Medicare's Public Enemy

After watching this commercial in class, Shona Holmes – our own ‘High Treason’-committing Canadian citizen, I had to get a better idea as to why someone would go the length to talk about our healthcare system – of which so many Canadians are thankful for – in such a light. A simple search on Google returned with a hefty amount postings from angry citizens tearing apart what apparently is a huge lie. First off, Shona Holmes apparently did not have a life-threatening tumour; it was claimed by many to have been a non-life threatening cyst. Secondly, there have been many reports accusing her of receiving funding from companies to shoot this commercial. I must admit, it made me feel a little big relieved that our health professionals might not have, after all, told a cancer patient with a life-threatening tumour to wait 6 months to be treated.
But suppose there was a true case much like that of Shona Holmes, would that be sufficient to question the appropriateness of our healthcare system? I had to think back to what our values as Canadians were, the same values upon which Medicare is built upon; fairness, compassion, equity, and solidarity. The first thought that came to my mind was how many patients and families would suffer if it were not for our free health care. Imagine if we had to pay for every time we needed to see our family physicians – a sprained ankle, a stomach ache, a headache, allergies, common cold. I could imagine many people either getting very sick, or else very poor from having to pay for assessments.
I don’t dare say I could understand how someone like Holmes would feel. In fact, I am quite sure that unless I have been put in that situation, I would never be able to justify how someone could speak so selfishly. Our system is far from perfect, and we are learning each day from our mistakes, and mistakes of others; seeing what works, and what doesn’t.
I can’t help but think that maybe we are so focused on trying to improve on what we have, that it blinds us, and makes us forget temporarily how fortunate we are. However, reading some of the responses to Holmes’ commercial on Youtube showed me that there are many Canadians out there who appreciate Medicare, and are standing by readily to defend attacks against our healthcare system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwLp2KJCLOQ&feature=player_embedded