Waging a War on Anti-Americanism

One of the most popular bullying tactics expressed by Anti-American Canadians is, “We have free health care haha!“.

Dear Americans, please do not let your friends to the North bully you into making you believe that, “you suck” because “your government has failed to provide 47 million with health insurance“. I’ve even had one misguided Canadian say, “Your health system is accessible only by the rich.” Pretty scary, eh? And one can safely assume that the woman who shared this with me is just one member of a very large group of spoon-fed and brainwashed ignoramuses that have been indoctrinated at birth to see, as truth, all things mommy and daddy said.

To challenge the statistics that say that “some 47 million Americans do not have health insurance“, please keep this in mind:

This number from the Census Bureau is often cited as evidence that the health system is failing for many American families. Yet by masking tremendous heterogeneity in personal circumstances, the figure exaggerates the magnitude of the problem.

To start with, the 47 million includes about 10 million residents who are not American citizens. Many are illegal immigrants. Even if we had national health insurance, they would probably not be covered.

The number also fails to take full account of Medicaid, the government’s health program for the poor. For instance, it counts millions of the poor who are eligible for Medicaid but have not yet applied. These individuals, who are healthier, on average, than those who are enrolled, could always apply if they ever needed significant medical care. They are uninsured in name only.

The 47 million also includes many who could buy insurance but haven’t. The Census Bureau reports that 18 million of the uninsured have annual household income of more than $50,000, which puts them in the top half of the income distribution. About a quarter of the uninsured have been offered employer-provided insurance but declined coverage.

Of course, millions of Americans have trouble getting health insurance. But they number far less than 47 million, and they make up only a few percent of the population of 300 million!

Feel free to read more from this article that debunks many a rumor that misguided Canadians spread about American health here.

Clearly, there are realistic Canadians without an “let’s torment the yanks” agenda whom are fully aware that socialized medicine (or single-payer insurance) isn’t “free“. While Canadians do spend less than Americans on health care, Canadians pay through the nose in taxes and at the gas pump for what they receive. And what do they receive? A long wait for health care services facing a huge backlog of patients and below average treatment. (The wait times can vary, however, depending on which province you live in and the same depending on the physician you see in the states.)

As Ron Paul stated,

The federal government will not suddenly become efficient managers if universal health care is instituted. Government health care only means long waiting periods, lack of choice, poor quality, and frustration. Many Canadians, fed up with socialized medicine, come to the U.S. in order to obtain care. Socialized medicine will not magically work here.

The truth of the matter is their system isn’t as “the best in the world!!!” as they so vehemently and boastfully claim. If you observe the health care across the globe with a fine tooth comb, you’ll know that those countries (namely Europe) with a mixed private-public system are truly the ones that have succeeded beyond the rest, putting both American and Canada to shame. Neither Canada’s system nor America’s is flawless. Lives have failed and suffered under both systems as they are both at opposite ends of the extreme!

Both the working class and middle class Americans are, in fact, afforded above average health care. We are provided health insurance by our companies and have the choice of either an HMO or a PPO. People of all classes are ALL entitled to the same options and choices. As far as the poverty stricken in the US who cannot afford heath insurance, they DO have the option to take advantage of government programs funded by American tax payers (sound familiar?). And in emergency situations, these people are treated at charity-care hospitals.

Do the poor get the shaft as far as quality care is concerned? Oh, Absolutely. All I’m trying to do is set the record straight that medical care (not to be confused with health insurance) is something attainable to ALL Americans.

Canadians, as a matter of fact, don’t even think that we have welfare or socialized programs in the US for the poor, the disabled, the mentally ill, the elderly, and other unfortunate groups. They are brainwashed to believe the US government doesn’t take care of the needy. Nor are they aware that, in the US, tax-funded social services are manipulated and abused by citizens so that they don’t have to work (sound familiar?). My neighbor next door to me is living off of welfare and food stamps. And to receive these benefits, you’re not supposed to be shacking up with someone getting a supplemental income. But they are! And to make matters worse, they’re doing a whole of a lot better than both my husband and I are, financially! This is VERY unfair.

Still need more proof that we don’t have social programs?: One out of six Americans depend on programs for the poor.

The number of families receiving cash benefits from welfare has plummeted since the government imposed time limits on the payments a decade ago. But other programs for the poor, including Medicaid, food stamps and disability benefits, are bursting with new enrollees.

In an article about the expanding welfare state, the author comments,

Slightly over half of all Americans — 52.6 percent - now receive significant income from government programs, according to an analysis by Gary Shilling, an economist in Springfield, N.J.

There is a group of people that live in America that DO receive TRUE free (not Canadian “free”) health care. To those Canadians that think that our government is “insensitive” to the needs of illegal immigrants in the US, please pay close attention, here.

Even illegal aliens sometimes receive the EITC and ACTC. This is especially true of the ACTC because the IRS has determined that illegals are allowed to receive it, even if they do not have a valid Social Security number. To receive the EITC one must have a valid Social Security number. With an annual cost of over $35 billion for the EITC and $14 billion for the ACTC, the two programs constitute the nation’s largest means-tested cash assistance program for low-income workers.

Hat Tip: Center for Immigration Studies

This shows the share of households headed by illegal aliens using various welfare programs. It shows that a large share of illegal alien households use the food assistance programs (food stamps, WIC, and free lunch) and Medicaid.

It must be remembered that, in general, illegals cannot use the welfare system themselves. But their U.S.-born children can be enrolled in Medicaid and receive food assistance. Table 25 reflects the fact that a very large share of illegals have low incomes and as a result their children can enroll in means-tested programs.

And regarding health insurance for illegal aliens:

Additionally, 6 million dollars a year is spent by law-abiding tax payers for non-documented (illegal) Mexican “anchor babies“. Are you still sure we don’t have government assistance over here? Just in case you’re not yet convinced, the survey below suggests the following:

According to Marjorie Greenfield, MD, on the Dr. Spock website, in 2001 the average cost of having a baby in the U.S. ranged from $6,000 to $8,000 for a normal vaginal delivery and $10,000 to $12,000 for a cesarean birth. If the $8,000 cost is used for 2007 births, and all 380,000 babies born to illegal immigrants in the U.S. all had normal deliveries, this would cost hospitals around the country approximately $3 billion. But if there are 726,000 anchor babies born in the U.S. each year, the cost skyrockets to nearly $6 billion.

And if there are any complications with the pregnancy, or if the child is born prematurely and needs to be admitted into a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the cost rises by tens of thousands of dollars.

Illegal alien mothers aren’t the only ones benefiting. There are reports that some pregnant Mexicans are entering the U.S. for the sole purpose of giving birth and having the costs paid for by Americans. A survey conducted by the University of California found that of new Hispanic mothers in California border hospitals, 15 percent had crossed the border specifically to give birth.

In other words, illegal aliens in the US get a free ride while Americans that cannot afford health insurance or the high costs of medical treatment WITH health insurance get the dirty end of the stick. And on top of that, poor working class Americans pay, with their tax dollars, for illegal health care! Once again, this is coming out of the pockets of people working very hard for their money. So, the next time YOU suggest that our government doesn’t provide services for those who need it, abuse it, or come here illegally for it, think again!

And here’s a story of an illegal immigrant that took usage of the free health care that I was talking about earlier, and then later, had the nerve to complain about our services!

A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal immigrants. That’s 11,200 anchor babies born every year just in Dallas… (and that’s just Dallas alone!). According to the article, the hospital spent $70.7 million delivering 15,938 babies in 2004 but managed to end up with almost $8 million dollars in surplus funding. Medicaid kicked in $34.5 million, Dallas County taxpayers kicked in $31.3 million and the feds tossed in another $9.5 million.

These women receive free prenatal care including medication, nutrition, birthing classes and child care classes. They also get freebies such as car seats, bottles, diapers and formula.

A woman who’s husband is a pilot for the US Navy makes the following comment:

While the health care is good, we Navy wives don’t get any of these perks! Car seats? Diapers? Not so much. So my question is this: Does our public medical care system treat illegal immigrants better than American citizens? Yes it does!

And the worst part of it all……

There are about 140 AMERICAN LAW-ABIDING patients who received roughly $4 million dollars for un-reimbursed medical care. As it turns out, they did not qualify for free treatment because they resided outside of Dallas County. So the hospital is going to sue them! Illegals get it all free! But U.S citizens who live outside of Dallas County get sued! How stupid is this?

As if that isn’t annoying enough, the illegal immigrant patients are actually complaining about hospital staff not speaking Spanish. In this AP story, the author speaks with a woman who is upset that she had to translate comments from the hospital staff into Spanish for her husband. The doctor was trying to explain the situation to the family and the mother was forced to translate for her husband who only spoke Spanish. This was apparently a great injustice to her.

In an attempt to create a Spanish-speaking staff, Parkland Hospital is now providing incentives in the form of extra pay for applicants who speak Spanish. Additionally, medical students at the University of Texas Southwestern for which Parkland Hospital is the training facility will now have a Spanish language requirement added to their already jammed-packed curriculum. No other school in the country boasts such a ridiculous multi-semester (multicultural) requirement.

More tales of how ILLEGAL immigrants are afforded luxurious that LAW-ABIDING American citizens aren’t entitled to can be found here. This certainly debunks the rumors spread throughout Canada, that Americans treat foreigners poorly. And you people have the nerve to say that WE don’t know enough about YOUR country? Are you kidding me?

My question to Canada is… Do these kinds of things happen in YOUR country? And to what extent? And if these situations do arise, are you happy about it? Does your country condone free services to those that break the law? If this even happens at all over there? (After all, I’m just another “ignorant” American, so what do I know about your country?) Enlighten me.

And last but not least, Canadians, at the moment are petitioning for more affordable medication in Canada.

As I travel around the country, ordinary Canadians are pulling me aside and telling me that costs for prescription medication are taking over their lives.

I have heard from Randee, a law student who’s paying over $4000 a year to treat his diabetes. I’ve also heard from Martha who works full-time without benefits and is forced to pay more than $300 a month for her medication. And, I’ve received email from Fred in Omemee, Mary in Port Williams, Lance in Lashburn and countless others who are struggling to get the drugs they need.

Today, one in five Canadians are without adequate drug coverage and 3.5 million are without any coverage at all. The reality is - access to prescription drugs these days depends more on where you live and how much money you have, than it does on need.

Tommy Douglas’ vision brought us universal medicare. Help us take the next step and support my wish for affordable prescription drugs for every Canadian.

So, DO please pray tell… why you think you have “free” health care and the “best” health care in the world? I await patiently for your response.