About Myth 9
Sara Robinson has a pretty decent article up debunking a number of popular misconceptions about the Canadian health care system put out by those who advocate for a continuation of the American status quo. It is a pretty fair assessment, but I do have a serious quibble with her reasoning in Myth number 9.
9. People won't be responsible for their own health if they're not being forced to pay for the consequences.
The first half of her reasoning regarding the whole Calvinist, "you only get sick if you're not virtuous and lack the self-discipline to look after yourself", is probably not a bad template for how many view health care issues, but she loses me when she tries to describe why us Canucks look after ourselves.
This difference is expressed in a few different ways. First: Canadians tend to think of tending to one's health as one of your duties as a citizen. You do what's right because you don't want to take up space in the system, or put that burden on your fellow taxpayers. Second, "taking care of yourself" has a slightly expanded definition here, which includes a greater emphasis on public health. Canadians are serious about not coming to work if you're contagious, and seeing a doctor ASAP if you need to. Staying healthy includes not only diet and exercise; but also taking care to keep your germs to yourself, avoiding stress, and getting things treated while they're still small and cheap to fix.
Third, there's a somewhat larger awareness that stress leads to big-ticket illnesses -- and a somewhat lower cultural tolerance for employers who put people in high-stress situations. Nobody wants to pick up the tab for their greed. And finally, there's a generally greater acceptance on the part of both the elderly and their families that end-of-life heroics may be drawing resources away from people who might put them to better use. You can have them if you want them; but reasonable and compassionate people should be able to take the larger view.
The bottom line: When it comes to getting people to make healthy choices, appealing to their sense of the common good seems to work at least as well as Calvinist moralizing.
I really hate to break it to Sara here, but frankly I don't know anyone who looks after themselves because of a feeling of "duty" to our fellow citizens, or the wish not to be a burden on other taxpayers. I, like most other people I know, treat healthcare as a right to be used as required and damn the cost.
Really, I don't know what Sara is smoking out there in BC, but the last thing I think about when going to the doctor is, "Gee, I wonder how much of a burden I'm putting on my fellow Canadians by making this visit?" I don't give a rat's ass. The reason I do what I can to stay healthy is far, far simpler.
I DON'T LIKE BEING SICK!
Honestly, talk to anyone who has had a cold or flu, measles or chicken pox, their tonsils or appendix removed. How many of them are likely to say, "Gee, I'd love to go through all that again, it's just the thought of the cost that's stopping me."
People try to stay healthy because they aren't fond of the alternative. Affordability, if it enters into the equation at all, is pretty far down the list.
