I am writing in response to Dr. James K. Johnston’s letter to the News-Times on July 4, in which he warns people against government health care programs in general. In particular he denounced the British and Canadian systems with long waiting periods, denial of treatment, bureaucracy, etc.

I know little about the British system but I am intimately familiar with the Canadian system. I lived in Canada for 30 years where I was a professor at the University of British Columbia and also at Manitoba. The Canadian system is financed by federal and provincial funding plus individuals’ monthly payments. I paid $40 a month for a family of three. This covered all medical costs.

Hospitals are operated by locally elected boards. Doctors work for a fee which is set every three years in negotiation with the Provincial Ministry of Health. Provincial ministries are paid by transfer payments from the federal government and individual fees.

Shortly after moving to Whidbey in 1989 I was diagnosed with cancer. On inquiry, the attending surgeon told me I could be admitted to the hospital in three weeks. I went back to Canada and consulted several surgeons. The diagnosis was confirmed on a Friday and I was admitted to the hospital the following Monday.

Earlier I was severely injured in an automobile accident, was taken to the hospital by ambulance, was admitted at once (no waiting) and surgery was performed the same day.

So despite Dr. Johnston’s dismal description of the Canadian system, I have survived to the age of 86. Having experienced both the Canadian and the American systems, the only difference is the price. Here I am on Medicare, but pay $354 a month for supplemental insurance to cover what Medicare doesn’t.

As a Professor Emeritus at U.B.C. I attended a meeting of retired faculty there this spring. I carefully enquired about the Health Care system and was told the system functioned the same except that the monthly fee had almost doubled over the past 15 years. Everyone of the dozen or so professors with whom I talked was quite happy with their system.

Dr. Johnston seems to know very little about the Canadian system and as a trained researcher should be better informed before rushing into print.

Roland F. Gray Ph.D.,

Oak Harbor