Interesting item from the far east coast, Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams is off to the USA for undisclosed surgery for his heart.
cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-l … ml?ref=rss
So if you’re an average Newfoundlander and Labradorian, can you expect your tickets in the mail should you need some heart related assistance as well?
Orwell is living well in Newfoundland it seems, some it seems are more equal than others.
The Premier is independently wealthy, and was before he took office. He also donates his entire paycheck to charity. Our health system is not perfect but, it’s the only one we have. If he can afford to go get better health care elsewhere why not? When it comes to your health all bets are off. I think the average citizen would go to if they could afford it. If they can’t then they get the best free health care we can give.
Population of Newfoundland = 0.5 million. Population of USA = 300 million.
I would assume that his medical need is rare enough that a specialist doesn’t exist in Newfoundland. Odds are that the Newfoundland medical system will also be footing the bill.
It’s not uncommon for the smaller provinces to send rare operations out of the province. Even BC does it at times.
I had emergency surgery in Newfoundland a long time ago. It was quick, no waiting. It might have helped that it was at a university hospital.
But I was also told that if the diagnosis was somethingsomethingitis syndrome, that they would be flying me out of the province to see a specialist, since there wasn’t a somethingsomethingitis specialist in Newfoundland. And they would be paying for it. Thankfully the problem was something mundane, and the local surgeon could deal with it.
I don’t know the details about Danny Williams’ stuff, but if its a similar situation, then it makes sense. If not, then it’s political suicide!
The question that was asked this side of the country is why he didn’t go to a bigger canadian center like Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver.
Well I hope he offers up some kind of explanation otherwise, every single Newfoundlander and Labaradorian should be able to go to Florida (or some other sun spot destination) for treatment as well.
At any rate he’s provided Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and all the bozos of Fox with more than enough talking points for the day, he should get a paycheque for all the material he’s provided the right wing, stop the Obama medical plan crowd, they’re literally cackling at this one, even if most of them couldn’t find the province on a map if their lives depended on it.
Too far to skate with a bad heart.
There’s airplanes to Boston.
Most likey it was his doctor that referred him out of canada. If thats the case the province will probably be paying his bill. I
think that, if you elect to have surgery in the states rather than wait on list in Canada you have to find a doctor yourself and then the fee comes out of you own pocket… I could be wrong though… 
Not defending the guy, 'cause I disagree with a lot of his politics, but: bit.ly/d82rCt
“Having the surgery done in the province was never an option that was offered to him”
“There’s no question that this is not a queue-jumping issue.”
"The premier had all of his diagnostic work and tests done at Eastern Health.
“It was his doctors who suggested Williams leave the province for treatment.”
“The recommendations from his physician were for referrals outside. The premier has done what he was recommended.”
“Doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador refer two patients a month to physicians outside the province, depending on the medical condition.”
So he goes to the hospital in Newfoundland, does the tests and diagnoses with specialists there, and they refer him to another doctor, who happens to be in the USA. You can bet that the Newfoundland medical system will pay for his operation, just like they would pay for any non-premier that is referred out of the province.
The same thing happens in BC, though with 9 times the population here, it probably happens less.