Confirmed with Link: NHL season officially postponed due to COVID-19

[absolute garbage]

Can any of you stat guys reconcile these numbers for me? It doesn’t add up:
9/11 attacks cost ~ 4000 American Civilian lives.
Response:
Afghanistan cost 2440 American Soldiers lives
Plus $2 Trillion
Plus 17 years
Iraq war cost 4500 American Soldiers lives.
Plus $2 trillion
Plus 16 years
So the Total spent on revenge cost of 4000 American civilians after they had died
$4trillion
7000 Soldiers and counting
Plus 18 years and counting
Vs:
50,000-2Million dead American civilians in the next 9 months On American Soil= the same threat to life and liberty as annual car fatalities

The former was great for the economy (in that it made some people really rich and kept the machine going). The latter, not so much.

 

[tradervik]

If they cancel the season, will the Canucks have to repeat their 50th anniversary celebration?

 

[Zombotron]

lol - the best thing about living in a "multi-cultural" neighborhood growing up - you learn to swear in multiple languages as a kid! We all got along (hockey being the unifying thing all you needed was your own hockey stick & you're on the team!).

VAFANC--

hi, i grew up with italian friends

 

[Hit the post]

VAFANC--

hi, i grew up with italian friends

First time I ever drank booze (wine) was from my childhood friends father who was from the "old country" (Italy). He made his own wine (from growing the grapes -> wine barrels he had). I was like 12 (obviously it was only a few sips) . I didn't like it.

 

[Raised Fist Republic]

The former was great for the economy (in that it made some people really rich and kept the machine going). The latter, not so much.

ya, that doesn’t reconcile a single dollar. Fail.

 

[Bad Goalie]

The NHL and AHL are in very similar positions.

NY CITY is ground zero and NY State is #1 in the nation.
#2 New Jersey
#3 California
#4 Michigan
#5 Washington
#6 Illinois
#7 Massachusetts
#8 Florida
#9 Louisiana
#10 Pennsylvania

The next 3 states, Georgia, Texas, and Colorado have over 1,000 cases and Tennessee and Connecticut are right on their heels.

- The Rangers and the Islanders play right in NY city.
- Buffalo is also in NY. That's 3 NHL teams.
- The Devils are in New Jersey, state #2, which is visible from NY city.
- The Sharks, Ducks, and Kings are in state #3
- The Red Wings play in state #4.
- The Black Hawks are in #6.
- The Bruins are up the road in Massachusetts, state #7.
- The Panthers and Lightning are in #8. Florida is recently climbing the Virus ladder fast.
- Pennsylvania, #10 shares a large border with NY State and Philly is 1 1/2 hours from NY.
- The Penguins are also in Pennsey.
-Texas (the Stars), Colorado (Avalanche), and Tennessee (Predators) are having serious virus problems as well.

All of these states have AHL franchises as well. 48 states have declared states of emergency. There is no way that the NHL is going to be able to find a way to play hockey games in arenas with fans packed in shoulder to shoulder in this North American state of emergency with a virus that knows no end. Their AHL franchises are in the exact same situations. Unless Bettman and the NHL owners are ready to expose all their players and the 100's of thousands fans to possible death we will not watch hockey for a long while.

P.S. I have not mentioned our neighbors to the north who are in the same situation as us, but maybe their government leader is wiser than the the fool running this country. If ours loosens the restrictions
the state governors have instituted,, this country will go to Hell in a hand basket.

 

[Bad Goalie]

168 Boston hospital workers have been diagnosed positive for the COVID virus.

 

[VanillaCoke]

Watching the USA head right off a very obvious and predictable cliff, while doing basically nothing to stop the impending disaster has been both amazing and deeply saddening.

 

[Addison Rae]

Joe Biden being the Democrats opposition for Trump after this catastrophe is just absolutely embarrassing

 

[Regal]

Who's going to have THAT much money to be spending money of a hockey ticket in a few months time? That even includes the lucky that haven't seen their hours cut back (or laid off).

If you're lucky enough to not have your wages reduced, you're probably saving more money than usual with the lack of entertainment spending right now. I know I've spent a lot less than normal the last couple weeks. I don't know if I'd spent on a playoff ticket regardless, but assuming things were clear to go, it might be a one of those "treat yourself" moments for people after being stuck at home.

 

[Hit the post]

P.S. I have not mentioned our neighbors to the north who are in the same situation as us, but maybe their government leader is wiser than the the fool running this country. If ours loosens the restrictions
the state governors have instituted,, this country will go to Hell in a hand basket.

Well "our guy" also shipped a crapload of personal protective equipment to China (16 tonnes worth) last month. That same country that had detained several of our citizens in China on 'trump'd up' charges in response to Canada's arrest of a Huawei executive at the US's request. (as well as banning a number of our goods we try to sell to them like Canola). I'd sooner have kept that PPE equipment & split them with our real allies (you guys or the Italians, Brits, Japanese, etc.,).

 

[flying v 604]

I remember reading years ago that 700,000 Americans were filing for bankruptcy annually due to their medical bills

Obama was trying to fix this problem but now I wonder what that bankruptcy # is since Trump took over as he and his Republican party are trying to undue everything Obama did.

Obamas care was a farce and a disaster. I've read and watched a ton of stories from both Libs and Republicans and majority were not a fan of it.
I lived in Louisianna for 2 year's playing baseball in college admittedly before Obama care but a lot of my teammates and classmates preferred the freedom and overall better care that comes from competition which we lack here. Americans are astounded when they here the wait times and the overcrowding. The poor in the States still get free healthcare maybe not on prescriptions but the working class and above usually have basic medical insurance through work with many options to sublet it with some of their own. A lot of the debt is from people using private hospitals or having procedures done that are up and above what's covered.

Many Americans pay a lot less tax and gamble on not getting sick or needing the type of procedures that are only offered by private practise. My Uncle looks at our system and laughs, since we pay a ton towards our healthcare that we may never even need and when we do we have to wait 15 hours at ER and months or years for elective or non-essential procedures. And good luck finding a GP let alone one that isn't attached to a clinic that will spend more then 5 mins who actually has a triplicate pad and will actually use it. I have type 1 diabetes and Crohn's, I often wait up to 6 months for a colonoscopy, or 4 months to see my specialists and If I want good insulin it's not covered same with the pump only the very basic one's are covered.

Sorry for the long ass response but the last thing for me on this is going into my junior year I was home in White Rock and felt a twing in my elbow, went to my Doc he wanted to do an MRI but it was over a year wait. I went back to school and literally had an MRI done 2 days after, turns out I needed Tommy John surgery that was done right away luckily didn't cost me anything. Back here I was told it would have been months and months. That would have destroyed my chance at getting drafted.

 

[Bad Goalie]

NYC Mt. Sinai Hospital nurse Kious Kelly dies of COVID-19. He was 48. "Medical staff at Mt. Sinai's flagship hospital on New York's Upper East Side said that the death of Mr. Kelly was connected to the shortage of personal protective equipment.

Trump says hospitals have all the PPEs they need. This morning it was reported that nurses in NYC's Mt Sinai Hospital, a world renowned institution, have been wearing trash bags as gowns.

Earlier in the week Governor Cuomo begged the Federal government for ventilators. (the following is paraphrased, but it was aired live and can be founf if you want to fact check) He said he had acquired 3, 000 in Herculean efforts around the globe as well as the US. FEMA boasted that they had sent him 400 more. He said, 40o ventilators! They want a pat on the back? I told them I need 4,000 more and they sent me 400. He then laid out a scenario in which the NY hospitals would be utilizing all they had and 2,600 more patients would be out of luck. He wan. He asked who in the Federal Govt wanted to make the decision as to which of those in need of ventilators should be the 2,600 that couldn't be served.

Trump today has started to attack and bad mouth the governors who are coming out and saying the government is not responding to their screams for help. The 2 in today's cross hairs were the Michigan and Washinton governors.

He said Thursday night on Fox/Hannity that he had a "love fest" with governors earlier in the day - save for the leaders of Washington and Michigan_ and that he's helping the states, thoiugh he believes they're asking for resources they won't need.

"I think that a lot of the things are being said that are more - I don't think that certain things will materialize and you know a lot of equipment is being asked for that I don't think they'll need," Trump said. He was specifically talking about Washington's Jay Inslee and Michiugan's Gretchen Whitmer (whose name he did not seem to know, instead calling her "the young, a woman governor, you know who I'm talking about, from Michigan". He then said I stand with Michigan.

Trump said , some of these governors you know they take, take, take and then complain, they take and you do a great job, you build them a hospital, you do better and they're always complaining, so, i don't like that."

Both have publicly stated trump needs to get more resources to the states. Trump says "the governors are so happy with the job we're doing." That's contrary to the governors of most of the top 13 states in the virus count. Every time I see them give press conferences they all say the same thing, the Federal govt. doesn't seem to note the urgency of out health workers' needs.

Whitmer challenged trump to prove he stands with Michigan. I've asked repeatedly and respectfully for help. We need it. No more political attacks, just PPEs ventilators, N95 Masks, test kits."

The inspector general for Veteran's Affairs said it's estimated as many as 1 million veterans may become infected and the Veteran's affairs facilities are unevenly prepared. The shortage of ventilators is coming in from hospitals all over the land. Trump and Pence tell us every day what a wonderful thing that several companies have volunteered to convert their manufacturing to making ventilators. They will be be turning them out in several weeks.

Meanwhile in England the manufacturer of Dyson vacuum cleaners has developed a ventilator specific for the corona virus. It's being tested and the British govt has ordered 10,000.

 

[Bad Goalie]

Only 3 activités in 2 weeks, walking in remote areas, golfing by myself, and shopping for necessities (food and red wine). My wife is a little older, has asthma and is scared shitless of all that is going on. We are in hiding, and in fact have been about a week ahead of the accepted curve throughout. But it is a crapshoot, a lottery, luck of the draw.

My wife and I were a bit ahead of you at the urging of our 38-yr-old son. He shops for us, takes our vehicles for gas, picks up prescriptions, etc. We only go back and forth between our current home and the one we bought recently 5 miles from us. It's smaller, a lot less yard, and no stairs. It will be easier to care for, has a huge kitchen in an open floor plan and will allow the wife to avoid stairs which are knocking the Hell out of her arthritic joints. We are doing lots of things to it (painting the whole place, replacing all of the electrical switches, switch plates, outlets and covers, and lighting, new sinks, and faucets, etc.) before moving in, which at the moment is actually unwise to undertake. Therefore, we are just moving along at our own pace and completing the tasks little by little so as to stay busy while being safe. It's actually enjoyable, fulfilling, and prevents us from going stir crazy. Now, the whole thing will being able to actually enjoy living in it before we croak. Maybe not so funny.

 

[Bonham]

Obamas care was a farce and a disaster. I've read and watched a ton of stories from both Libs and Republicans and majority were not a fan of it.
I lived in Louisianna for 2 year's playing baseball in college admittedly before Obama care but a lot of my teammates and classmates preferred the freedom and overall better care that comes from competition which we lack here. Americans are astounded when they here the wait times and the overcrowding. The poor in the States still get free healthcare maybe not on prescriptions but the working class and above usually have basic medical insurance through work with many options to sublet it with some of their own. A lot of the debt is from people using private hospitals or having procedures done that are up and above what's covered.

Many Americans pay a lot less tax and gamble on not getting sick or needing the type of procedures that are only offered by private practise. My Uncle looks at our system and laughs, since we pay a ton towards our healthcare that we may never even need and when we do we have to wait 15 hours at ER and months or years for elective or non-essential procedures. And good luck finding a GP let alone one that isn't attached to a clinic that will spend more then 5 mins who actually has a triplicate pad and will actually use it. I have type 1 diabetes and Crohn's, I often wait up to 6 months for a colonoscopy, or 4 months to see my specialists and If I want good insulin it's not covered same with the pump only the very basic one's are covered.

Sorry for the long ass response but the last thing for me on this is going into my junior year I was home in White Rock and felt a twing in my elbow, went to my Doc he wanted to do an MRI but it was over a year wait. I went back to school and literally had an MRI done 2 days after, turns out I needed Tommy John surgery that was done right away luckily didn't cost me anything. Back here I was told it would have been months and months. That would have destroyed my chance at getting drafted.

Countless Americans are not forcing themselves into insolvency with unnecessary medical expenses, come on now.

Canadians pay for their healthcare through taxes, Americans pay through insurance premiums and deductibles. If you have a good job, you might be fully insured, but that is not the case for many people. If you are self-employed then the responsibility also falls on you to seek coverage and pay your own premiums. Supplemental insurance is also an option in Canada and in many cases is provided by employers. Why anyone would want to gamble on the medical system and their health is beyond me. Medical related bankruptcies are pretty much unique to the American system as far as Western health systems are concerned.

A bunch of anecdotes about college kids or your Uncle's thoughts on the system are meaningless. A quick Google search would bring up countless stories of people being denied their coverage and stuck with egregious and mostly impossible medical expenses. If you are a college athlete in the States, they will take care of you, there is no doubt about that. This situation is irrelevant to a majority of the population who do not have the same opportunity.

In general, the US pays more per capita on health expenditure, larger expenditure as a percentage of GDP, have a lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality rate, and have a higher probability of death between the ages of 15-60. There is a reason why the entire western world uses some form of socialized medicine -- some systems of which are better than both Canada and the US.

Canada's health care is far from perfect, no doubt about that, but I will take it any day over the US especially with what is going on right now.

 

[VanJack]

Obamas care was a farce and a disaster. I've read and watched a ton of stories from both Libs and Republicans and majority were not a fan of it.
I lived in Louisianna for 2 year's playing baseball in college admittedly before Obama care but a lot of my teammates and classmates preferred the freedom and overall better care that comes from competition which we lack here. Americans are astounded when they here the wait times and the overcrowding. The poor in the States still get free healthcare maybe not on prescriptions but the working class and above usually have basic medical insurance through work with many options to sublet it with some of their own. A lot of the debt is from people using private hospitals or having procedures done that are up and above what's covered.

Many Americans pay a lot less tax and gamble on not getting sick or needing the type of procedures that are only offered by private practise. My Uncle looks at our system and laughs, since we pay a ton towards our healthcare that we may never even need and when we do we have to wait 15 hours at ER and months or years for elective or non-essential procedures. And good luck finding a GP let alone one that isn't attached to a clinic that will spend more then 5 mins who actually has a triplicate pad and will actually use it. I have type 1 diabetes and Crohn's, I often wait up to 6 months for a colonoscopy, or 4 months to see my specialists and If I want good insulin it's not covered same with the pump only the very basic one's are covered.

Sorry for the long ass response but the last thing for me on this is going into my junior year I was home in White Rock and felt a twing in my elbow, went to my Doc he wanted to do an MRI but it was over a year wait. I went back to school and literally had an MRI done 2 days after, turns out I needed Tommy John surgery that was done right away luckily didn't cost me anything. Back here I was told it would have been months and months. That would have destroyed my chance at getting drafted.

Congratulations on getting your elbow fixed....I guess you or your parents were fortunate enough that they could pay for this expensive MRI and surgery in the U.S.

But I can guarantee you there are lot more people in the U.S. with elbow problems who'd love to get the same surgery, but could never afford it.,...either because they have no health coverage, or their piecemeal private health care plan won't pay for it.

So their system of health care relies on the fact that there are millions of uninsured or under-insured people who just don't access the system at all. They walk around simply praying they don't sick or get hurt at work or driving their car...or whatever.

And I guess in many people's mind the system works just fine, until there's a public health emergency like this one. And of course it quickly gets overwhelmed and nobody can get treatment. It's basically 'pandemic pandemonium'.

I wonder how many Canadians realize that the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. is the result of just getting sick or suffering a devastating injury?

My bet is very few.....we've had it too good in Canada for too long.

 

[RandV]

Well "our guy" also shipped a crapload of personal protective equipment to China (16 tonnes worth) last month. That same country that had detained several of our citizens in China on 'trump'd up' charges in response to Canada's arrest of a Huawei executive at the US's request. (as well as banning a number of our goods we try to sell to them like Canola). I'd sooner have kept that PPE equipment & split them with our real allies (you guys or the Italians, Brits, Japanese, etc.,).

I mean the arrested Canadian thing is bullshit but otherwise I think China has just returned the favour and given us even more back.

 

[RandV]

Countless Americans are not forcing themselves into insolvency with unnecessary medical expenses, come on now.

Canadians pay for their healthcare through taxes, Americans pay through insurance premiums and deductibles. If you have a good job, you might be fully insured, but that is not the case for many people. If you are self-employed then the responsibility also falls on you to seek coverage and pay your own premiums. Supplemental insurance is also an option in Canada and in many cases is provided by employers. Why anyone would want to gamble on the medical system and their health is beyond me. Medical related bankruptcies are pretty much unique to the American system as far as Western health systems are concerned.

All the other stuff aside, I just wanted to highlight the absurdity here. When someone says "private healthcare" you'd picture a system where you just pay for your hospital visits out of pocket as needed. But that's not really how it works, what the US really has is a system of private health insurance. Which is too expensive to purchase if you're poor, so for the bulk of working class Americans it's provided by their employers, or in other words paid by their employers. This is throwing the 'it's not really "free"' argument against Canadian (and the rest of the developed worlds) healthcare right back in their face, as employers that provide it are probably paying like $500-$1000 a head for each employee's health insurance (with many employers of lower wage employees pulling all sorts of shenanigans so they don't have to pay it). Like with our taxes, money that could go directly to their wallets instead of health insurance. Except in the US it's far more expensive, largely from the bloat of carrying a private health insurance industry on top of everything.

 

[Diversification]

All the other stuff aside, I just wanted to highlight the absurdity here. When someone says "private healthcare" you'd picture a system where you just pay for your hospital visits out of pocket as needed. But that's not really how it works, what the US really has is a system of private health insurance. Which is too expensive to purchase if you're poor, so for the bulk of working class Americans it's provided by their employers, or in other words paid by their employers. This is throwing the 'it's not really "free"' argument against Canadian (and the rest of the developed worlds) healthcare right back in their face, as employers that provide it are probably paying like $500-$1000 a head for each employee's health insurance (with many employers of lower wage employees pulling all sorts of shenanigans so they don't have to pay it). Like with our taxes, money that could go directly to their wallets instead of health insurance. Except in the US it's far more expensive, largely from the bloat of carrying a private health insurance industry on top of everything.

Two things to add to this: First, since healthcare (until the ACA) was directly tied to employment, it gave employers enormous leverage for negotiating with union and non-union employees - by design. Second, the business model for private health insurance is to not pay for your medical expenses. That's the whole point of their existence.

Our current system brings to mind the NYC Fire Department during the Tammany Hall days. If you paid for fire insurance, they'd put out the fire. If not, you would negotiate with them on the spot as your house was literally burning down. It usually ended up that they could loot your place for compensation once the fire was out.

 

[tantalum]

Obamas care was a farce and a disaster. I've read and watched a ton of stories from both Libs and Republicans and majority were not a fan of it.
I lived in Louisianna for 2 year's playing baseball in college admittedly before Obama care but a lot of my teammates and classmates preferred the freedom and overall better care that comes from competition which we lack here. Americans are astounded when they here the wait times and the overcrowding. The poor in the States still get free healthcare maybe not on prescriptions but the working class and above usually have basic medical insurance through work with many options to sublet it with some of their own. A lot of the debt is from people using private hospitals or having procedures done that are up and above what's covered.

Many Americans pay a lot less tax and gamble on not getting sick or needing the type of procedures that are only offered by private practise. My Uncle looks at our system and laughs, since we pay a ton towards our healthcare that we may never even need and when we do we have to wait 15 hours at ER and months or years for elective or non-essential procedures. And good luck finding a GP let alone one that isn't attached to a clinic that will spend more then 5 mins who actually has a triplicate pad and will actually use it. I have type 1 diabetes and Crohn's, I often wait up to 6 months for a colonoscopy, or 4 months to see my specialists and If I want good insulin it's not covered same with the pump only the very basic one's are covered.

Sorry for the long ass response but the last thing for me on this is going into my junior year I was home in White Rock and felt a twing in my elbow, went to my Doc he wanted to do an MRI but it was over a year wait. I went back to school and literally had an MRI done 2 days after, turns out I needed Tommy John surgery that was done right away luckily didn't cost me anything. Back here I was told it would have been months and months. That would have destroyed my chance at getting drafted.

On the contrary polls have repeatedly shown majority support for ACA (i.e. Obamacare even though a third of the population doesn't even know the affordable care act IS Obamacare). If you dig deeper you see very strong majority support for many of the individual provisions. In the last week, several states have re-opened enrollment to help out laid off workers and to address the expected increased demand in light of the pandemic.

6 Charts About Public Opinion On The Affordable Care Act

There is a reason GOP repeal of it didn't happen when they controlled the House, Senate and Presidency.

 

[racerjoe]

Who's going to have THAT much money to be spending money of a hockey ticket in a few months time? That even includes the lucky that haven't seen their hours cut back (or laid off).

Its such a trickle affect. People like myself that work largely on commission, but with no one to buy things... serves at restaurants making tips...

 

[tradervik]

Here in Canada we have traded the responsiveness you can get with private health care for a system that is universal and has a much lower overall cost. We need to improve our system but, individual anecdotes notwithstanding, there's no question in my mind that it is far superior to the what they have south of the border.

 

[The Vasili Jerry]

Obamas care was a farce and a disaster. I've read and watched a ton of stories from both Libs and Republicans and majority were not a fan of it.
I lived in Louisianna for 2 year's playing baseball in college admittedly before Obama care but a lot of my teammates and classmates preferred the freedom and overall better care that comes from competition which we lack here. Americans are astounded when they here the wait times and the overcrowding. The poor in the States still get free healthcare maybe not on prescriptions but the working class and above usually have basic medical insurance through work with many options to sublet it with some of their own. A lot of the debt is from people using private hospitals or having procedures done that are up and above what's covered.

Many Americans pay a lot less tax and gamble on not getting sick or needing the type of procedures that are only offered by private practise. My Uncle looks at our system and laughs, since we pay a ton towards our healthcare that we may never even need and when we do we have to wait 15 hours at ER and months or years for elective or non-essential procedures. And good luck finding a GP let alone one that isn't attached to a clinic that will spend more then 5 mins who actually has a triplicate pad and will actually use it. I have type 1 diabetes and Crohn's, I often wait up to 6 months for a colonoscopy, or 4 months to see my specialists and If I want good insulin it's not covered same with the pump only the very basic one's are covered.

Sorry for the long ass response but the last thing for me on this is going into my junior year I was home in White Rock and felt a twing in my elbow, went to my Doc he wanted to do an MRI but it was over a year wait. I went back to school and literally had an MRI done 2 days after, turns out I needed Tommy John surgery that was done right away luckily didn't cost me anything. Back here I was told it would have been months and months. That would have destroyed my chance at getting drafted.

I've lived in both Australia (25 years with universal health care) and the US (11 years). I can tell you that I would, without a single doubt, take Australia's system over the US. That's with having some very good jobs with good benefits in the US. I guess I'm the opposite of you because almost all of my American friends hate their system too. I did have really good healthcare when I went to university in California, but that's because I was paying a shitload of money to be there.

I also want to note that you can get private health insurance under universal health care systems. So you can still pay more money and get your elective surgeries done faster.

 

[ChilliBilly]

Obamas care was a farce and a disaster. I've read and watched a ton of stories from both Libs and Republicans and majority were not a fan of it.
I lived in Louisianna for 2 year's playing baseball in college admittedly before Obama care but a lot of my teammates and classmates preferred the freedom and overall better care that comes from competition which we lack here. Americans are astounded when they here the wait times and the overcrowding. The poor in the States still get free healthcare maybe not on prescriptions but the working class and above usually have basic medical insurance through work with many options to sublet it with some of their own. A lot of the debt is from people using private hospitals or having procedures done that are up and above what's covered.

Many Americans pay a lot less tax and gamble on not getting sick or needing the type of procedures that are only offered by private practise. My Uncle looks at our system and laughs, since we pay a ton towards our healthcare that we may never even need and when we do we have to wait 15 hours at ER and months or years for elective or non-essential procedures. And good luck finding a GP let alone one that isn't attached to a clinic that will spend more then 5 mins who actually has a triplicate pad and will actually use it. I have type 1 diabetes and Crohn's, I often wait up to 6 months for a colonoscopy, or 4 months to see my specialists and If I want good insulin it's not covered same with the pump only the very basic one's are covered.

Sorry for the long ass response but the last thing for me on this is going into my junior year I was home in White Rock and felt a twing in my elbow, went to my Doc he wanted to do an MRI but it was over a year wait. I went back to school and literally had an MRI done 2 days after, turns out I needed Tommy John surgery that was done right away luckily didn't cost me anything. Back here I was told it would have been months and months. That would have destroyed my chance at getting drafted.

So the gist of this comment is the US system is better if you are privileged or an athlete, screw everyone else?

You felt a twinge? Give me a break.

As many know, the day the tangerine turd was elected, my wife (born in texas) said we are going to Canada. We are so happy to be here. Yes the US has great health care, if you are privleged wealthy and white. Yet you live in fear of bankruptcy for medical reasons. My wife's health care in Jan 2018 was $800 US for one month. $7000 deductible. Then they pay 80%. She had appendicitis in 2015. Our share, $16000. Oh, and that was under Obamacare, it would have been more after the turd gutted it.

Sorry would rather live in a country that has compassion.

 

[VanJack]

Countless Americans are not forcing themselves into insolvency with unnecessary medical expenses, come on now.

Canadians pay for their healthcare through taxes, Americans pay through insurance premiums and deductibles. If you have a good job, you might be fully insured, but that is not the case for many people. If you are self-employed then the responsibility also falls on you to seek coverage and pay your own premiums. Supplemental insurance is also an option in Canada and in many cases is provided by employers. Why anyone would want to gamble on the medical system and their health is beyond me. Medical related bankruptcies are pretty much unique to the American system as far as Western health systems are concerned.

A bunch of anecdotes about college kids or your Uncle's thoughts on the system are meaningless. A quick Google search would bring up countless stories of people being denied their coverage and stuck with egregious and mostly impossible medical expenses. If you are a college athlete in the States, they will take care of you, there is no doubt about that. This situation is irrelevant to a majority of the population who do not have the same opportunity.

In general, the US pays more per capita on health expenditure, larger expenditure as a percentage of GDP, have a lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality rate, and have a higher probability of death between the ages of 15-60. There is a reason why the entire western world uses some form of socialized medicine -- some systems of which are better than both Canada and the US.

Canada's health care is far from perfect, no doubt about that, but I will take it any day over the US especially with what is going on right now.

If you're an American citizen with an average hourly job; or self-employed or a single parent your's basically on the outside looking in. I can almost guarantee that heaven forbid, if you get a serious, long-term illness or suffer a catastrophic personal injury, your health insurance will run out long before your treatment does.

So what then? Well, you can rely on your family or whatever savings you might have, knowing that if the illness takes it's long term course, you and your family could end up impoverished or bankrupt.

Or you can decline treatment, and try to get by with over the counter painkillers and lots of booze for the rest of whatever months or years you have left.. Or you can put a gun to your head.

Sadly, for some Americans heavily in debt because of medical bills and serious financial burden on their families, that latter option is the only way out. Dying with dignity? Only if you can afford it.

To quote Tennessee Ernie Ford: "St. Peter don't call me because I can't go...I owe my soul to the company store."