Pricey beer is worth the cost of health care

Re: Letter: Prices driving Canadians to U.S., May 25; Letter: Ontario’s health care is just fine, May 25

After spending three months in Myrtle Beach this winter, I’m still getting used to the shock of prices of gas and other commodities in Canada compared to the U.S.

Filling my gas tank in Myrtle Beach cost me US$25 as compared to almost CDN$60 in Ottawa. The price of a glass of draft beer at a local pub in Ottawa is CDN$7.21 as opposed to US$2.50 at happy hour in Myrtle Beach.

My jaw almost dropped when I saw the price of an apple crisp dessert at a local restaurant, CDN$9.45, as opposed to US$1.75 for the same dessert in the U.S.!

But as a recent letter writer rightly points out, there is the cost of medical care in the U.S. It was a common conversation during happy hour at the local Myrtle Beach bar I frequented, how the system in Canada works and how expensive and unaffordable U.S. medical insurance is.

One lady told me about paying $900 per month for U.S. private medical insurance. Another lady told me of a trip to the ER at a local Myrtle Beach hospital suffering from a sore back. She was not in the ER even 40 minutes, received a shot of cortisone, then was handed a bill for $3,000.

After hearing this, I guess I can live with the $7 draft.

Doug Miller, Barrhaven