Observations of Canadian health system

[Debby]

And by the way Bob, hope your wife is doing better. That must have been so scary for both of you!

 

[Cookie]

Interesting comparison SeaBreeze. In going through the points, I would have to disagree with #17 for one. My daughter lives on PEI and there is a waiting list to get a doctor assigned to you and you can be on the list for a couple years at least. Nova Scotia where I live isn’t much better. But I think that’s more a problem of doctors not wanting to locate in the Maritime Provinces. Might be wrong on that and if another one of the Canadians on here would like to jump in to provide another point of view…..anybody?

Overall though, I like our system and especially when our youngest moved out and was learning to live on her minimum wage job and the government scaled her insurance premium to how much her wage was at the time. That might be one thing that was missing from your list…..in some provinces you do have to pay an insurance premium. Like in BC, if you make over $30,000, a single will pay $72, a couple pays $130.50 and a family will pay $144 per month. In Nova Scotia, we have no monthly premium but we pay higher taxes to cover it.

In Toronto, Ontario I have never had to wait to be assigned a new GP, we can find our own, and although many doctors may not be taking new patients, there are many more young doctors who do. I can see the specialist of my choice, with a referral from my GP. Most drugs are covered for seniors 65+, just pay a very low dispensing fee ($4.11) per item. We never have to pay a penny for doctor's visits or hospital care as OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) is completely covered. My relatives in B.C. do pay a monthly premium based on income, however.

 

[Debby]

All I can say Cookie is don't move to PEI because it's very different there for medical care.

 

[Ameriscot]

Healthcare is never FREE! Your taxes pay for it. It is free at the point of service. In Scotland and Wales prescriptions are at no charge to patients. In England there is a small fee but it's free to over 60's, children, low income, etc.

 

[QuickSilver]

I think a lot of the opposition to a NHS being formed in the US is the preoccupation Americans seem to have with someone else getting something for nothing. It's become a national sickness.. I believe it's been fostered and fanned by the Oligarchs looking to gain profits from the privatization of just about everything, including our Medicare and Social Security systems. They are thrilled to see Americans more concerned with what someone ahead of them is buying in a check-out line and how they are paying for it, than they are about their dwindling incomes and savings. Instead of putting the blame where it belongs, at the feet of Big Banks and Wall Street, they blame a single mom trying to feed her kids... or their neighbor for getting to see a doctor for free.

 

[Ameriscot]

I think a lot of the opposition to a NHS being formed in the US is the preoccupation Americans seem to have with someone else getting something for nothing. It's become a national sickness.. I believe it's been fostered and fanned by the Oligarchs looking to gain profits from the privatization of just about everything, including our Medicare and Social Security systems. They are thrilled to see Americans more concerned with what someone ahead of them is buying in a check-out line and how they are paying for it, than they are about their dwindling incomes and savings. Instead of putting the blame where it belongs, at the feet of Big Banks and Wall Street, they blame a single mom trying to feed her kids... or their neighbor for getting to see a doctor for free.

Totally agree. Well said.

The US is the only country in the developed world that does not see healthcare as a right. Why is education a right, but not healthcare?

 

[QuickSilver]

Totally agree. Well said.

The US is the only country in the developed world that does not see healthcare as a right. Why is education a right, but not healthcare?

Education is not a right in the States... Look at what is being done to the Public School system. Money that should be spent on insuring all children get an equal education is now going to privately run charter schools, who, because they are private, have the ability to pick and choose students based on performance, in order their scores and rating remain high. This means the poor and troubled kids are left with substandard educations at best.. and can be almost assured of dropping out before graduation. Look what is being done to teachers. Look at the proposal by President Obama, of giving free tuition to a two year college program and how it was shot down. Again... over the concern that someone else is getting something they aren't. My feeling is it's all part of the plan for the wealthy and the children of the wealthy to succeed, and for the other 90% to be slave labor, whose only use is to make MORE profit for the rich.

 

[Cookie]

Healthcare is never FREE! Your taxes pay for it. It is free at the point of service. In Scotland and Wales prescriptions are at no charge to patients. In England there is a small fee but it's free to over 60's, children, low income, etc.

Exactly, we don't consider it free, like we're getting something for nothing. We pay for every bit of it out of our taxes, which can be pretty high, but don't get me started on income tax.