Canadian Universal Healthcare is a Miserable Failure and why Michael Moore and his Film, “Sicko” are Wrong
Posted In: Healthcare , Liberals , Michael Moore . By Devil's Advocate

If you want to find the real story of Canada’s failed Universal Healthcare system, look no further than America’s boarder cities. The Buffalo News just reported a story about, Lindsay McCreith, a 66 year-old Canadian retired auto body shop owner. This story, accurately reported by Henry L. Davis, demonstrates why Michael Moore’s new propaganda film, “Sicko” is patently misleading.

McCreith experienced seizures on Jan. 2, 2006, and was diagnosed with a benign tumor based on a CT scan. A physician at a Canadian hospital declined to order an MRI to rule out a malignancy. McCreith’s family doctor agreed to request the more-definitive scan, but McCreith was told he would have to wait over four months for the appointment.

According to McCreith, had he been patient and followed the Canadian system, he would have died. Instead, McCreith went to Buffalo to receive treatment the very next day. In Buffalo, he was told he had a malignant tumor, which required a biopsy. After trying the Canadian system again, he was told they would not allow the biopsy for another three months. McCreith, having a good friend die waiting for heart surgery, decided to see if the American private system could save his life. It did just that.

If you watched Michael Moore’s film, “Sicko” you will notice the irony immediately. Moore highlighted the fact that before care could be provided to patients, doctors had to deal with third-party insurance companies. Moore reasoned that because those third-party insurance companies care about profit, the system itself is flaw. Well, in this case, the third-party is the Canadian Government, and that third-party was going to allow a retired auto body shop owner die.

Evidently, this long waiting period is not uncommon. For instance, patients in Ontario wait an average of 22 weeks for cataract surgery and 34 weeks for a hip replacement, according to statistics from the Ontario Ministry of Health. Cities like Cleveland and Buffalo seem to be booming in those areas of medical care with Canadians coming across the boarder for treatment. If the Democrats running in the 2008 Presidential Election want a Universal Healthcare System, where are the Canadians going to go for treatment?

Instead of just accepting Canada’s Big Government policies, McCreith is going to take corrective action. McCreith’s will challenge the Canadian system in Court. He asserts that Ontario’s ban on private health insurance and private billing by physicians infringes on his constitutional right to life, liberty and security. McCreith followed up by demonstrating a clear understanding of economics: “I was in the auto body shop business,” he said. “If I gave you an appointment four months away, you would go somewhere else. Why should health care be any different?”