http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070728.BILLS28/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/

So, if you have serious emergency health problems in any Canadian border cities which would cost a lot for the national health program to treat, they deal with you by transferring you to US hospitals.

Kind of like how Mexicans with serious health problems somehow end up at US hospitals.

Could this have to do with the high cost of US health care? Mexico and Canada dumping their costly cases here?

??? did you _read_ the article?

its about the lady in question complaining about the bill.

..and reasonably so, its a stupid amount...

> ??? did you _read_ the article?

You misunderstand PE. He just knows the truth and says it like it is. Please don't imply he would have to know anything about what he is talking about.

son, 

we had a drive by asshole once already. we don't need a replacement. 

you're not funny.

Yes, it is about her complaining about paying $360,000 to the NICU unit for emergency care for a premature birth. That's a big discount. The average cost of 1 month in NICU in a US hospital is $10 million. If you've been to a NICU unit, you would know that $10 million is close to what it actually costs to keep a premie alive for a month.

But the article then talks about how Canada has decided that, rather than provide resources for costly emergency care for Canadians, which the article specifically says is unprofitable (it 'costs them money'), Canada has decided it's more economical to offload these patients to the US.

And before anyone jumps to the next reddit step, here it is:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/weekinreview/29berenson.html

Economists claim high cost of US health care is overpaid doctors and has nothing to do with anything else.

"The 30-year-old has been contacted by a Rochester collection agency over medical bills for care she and her daughter Hannah Jean received almost 15 months ago;

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv 
costs the Ontario Health Insurance Plan normally covers, but in this case, somehow missed.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"But neither of those bills compares to the one that arrived in the mail last fall for $336,000.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
That staggering amount reflects one week of hospital care provided to Ms. Rideout
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
, in addition to six weeks of care for her daughter"

Uh huh, and none of that changes the fact that Canadian border cities offload their unprofitable cases to the US.

Ontario is paying so there is no question of offloading.

It's a question of economics. It is cheaper for Ontario to use surplus supply elsewhere than to have expensive facilities that may only be used part of the time. If the number of premature babies increased to the extent that extra facilities would be used near full time then Ontario would get them.

Offload? If a system is paying for a service, it's not an offload you dickless moron.

Doctors? Moneygrubbing? Naaaaaaah ...

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/doctor-heal-thyself/2007/07/28/1185339314714.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1