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
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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.
So yeah; if they think our system is so great, sucks to be them if they fucking fall for it.
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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.
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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.
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Pretty much.
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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.
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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.)
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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.
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I live in a city, so I'm pretty much surrounded by options. My friend is from the Yukon. Now in the Yukon, there aren't very many specialists, so they have to bring the patients down to Vancouver to treat them. But this is what happens: The doctor's secretary not only books an appointment with the specialist in Vancover, she also BOOKS THE FLIGHT AND HOTEL, which is also covered by the insurance there. In fact, if you're having an inpatient procedure, they'll fly a loved one along with you.
Americans sometimes want to bring up the potential job losses with all those insurance companies out of work-- but there are still TONS of private insurance in Canada-- they just cover all the deluxe stuff. My employer has a very generous plan which covers vision and dental, mental health and things like chiropractic, semi-private hospital rooms, and travel insurance for if I get sick in another country (useful when I go home to visit my parents). This insurance covers things I would NEVER think of to cover, like for instance, if you are traveling with your dog and you get sick, it will pay to fly the dog back to Canada. I've seen plans that will fly a loved one to your bedside in a foreign country.
It's hard to describe the feeling of not having to worry about health care. I mean, I always was covered by insurance in the states-- but to come up here and to just be able to go to a doctor and not worry about co-pay... I feel so much more productive, so much less stress-- Stress I didn't even realize I had because I had been stressed for so long I just thought it was normal.
My very good friend had cancer recently. He made a full recovery. His family never even thought ONCE about how they would pay for it. They just focused on getting him better. They are no worse off financially now then they were before his diagnosis, and because he has a union job (and there are a lot of unions in BC) he got great paid sick leave throughout his illness, so they never worried about money or putting food on the table.
I have heard of long wait times-- I once waited 6 months to see a specialist. But #1) it wasn't an emergency, so I wasn't too bothered, and #2) I once waited 9 months to see a similar specialist in the US. Every once in a while you hear a horror story about someone dying in an emergency room having not gotten treatment yet-- but when that happens it is a National tragedy and makes the national news. I feel like it happens all the time in the US, but no one even cares to note it. After all, they probably deserved it for not having insurance... :(
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