British Columbia begins to send cancer patients to Washington state for treatment
for treatment in Bellingham, Washington beginning this week in a multimillion dollar, desperate and controversial effort to restore government funded health care to some of its most vulnerable residents.
“I don't think people who are suffering right now and in this immediate period should have to wait when there's an option that was available to us to address it right away,” said British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix in a lengthy interview with KOMO News in Vancouver. “In cancer care, we're seeing significantly increased demand and an aging population and some also some challenges with equipment and health resources.
“It’s the height of irony and perhaps hypocrisy, if I might say so, that they are always decrying the evil U.S. style healthcare system," said Falcon, who is also a former health minister and the opposition party BC United leader. "Yet, look what's happening. They're sending 20% of our cancer patients south to Bellingham to get looked after, which is the right thing to do, by the way.
Another Bellingham clinic, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Cancer Center, will also handle the influx of foreign patients. In a statement to KOMO News, Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Jim Bochsler wrote, ”Recent upgrades to our radiation equipment – we added a second, state-of-the-art linear accelerator last year – significantly increased our ability to care for more patients.
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