Cuidado de la salud: EE.UU.. emula Canadá, mientras que Canadá considera Francia
EE.UU.. president Obama has begun the process of revamping the U.S. health care system, con el objetivo de providing health insurance for the millions of uninsured Los estadounidenses — a goal that, at least in theory, Canadá ya ha logrado. De acuerdo con Salud de Canadá:
Canada’s national health insurance program, often referred to as “Medicare,” is designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services, on a prepaid basis.
Sin embargo, the most vexing aspect of the Canadian health care system — to newcomers and long-time residents alike — may be the often-lengthy wait times for services. A medida que el CBC informó, “Long waits for diagnostic tests, access to specialists and some surgeries han sido durante mucho tiempo at the heart of complaints about the failings of Canada’s health-care system.”
Asà que what’s a country to do?
Haz lo que hacen los franceses, dice Globe and Mail. columnista Lysiane Gagnon:
En Canadá, people keep exchanging horror tales about how long they had to wait in emergency wards or for an operation or even for a doctor’s appointment. It’s a common topic of conversation. In France, a country I know well, waiting times is a subject no one talks about, for the simple reason that people are cared for without delay.
De vez en cuando, aunque, my French friends do complain about their health-care system. They say it has deteriorated. Un amigo, por ejemplo,, recently told me that “we no longer can call doctors at their home on the weekend, and house calls are difficult to get.” To a Canadian ear, this sounds like a description of paradise.
Gagnon cites World Health Organization statistics indicating that among the countries with the best overall health performance, Francia fue No. 1, mientras que Canadá fue el 30 y los EE.UU.. 37ª.
If you’re nuevo a Canadá, and you’re trying to decipher the Canadian health care system, echa un vistazo a este comparison of international health care systems asà como el Health Canada website.
Foto © Carolyn B. Heller
