}pPIO€} >> What follows is a series of questions which were adapted from those provided by Ellen Pinney who is the Director of Oregon Health Action Campaign. It was written for folks who while speak- ing to others had wanted to be able to have a source of answers to the most frequently asked questions. The answers for most of the questions are provided in the book "Your Money or Your Health" by Neil Rolde. When answers are provided by Rolde's book they follow the question, in this format, (P or PP plus page number or numbers, for example, (PP 140, 143)). To aid in looking for answers to these often asked questions, some key words are shown [within brackets like this]. >> Another source of answers is "Looking North for Health" edited by Arnold Bennett and Orvill Adams. The references to this book may be identified by (P* XXX) or (PP* XXX) ********************************************************* >> Are [alternate Providers] covered by this system? Most li- censed alternate providers are. >> Canada's system wouldn't work here because [Americans are different.] This doesn't apply because the similarities between Canadian and American culture is very high. (PP 138, 159, 191, 201, 203, 205) >> What happens when [annual health budgets] for doctors or hospitals are exceeded in Canada's system? Health care contin- ues; financing problems are analyzed and corrected. (P 164) >> Wont this [bankrupt our country] or make the [deficit,] worse? No, and every American could be covered if the program was funded by what we now spend in taxes, insurance premiums, copayments, deductibles, and balanced billings. Cost would become predictable and growth of costs could be controlled. It has been shown that the budget could be balanced and the deficit retired at the current health care spending level. (See The Heritage Foundation's Backgrounder 901.) (P 146) >> How does the [Canadian system] work? (P 143) >> [Doctors will leave] if we install Canada's system in our state. Long term history has shown that more US doctors have emigrated to Canada than the Canadians that have immigrated to the United States, since the Canadian system was implemented. (P 164) >> What about those people who are [dying while waiting in line] for surgery in Canada? This is a smoke screen thrown up by those who wish to "put down" the Canadian system. Problems do come up from time to time with their system and when they do the Cana- dians work to solve them. (PP 164, 179, 195) >> Wouldn't [high tech] service be lost after a single payer system was installed? No, since medical need rather than making money for the hospital is the reason for the choice of high tech equipment, what is needed is provided.(PP 148, 149, !150!) >> Wouldn't providing [long term care] bankrupt this system? No, long term care is provided, it is not bankrupting the system and citizens don't have to bankrupt themselves to receive it. (PP 168, 169) >> What about those [long waiting lines] for elective surgery in Canada? There is some waiting in line for elective surgery. It is longer in some places than others and may depend upon whether a person chooses a particular hospital or doctor to provide the service. (PP 160, 164, 171, 172, 195) >> [Managed Care] is the answer. A plan based upon large HMOs will not allow you to choose your doctor and history has not that they can control costs. This approach adds another layer of insurance bureaucracy which will increase your health care costs. (P 67-Managed Care) >> Do the Canadians use [means testing?] No, but seniors receiv- ing care contribute a small amount toward their care. >> What will happen to my [Medicaid?] This system covers every- one Medicaid would be unnecessary. (PP 143, 144) >> What will happen to my [Medicare?] This system covers every- one Medicare would be unnecessary. (PP 143,144) >> [Mental Health care,] can we afford it? Yes. >> Will the [self Employed] be left out? No, all citizens are covered. (PP 143, 144) >> Could [small businesses] afford this plan? Of course, be- cause the system is financed through a broad based taxing system and small businesses are not penalized, as they are now, with large premiums because they have a small number of employees. (P 191) >> Isn't this [socialized medicine?] It is not. If it were socialized medicine hospitals and clinics would be owned by the government. >> Isn't this going to cause our [taxes] to go way up; how are we going to pay for this? The added taxes that would be col- lected would replace insurance premiums, deductibles, copay- ments, and balanced billings. It has been shown that, on aver- age, the amount of tax paid would be less than what individuals and families now pay for their health coverage. (P 198) >> What about the incentive to research and develop new tech- niques and [technology;] will that be lost? History of the Cana- dian system shows that a high level researching has continued and promoting new technology is done when clear benefits are shown from the result of their research. (PP 174, 176) >> What about my Welfare and Health [trust fund?] You wouldn't need it everyone would be covered. (PP 143, 144) >> Would our health services become poorer if the Canadian system was installed here? Two gross indicators - infant mortali- ty and longevity - show that our current health care system is poorer than Canada's. (P 173) >> Canada is contracting with Seattle for heart surgery...and we want to copy that? See [long waiting lines] above. (P 195) >> How could our govt. run such a system - look how poorly it handles Medicare and Medicaid? Only 2.7% of Medicaid or Medi- care costs goes for administration. This low level of cost for the administration of two very large programs shows that the government can efficiently manage large programs. (P* 157) >> This plan will cause many workers to lose their jobs, what will be done about that? Yes, large numbers will lose their jobs in the insurance industry and also many paper shufflers necessary to the administration of insurance industries' interests. Howev- er, large increases in medical staff would be necessary to pro- vide health service for the 40 million people now excluded from the system. >> What if you live in Washington and work in Oregon or vice versa? Until a Single payer (Canadian) system was installed in both Oregon and Washington I would think that Oregonians would be covered by Oregon's plan and Washingtonians would be covered by whatever plan was in force in Washington. (P 158) ********************************************************* Is Canada's single payer system without problems? Of course not. There is some use of emergency rooms for trivial medical problems (PP 160, 161). Some provinces are experimenting with new long term care approaches to provide better service for less money (PP 152, 153). Because many doctors still are paid by fee- for-service, some try to make more money by seeing patients as often as possible (P 179). The system does not provide for very complex physical examinations. (P 182). Winston Churchill is reported to have once said "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing, that is, after they have tried everything else." Are we going to go on trying everything else or are we going to rise up and insist that the right thing be done NOW, that is, get a single payer health care system installed here in Oregon and in the United States? FILE: C:\SEND\OSP009-6.TXT Rev. 02/04/96