Reply by Kator to Abendroth on "Clueless in the Land of Managed Care"

Dear Editor:

As an RN with a little over a year experience, I very much agree with the views expressed by the physician in "Clueless in the Land of Managed Care." The health care system today is out of control with its emphasis on cost containment and making money. Patient care is compromised when health care is viewed strictly as a business.

I resent Susan Abendroth's insinuation ("Susan Abendroth's Response to 'Clueless in the Land of Managed Care'") that critics of managed care are uninformed and narrow-minded. And I find it ironic that she views Canada's health care system as a good model for the United States. Apparently, she has not had much experience with that system. It may look good on a ledger sheet, but my grandmother, who lives in Canada, says, "It's fine for routine checkups, but don't you dare get really sick." My grandparents are American citizens who retired in Canada. My grandfather recently sought health care there for epigastric pain, nausea and vomiting, 20 lb. weight loss, and anemia. It took this "exemplary" Canadian health care system 3 weeks, during which my grandfather was hospitalized, to produce a diagnosis of gastric ulcer. Why? Because they did not have enough equipment or staff available to diagnose and treat this common illness.

Everyone in this country has the right to the best health care. You never know when it will be you or your loved ones who need it.

Megan Kator, RN, BSN
Staff Nurse
Surgical Step-Down ICU
Royal Oak Beaumont
Michigan