The end of public health care in Canada

[soleiltropiques]

OP: I admit the title sounds alarmist, but it's also true. I'm posting two articles, one of which is older, in my own personal effort to do my bit to publicize the effects of the so-called reforms (both implemented and planned) by the current right-wing Conservative federal government in Canada (i.e. good friend to U.S. Republicans, among other

Comments

[sumi_tatsuha]

fml the last thing we need are our medicare to end up like the Americans :/

[shortsweetcynic]

i concur. our system is a fucking mess and i have no idea how any thinking person could look at it and say "yes, that's totally better."

[nesmith]

I vacation in Ontario every year, and one year when I was at the pool a guy in his late teens was talking about how much better health care is in America and how much Canada's sucks.

After I retrieved my eyeballs and put them back in my head, I gave him a quick picture of what "health care" in America actually entails--mostly that it's the best health care in the world if you're rich enough to afford it (or to afford really really good insurance that doesn't try to fuck you over), otherwise you have to pray the insurance company picks up the tab or you'll either have to deal with the hassle of trying to get them to cover it or face ruinous debt and yes technically if you don't have insurance you can go to the ER but if you don't have insurance they're highly motivated to get you out the door--and his eyes got wider and wider and at the end he admitted that our system is bullshit and suddenly having to wait longer to see the doctor didn't seem so bad to him

[the_siobhan]

I hear the "wait longer" thing a lot and I'm not entirely convinced it's true either. In Ontario at least if your condition is a priority there is almost no wait. For example my bf has had three reoccurences of lymphoma, all three times he started chemo within a couple of days. The wait time is usually for elective procedures. I've had three surgeries in the last 10 years, since they weren't for anything life-threatening they were scheduled about three-four months in advance. If I had been bumped for any of those - say because the surgeon was called to an emergency - I would have had priority for the next available slot.

Mind you, I say that as somebody who lives in a urban centre in a province that is fairly well funded, so I buy that wait times could be a lot longer in other locations with fewer resources. But I expect that's also true in the US, wait times in New York or LA are going to be shorter than places with smaller populations and fewer hospitals.

[nesmith]

Exactly. It's always been my understanding that serious issues take priority (as they should, always). And frankly even in America sometimes you have to wait for your doctor or a specialist to have an opening; my friend's husband has needed hernia surgery for over a year because he couldn't get an opening with the surgeon that matched with time he'd be able to take off. So it's really not like America = Instant Doctors All The Time.

And of course that's if you're lucky enough to be able to afford to see a doctor if you're uninsured or if your insurance doesn't cover squat.

[moonshaz]

But I expect that's also true in the US, wait times in New York or LA are going to be shorter than places with smaller populations and fewer hospitals.

Pretty much.

[mirhanda]

This! Wait longer? My ass! I'm in the U.S. and I had a "period" that had lasted four months and was showing no signs of stopping. I was weak and lethargic (obviously, right?) and called a local gyn practice, explained what was going on. She said they could schedule me an appointment in OCTOBER. Mind you, it was mid JUNE when I called. I doubt Canada is worse than that.

[peace_piper]

In America, and I've lived in three different states, California, Oregon and Hawaii, and if I needed dental care in different parts of those states, it was at least a 6 month wait or more. One time I called for an urgent dental need in California, i couldn't eat I was in so much pain and the woman on the phone told me I should've called in advance two years ago if I needed to be seen. The "soonest" available appointment she could give me (It was June 2005) was October. Of 2008.

Sure, I can go to an ER in America, but as 90% of my health issues are chronic and ongoing, it's at least a 6-8month wait for anyone to see me. In fact, my biggest issue right now is that most people won't accept a medicaid patient, they want private insurance only.

[star_maple]

This is the really important thing about Canadians who think their health care system sucks: They have a fundamental misunderstanding about how the American system 'works'. Once I sit them down and explain co-pays (which is usually greeted by absolute bafflement), deductibles, and how much insurance actually is (for me as a healthy 20 something, it was $300/month. After paying my insurance, I could no longer afford the co-pays or deductables to see my doctor), they don't like the idea so much. They honestly believe that insurance is something like twice what they pay (Maybe $200) and that it then works just like Canadian insurance does-- you don't usually have to pay anything more. Any Canadians (or Brits) who ever complain that the US system is better HONESTLY don't understand.

Thankfully pre-existing condition exclusions don't exist anymore. I used to love telling Canadians how I didn't qualify for insurance most places because I was 'overweight'. At the time I had 22% body fat (I'm a girl. That's pretty good.)

[nesmith]

Yeah, I can certainly dig that. Likewise I know I don't understand the issues they have with their health care, but somehow I don't think I'm wrong when I say if you don't have tons of money it's better to be there than here.

I was uninsured from age 23 until I found work at 27, and even then we had really crappy high-deductible HSA-type insurance which, until you manage to save up a few grand, as useful as an asshole on your elbow. I was just lucky enough to hardly ever get sick and not to suffer any broken bones in those years.

[star_maple]

I'm an American currently living in Canada. One of the reasons I am so dead set against going back to the States is straight up, the healthcare. I pay something like $70 a month, which entitles me to see my GP (or a doctor at a clinic/urgent care/emergency) for free, get discounted prescriptions (a course of anti-biotics is under $10 and sometimes under $5), and free access to certain specialists