Define "we can afford". If you mean we can borrow money from others and pay for it, I can't disagree.
I had never heard of "radioactive isolation" so I googled it and on the first page I found this:
"The Canadian government mandates strict radiation safety precautions to ensure that members of the public are not exposed to significant amounts of radiation. Radiation exposure to others can occur through two pathways: (1) "contamination" via bodily fluids or (2) direct exposure to gamma rays emitted from your body.
Regarding "contamination" via bodily fluids: the RAI dose that you receive gets picked up by any thyroid or thyroid cancer tissue, but it also excretes in your urine and feces. A small amount is also contained in other bodily fluids such as perspiration and saliva. You will be given special instructions during your isolation period to prevent contamination.
Regarding direct exposure to gamma rays: this can be reduced to insignificant levels by ensuring that you stay at least three to four meters away from others for a few days after treatment. It is particularly important to avoid close contact with children and pregnant women during these few days.
To meet the above radiation safety requirements, it will be necessary for you to undergo a period of isolation and to follow some safety guidelines. You have the option of being treated in isolation as a hospital inpatient or outpatient (if your home environment qualifies for this treatment). If you are interested in outpatient treatment, please inform your Endocrinologist. A telephone interview with our Assistant Radiation Safety Officer will then be arranged to determine if you meet all of the criteria."
I would really like to know exactly what said isolation costs per day. Just a normal room (we are talking simply real estate, no treatment) in most hospitals runs over $1,000 a day. Just throwing the term "radioactive" in, even if its the exact same room, has to add a metric fuckton above and beyond any actual realized costs.
BTW, from what I read (which is not much) the rules don't seem all that darn hard to follow.
The rules are not that hard to follow. It's just that the US is extremely litigious and as a result extremely risk adverse. As far as cost, it's been over a decade but if memory serves the hospital bill for the week (not counting doctors' bills and various specialists) was in the upper forties. Insurance discounted that to maybe mid to upper twenties, of which insurance paid roughly half. I paid the yearly maximum out-of-pocket which was (I think) maybe thirteen thousand plus some odds and ends that were not covered for whatever reason. Interestingly enough one of my fellow thyroid cancer survivors went through his at about the same time without insurance and ended up paying slightly less to the hospital, but significantly more to the doctors and technicians who were not willing to cut their bills as sharply. From what I remember of our discussions, I think he paid maybe half again as much as I. The doctors' bills seem small compared to the hospital bills, but they add up quickly if you don't have insurance.
Once again, I strongly suggest that you take the time to educate yourself on this and stop spouting this kind of propagandist crap.
Canadians are *not* flocking across the border to the US for medical treatment.
Cancer treatment is *not* 'rationed'.
Your example of Canada not being able to afford radiation isolation is an outright fabrication. Patients have the *option* of doing their isolation stint in the hospital or at home. The PATIENT makes the decision in consultation with their doctor.
You're starting to remind me of those American tourists that come up here and ask "how much is that in *real* money?" Or, "huh, looks like home. You even have the same television shows." Or, "where's the Mounties? Where's the snow (in August). Where's the Eskimos."
News flash, Canada is not a third world country. Stop pretending that we are. It's really insulting.
Could be, although the three Canadians with whom I can recall discussing this (my nurse and two fellow thyroid cancer patients) all said simply that you got your pill and instructions and were sent home. Still makes my point however - the US is extremely risk adverse because we can afford it. The Canadian system simply cannot afford it, although apparently it can afford it if the home environment is not suitable. Incidentally that's why my Canadian nurse (technically a radiological therapy technician) was treating me in Tennessee - much better pay.
As far as Canadians flocking across the border for health care, that IS true. I've met several in Tennessee, and my father's group in Florida had several. It's just common, whether or not it hurts your feelings. From WackyDan's link, more than one per thousand per year.
As far as cancer treatment being rationed, of course it is, although radiation is the shortest lead time at 3.5 weeks compared to, say, orthopedic surgery at 39.6 weeks.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/wait-times-for-medical-treatment-getting-longer-report-1.1516817
There simply is no magic wand by which government can make things cheap. Contrast this with the lady who used to clean our building. She had no insurance, no money, didn't even have electricity. Dirt, dirt poor. (Don't get my wrong, good lady, just had some really bad setbacks in a row and dropped from middle class to dirt poor very quickly, mostly from pride in not taking handouts.) She went to the doctor with a lump in her breast which a biopsy proved cancerous. The biopsy happened same day, with the results delivered a couple days later. One day later she was in surgery having a double mastectomy. Her chemo was scheduled to start one week later (minimum recovery time), although ironically she refused to take the chemotherapy until after her breasts were rebuilt. (Said she refused to be without breasts and hair at the same time.) We do a really, really good job at treating those without money or insurance for really serious stuff. Our problem is with the middle grade stuff, between the doc-in-the-box and the serious stuff, which often leads to treatment being much more expensive and with much worse results when something major is detected. And of course, if you have significant assets and/or income, you can easily face bankruptcy without insurance.
In my own case, I went in with a ruptured lymph node (don't fly with strep throat.) My own doctor was fairly sure that (infected lymph node) was the problem, but sent me to a specialist. The specialist saw me that day. He too was fairly sure that he had properly identified the problem, but sent me for an ultrasound on my neck. That too happened the same day. Confirmed, my surgery happened on day three, because that was his non-emergency surgery day but also to fill my system with antibiotics. At my follow-up my doctor told me he wanted another ultrasound and needle biopsies on my neck - specifically on my thyroid - because he did not like the looks of my thyroid. This happened maybe a couple days later. No cancer cells were found, and when he got the results he sent me back for another set of needle biopsies. No cancer cells were found on these either, and when he got the results he sent me back for another set of needle biopsies, five this time rather than three. This time they found cancer cells in one lobe. My thyroidectomy was maybe two weeks after my lymph node removal. In Canada, I'd have to be on fire to get that many tests and non-emergency operations in that kind of time frame.
Yet shortage of diagnostic equipment in some provinces, and some provinces not approving of certain tests is very real.
http://seattletimes.com/html/health/2009506926_canahealth21.html
There are indeed long wait times and that can greatly depend on what province and area within that you live.
http://www.examiner.com/article/canada-s-health-care-system-has-its-problems
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/13/international/americas/13CANA.html
And yes indeed... Canadian Medical Tourism to the US and other countries is indeed very popular.
http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/16/r...ds-fled-socialized-canadian-medicine-in-2013/
So while you may have a great experience with your single payer system where you live in Canada, other Canadians would beg to differ. I'm not saying single payer is inherently bad mind you, but I'm saying that it is far from perfect. Those that hold it up as some sort of crowning achievement and benchmark are ignoring the down sides of it.
Exactly. The Canadian system is by design good enough for most people most of the time. Canadian medical tourism is to get advanced and/or timely treatment. American medical tourism is to get cheap treatment, period. Hard to argue that the system people leave to get better care is better than the system people leave to get cheap care.
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