a) the insurance process is extremely inefficient, or:

b) insurers are taking her for a sucker.

I’m sure she’s right on at least one count, if not both, but how could either of those things be a defence of private health insurance? Please feel free never to defend me, that’s all.

I don’t have to think about whether I’m eligible; I am. I don’t have to wonder whether they will schedule treatment in reasonable time; they will. I don’t have to ask whether it will be covered; it is.

I’ve never had any reason to feel that I got better healthcare when I lived in America than I get here in Britain. But damn is it a relief to not have to think about what it’s going to cost me to see a doctor or spend a couple of nights in a hospital. If I need to see the doc, I just go. If I need treatment, I just go. That’s it. There’s no bill.

What’s our excuse?

(BTW, since I don’t normally watch it, is that Paula Zahn thing supposed to be some kind of news show? I couldn’t figure out if I was watching a policy debate or Entertainment Tonight.)

Girlfriend’s son needed hernia surgery, got into specialty clinic in Toronto within 6 weeks, no problem, no cost.

My mom was to undergo knee surgery last year, earliest time for her to get in was 3 months, unless she wanted her choice of surgeon in which case it was 7 months. Cost: it’s the USA, you figure it out.

And that just covers me. That’s not a family plan. Private insurance is cheaper in other states, but in those other states the insurance companies have more discretion to refuse to cover people. If they can dump out clients who are really sick, the insurance companies do save money. But it sort of defeats the purpose of health insurance.

If I could compare my income, family status and taxation levels to those of an American, by virtue of the fact that my taxes include health care, I’m sure that financially I would come out way ahead of my U.S. equivalent.

Oh, I’m sure you would. I have no doubt. That’s a point that’s hard to drive home here, though. People who get health insurance through employment aren’t paying as much out directly as health insurance, but the cost gets taken out of their pockets in other ways.

Exactly. My understanding is that if a Canadian is in real danger they fast track him into surgery about as quickly as they do here. And it is not necessarily all that quick here.

Ms. Amy wants a tax credit, not a deduction. She wants the gov’t to pay for her insurance directly (and regressively). Basically single-payer for rich people. I’m sure she’s similarly selective in what regulations to do away with.