Can't wait for my free health-care.

[dude1394]

Well...I guess I'll have too...especially if I actually get it.

Health care you can’t use

Today’s episode: Karen Nielsen, 66, of Edmonton, has waited 2 years and counting to replace her right hip.

To be fair, Canada’s free health care system did replace her left hip last year, so she is halfway there.

Nielsen told the Edmonton Sun: “I’m in intense pain, I live alone. How can they say this is elective surgery when someone is in pain 24-7 and can’t take care of themselves?”

She is lucky. She’s 66 and they are still considering her for hip surgery.

Not so Bill Murray of Alberta.

The Wall Street Journal reported: “Murray waited in pain for more than a year to see a specialist for his arthritic hip. The specialist recommended a Birmingham hip resurfacing surgery (a state-of-the-art procedure that gives better results than basic hip replacement) as the best medical option. But government bureaucrats determined that Mr. Murray, who was 57, was ‘too old’ to enjoy the benefits of this procedure and said no. In the end, he was also denied the opportunity to pay for the procedure himself in Alberta. He’s heading to court claiming a violation of Charter rights as well.”

You can be darned sure that no one told Ted Kennedy last year he was too old to enjoy his brain surgery. He was 76 at the time.