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Anecdote is the seed which spawns research to either confirm or deny the observations of an individual or group of individuals as being true or usually true on a universal scale. We have to recognize what it isn't, but we also have to recognize what it is: possibility that may merit further exploration into something that may or may not have already been confirmed but which nevertheless deserves more of an answer than just "maybe" or "I don't know". Anecdote isn't scientific fact in se, but at the same time if we stopped asking questions and exploring what may or could be based on our own experiences, then we would only stifle research and further growth by limiting ourselves to only investing our energies in studying what has already been proven to be scientific fact. Science and medicine will never move forward without people who are willing to say, "This is what I experienced, but I want to know if this is an anomaly or reality and we deserve to know the answer."

Another perspective from a someone who's lived and worked in Canada. When I was there, I got: - basic health insurance from the province (think: state) I lived in. Currently this is free (Well, free in that there's no separate tax for it, it just comes out of general revenues). This covered medical treatment with the exception of (i) dentistry / orthodontics, (ii) prescription costs, (iii) ambulance, fixed-wing / rotary wing transport *unless admitted to a given facility [so not ER->ER], (iv) things like crutches, peak flow meters, ambulatory aids, etc. (v) private hospital rooms. Maximum prescription costs are also limited by the province, (vi) driver's medicals, (vii) immigration paperwork / sick notes for work, etc. - additional private insurance through work, covering (i) - (iii) and (v), some of which were capped. So, living in Canada, I never really had to worry about the cost of healthcare. Granted, if I didn't have the private insurance, if my doctor wrote me a script for a $100 antibiotic treatment, I'd be a little out of pocket. Or if I ended up requiring ambulance transport, I'd get a few hundred dollars as a bill. But I'm basically never opening my wallet to pay for healthcare. The tax rate probably is higher than the US. I paid 5% sales tax to the federal government. 0% to the provincial government. The income tax rates might be a little higher. I had to pay city taxes on my house that went towards fire, police, ems, school, public works, etc. But I doubt the quality of life is much different. I'm sure many of you guys have visited Canada. Did you see a big burden being placed on people because of taxation? I never saw it. What are the negatives to the system? - if I need an MRI or a CT or something, especially for a minor joint injury, I'm going to wait. It's going to take a while. If I tear my ACL, it's not getting fixed quickly. As a young person this is inconvenient, and obviously runs the risk of turning a minor injury into some degree of permanent disability. For an elderly person needing a joint replacement, this is disastrous. My understanding is that it's many of these patients that are going to the US for treatment. - experimental drugs often aren't approved by the medical system. So if I develop a rare kind of cancer, and someone develops a new therapy that doesn't have a lot of evidence supporting it, that might reduce morbidity, might reduce mortality a little, it may not be approved. Some of the patients going to the US are going for this sort of treatment, obviously at their own expense. - Dental care can still be quite expensive if you don't have private insurance. I have a relative with bad peridontitis, who has been paying to fly to Mexico and get dental work done. He can pay here, but it's expensive. The insurance company has told him they'll pay to have some teeth removed and get dentures. He wants to get a series of implants instead. They're cheaper in Mexico. I doubt anyone is going to the states for cheaper dental treatment (usually treatment costs are capped -- but obviously as my example illustrates, can be quite expensive). ---------------- The thing with health care is no matter what system you choose for delivery, you have to pay for it. Almost all of the industrialised nations have socialised systems. With the exception of the US. That's a choice you guys have made, and it's not my right to tell you how to design your economy, and run your nation. What I can say, is if you get hurt in Canada, you're still paying for medical care through taxation. You're just not having to worry about getting huge lump sums to pay. You're not worrying about qualifying for medical insurance, and family coverage, etc. Either way you pay. Either through direct taxation and universal coverage, or through partial coverage and direct pay. I couldn't imagine living somewhere where I could get run over by a car, and end up selling my house to pay for it. I wouldn't choose to do that. I'd rather pay the higher taxes.

I am not trying to sound like a jerk, but I learned this lesson a long time ago: You decide what kind of day you will have every day. You can not let others control your life, which is what you do when your blood pressure goes up over what someone else said or did. The minute you show any emotion because of what someone else did, you have given them control of your day, it is like you are a puppet on a string. Example: If I said something mean about your momma right now, it could piss you off to the point of you punching me. But on the other hand, you could say "crotch does not know my momma, he has never even met me, so therefore he is trying to piss me off and control my day". Let it roll off of your back, its not worth being upset about. I worked for a large urban system that was on 24/48s and the shifts were brutal with the normal EMS abuse you would expect. I went to work cussing and I came home cussing. Then they switched to 12-hour shifts, and I figured out I could transport 6 patients, or not transport 10 patients. Once I quit argueing with the dumb patients and just started transporting, all the stress was gone, and my smile returned. When I saw that change I realized I had been letting others control me.