The World of Socialized Medicine

Obamarx and his minions keep pushing this hideous piece of legislation that isn't worth the toilet paper it's written on despite the cries from concerned American citizens. The left is always pointing out the examples of Britain and Canada to support their argument. They may want to rethink that strategy.

The following are stories from Britain and Canada of patients who have lived (and died) under the same system the left wants to implement for us.

To read more stories like these and view the original articles, visit BigGovHealth.

Britain

Linda O’Boyle

When Linda O’Boyle, 64, was diagnosed with cancer, she decided to pay for additional, private treatment out of pocket, hoping to prolong her life. O’Boyle was told that a medication not provided by NHS would increase her chances of fighting the disease. After deciding to use her savings to pay for these outside medications, NHS withdrew their services, including chemotherapy because current government laws ban a patient from combining public and private healthcare. O’Boyle passed away March 26, 2008.

Katie Hilliard

Katie Hilliard, 24, asked to be given a smear test twice, and was refused because she was “too young.” Katie now has cervical cancer, and it has spread to her lymph nodes and lungs. Doctors have given her 11 months to two years to live.

Debbie Hirsts

Debbie Hirsts, 57, was denied access by the NHS to a drug that would have slowed the progression of her breast cancer. With her oncologist’s support, Debbie decided to raise the $120,000 for the medicine herself. The situation changed in December 2007, when Debbie’s doctor told her the NHS would no longer allow her to subsidize the medication. If Debbie decided to pay for the medicine out-of-pocket, she would then need pay for all of her cancer treatments, which she could not afford, and would no longer receive free health benefits from the NHS.

Mark Cannon

Mark Cannon, 30, died eight and a half weeks after being admitted to the hospital with a broken leg. He was clearly distressed and in pain, but he had to wait three days to see the pain team. His father Allan, from Barton Turf, has been campaigning with Mencap to raise awareness of the ingrained discrimination he claims to have encountered from NHS staff towards his son, who had severe learning difficulties and could manage very little speech.

Alan Francis

Alan Francis, a 68-year-old leukaemia patient, was denied a life-saving bone marrow operation by the Health Commission Wales (HCW). The HCW would have refused to fund the operation, which would have entailed taking the marrow from the donor in Australia and flying it to the UK.

Lynda Coghill

Lynda Coghill, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 39. At an appointment after surgery and radiation, she told her oncologist she was still bleeding. He did a quick exam, announced she had a new tumor, and said bluntly: “Your chances are slim to none.” He told her to wait a few weeks for the results of a biopsy, then left to treat a patient down the hall. “I looked at the nurse in sheer disbelief,” Ms. Coghill says. “The doctor had proceeded to tell me, in less than 30 seconds, that I was going to die.” She cried for days, unable to eat or sleep. She and her husband planned her funeral. At last, she contacted the sympathetic nurse from the doctor’s office and persuaded her to call for an “unofficial” biopsy report. The tumor was benign. Eight years later, Ms. Coghill remains angry about having been treated “like a numbered object on an assembly line.”

Canada

David Malleau

David Malleau, a 44 year-old truck driver suffered a devastating car accident in 2004 that forced doctors at Hamilton General Hospital to remove a fist-sized piece of bone from his skull to relieve pressure on his brain. Once the swelling subsided and he was ready for surgery in March 2005, Malleau was sent home and placed on a waiting list. Three months passed. Then six. He waited at home, a prisoner unable to leave the house for fear something would hit the exposed side of his brain - for him a potentially fatal incident. In the end, it took nearly a year before he could get skull replacement surgery.

Jordan Johanson

Jordan Johanson, 18, died at Rockyview Hospital in late March. He died following a 12-hour wait for surgery on his appendix. Darcy Johanson, the boy’s father, said “Young kids shouldn’t be dying like this. If something can be done to fix it, they should get on with it.”

Lindsay McCreith

Lindsay McCreith, 66, was told he had a brain tumor but that he would have to wait four and a half months to obtain an MRI to rule out the possibility that it was cancerous. Unwilling to risk the progression of what might be cancer, Mr. McCreith obtained an MRI in Buffalo, which revealed the tumor was malignant. Even with this diagnosis in hand, the Ontario system still refused to provide timely treatment, so Mr. McCreith had surgery in Buffalo to remove the cancerous brain tumor in March, 2006. In Ontario, Mr. McCreith would have waited eight months for surgery, according to his family doctor. Eight months is enough time for a cancer to worsen, spread and progress to an irreversible stage. Had Mr. McCreith not paid $26,600 for immediate care, he might be dead today.

Sheila Nunn

Sheila Nunn, a Kitchener woman suffering seizures, was told by her doctor that she urgently needed an MRI scan. She was also told she would have to wait three months to have it done locally. Nunn, who had been suffering blackouts, memory loss, confusion and seizures for two months, decided to take action: She paid $1,100 to have the MRI scan done in Michigan.

Those in support of socialized medicine keep telling us that there's no rationing of services. Evidently, they've never heard the stories of these people who have lived it.

Hey government wonks! Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!