Recently, the American Enterprise Institute published a paper by the Fraser Institute of Canada entitled The Medical Bankruptcy Myth.
Do any of you Canadian Kossacks know anything about this Brett Skinner guy or the Fraser Institute? The Fraser Institute describes itself as being committed to "free market priciples;" which is usually a code phrase for "Austrian-school Libertarian."
Anyway, this article incensed me due to its (I believe, intentional) misleading statements about healthcare and bankruptcy in the US.
***Update***
Here is a video that is currently on the most watched list on YouTube:
I got the link through an e-mail from an American medical doctor who I regularly communicate with regarding health care issues.
Following is a paraphrased response from myself to him.
Here is a quote that is particularly misleading (disinformation):
They also reviewed other research, including studies by the
Department of Justice, finding that medical debts accounted for only
12 percent to 13 percent of the total debts among American
bankruptcy filers who cited medical debt as one of their reasons for
bankruptcy.
The Department of Justice (namely, the US Attorneys Office and the
US Trustee) ***only*** get involved when fraud is suspected. No
fraud, no Department of Justice. I think the people who wrote this know that and are saying it anyway.
The statement just before that is also (intentionally) misleading:
They found that medical spending was a contributing factor in only 17 percent of U.S. bankruptcies.
What do they mean by "contributing factor?" Who are they relying on?
That is not my experience and observation as a bankruptcy attorney for several years in Oklahoma. My observation comports with the "over half" as cited in other studies.
The article also goes on to claim that the number of Canadians who file bankruptcy for medical reasons is the same as in the U.S.:
Indeed, if we define medical bankruptcies the way Himmelstein and colleagues did for their study in the United States, we find such bankruptcies also occur in Canada. Survey research commissioned by the Canadian government found that despite having a government-run health system, medical reasons (including uninsured expenses), were cited as the primary cause of bankruptcy by approximately 15 percent of bankrupt Canadian seniors (55 years of age and older).
I am unfamiliar with bankruptcy in Canada, but I was hoping some knowledgeable Kossacks in Canada could respond to this allegation because it contradicts everything I have ever heard about bankruptcy and medical debt in Canada.
Another one:
Personal bankruptcy filings as a percentage of the population were 0.20 percent in the United States during 2006 and 0.27 percent in
2007.
Right. The ***TWO YEARS*** after they changed the bankruptcy code
in 2005 so that people couldn't file. Notice that they didn't
compare 2005, ***or this year***, when rates are up dramatically
(and still rising).
Drug insurance is also structured almost identically, so exposure to drug costs is similar in both countries.
I guess except for that little fact of Canada to buying its drugs in
bulk and therefore getting savings from the economies of scale. Not
to mention the fact that drug companies are fighting "re-
importation" that would allow Americans to save some money from
Canada's lower drug prices.
Access to medical care for people who experience long-term
unemployment, disability from illness, and chronic low-income status
is also practically the same in both countries, being facilitated by
non-profit, publicly funded community health centers and public
programs such as Medicaid in the United States and government-run
systems in Canada.
What planet do these guys regularly reside on? I guess that is why thousands of people lined up at a "health fair" in the soaking rain waiting to get care recently in Kentucky.
Anyway, I have also asked Elizabeth Warren to fill me in on her observations that can fill me in on anything that I am missing. If she responds, I will update the post.