It’s assessment time for government

By Colleen O'Callaghan-Miele

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | midnight

Is socialized healthcare just around the corner for the U.S.?

Enjoying my pasta the other evening, observing the crowd and watching John McCain and Sarah Palin's speech on the big screens at Tuscany Grill, a local Italian bistro, was quite an event. It was apparent that the crowd was mainly Republican, scattered with a few Democrats.

Everyone was definitely inspired as the speeches emanated with hope while outlining futuristic plans for our country.

As I listened and evaluated each speaker's message, I walked away with a desire to see this country unified, regardless of party (sounds good, but ultra-idealistic).

Well, as the conversation amongst the crowd continued, it became slightly heated regarding the subject of whether socialized medicine is coming to the U.S. and the candidate supporting its implementation. This debate bypassed all pros or cons and went directly to the horror story of a young man sitting directly across from me with his left arm bandaged.

His name is Josh, and here is his story.

Josh is a 21-year-old baseball pitcher from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He is a lefty pitcher who played college ball here in the states for the past three years, first at Taft College then at Cal State Northridge.

Josh went back to Canada to train for his last year of eligibility, and he took a construction job. On the job, he injured his left elbow. After an initial assessment, he was referred to physical therapy and, because of the socialized healthcare system in Canada, it took more than eight months before his need for surgery was acknowledged.

Since he was injured on the job, his healthcare fell under the worker's compensation program. A stipulation to qualify for the surgery under worker's comp was that it must be performed in Canada. He saw three doctors, all of whom said they didn't have the skill or surgical technology that would guarantee he would be able to pitch again.

So, his only option was to come to the United States and see a doctor who had the skills and technology to successfully perform the surgery.

Josh went to a doctor in Cincinnati, where he had to fork out $10,000.

The doctors in Canada took an extremely long time to get him the help he needed and, in addition, his MRI was unreadable. According to this young man and his fiancee, this is a true indication of what happens with socialized medicine in Canada and shows why Canada can afford to offer free health care.

It lacks the expertise and resources the American health care system provides. (Also, look at the tax rates in other countries, such as Canada, but that's another column.)

Another example of a country with socialized healthcare is Ireland, where my sister and I learned that patients have waited up to three years for hip replacements.

I am, at this point, definitely not pro-socialized medicine. Josh's story is a true story, and it is only one of many highlighting the downside of a socialized healthcare system.

I would like to see our government properly manage and improve other services that we, the taxpayers, pay out of pocket. Let's take a look at Social Security, Veterans Affairs, Medicare, Medicaid and our government-owned and union-operated public schools!

Colleen O’Callaghan-Miele is the co-publisher of the Home News. She can be reached at 990-2653 or [email protected].