Fellow politicians are loath to criticize Danny Williams's decision to forgo Canada's medicare system and pay for heart surgery in the U.S., but cardiac experts insist the Newfoundland Premier could easily have received top-notch care in this country instead.
Mr. Williams, thus far a staunch champion of medicare, has reignited debate about the adequacy of Canada's single-payer system and given opponents of health-care reform in the U.S. ammunition to vindicate their claims.
Arvind Koshal, a prominent Alberta cardiac surgeon, said virtually all heart procedures available in the U.S. are provided in Canada and he thinks Mr. Williams is sending the wrong message by travelling across the border for surgery.
“The optics are very poor, especially for people who are proponents of the Canadian health-care system,” said Dr. Koshal, director of development and external affairs at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton. “It also says if you can buy your way out, then you can go to the U.S. and get it done right away.”
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Mr. Williams could get emergency surgery “tonight or tomorrow” in Canada and urgent procedures performed “in a couple of days,” Dr. Keon said. Elective procedures – medically-required but not an emergency – could take weeks.
But the Ottawa doctor doesn't begrudge the Newfoundland Premier for heading south for health care. “If he can afford to pay for that, who can deny somebody the right to drive a Mercedes as opposed to a Honda?”
Dr. Keon said he thinks one reason Canadians might favour U.S. hospitals is their more luxurious facilities.
“If for example he came to the Ottawa Heart Institute he would be in a little private room where there's just a chair for his wife to sit on and his family [would] have to stand around the end of the bed. He goes to one of the American luxury institutions and he gets a suite for his wife and family and so forth.”
