Chris Selley's Full Pundit

Department of health and safety

North America's most incredibly unedifying health care debate continues.

The Toronto Star's inimitable Bob Hepburn enumerates six reasons why he'd “rather be sick here [than] in the U.S.” The first reason is because our health care system is “universal,” and everyone is entitled to “the same level of care as a multi-millionaire” — none of which has anything to do with whether or not Bob Hepburn would be better off sick in Canada and the latter part of which is a complete load of horse crap. Other reasons that have nothing to do with Hepburn's own situation include
the fact that “no Canadian winds up bankrupt because he or she had to pay for health care” — which is also, of course, a complete load of horse crap. In 2006, research funded by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy — research that took us about 90 seconds to locate — found that fully 15% of senior citizens declaring bankruptcy cited medical reasons as the primary cause.

We really neeed more facts Chris. What payments did they make to hospitals, doctors, pharmacists, labatories, etc. that forced them to declare bankruptcy? Did they possibly declare bankruptcy due to other reasons; ie: reduction/loss of private pension plan payments, loss of income due to job loss that they took after retirement, excessive debt load, etc.

There ensues a hode-podge of random facts backed up by random, unnamed polls or tangential arguments that don't actually support the fact in question — for example, “the quality of care I got in the last week was unparalleled” because “polls have consistently shown that more than 90 per cent of us are pleased with the level of care we have received” — until we get to the end, when Hepburn manages to surpass even his own high standard for high school newspaper facileness. “The way to resolve most of our problems,” he says, “is to spend more money.” Wow. Just... wow.