Canadians: Tell us how you feel about your health care. (gated, live)

[outofarkansas]

I have dealt with both health care systems because I grew up living between my mom's house in Michigan and my dad's in Ontario. Both parents had disabilities. For a person with good insurance, there is no question in my mind that American health care was stronger than Canadian health care in terms of access, technology, and the treatment of rare and critical conditions. The Canadian system was stronger in terms of short-term community-based care following hospital discharge (ie visiting nurses). It is also true that the US is stronger in terms of legally mandating services in the schools for kids with disabilities, though the quality of these services depends on the district. This is an often over-looked asset in the U.S: school-based health professions like occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy are provided by law. In Canada, such services depend on Provincial policy, not federal mandates. I have studied disability policy for much of my career, and the fact remains that the U.S. is still the leader in term of disability rights, though disability services remain under-funded. I have thought about these issues a lot because I am both a US citizen and Canadian Permanent Resident and wonder whether moving to Canada makes sense for raising our two boys. In the end, we cannot predict. If a person has strong employment and good health insurance, the US is clearly preferable (we currently live an hour from the Mayo Clinic). If one is struggling to make ends meet, is underemployed, or works as an artist or craftsperson, the Canadian health system is preferable, since nobody is excluded from good quality care. I wouldn't want to be seriously ill and without health insurance in the US, but I wouldn't want to need complex care for a serious disability in many parts of Canada.

[Malkiel]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Most Americans know only what they read in the US media.

So, Canadians, tell us how you feel about your provincial health plan (tell us which province), and whether you'd rather switch to a USA style coverage.

Americans, please do not use this thread to argue the point. Just listen to Canadians express how they feel.

I think I'd want to have the choice of paying for certain diagnostic measures. If I have a headache and I'd want to have a CT scan then I should be able to pay for it (if the doctor doesn't recommend it for me). We should keep everything as it is and just add some private clinics with MRIs, CTs, PET, X-Ray, ultrasound, and other diagnostic tools.

Overall, the Canadian system is still pretty good.

[tvdxer]

The American and Canadian systems have common differences, but it also depends on the specific state or province you live in.

In Minnesota, a state famous for its social programs, we have MinnesotaCare, a taxpayer-subsidized health coverage program for low and modest-income families who would otherwise have no health insurance. (For poverty-level individuals, there's Medical Assistance). So far it's covered almost all my chemotherapy, surveillance, and treatment costs for my brain tumor. However, in some states, even with some private insurance plans, I'd be SOL unless I was very wealthy.

I am a member of a mailing list for the kind of brain tumor that I have. We have many Canadian posters and their experiences are highly variable and interesting. On one hand, many are very happy with it and glad they live in Canada simply because of it. On the other, because of its bureaucratic inflexibility a lot of costs go uncovered, so families have to pay for them out of pocket. For example, a girl with the same type of brain tumor as me was ineligible to have her chemotherapy costs ($2,000 / month) covered because the treatment was not "on the list" for low-grade brain tumors, even though her doctor, one of the leading brain tumor experts in the world, recommended it for her. However, such things happen here with private insurers too.

[travellingman]

I live in Alberta. Never had to wait unless it was some little thing like waiting to see a doc for a rash or whatever. It's OK with me to let the high priority work happen first. The couple of times when I (or my wife) was the high priority, things happened quickly and efficiently with excellent care and good outcomes. This is just one example, the the fact that Canadians overwhelmingly (as in its not even close, folks) support the health care system might mean that most people feel the same as I do.

A LOT of my parent's generation are snowbirds. They are affluent enough to own two homes, one in Canada and one in the USA. My grandparents did the same thing. In 35 years I can't think of one instance where a snowbird elected to stay in the USA for treatment when they got sick down there. They all high tail it back home as soon as they can.

[ZenRyan]

How is chiropractics, physical therapy, alternative medicine organized? Are there services free as well? I like these three because they have more of a do-it-yourself approach to health and healing.

[Liberated in TO]

A little late in the game here but I thought I'd comment.

Never lived in the US so have only experienced the Canadian healthcare system.

Like most Canadians I believe quality healthcare is a fundamental human right, not a priviledge and I would not be in favour of implementing a US style system.

With that said, the Cdn system could use some revision. Unfortuantely ideology and special interest groups always start crying when any mention is made to make changes to our system, and then in typical Canadian fashion we compare ourselves to the US followed by a typical political diatribe on why we believe we're a superior country.

I prefer Canada's publicly funded - public delivery system over a US system privately funded - private delivery system. However, looking around the world the most efficient systems (Japan, France, UK etc.) have adopted publicly funded - privately delivered care with better results than either the US or Canada.

In these systems, consumer choice is maximized, hospitals are run like private businesses and are accountable to the government for certain performance measures otherwise they lose their funding. In Canada, hospitals are run by bureaucrats instead of business people and this has led to a system that drastically underperforms for every dollar spent when comparing to the top systems in the world.

Unfortunately, no Canadian politician has the guts to legislate, or even conduct a feasibility study on the implementation of such a system due to the public backlash and appearing "Un-Canadian".

[sunshineleith]

Originally Posted by Liberated in TO

...Unfortunately, no Canadian politician has the guts to legislate, or even conduct a feasibility study on the implementation of such a system due to the public backlash and appearing "Un-Canadian".

Actually Alberta has both private and public health care.

[Liberated in TO]

Originally Posted by sunshineleith

Actually Alberta has both private and public health care.

As does BC. These facilities are privately funded, privately run and still require the user to pay for their services.

I'm talking public funding of privately run facilities.

[sunshineleith]

Originally Posted by Liberated in TO

As does BC. These facilities are privately funded, privately run and still require the user to pay for their services.

I'm talking public funding of privately run facilities.

Public funding of privately run facilities? Then they wouldn't be private would they?

[Liberated in TO]

Originally Posted by sunshineleith

Public funding of privately run facilities? Then they wouldn't be private would they?

Privately owned and managed.

Similar to the way a family doctor owns and manages their own family practice, and makes a profit, yet bills the government for services.