Post #698528
2026-03-18 15:00 UTC
Replies (3)
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@PapyrusBrigade@mstdn.ca 2026-03-18 17:54
@gnate This article brings up a lot of thoughts for me, living in Canada. Mostly around the gaps where the safety net fails us. For example: - emergency care remains pretty accessible, regardless of income - disability income has fallen far below the cost of housing - hospice care exists but hard to access - long term care has long wait lists, some are dreadful, and people may be placed very far from family - PSW support for those living in their own homes is inadequate. Workers are underpaid, overbooked, and constrained in what they can do. - Medical assistance in dying ("MAID") exists here. It's great in theory if a person has money and supports, and can die on their own terms, surrounded by family. But there's lots of evidence of disabled and homeless people experiencing significant pressure to sign the form. The universality of our health care continues to produce superior outcomes vs US, at about half the cost. But the gaps are real, and are deliberate policy choices. We could do so much better.
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@DavidM_yeg@mstdn.ca 2026-03-18 21:42
@gnate Yes… I’ve had some pretty frank discussions with my father, who is a retired physician. Because he lives alone, he is (justifiably) concerned that if found unconscious he will subjected to things he would not choose. Odd how (as a society) we are so unwilling to prevent infectious disease with real and significant risks of disease or death, and then rush in to ‘save’ the life of a dying 90 year old.
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@OneInterestingFact@mastodon.ie 2026-03-18 23:14
@gnate I need to read this. But not now, it's bedtime. TY