TORONTO —
As countries around the world battle COVID-19 in different ways, political leaders, health officials and the public are witnessing how the pandemic is exposing major issues within their respective health-care systems.
One former U.S. insurance executive’s tweets — which accused the insurance industry of spending “big” money to downplay the merits of the Canadian system — have drawn attention to this issue and the disparities between the Canadian model and the U.S. one.
“Amid America’s #COVID19 disaster, I must come clean about a lie I spread as a health insurance exec: We spent big $$ to push the idea that Canada’s single-payer system was awful & the U.S. system much better. It was a lie & the nations’ COVID responses prove it,” Wendell Potter tweeted on Thursday.
“Here’s the truth: Our industry PR & lobbying group, AHIP, supplied my colleagues & me with cherry-picked data & anecdotes to make people think Canadians wait endlessly for their care. It’s a lie & I’ll always regret the disservice I did to folks on both sides of the border.”
Potter, an advocate for health-care reform and Medicare for all, spent nearly 15 years doing corporate public relations with health insurance company Cigna Corp, but left after seeing firsthand the way the industry worked against the public’s health interests, according to his website. More than a decade earlier, he disclosed in Congressional testimony the way insurance companies contributed to rising U.S. health-care costs.
Across the broader industry, the U.S. spent nearly US$30 billion in 2016 on health-care advertising, according to a study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This amount was double what the industry spent two decades earlier.
Potter and AHIP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
And, according to the Canadian Institute for Health information (CIHI), Canada spent about 10.7 per cent of its GDP on health care in 2018, or $6,448 per person, while the United States spent about 16.9 percent of its GDP, or $13.722 per person.
Health-care spending per person, U.S. vs. Canada
Potter said Canada was handling the pandemic better than the U.S., where COVID-19 cases have surpassed 2.38 million and recorded deaths have hit 121,979 as of June 25, according to CTV News’ data tracker. Canada has recorded more than 102,000 cases and 8,484 deaths.
On a per capita basis, the U.S. is seeing about 719 positive cases for every 100,000 people compared with 271 Canadians per 100,000. The U.S. is recording nearly 37 deaths for every 100,000 people, while Canada is reporting more than 22 people dead for every 100,000.
COVID-19 Cases and deaths in Canada and the United States
“In Canada, no one gets turned away from doctors due to lack of funds. In America, exorbitant bills are a defining feature of the system,” he wrote in his Twitter thread.
“Remember, in Canada there are no co-pays, deductibles or co-insurance ever. Care is free at the point of service. And those laid off in Canada don’t face the worry of losing their health insurance. In the U.S., millions are losing their jobs & coverage, and scared to death.”
His comments were met with a mix of criticism and praise, as some users shared personal anecdotes of their experience with both systems and others were critical of damage already done.
“I am a Canadian living and working in the USA. I have had 2 sinus surgeries in my life, one in each country. My surgery in Canada by a top rated ENT? Free. My surgery in the USA by a top rated ENT? $65,000.00,” wrote one user, who added that he was lucky his employer’s health insurance covered most of his U.S. bill.
“The “disservice” you did kept policies intact that killed thousands. Do you feel directly responsible? “Disservice” seems…light,” another user responded.
Earlier this month, a 70-year-old American man who nearly died of COVID-19 shared his astronomical 181-page, US$1.1 million hospital bill following 62 days in the hospital. His bill included US$100,000 in charges during the two days when he appeared close to death.
Despite Potter’s favourable comparisons to the U.S. — which has the highest number of confirmed cases and one of the highest numbers of deaths per capita in the world — Canada’s figures are still very high compared to many other countries around the world.
Canadians have been especially appalled by what has happened in hundreds of the country’s long-term care homes. The proportion of deaths in these facilities have accounted for more than 80 percent of all COVID-related deaths in the country. A report issued by CIHI on Thursday found that proportion was roughly twice the average of rates from 16 other developed nations. By comparison, deaths in long-term care facilities made up 31 percent of all deaths in the U.S., according to CIHI’s study.
Still, for Americans who had trouble accessing COVID tests and worried about medical bills while unemployed during the pandemic, Potter’s tweets, which have more than 113K likes and more than 72K retweets, appeared to strike a nerve.
“You learn a lot about a health-care system when a global crisis hits & different nations have different results. Canada’s single-payer system is saving lives. The U.S. profit-driven corporate model is failing,” he tweeted.
“I’ll regret slandering Canada’s system for the rest of my life.”
Amid America’s #COVID19 disaster, I must come clean about a lie I spread as a health insurance exec: We spent big $$ to push the idea that Canada’s single-payer system was awful & the U.S. system much better. It was a lie & the nations’ COVID responses prove it. The truth: (1/6)
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
