Allison Hunt: How I got my new hip

http://www.ted.com When Allison Hunt found out that she needed a new hip -- and that Canadas national health care system would require her to spend nearly 2 years on a waiting list (and in pain) -- she took matters into her own hands.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

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[oxxiox]

Youtube comments scrape the bottom of the barrel that is humanity.

[c6gunner]

I'm Canadian, living in Canada, and I'm more than happy to denounce national health care. Our doctors do a great job, but there's simply not enough resources to go around, too many inefficiencies in the system and way too many people abusing the system. A huge percentage of Canadians don't even have a family doctor. Preventative health care is non-existent for most people I know - the only time we see a doctor is when something goes wrong.

[crudhousefull]

You don't HAVE to go for the free treatment. You can pay to get your operation done faster. Having free healthcare is needed for people that don't have the money. What would she have done if she lived in a country that you needed to pay USD 20,000 for the hip? Canadians are awesome and their culture is awesome.

[boorens18]

That girl is genius

[SpringChatty]

Americans do not want nationalized health care.

[jwoodswce]

More evidence that when the government uses force to control access to health care that political corruption and pull becomes essential to survival.

I would rather pay for health care, just like I do for other services, than trust my kids' lives to incompetent politicians.

[c6gunner]

"... got my information from the WHO"

Cite?

"Why do claim there are more attempts at delivering per-term babies the US ... "

Because it's true.

"I've never heard a Canadian so down on the system"

You seem to have your head wedged firmly up your ass. It must be pretty hard to hear anything at all.

"a system that is not held in high regard anywhere in the world"

The US system has the highest customer satisfaction rate in the world. That's a fact. Everything else is just window-dressing.

[km6xz]

Actually I got my information from the World Health Organization. Why do claim there are more attempts at delivering per-term babies the US than in Europe or other places that have civilized health care policies?

I've never heard a Canadian so down on the system so I think your strident arguments in favor of a system that is not held in high regard anywhere in the world suggests that you are a lobbiest for continuing the dismal system in the US and not Canadian at all.

[c6gunner]

"Do you REALLY want to trade systems?"

You bet.

"Add to that high infant mortality..."

Ah, well that explains everything. You must have gotten all your info from Michael Moore.

The reason the US has a "high infant mortality" is because they attempt to save more pre-term babies than any other nation. As a result they record them as a "live birth" followed by a death. You've taken a positive aspect of the US system and tried to present it as a negative. The rest of your claims are also wrong.

[km6xz]

Ok, now take those long delays, abuse of the resources, no preventive medicine, lack of family doctor and add the very great likelihood of family bankrupcy if any member of the family gets sick or injuried. Do you REALLY want to trade systems?

Add to that high infant mortality, high rates of hospital infections, one of the chief causes of death in hospitals, and high rates of misstakes in administering medications and you have a broken system called the US medical system.

[c6gunner]

"That would mean the government is manufaturing wealth and handing it out. That is just stupid."

No, it would mean that the rich 10% of society are paying enough in taxes to cover the national budget AND actually give money to the lowest income earners. So no, his comment wasn't stupid, only your interpretation of it was.

His comment is only slightly off - instead of "most people" he should have said "40%".