(February 18, 2014 at 8:33 am)xpastor Wrote: The USA seems to have the worst healthcare of any advanced industrialized nation, unless you are a multi-millionaire.
In the international ratings France does come out ahead of Canada (I think mainly because of wait times) but we are still light years ahead of the USA.
Because of my folly in going into the ministry around age 40, I had spent all my savings and when I came to my senses, in spite of all my degrees I could only find unskilled manual labor jobs for the last 22 years of my working life: construction worker, truck driver, forklift operator, eventually gas fitter. So I am by no means well to do.
About 13 years ago tests detected a small but aggressive cancer in my prostate. I was referred for 9 weeks of radiation treatment 5 days a week at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, which is among the top five cancer clinics in the world. In the years after the treatment there was regular follow up with the radiation specialist.
Eventually the cancer recurred, and in 2010 I was offered a prostatectomy as an option. My radiation oncologist referred me to a surgeon who is regarded as the top man in Canada for this specialty. Three years later it appears the cancer is completely gone.
I was not billed one cent for all this treatment.
I am glad to hear that you appear to be out of the woods. Congratulations!
Of course, if you had gone in for similar treatments here, you would have been in the unenviable position of possibly saving your life at the risk of losing everything.
I remember some few years back when Congress decided to make declaring bankruptcy more difficult. The conservative talking point was that the "reforms" they wanted to push through were meant to cut down on the number of people who filed for bankruptcy after foolishly and irresponsibly running up their credit, in spite of the fact that an overwhelming majority of private bankruptcy filings were the result of crippling medical bills.
I lack the words the express my contempt for those corporate shill fucks.
