Socialized Medicine

Palin’s Father On Canada Trips

Says they traveled across the border for treatment.

Sarah Palin found herself at the butt end of many jokes on Monday after she said that, as a child, she and her family used to travel across the border to Canada for socialized health care. Now, her father—who was last heard from explaining that his daughter left Hawaii because she was uncomfortable with Asians—is clarifying Palin’s comments. Palin’s family lived in Skagway, Alaska, at the time, and it was difficult to access any American hospitals, says her father Chuck Heath. "There was no road out of there at that time. The ferry schedule was very erratic. We had no doctor in Skagway. The plane schedule was very erratic. The winds dictated whether the planes could come in or not." He said the family only used the Canadian hospital in Whitehorse twice: “We much preferred to use our facilities because my insurance didn't cover anything in Whitehorse. And even though they have socialized medicine, I still had to pay the bill, being an American citizen.” Palin has called President Obama’s health-care reform plan “downright evil.”