E X A C T L Y.

[luvtheGWN]

45. So the Swiss, instead of paying their government through taxes,

pay the insurance companies directly, with no shopping around for the lowest premiums, no co-pays, no deductibles, I assume.

We folks up here in the GWN pay through our taxes, for medical coverage -- doctor visits, specialist visits, surgeries (but not for medically unnecessary surgeries such as plastics). Most employers provide supplemental health benefits (vision, dental, drugs, physical therapy etc.) as part of the employment package for full-time employees. Us retirees (depending on the company) may or may not have the same benefits package, and if not, many of us pay for supplemental out of our own pockets (but many do not). Our health insurance companies are extremely "healthy" and in fact some have even bought up American companies (SunLife purchased John Hancock several years ago, for example). So the pols who issue the dire warning that insurance companies will go out of business if universal health insurance is brought in are talking through their hats. And oh yes, pharma companies are restricted in their advertising here. An ad for Cialis or Viagra may show up on TV or in magazines, but you'd never know from the ad exactly what either of them are for. It's quite funny, actually -- a man and a woman in separate bathtubs on a beach -- WTF!!!!!!!!

One quibble I have is that our medicare for all does not cover dental, and since our entire gastroenterology system starts in the mouth, I think it's a big mistake not to cover that part of our anatomy.

The GOP likes to spread many lies about our healthcare system, and never differentiates between waiting lists for elective or non-life-threatening conditions and those -- heart, stroke, cancer, and other life-threatening conditions -- where you automatically go to the head of the line. Gee, could that be why we Canucks can expect to live longer than Americans (according to statistics)?