New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

New: Facebook has blocked all Canadian news. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop.

6_13Commentary

Current Article June 2001

Feature Article June 13, 2001

LAND O'LAKES NewsWeb Home

Arts

Business

Communities

Communication Technology

Contributors

Cottage Life

Editor's Comments

Environment

Favourite Web Sites

History

Image Gallery

Municipal Government

On The Road

Photo Journalism

Reader Comments

Tourism

Travel

Contact Us

Commentaryby David Brison

The News has just recently formed an editorial advisory committee. This committee, consisting of ten readers of the News who live in our readership area, will advise the paper on editorial policy and practice. Ill have more on the committee in upcoming issues including their names and special interests. Every member is a writer and has taken a special interest in the paper.

At the inaugural meeting of the committee, one member, John Meisel of Crow Lake, said that he thought the coverage of local government had been good, but that it should be accompanied by some commentary or discussion. John was not suggesting that this commentary should be limited to political happenings on the local scene. This, my first commentary, is not about anything that happened locally.

Last week, I travelled with my son Jeffrey to New Jersey shore to attend a memorial service for a close friend, Ollie, who recently died. Following the service we went to Greenwich, in the extreme southwestern part of New Jersey, to visit another old friend who was at the service. While there, I had an attack, triggered by a full bag of very greasy potato chips, which gave new meaning to the term indigestion. It felt as if a major and not so civil war was being fought in my stomach, and I was certain that there were casualties, although I didnt know straight off how serious they were. I did know that the pain was intense and it lasted for more than four hours.

We went to the emergency ward of a nearby hospital, and fortunately, I had travel insurance and the costs were covered. The emergency care was very good the nurses and doctors were caring and considerate. They did little things that mattered like covering me with a blanket, and being patient when I didnt move this way or that as they were probing or taking pictures.

It turned out that I was having a gall bladder attack, accompanied by gallstones and a bruised and battered gall bladder. I departed with a diagnosis complete with reports of medical tests that I could bring home to Dr. Bell at the Sharbot Lake Medical Centre.

To get to the point of the story Ill have to digress a moment to tell about my departed friend Ollie. Ollie, who was 66 when he died, had been an Managing Editor of the Duke University Press, and at age 55 he decided that he wanted to leave and support himself as a freelance editor. He resigned from the Press and then found out that he couldnt get private health insurance because he had a pre-existing medical condition. The insurance companies, and he investigated it thoroughly, wouldnt tell him why they wouldnt insure him. In fact they were all reluctant to tell him outright that they wouldnt. He finally was told that he could be insured for something like $800 a month.

Ollie worked hard, cut his expenses, and was able to live comfortably, but he didnt have health insurance he couldnt afford it. Subsequently he had an illness which required minor surgery and a 3-5 day hospital stay, and was presented with a bill for $15,000. Ollie managed to pay that bill off before he died, but it was a major drain on his meagre resources.

My friend was not an isolated case on the U.S. scene. The last estimate I saw was that there are 40 million people in the same fix -- most them poorer and with less earning capacity than Ollie.

Had I been Ollie (or maybe a few years younger, since he qualified for Medicare when he turned 65), my little episode would have probably cost me more than $1,000. Any subsequent operations or special treatments would have likely broken the bank or at least severely depleted my retirement income.

The point then is simple Im very thankful, not only for myself, but for others, that we have universal health care in Canada. I know what not having it meant to Ollies peace of mind and how I would feel without it. We have a humane system and I want to see it remain in place. The U.S. system of private health care is not humane precisely for the reasons Ive outlined here. Millions of people arent covered by private insurance plans and they suffer because of it.

Lets do everything possible to strengthen our health care system. We already pay less for it than Americans do and it gives us an immeasurable sense of security. I think however, that it will take much resolve on the part of Canadians to preserve it.

With the participation of the Government of Canada