Danny Williams, Canadian Official, Seeks Heart Surgery In US

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland — The premier of Canada's east coast province is undergoing heart surgery in the United States this week because the treatment he is seeking was not available in his home province.

The announcement about of Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams' plans has triggered a debate since Canada prides itself on its universal health care system.

Kathy Dunderdale, the province's deputy premier who is taking over in his absence, said Tuesday that Williams decided to go to the U.S. for surgery after weeks of consultation with his doctors. She did not say where in the U.S. he would seek care.

Dunderdale says having the surgery done in the province was never an option. But she wouldn't comment on whether the type of surgery Williams was having was available elsewhere in Canada.

In Newfoundland, opposition Liberal Leader Yvonne Jones offered Williams her wishes for his full recovery. But she said he owes the public more of an explanation about exactly what procedure he needs and why he felt it necessary to go to the U.S.

Williams, 60, is an independently wealthy former lawyer and businessman who donates his premier's salary to charity.

He will take from three to 12 weeks to recover and will speak publicly about his condition once he is well enough to do so, Dunderdale said.

"Ultimately we have to be the gatekeepers of our own health," Dunderdale said.

Comments

[mmonarch]

04:59 PM on 02/23/2010

Read the whole article: http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h0QC7bditrEb3wYz_6_b-gsGGDxA

Some interesting comments by the Premier: "An unapologetic Danny Williams says he was aware his trip to the United States for heart surgery earlier this month would spark outcry, but he concluded his personal health trumped any public fallout over the controversial decision."

""This was my heart, my choice and my health," Williams said late Monday from his condominium in Sarasota, Fla. I did not sign away my right to get the best possible health care for myself when I entered politics."

"Williams said he didn't announce his departure south of the border because he didn't want to create "a media gong show," but added that criticism would've followed him had he chose to have surgery in Canada. I would've been criticized if I had stayed in Canada and had been perceived as jumping a line or a wait list. ... I accept that. That's public life," he said. (But) this is not a unique phenomenon to me. This is something that happens with lots of families throughout this country, so I make no apologies for that."

Note: his personal health trumped anything. the "best possible healthcare" was, in this case, in FL and finally his comments about jumping line and going elsewhere is not a unique phenom. Tell me again why we want their system?

[MaggiesFarmboy]

10:59 PM on 02/23/2010

It appears that Danny Williams chose higher risk surgery in the US, over safer procedures pioneered in Canada, because he wanted to look pretty.

If you are interested in the whole story, you can read it here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/surgery-williams-underwent-advisable-only-for-cosmetic-reasons-expert-says/article1478816/

BTW it's sad that healthcare reform in the US seems to be going down without much of a fight. Americans deserve better, even if they don't currently realize it.

[mmonarch]

11:34 PM on 02/23/2010

The last sentence said it all, "As well, he stressed that wait time problems in Canada have been solved when it comes to cardiac surgery, with most serious cases requiring only two or three weeks in the queue." Only 2-3 weeks. ONLY. The Drs. rebutting Mr. Williams also stated that they did not have the specifics on his case. So they can't know the immediacy of it or not.

Please, these are Canadian Drs. who are now miffed. Ask anyone who has had open heart surgery - given the choice between a cracked sternum and a 6-8 week recovery or an armpit incision which they would choose. It has nothing to do with cosmetics. I watched my spouse recover from open heart and a cracked sternum and a zipper of an incision. Would I rather they had an armpit incision? You bet. Would I rather recuperate in warm FL or cold Canada. You guess.

[drcollins]

09:55 PM on 02/05/2010

Canadians have a right to responsive health care. For acutely ill patients needing emergent care, the system performs well. However, for a large number of patients with “non-emergent” conditions, wait times are long and patients experience significant pain and disability waiting for treatment. “Non-emergent” does not mean that the condition can safely wait months for resolution.

Medical travel is an emerging phenomenon in Canada. Having both practiced and been a patient in the U.S. and Canada, I am now committing my time to assisting with medical travel. I do this because I have serious concerns about the ability of Canadians to access the medical services that they need, and this concern has led me to join the most established company in this field, International Health Care Providers, based in Windsor.

Premier Williams’ trip to the United States for medical care is only one small glimpse of a much larger mosaic that includes the faces of many of our fellow Canadians. Many deny that a problem exists. However, just talk with other Canadians, and the stories accumulate- the mother with an esophageal condition trying for a year to find care, the delayed scan showing metastases from an unsuspected cancer, the two year wait to see a pain specialist. Medical travel is not just the prerogative of the wealthy- most going to the U.S. are ordinary Canadians of modest means. The Canadians who head south today to get well are just the scouts for those to follow.

[Glad2bCdn]

04:02 PM on 02/08/2010

I'm afraid you read way to much into this sir...the last thing Canadians want is to travel to the US for treatment. Sometimes it has to be that way but it is not a trend. Canadians of modest means can not afford a bandaid from an AMerican emergency room. We must buy seperate travel insurance before crossing the border and in those cases where we have to seek care in the US it is often at your top special cancer units like the Mayo clinic and we've spend close to a year fundin raising in the community.


Do not let a few isolated cases be the false proof they need to say how bad this amazing system is. Dr. Collins here is part of the problem by advocating for expensive care a month ahead of the scheduled Canadian surgery - you only have to wait if you can or you live in the the deep bush!

[Skookum1]

07:26 PM on 02/05/2010

Well, given the enmity that Danny Williams has incurred with the powers-that-be in Central Canada, I can see him not wanting to go to a hospital in Quebec or Ontario ;-)

the reason I stopped to comment, though, is out of curiosity for why American publications/websites always use "Canadian official" when a Premier is referred to, instead of the word "Premier". An "official" in Canada would tend to mean a bureaucrat or other civil servant, not an ELECTED official, aka a politician. I noticed this also in the Honolulu paper's headline about the 2003 arrest of BC Premier Gordon Campbell for drunk driving in Maui - "Canadian official arrested for DUI" or whatever the headline was.

Canadians always refer to US governors as governors, not as "officials"....is it because Americans don't know what a Premier is that there seems to be this need to find some other word? Why not just get them used to the concept of a premier.? (they still screw up sometimes and call the primer minister a president)

[dusty99]

11:25 AM on 02/04/2010

Sadly, uninsured in the U.S. have no waiting list for heart surgery in most places but do donate 25% of heart for transplants. See the ABC News article. With so many unemployed and without insurance within the last year, the problem is likely much worse. Bright side--more heart donors I guess? We should follow the Canadian plan NOW.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=1514702

[Glad2bCdn]

04:03 PM on 02/08/2010

yes - yes you should - I would gladly hand over the playbook if only they didn't want to throw out a great working model to reinvent the wheel

[LyssaBarnes]

06:23 PM on 02/03/2010

It would depend on what type of treatment he was seeking. I was under the impression that the nationa health care system doesn't cover experimental procedures.

[hulagirrrl]

05:29 PM on 02/03/2010

There is a thing called medical tourism. Before 9/11 many rich middle eastern men and women would travel to the US for medical care, not because they did not have access to adequate care in their own country, but because the medical care at some level is good in the US, almost like a status symbol. They could brag about having procedures done in the US, now that the visa requirements are tight, they all started to go to "socialized" hospitals in Europe. These hospitals saw a great source of income and started offering hospital rooms with hotel services... the downside, the middle eastern customers do not have a very good payment ethic, and often times hospitals are now chasing after their money...

The procedure this man needs probably is a rare one, and the US has a LOT of good cardiologists, so he is not doing something that other wealthy people are not doing as well. Nor is it a sign that the medical care in his country is inadequate.
While living abroad in a country with a great universal health care system, I have seen it often that cases were referred to the US for treatment.

[murphyj87]

08:45 PM on 02/03/2010

Montreal, Toronto, and Halifax, probably other cities, but those three Canadian cities for sure, have world class cardiac surgeons.

[brklynivn]

03:53 PM on 02/03/2010

Isn't it nice to know everyone except many Americans can get treatment here in the good ol' USA....

[jmpurser]

01:00 PM on 02/03/2010

44,000 dead Americans due to a lack of access to health care.

ONE Newfoundlander came to America for a procedure he apparently couldn't get done locally.

I would say the math indicates that there's a little something Americans can learn from Canada still.

[murphyj87]

04:45 PM on 02/03/2010

He could have it done in many places in Canada, Montreal, Toronto, Halifax for three.The fact is that Danny Williams, despite being a Premier and a multimillionaire, is only ONE Canadian. The average (i.e. non multimillionaire) Canadian has far better health care than a comparable American. Depending on the poll you look at, 92% to 97% of Canadians prefer the single payer system we have now and would NEVER touch US health care with a ten foot pole, nor would they EVER want an inferior American style system run and rationed by insurance company bureaucrats in Canada .

[Doug Compagner]

12:36 PM on 02/03/2010

The moral of the story is, the USA is still #1 for people around the world to come for medical services

[jmpurser]

12:57 PM on 02/03/2010

When they're rich enough to leap frog over the millions of American waiting for the same care.

[BobSF94117]

02:33 PM on 02/03/2010

Depends what ails you. Switzerland is still tops for a lot of things. And if you're Swiss, it's covered.

[rudolph]

12:04 PM on 02/03/2010

Don't confuse Newfoundland with Canada.

[MCJanes]

01:28 PM on 02/03/2010

What's that supposed to mean?

[murphyj87]

05:04 PM on 02/03/2010

Newfoundland is the poorest Canadian province and many are dirt poor. Comparing Canada to Newfoundland is a bit like comparing New York to very rural West Virginia.

[Kam Neebing]

11:09 AM on 02/03/2010

Several Heart Specialist in Canada have stated that the operation could be performed in Canada. It is thought that the "Conservative" PM of the province is performing a stunt as a favour to US interests opposed to public health. He is heavily involved in the oil industry and has many conservative right-wing friends in the USA. Typical in a way. A wealthy individual finds public health unnecessary. Does that sound familiar America ?

[LastAngryWoman]

12:11 PM on 02/03/2010

Thank you, thank you, thank you. And fanned.

[MCJanes]

01:29 PM on 02/03/2010

It's more likely he's doing it to just piss off the Federal Government, something he particularly enjoys doing.

[karela]

10:38 AM on 02/03/2010

First, if a person is going to have their heart cut on, they should go to the surgeon they choose for themselves. Second, a lot more people die in America from not being able to get health care than die in Canada from the same cause. An American senior who is a friend of mine lived in Canada for many years and all of her health care was covered. She became so comfortable with the care that she didn't realize how much of a benefit that it was. She moved back to this side of the border last year and now her doctor says she needs some heart tests---------but she can't get them. She can't afford insurance.

[willengage]

10:16 AM on 02/03/2010

Here his insurance would just drop his coverage.

[justobserve]

09:41 AM on 02/03/2010

Wow! He donates his salary to charity! Where he wants to have his surgery done is personal. He is a wealthy man to pay for what he wants. It doesn't change the fact that all Canadian have universal health care and they don't have to worry about what to pay, what not when they are already burdened with their illness. Unlike in America people go broke after going to hospital or die while waiting for the Death Panel to decide whether their treatments are covered or not!

[CigarGod]

08:42 AM on 02/03/2010

Purpose of article.

Something scary up north and someone seems to be hiding something.
BOO!