Suffy

So lately I've become super fascinated with the health care industry, I wrote an essay on it for political studies discussing whether or not we should have private or public (public ftw), and my economics prof is a health care genius so he talks to us about it lots but that's not the point of this.

What needs to be done to curve the pharmaceutical companie's power? I'll give you two examples of this in Canada; Asthma misdiagnosed in at least a third of Canadian patients: study --> 1/3 people with Asthma are misdiagnosed and two Doctors allege intimidation in raising drug warnings, investigation shows --> doctors being intimidated.

The american system is just as flawed, drug patent laws are horrendously stupid, the big pharma companies control the medical schools which don't allow the teaching of preventive care or other methods of health care they just lobby so teh schools only teach doctors how to properly prescribe the drugs.

It's all pretty fucked, what's your take on this.

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Escavayne

I agree, that it is pretty flawed.

Also, Canada is part of America, as well. So is Mexico. So if you want to get technical, North America in general does not have the greatest of healthcare, in comparison to that of Europe.

Definitely a good thread topic, and I'll post more and get back to this soon. Interested in hearing all of your views and opinions on what should be changed, how it should be changed, course of action, etc.

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Suffy

See in Canada what we do we have a single payer health care system, unlike you guys who have a multi payer (we have one insurance agency...our government, you guys have lots)

Our government covers three areas: 1. physicians 2. hospitals and 3. administration. It does not cover: 1. drugs 2. dentist 3. home care.

Now this is where it gets stupid in my eyes. If you are hospitalized in Canada and you need drugs the government will pay for those drugs however the moment you leave the hospital you have to start paying for your own drugs, I believe that drugs along with dentistry should be covered by the government.

Espicially considering the reason that health care costs are rising in Canada (and espcially in the US) is that drugs are costing way more and doing a lot less. It is the private market that is driving up the cost of health care not the public sector. The private market has failed because they have been able to put laws into place that allow 0 consumer sovereignty which is what the right wing relies on for everything. If there is no consumer soveireignty the market fails simple as that, and since the medical profession has no consumer sovereignty bc: a) it's special nature ( you can die), b) it's assymetrical (we know very little about the details), c) munchaunsen (but that doesn't really have to do with this so I won't go into it)...I lost my train of thought.

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