
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, February 25, 1994                   TAG: 9402250346
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: HENRY H. ROOS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CANADA HAS SUPERIOR HEALTH CARE

THE HUGE resources of the United States insurance industry are now being applied to discredit the proposed health-care reform efforts through a massive advertising campaign. This includes shamelessly discrediting the Canadian health-care system by pointing out its shortcomings, without explaining the marvelous complete care it provides to the whole population in a cost-effective manner.

I've had exposure to the Canadian plan through my mother in Canada, who's now 91 years old. The dozen or more emergencies she's been through over the years were treated promptly, efficiently and in a compassionate fashion. The only operation for which she had to wait approximately two months was an elective cataract-removal procedure.

Although she's gradually growing weaker, she's chosen to stay in her own apartment, among people and things familiar to her. The Canadian health-care system supports her in this choice by supplying a ``home helper'' who comes in every second day to help her with laundry, cleaning, food acquisition and preparation. Visits of registered nurses are also scheduled as needed. The cost of this arrangement is much lower than the stay in a hospice, which runs $1,000 to $1,300 per month. ``Home helpers'' get paid $7 per hour, plus car fare. She's free to choose her own doctors and can change them at her pleasure.

Let's compare this with a situation in the United States. A young man of 45, whom we know, was employed by a medium-sized company when diagnosed as having diabetes. About 18 months after the discovery, there was a ``hiccup'' in the economy and he was promptly fired. We knew him to be a hard worker with substantial seniority, so we asked him for the reason. The answer the company gave him wasn't ``insurance-cost ramifications'' but that his ``position was being eliminated.''

Employment applications of most companies now require full disclosure of health history, because the companies seek to reduce their exposure to the increases in health-insurance expenses. As a consequence, he's been unable to find work and is now subsisting on government-provided unemployment insurance and Medicaid. Under the Canadian health-care system, he'd be a useful, tax-paying citizen.

Let's face it. The insurance industry should be engaged in the property and life insurance, which are a gamble, and not in health coverage, which shouldn't be.

\ Henry H. Roos of Roanoke owns a manufacturing business for dust collectors.

by CNB