U.S. gun crime, health insurance woes scare off Canadian diplomats, union says

[yliza]

https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/politics/u-s-gun-crime-health-insurance-woes-scare-off-canadian-diplomats-union-says/article_0a356ee8-fb67-5577-bc04-d6c00fb9e3d3.html]

OTTAWA - The union that represents Canadian diplomats abroad says Global Affairs Canada should consider boosting compensation for those posted to the United States because they face increased risk of gun crime and difficulty accessing health care.

…

One person left an American posting early a few years ago, Isfeld said, because there had been a school shooting nearby and their child was scared to attend class.

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Isfeld said that poses a particular problem in the U.S., where there is virtually no public health care and providers often withhold treatment until an insurance payment is sorted out.

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[in two recent cases] One "had a heart attack and was delayed in the emergency room because they could not get the information that they needed from the insurance provider," she said. Another had to delay cancer treatment because of a similar issue.

So Canadian diplomats want the kind of hazard pay for serving in America that they get when they go to Africa or the Middle East. They don’t mention reproductive care but imagine serving in Texas and finding out they or their spouse has an unviable pregnancy. What a shit-show.

[MOMFUDSKI]

1. We are now living in a country that is

“On the Wrong Side of the Tracks”

[DBoon]

2. I imagine the same would be true for non-US corporations posting staff here.

Not just diplomats, but management and professionals working here from abroad.

[EX500rider]

3. Do they get more in the 54 countries with a higher homicide rate then the US?

You know, places like Costa Rica (twice the US rate) the Bahamas (5 times the US rate) or Jamaica (8 times the US rate)

I would think Canadian diplomats would have health insurance.

[SYFROYH]

4. A union doing its job of arguing for more pay.

lol