Quote:
Originally Posted by nickjbor
Nothing. and Everything. Healthcare in canada is funded from general government revenue, so you dont actually pay any "healthcare", but the taxes are higher.
|
Actually, you
do pay a monthly premium for basic hospitalization in Canada. It is different in each Province and is sometimes subsidized for really low income people and families. A family in BC pays $108 a month for Medical Services Plan. This covers the basic visit to doctors and any costs associated with basic hospitalization. Many of us have other medical insurance to cover Extended care which includes things like pharmacy, vision, chiropractic, physio therapy and then we may also have dental.
There are some real drawbacks to universal health care and most of them stem from the huge costs of a government controlled program. In theory it is great but the practical application is very difficult when you consider geography and population diversity.
I waited over five months for a C-scan after a stroke. Hip and knee replacement can have waits of over two years. The community where my daughter lived lost it's OBGYN and she had to travel 40 miles to see the doctor and to deliver her twins. A high risk pregnancy with no care within about an hour. On the other hand, when I pulled up to emergency with a very sick husband with a kidney stone they just flew at the treatment with an excellent outcome. Some things are not covered like Feet .... and eyes ..... yikes .... thought they were part of my body but not included in my health care coverage. It is a complex problem with lots of successess and failures.
One flaw in the system is that those who can afford it will find off shore treatment and pay - there by skipping the cue ..... I'm happy to be Canadian and I'm thankful for the services provided but there are some serious shortages of family doctors, hospital beds, specialists and lots of problems with the unionized nursing staff. I think that my American friends want to spend some time analyzing what other countries have done and then try to avoid some of the pit falls. We also need to keep in mind that even at our worst, we are pretty blessed when it comes to care.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
Linear Mode
