We just got back from visiting relatives in Prince Edward Island. They have dual citizenship. They considered living in the United States but are at the stage of life where health care becomes a primary concern. Giving up Canada’s national health care for the U.S. system where people pay all their life for health insurance only to be declined coverage when they need it, was a no-brainer. The lower ranking of the United States in comparison to Canada made their decision all the easier.

The American health care profiteers are interested in keeping the money flowing from us to them. Bush’s Republican administration not only passed a law making it illegal to negotiate drug prices, but made it illegal for us to re-import the drugs from Canada. The Canadian government on the other hand tells drug companies what a fair price is, and what price gouging is.

I didn’t see any hysterical Canadian Glenn Becks and Rush Limbaughs screeching because all Canadians have health care, because all Canadians receive their medications, because Canada isn’t hit by the million plus medical bankruptcies we experience every year. Not only were Canadians accepting of universal health care at half the price, but they were proud of it. It’s kind of ironic because if Canada were the country with the hysterical paranoids it would give them quality treatment at half the cost.

We must Congress we’re tired of being suckered and we want what all the other industrialized nations take for granted.

Tom Bulger, Avon