Guns & Butter. I don't know about anyone else, but somebody quoting
out of pre-university economics texts certainly doesn't impress me.
Luckily I have a life so i don't get upset when someone trash talks my
country's health plan (how much is the US spending on Iraq again...btw
it's too late it already IS the next Vietnam...) It would be great if
folks could stick to the topic though.
"Tarver Engineering"
Canadians have "free healthcare" @ $1500 a month instead.

Heathcare is far from free! Just check our income tax rates. At
least
in Canada everyones in the same boat and is covered. Your not turned
away
at the door if you don't have a healthy bank account or credit card.
You
won't get any support in Canada if you try and tamper with our medicare
system. We spend less per capita on Medicare than you do in the USA
under
your system. Anyway, this doesn't have much to do with a military
aviation
newsgroup, does it!

No, it doesn't, but one quick note, it is illegal for any health care
provider in the
US to refuse to treat someone for an acute condition. And we do not have
long waiting lists for procedures.


Not quite any healthcare provider. Specifically, emergency rooms are
regulated by EMTALA:

42 USC Sec. 1395dd 01/16/96

-STATUTE-
Examination and treatment for emergency medical
conditions and women in labor


(a) Medical screening requirement

In the case of a hospital that has a hospital emergency
department, if any individual (whether or not eligible for benefits
under this subchapter) comes to the emergency department and a
request is made on the individual's behalf for examination or
treatment for a medical condition, the hospital must provide for an
appropriate medical screening examination within the capability of
the hospital's emergency department, including ancillary services
routinely available to the emergency department, to determine
whether or not an emergency medical condition (within the meaning
of subsection (e)(1) of this section) exists.

In other words, emergency condition, which does not equate to acute
conditions. In practice, emergency is divided into emergent, urgent and
routine, and routine may be fairly flexible. If you have a cold, they
don't have to treat you.

Emergency room treatment is the least cost-effective way to deal with
chronic illnesses, especially if they don't get office treatment due to
lack of coverage. There have been times I've had to choose between
keeping the heat on and getting diabetic medication -- luckily, I knew a
physician that provided me with samples.

As far as procedures, well, yes. I waited a week for an urgent but not
emergent coronary artery bypass--and the week was to clear aspirin from
my system, which isn't even the current standard.

Of course, I had excellent employer insurance at the time. At present,
having been only able to find consulting for a couple of years, my best
bet if I needed a repeat bypass would be to find a research trial for
which I qualified. Otherwise, I'd be fundamentally out of luck.