A reader responds:
In response to directing some to your article on USA/CAN angle, I was referred to this article from late August:
Canadians visit U.S. to get care
Have you seen this?
Here’s my take. What you are seeing is a system that spends far less than we do deciding it’s more cost-effective to send some people with specific needs (like bariatric surgery) to the US to get them met. In other words, it’s cheaper to use scanners in the United States than buy their own. Seems smart to me.
Notice that this is specifically to reduce wait times. Are we now demonizing them for that? Sounds like they are taking advantage of the fact that we have so much invested in technology that it’s sitting around waiting to be used. If they choose to pay us for that, how is that bad?
Again, this is the SYSTEM in Canada compensating, not people forced to go to the US because of rationing. I think we would applaud the ingenuity of this single-payer system to solve problems. Not to mention I fail to see how this points to the success of the insurance system in the United States.
Finally, this is a piece in an online business journal, not reproducible scientific research. It’s just above anecdote; you know how I feel about anecdotes.
I encourage everyone to read the article. Make your own judgement.
