We may have lengthy wait times and a severe shortage of health care professionals but I'm thinking we're far better off here in Canada than our neighbors south of the border - or at least those with no cash or coverage that is.
Like many others in the states, North Carolina resident James Verone lost his job when the US recession set in and at 59, he was finding himself in dire straits. In time he managed to secure another job at a local convenience store but that's when health issues set in. The bending and the lifting at the store made his back ache. A bad foot left him with a limp. He also suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. If that's not enough, he began to notice a strange protrusion coming from his chest. Barely able to make ends meet, heading to the hospital in the US is out of the question for someone like Verone. So what's an ailing man to do? He devised a plan. His plan, which has already been executed, while unimaginable for some, has worked.
On June 9 Verone woke up. He hailed a cab and he 'robbed a bank.' He didn't actually take any cash, what he wanted to do was to make a point and get the help he needed. Once inside he handed the teller a note that demanded $1 - just enough to get him sent to jail, but not enough for his act to be considered an actual bank robbery. Behind bars, he'll get the medicare that he needs. "Without your health you have nothing," he says, adding, if his punishment isn't severe enough to keep him locked up for the next couple of years, he plans to tell the judge he'll do it all again. His bond has been reduced from $100,000 to $2,000 but Verone has no plans of figuring out a way to pay it and why would he? Here's a man who has been reduced to ill health and food stamps, why would he want to go back to reality? Verone hopes by the time he is released from jail his social security will kick in and with that he will take his renewed health and set off to the beach.
It's a sad state of affairs if a law abiding individual who is willing to work feels he has to choose prison to have his basic needs taken care of. What's becoming of our "modern" societies - where only the rich or the fortunate can quest for optimum health?
Say what you will about Canada's health care system - and we all have complaints - but our problems pale in comparison to those of the working poor in the US.
