Donorcycles and the American Health Care System

The cost of health care is a big debate now in the USA, but it also affects me as a Canadian and a motorcyclist. The USA is only a few hours from where I live, and although it is not the only foreign country I can ride to, I have to go there before riding to any other country, like Mexico.

The problem with U.S. health care for me, is the expense. As a Canadian, I am covered by the Canadian health care system up to a certain cost no matter where I go. If you were an American visiting Canada, you would be taken care of in Canada at reasonable expense, which would be covered under your own health care arrangement. But because American health care can be so exorbitantly expensive, a visitor who needs to go to a doctor or hospital in the USA can have their life savings wiped out. So Canadians need to buy foreign country overcharge coverage medical insurance before travelling to the USA.

If you are young and healthy, this extra insurance is not too expensive, and is easily purchased online, or may be part of the terms of your employee health care system. When you get to 55 years old, it starts getting harder to buy online, and as you accumulate certain age related ailments it gets even more complicated. And it gets more expensive, and more and more items are not covered at all (pre-existing heart conditions for example).

Americans don't have the same problems visiting Canada.

If the costs for American health care were controlled and standardized, I would not worry about it, but if you get in a motorcycle accident with the existing system, the costs can be huge. Starting with the fact that a helicopter is frequently dispatched along with an ambulance to the scene of the accident, whether you want it or not. You do have to pay for it though even if you don't use it. Then you may be taken to an expensive clinic and end up with a bill that could bankrupt you, depending on the severity of your injuries.

I would like the American Health care costs controlled so I could visit there without fear of bankruptcy.


On the Daily Show (July 30th 2009), I saw a report that I found even more horrifying. Apparently some conservatives are floating the idea that you could donate an organ to pay for your health care.

Sally Satel M.D. "The ability for strangers who are willing to donate a kidney and save someone's life to be able to get free health care."

The American Conservative website has this related article on organ donations.

With the organ donor option, American hospitals would have every incentive to provide high cost care. Then refuse to release you until you had settled up with either say $150,000 cash or a kidney. It would be even better for the US hospital if you died in this arrangement, as then they could put in a legal claim to all your organs to pay for the cost of the helicopter transport and all the other "care" that had provided before you "died of your injuries".

Already, some doctors and nurses like to refer to motorcyclists as "organ donors", and their motorcycles as donorcycles. (18,500 hits on Google) This issue affects the millions of American motorcyclists without health care insurance even more than me, since I can avoid going to the USA if I want to.