh said, Delahunty - dressed in a more toned-down version of her trademark warrior princess costume - called out to her.

"Hey, remember us, we're the Canadians! We came all the way here from Canada!" Delahunty yelled. "When we asked you that question, we didn't hear your answer."

Palin strolled over, looking down on Walsh and her crew to tell them that "Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit."

"Basically, she said government should stop doing the work that private enterprise should do," Walsh said.

In addition to those comments, Walsh said, she found it equally bizarre that no one was allowed to ask Palin any questions at the book-signing.
"It was great fun, but also very strange," Walsh recalled.
"We're in a bookstore, at a public event, in a place one would think was a bastion of free speech. And no one was allowed to ask questions. What are they afraid of?"

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hfc-xBK6S_JKCRKXLJt8cx8eFPVg
 
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Illegal Smile

Guest
I totally agree that's what Canada should do and I'm not even sure what the point is. As for why no politicians or any other authors allow signings to become press conferences and media circuses - isn't that self-evident?

Absolutely no-one is more scripted than Obama, he can't function without his teleprompter. And as for hiding something - how can the subject even come up without turning immediately to Obama and his scrubbed personal history?
 

ruderalis88

Well-Known Member
Sarah Palin should not be taken seriously. She is like some sort of whore for clowns.

I'm not ashamed to say that i heart the Canadian healthcare system. I also love the UK's NHS. I've found that people who criticise these systems are either selfish or misinformed, but i don't mean that against the folk on RIU, mainly the politicians and the daft cunts you see mincing about on the news complaining about the state of British teeth. Only the poor people in the UK use NHS dentists. Everyone else has a dentalplan from work or pays for a private, jeez.
 

Rob Roy

Well-Known Member
It is selfish to insist other people fund your vision of what ought to be. It is evil to insist other people fund your vision of what ought to be using the force and violence of the government.

The free market involves choice, mandatory government edicts do not. When you no longer have a choice, you are enslaved. Peace.
 

redivider

Well-Known Member
i love how this thread about PALIN, gets turned into an attack on Obama by Illegal Smile....

Canada should dismantle their reliable, cost-effective, and beloved health care system because some Alaskan, who leaves public-service to publish a book and make herself rich (AMERICAN GREED DEFINED) thinks so.... give me a break...
 
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Illegal Smile

Guest
i love how this thread about PALIN, gets turned into an attack on Obama by Illegal Smile....

Canada should dismantle their reliable, cost-effective, and beloved health care system because some Alaskan, who leaves public-service to publish a book and make herself rich (AMERICAN GREED DEFINED) thinks so.... give me a break...
Canada may have to dismantle it because their fall-back US system that they can drive over for may no longer be here.
 

Dreadscale

Well-Known Member
I totally agree that's what Canada should do and I'm not even sure what the point is. As for why no politicians or any other authors allow signings to become press conferences and media circuses - isn't that self-evident?

Absolutely no-one is more scripted than Obama, he can't function without his teleprompter. And as for hiding something - how can the subject even come up without turning immediately to Obama and his scrubbed personal history?
You obviously haven't seen the Sarah Palin interviews they keep running constantly!!
To say she is scripted is an overstatement!!! She has one script she plays over and over!
No new questions, no new answers!!

People only attack those who pose a threat.
Right!!! :lol:
The Jews were a huge threat to Hittler!!!
Give me a break!!!

It is selfish to insist other people fund your vision of what ought to be. It is evil to insist other people fund your vision of what ought to be using the force and violence of the government.

The free market involves choice, mandatory government edicts do not. When you no longer have a choice, you are enslaved. Peace.
I guess you are saying TAXES are evil!!
I guess we shouldn't use the roads and bridges we didn't pay for. I pay my taxes but not enough to afford using the highway when I have a vision of going into town.
I do agree when we have no choice we are enslaved!!
This is exactly why we need a Government option, for the freedom of choice. To break the chains of slavery from Insurance Co. whos only motivation is greed.:wall:


Why would she even care?
We have enough problems here at home to worry about.
Just because you can see Canada from your house doesn't make it any of your business.
 

ginjawarrior

Well-Known Member
Yeah, sure they are :rolleyes::rolleyes:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nationworld/stories/072807dninthospitals.36608c1.html

[SIZE=+2]U.S. patients choosing Mexican hospitals for price, quality

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]11:29 AM CDT on Monday, July 30, 2007

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By ALFREDO CORCHADO and LAURENCE ILIFF / The Dallas Morning News
acorchado@dallasnews.com, liliff@dallasnews.com
[/SIZE] First in an occasional series
When Carrollton resident Brian Woods needed laser eye surgery last year, he scrutinized options in North Texas for the best deal.
McAllen resident Cesar Vega was concerned about the long wait he faced to treat his broken leg after a motorcycle accident during the weekend leading into the July 4 holiday.
Both ended up in Monterrey, Mexico. Traditionally, the city's affluent residents have traveled to Dallas, Houston or San Antonio for their medical needs.
Also Online
North Texas-based hospital companies' Mexico locations (.pdf)


"All around I was very impressed, and the experience surpassed any expectation I had," Mr. Woods said. "I could have been in Zurich, Switzerland, but it was Mexico. I found the care to be top quality, what you would expect at a U.S. hospital and more."
Like vacations in sparkling Cancún or Cabo San Lucas, health care in Mexico is becoming high-quality, cheap and convenient, advocates say. As more Americans go without heath insurance or feel the pinch of managed care, some are making a run for the border for treatment ranging from routine care to live-saving procedures.
Two North Texas-based hospital chains, Christus Health of Irving and International Hospital Corp. of Dallas, are tapping into a need and an opportunity by providing in their hospitals in Mexico what their executives say are the best of both worlds – U.S.-quality health care and relatively low Mexican prices.
"Our goal is to have the safest hospitals in the international market," said Cliff Orme, CEO of International Hospital Corp. "We're implementing U.S. standards into these hospitals so you won't notice the difference going to a hospital in Dallas than one in a Latin American country."
Some experts, including Peter Maddox of Christus Health, see Mexico as an answer to the complex question of how to treat aging and underinsured Americans at a time when the retirement of baby boomers will further tax the U.S. health care system. An estimated 43 million Americans, about 15 percent of the population, are uninsured, according to a Census Bureau study.
"Our country will go broke unless we find a health care alternative," said Mr. Maddox, Christus' senior vice president for business, strategy and corporate development. "Mexico is a wonderful alternative with incredible potential."

A new kind of tourist

Indeed, Mexico is becoming a top destination for the multibillion-dollar "medical tourism" industry, joining countries including India, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Experts estimate as many as 150,000 Americans travel abroad every year for lower-cost medical care.
Although care in Mexico may not be as inexpensive as care in some Asian nations, the proximity to the U.S. is a big advantage to patients. Some U.S. companies are now sending employees to Mexico for their annual checkups.
Underscoring the trend, Mexican state governments are spending money to refurbish communities near these hospitals, hoping visiting patients will stay there while receiving medical care or even move there permanently. Such is the case in Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua, and Villa de Santiago, near Monterrey.
"We think that Villa de Santiago could also be an area for the retirees from the United States," said Alejandro Paez Aragón, secretary of economic development for the state of Nuevo León. "Our aim is to turn Monterrey into one of the world's medical tourism leaders in the next five to 10 years, and we're well on our way."
David Warner, a health researcher at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, said the hospitals run by U.S. companies are primarily for Mexicans, but they also hope to attract medical tourism, Americans without insurance and Mexicans living in the U.S. "And they'd like to get some U.S. insurers to cover them," he added.
But Mexico faces serious challenges in trying to become a world leader in the medical tourism industry. A turf war among drug traffickers is keeping some tourists away. Monterrey, in particular, has seen a surge of drug-related killings in recent months.
"Their plans aren't worth a thing if it's not safe to come here," said Luis Moreno, U.S. consul general in Monterrey.
And Dr. Warner, the UT health researcher, said that surveys done by his students show that many Americans are pleased with the "tender loving care" they received in Mexico, but others have found services to be substandard.
Nonetheless, over the next 10 years, Christus Muguerza, a partnership of Christus Health and Monterrey-based Muguerza, has identified 40 communities along the U.S.-Mexico border where it plans to expand. And International Hospital Corp. is finishing a new hospital in Puebla, near Mexico City.
"I have patients coming here from Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio," said Michael Tarabay, director International Hospital Corp.'s Santa Engracia hospital in Monterrey. "Whether you leave from Dallas, San Antonio, Houston or Austin, it's about an hour plane ride, a 20-minute taxi ride, and you're here."

Cheaper care

Mr. Orme, International's CEO, said that his company's hospitals served "several hundred" American clients last year and that Santa Engracia has served about 300 so far this year.
Mexico is on average 40 percent cheaper for basic surgical procedures, Mr. Warner and officials for both hospital companies said.
A bill in the Texas Legislature sponsored this year by Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, would have allowed U.S.-based insurers to cover health services in Mexico with the goal of making policies affordable for uninsured groups like the working poor. There was also a House version of the bill.
Coverage would have been limited to Texans who live within 75 miles of the border. The bill did not get out of committee.
"We have a crisis right now," Mr. Lucio said in an e-mail. "There are simply too many residents in Texas lacking health care coverage. Cross-border health plans present an opportunity to increase our rates of private health insurance coverage, particularly in an area of high poverty and greatest need."
Cross-border health insurance plans typically cost 40 percent less than traditional policies, he said.
"Cross-border health plans have been effective in California, and the primary concern for me is how we can address the lack of health care coverage along the border," he said.
For now, most Americans coming to Mexico for health care are considered "medical refugees," as in the case of Mr. Woods, 43, a network engineer. He visited a Christus Muguerza hospital in Monterrey last Christmas and stayed with his wife's relatives there. He had looked into getting laser eye surgery close to home, but the cost made that impossible, he said. U.S. doctors wanted to charge him $4,000, Mr. Woods said, but he paid $1,500 in Mexico.
"People were very cordial, warm," Mr. Woods said of the experience. "They treated me very well, and I wouldn't hesitate returning for other medical procedures."
Mr. Vega's wife, Adriana, said the couple had a similar experience.
She frantically checked South Texas hospitals after her husband's motorcycle accident, but was told hospitals were short-staffed before the holiday weekend. When Mr. Vega was examined, he was told he would have to wait more than 72 hours for treatment for his broken leg, she said.
The exam alone cost $1,000, she said.
Furious, Ms. Vega told her husband, "We're going to Monterrey."
Once there, he was immediately admitted and operated on, she said. "I drove back to Texas two days later."
The couple paid about $4,000 – one-third of what she was told the treatment would cost in Texas.
"I thought the quality was the same as any U.S. hospital," she said. "What really stood apart, however, was the service. The Mexicans were much more cordial, warmer. Here in the U.S., everyone is worried about being sued, especially doctors. No one seems to smile."

Impossible in the U.S.

Christus Murguerza's specialties include cardiology, orthopedics, oncology, transplants and plastic surgery. Its hospitals in Monterrey boast state-of-the-art telemedicine systems, which allow doctors to monitor and follow up with patients anywhere in the world in hospitals that share this technology.
International Hospital Corp.'s Santa Engracia hospital is in an upscale neighborhood, near hotels that give a preferential rate to hospital patients.
In the hospital itself, a private room looks more like a hotel suite, with a separate living room, two televisions and space for an entire family for $300 per night – something unthinkable in the United States, said hospital director Mr. Tarabay, who has managed U.S. hospitals.
About 90 percent of Santa Engracia patients are well-off or well-insured Mexicans, many of whom used to go to Texas for top-notch health care. Mr. Moreno, the U.S. consul in Monterrey, said he bought a home for retirement in San Antonio, in part to be close to the medical facilities in Monterrey, a four-hour drive away.
"They have a cultural thing here in Mexico where you're not treated like a number," said Mr. Moreno. "Without a doubt, these are the best medical facilities that I've ever seen in my foreign-service career."
 

First Time Growin

Active Member
You obviously haven't seen the Sarah Palin interviews they keep running constantly!!
To say she is scripted is an overstatement!!! She has one script she plays over and over!
No new questions, no new answers!!


Right!!! :lol:
The Jews were a huge threat to Hittler!!!
Give me a break!!!


I guess you are saying TAXES are evil!!
I guess we shouldn't use the roads and bridges we didn't pay for. I pay my taxes but not enough to afford using the highway when I have a vision of going into town.
I do agree when we have no choice we are enslaved!!
This is exactly why we need a Government option, for the freedom of choice. To break the chains of slavery from Insurance Co. whos only motivation is greed.:wall:


Why would she even care?
We have enough problems here at home to worry about.
Just because you can see Canada from your house doesn't make it any of your business.

The problem is most taxes are a joke and don't actually go towards what they are supposed to.
Everybody pays taxes, but yet in my city, we have the most pot-holes in Canada(rly liking where that money is going to, OH YEAH SCANDALS WOOT WOOT). So you can argue about this all you want, and if you do I am guessing you support paying a Carbon Tax also?

A carbon tax is an environmental tax on emissions of carbon dioxide
Breathing is the process that takes oxygen in and carbon dioxide out of the body
P.S. I would happily drive my 4x4 on the grassy plains, bwuahaha fuck them road's. :)
 
K

Keenly

Guest
so wait a second...

2 people go to mexico for care in the first paragraph


skimming through the see the CEO says "several hundred" last year and about 300 this year


if we can be generous about this, we can say that in the last 2 years, (again im giving a generous amount for last year) about 802 people went to mexico for care


thats like .01% of america...

that is not enough to say that any significant amount of people go to mexico for care
 

ginjawarrior

Well-Known Member
"Experts estimate as many as 150,000 Americans travel abroad every year for lower-cost medical care"
that would be 2 years ago before everyone ran out of money the number might well be higher now i was just lazy and quoted first article i found ;)
 
K

Keenly

Guest
Ok, Abroad


This could be anywhere in the entire world, mostly when some one says abroad in the US it means overseas
 
K

Keenly

Guest
yeah but it does show a trend of people using their noggins and paying a realistic price for their care
im not arguing people leave the country for medical services no sir


what im arguing is that we sure as hell dont go to mexico lol
 
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