I heard something on the news that rattled my cage
By Grandmaof2
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
Canada
November 11, 2009 12:03pm CST
As everyone here in Canada must already know a native couple won the Canadaian Lotto Max lottery of fifty million.
These people are living on the reserve in a trailer and have had nothing for ever.
The husband had a stroke some time ago and walks with a cane.
What rattled my cage was what the husband said his words were, well maybe now I can get a proper doctor and help me, it would be good to be able to walk without a cane again.
That just makes me sick, if he had a stroke and help or better treatment is in fact possible why should fifty million dollars be the deciding factor. This man is no more a better or different person because he has money to throw around right???
Doctors get paid big bucks to care for our needs so what's the difference if we hace fifty cents in our pockets or fifty million dollars? This is Canada I'm talking about we have free health care so it's not like he would have to pay. Just goes to show it is true you get what you pay for I guess.
I'd just like to hear other opinions on this. Thank You.
9 people like this
24 responses
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
Hi Grandmaof2, Yes, I've heard the story and I'm happy that it went to someone in need. I hadn't heard the comment about medical treatment and I certainly agree with you, money shouldn't matter when it comes to health issues.Personally, I can only say that my family has had only good experiences with our medicare system but it may be different with others. I think the biggest problem in some parts of the country at least, may be the shortage of doctors and nurses. This is the way that a doctor put it to me recently, "it's not the system, but the shortage of bodies". Blessings.
4 people like this
@GardenGerty (157552)
• United States
12 Nov 09
I wonder if the big bucks get lost somewhere between our pockets and the doctor's pockets, like maybe in the pockets of the people who provide malpractice insurance. The doctors I know are certainly not rich.
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
You right about what you say. Here we get a lot of South Africian doctors and some are darn good but they don't stay long so we're always left explaining it all many times over with a new doctor and nothing gets done. Thank You for your response and have a great day.
2 people like this
@Polly1 (12645)
• United States
11 Nov 09
Its terrific that someone who really needs the money won. I feel the way you do, he should have already gotten the best medical care just because he was a human. Hopefully winning this money will help him get better care. Canadians don't have the best and us Americans don't neither. Our President is trying to come up with a Health care system to cover everyone. I can only hope, I don't have any kind of insurance. I feel all of us deserve the best medical care available.
3 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
I agree love to see the needy win and have high hope one day will be my turn? I have hope that Obama will do well. I love my US friends and I Do Not want my health care for you. Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day.
1 person likes this
@gabs8513 (48686)
• United Kingdom
11 Nov 09
Hi Grandmaof2
The same is here in the UK we have free Health care, but you certainly get much better treatment and faster care if you have a private Insurance and go as a Private patient because the Doctors get paid more of course
You are right you get for what you pay and that will never change
What gets me is they become Doctors because they want to help People so why is there such a different they should do their best for everyone not just for the ones with money
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
Yes dear friend I agree fully. It's a crime really that money means more than a human life. Thank You for your response and have a great day.
2 people like this
@Kowgirl (3490)
• United States
11 Nov 09
Yes, you can bet he can get better treatment now that he has money to pay for it. We all know that money makes a big difference in how you get treated.
I am paying over $90 a month for insurance and it covers very little.
Needless to say our new federal health care will make my premiums go up; after all someone has to pay for the free care Obama has gotten passed. Problem is it isn't free, you will pay through having less care and dying earlier. The wait to see a doctor who is overworked and tired will increase and the these patients will be rushed through with little concern. More mistakes will be made and more will die.
At least it was someone who can use the money to improve his health. I just hope he will invest it wisely and not end up back where he was, broke and bitter.
3 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
I love your response and I can clearly see you understand my concerns re: Our health care here. It's brutal. Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day!!!
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
11 Nov 09
In the US if you don't have insurance or a ton of money you can kiss it goodbye too......they just had on the news last night bout a gal with cancer whose insurance she could no longer afford and she has been denied any medical treatment because of her circumstances.....I thought it was in the doctors oath to make sure you get good treatment...but obviously you have to get past the billing department first!
3 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
There really should be a law against that kind of crap. Why is money the most important issue anyway? I think it should be a doctor doesn't get paid till he/she has done his/her level best to save a life, fewer would die. Thank You for your response and have a great day.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
11 Nov 09
We have to pay for all surgeries out here. There is a so called free hospital care but if you need an operation if you cannot pay the doctor then it is not going to happen as they operate on the fee paying patients first. Medical Insurance willonly pay for a little. In a few years I will probably need a byepass operation and I do not have the 10 million dollrs that is required so I will die. Not US dollars - divide by 90 to get one US dollar.
3 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
That is absolutely sickining. It is so sad money comes before our people.
Thank You for your response and have a great day.
1 person likes this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
12 Nov 09
Well, stories like this continue to scare me, because of the Health Care reform that Obama is trying to pass here in the US, and makes me wonder what chance we will have for decent care here? It is a shame even there that many doctors do not want to help more people out, and are just worried about money. Makes me wonder where their hearts are really at, and what happened to make Doctors so lax in caring for their patients, and being concerned for them as well.
2 people like this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
23 Nov 09
Wow!!! Have to have a receptionist in the room with you for a Pap Smear? That is not a pleasant thought. I have heard of having a nurse there but never a receptionist. But now that the USA is saying Mamograms and Pap smears are not really necessary, makes me begin to wonder what next?
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
You said it all and Yes it is a worry. I remember when doctors made house calls and they didn't have fancy cars, some came with horse team. That's hard to believe I know, I've also seen doctors offer prayer. These days we can't even have a pap test without a receptionist in the room. Go Figure. Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day.
1 person likes this
@sweetgirl_k1 (3972)
• United States
11 Nov 09
Here in the US we have to pay for health care and for health insurance and it is very expensive so I would understand it if he lived here. But I know Canada has free health care. Maybe he is going to take the money and come to the states and get health care and then he would have to pay for it. I don't know.
2 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
I know it bites having to pay for health care but I would be willing to bet your doctors there would never get away with the crap that goes on here. Our health care may be free but honestly it isn't worth anything either. Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
11 Nov 09
Yes you may have free health care but who gets the quality of care they really need. It looks as if the US is going to be under the same poor quality health care if Obama gets his way. I can remember when I lived in the UK we had socialized health care and it was very, very restricted compared to the health care I currently received in the USA.
2 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
I have hope that Obama will do well. I love my US friends and I Do Not want my health care for you. Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day.
@BarBaraPrz (45484)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
11 Nov 09
Well, there is a doctor shortage, especially in the north... where they're lucky to have a nursing station and nurse. Perhaps he meant he could now afford to travel to a large centre in the south for treatment. I heard that they had spent their last $10 on that ticket. A lucky gamble, indeed.
2 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
Yes I suppose they will travel for better health care but I see that as abuse. I feel you should be as important with fifty dollars in you account as you are with fifty million. That money made them rich but they're no better that a week before the win as far as being important. I'm not sure if I'm too cheap to win or just plain unlucky but there is no way in Gods world I would take my last ten dollars to buy a lotto ticket. LOL Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day.
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
Oh boy, did you open a floodgate of emotions for me! NOOOOO! Health care in Canada is NOT equal! My previous husband (we were seperated at the time)and even tho' his Medical was up to date....he did NOT get equal care from HIS STROKE! He will NEVER get out of the hospital, he will always NEED FULL-TIME care because he never received the same care as the same person (with money) in the next bed to him! OMG...I could write for days on the battles that his (estranged) brother and I had with the Medical system....the Government (both B.C. & Federal) That NATIVE gentleman speaks very wise words! He will have the "medical system" falling all over him NOW! Hopefully he has an iron fist...and sage advisors, so that his stroke care doesn't cost him 50 million!
Nice to hear from you, dear girl...hope all is well! HUGZ & Cheers!
2 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
Well that's sad that money has to be the end all be all isn't it.
Nice to hear from you as well and maybe one day I will will big and I'll be at your door, we have a lot to talk about I'm sure. hehehehe Thank You for your response and have a great day.
1 person likes this
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
Waiting for the day, dear girl! The big WELCOME sign is on my door...maybe we shud plan a little trek to the interior, too! Such fun...and a floodgate of memories for you! Hope your AB winter hasn't struck too fiercely yet...we are having an AWFUL Fall here on the West (Wet)Coast. which I am sure you have already heard about from your relatives. I can handle the rains, BUT the high winds render us, here on the Gulf Islands..totally isolated, so that can be a bit undaunting...when ALL amenities are a FERRY ride away...and they aren't running due to the winds! Daily prayers are necessary that one does NOT need to go to a hospital with the Swine Flu running around, and we have some cases here. HUGZ & Cheers!
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
12 Nov 09
It should not make a difference but it does. However, not all the money in the world will keep fixing a human up forever. Sometimes the ultra rich do not get good care either, I think. I am thinking of what happened to Salvador Dali. That was a sad case.
3 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
It is already hard to impossible to get good health care here and I know of many who have gone to the US for help and recieved good treatment but of course had to pay big dollars. Thank You for your response and have a great day.
1 person likes this
@MJay101 (710)
•
11 Nov 09
I think this is a pernicious myth.
Not to mention the fact that when you surrender healthcare to the free market, a large percentage of the population can't get good care... at all!
(I am from the UK, where the NHS is a national institution. Provision of health care is ranked just above the US, it is far more egalitarian and costs half as much per capita.)
2 people like this
@smedtra (77)
• Turkey
11 Nov 09
In my opinion education and healt cares must be serviced by countries. Since they are basic rights of being a human, there shouldn't be any way to buy them. I am against private schools or hospitals, and such examples makes me hate the system that allows those.
3 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
11 Nov 09
Thank You so much for your response, too bad we haven't the power to change things isn't it? Thank You and have a Great Day.
1 person likes this
@danishcanadian (28953)
• Canada
24 Nov 09
Are people on the Native reserves eligable for free health care? Or do they believe in accepting help from the government? My grandparents are old order Mennonite, and still drive a horse and buggy. They don't have medical care, the church pays 75% and they pay the rest out of pocket. They don't believe in government handouts. Is it the same with the Natives?
@idowrite72 (2213)
• United States
14 Nov 09
I've always heard that there is free health care in Canada, so why hasn't the man's health been taken care of? I am not understanding why he needed the money to be well if the health care is provided for free? Obviously, there are some things that are NOT provided for free, or am I missing something??
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
I rated you a plus + like all other responses but I honestly didn't understand your comment. Do you know these people who won? Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day.
1 person likes this
@quita88 (3715)
• United States
12 Nov 09
WEll, I am sorry you didn't understand what I was trying to say, but thanks for the rating.
what I said was or meant to say is:
the man, money or not, who would make that kind of remark was only looking for attention.
It was more or less a joke on my part.
I will try to be more distinct in my responses next time.
@kurdafya_01 (44)
• Philippines
12 Nov 09
that 50 million bucks is a big blessing. good for them!free healthcare doesn't mean quality healthcare and specialists are darn expensive these days.
2 people like this
@munchiez117 (539)
• United States
11 Nov 09
so just candada has free healthcare
i did not know that
well does it mean doctors get cheap or
something
2 people like this
@Grandmaof2 (7579)
• Canada
12 Nov 09
OH NO The doctors make big dollars paid by the government. We sure don't get good health care though, it's awful really. Thank You for your response and Have A Great Day!!!
1 person likes this
