She has given testimony before members of the US Congress during a Republican-sponsored hearing about healthcare legislation,[2] and has appeared in ads seeking to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and defeat President Obama in the 2012 presidential election.
[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The Canadian Constitution Foundation sponsored the lawsuit, which also included Lindsay McCreith, a Newmarket, Ontario resident, who traveled to the United States for timely treatment of a brain tumor.
[7] The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) interviewed neurosurgeons in Montreal and Toronto who described her claims as exaggerated; they stated that her condition was a benign cyst, not a medical emergency.
[24] The Mayo Clinic has been cited as saying that the condition is "not known to be fatal" and makes no claim that her life was in danger, but it stated that she could have eventually lost her sight without surgery.
[6] The use of her claims in the US stirred great controversy in Canada, where the Canadian health care system is popular across the political spectrum.
[25][26][27] The use of her claims triggered comments from Ujjal Dosanjh, the Liberal Party of Canada's health critic, who called her case "an exception to the rule."
Jim Meek wrote in the Halifax Chronicle Herald, commenting on the strength of Canadian reaction to the Holmes claims: The late Jack Layton, the leader of the New Democratic Party at the time, travelled to the United States, so he could appear on American television to rebut Holmes's claims.
[28] On July 23, 2009, a few days following the publication of the ad, the Hamilton Spectator reported on its front page the troubles faced by another resident of Waterdown, whose home phone was also listed under the name "S.
[31] Her letter concluded with the comment: "I know our health care system works and if Holmes didn't have a problem with her physician what exactly are her motives for taking part in this media spectacle?"