Are you Canadian and do you have an opinion on your healthcare?

Question

I have a question about socialized helathcare. Do you ever feel like your quality of care is not as good as you'd like or it takes a long time to get a doctor appointment, specialist or not? Is there anything you'd like to change with your country's healthcare system??

My husband had some doubts so I thought I'd ask here, thanks!

Answer 1

I have never waited for a medical service that was urgent. Sure, if its just a routine ultrasound during pregnancy, I don't mind scheduling it a month in advance. Why should I be put ahead of people who are in dire need? I have also too many times to count called my GP up and asked if he could squeeze us in as one of my boys had the sniffles, or had gotten a sprain at school. No problems there. If he was extremely busy with other patients, I am understanding enough, and can then choose whether or not to attend the ER. All the times I have been to the ER in my life, which is too many to count as I played travel hockey and baseball and am mother to four boys also involved in sports and regular mischievous boy activities, I have never experienced a long enough wait time to make me whine. I understand prioritization. If someone comes in with a thrown back, broken arm, concussion, of course it is only logical they be seen before me, if I am only there because my son has a high fever, my doctor is unavailable and the clinic isn't open. Those who complain about long waits at the hospital, are those who go there with a common cold. I have had tons of ultrasounds,  a few minor surgeries, countless X-rays, several MRI's, numerous broken limbs set, delivered all four of my children via C-section, week long hospital stays for croup, emergency dental work for knocked out teeth, more cancer screening than I can shake a stick at....none of which has come out of my pocket. If I had had these procedures south of the border, the bank would have repossessed my house by now, and I would probably be either homeless or living back with my parents. I cannot imagine a health care system that requires a credit card or second mortgage. I cannot even imagine paying for a doctors visit. I would be out a pretty penny with how much I have seen my doctor already this year, not including how many times I have seen him for my children, or the pediatrician, or myriad of therapists my Autistic son sees weekly. No system is perfect, but I wouldn't trade ours for anything. I am quite happy to pay the "high" taxes as it affords us Canadians a higher quality of life. I put high in quotes as Americans would be shocked to find out how much it really is the average Canadian pays on a yearly basis. Vote for the candidate who would want to see ALL the people in your country receive quality health care, not just the well-off.

*I would also like to add that many of our long wait times can be attributed to Doctors being recruited away to other countries for more money at private for profit hospitals. I wish these Doctors would remember back to when they were kids dreaming of helping people, not living in humongous houses and driving German luxury vehicles.

Answer 2

The only time I had ever had to wait for a doctor was when I was a kid.  Our doctor was really popular and had lots of patients -- we'd have to wait 4-5 days for an appointment.  I could have been seen by another doctor, or gone to a clinic, and been seen immediately.  I have never waited an unneccessary long period of time in an emergency. People are seen in the order of priority -- a Canadian with a sprained ankle would wait patiently while the guy with the head wound was taken care of.

If I could change something, I would suggest a "This is not an emergency" fee.  We seem to have a problem with people visiting the Emergency because they have a cold.  The doctors won't turn them away, but it puts a drain on the emergency services.  If there was even a $10 fee people would be more intelligent and go buy some Nyquil instead of hitting the Emergency Room.

The only thing I wanted changed they are changing this year.  Alberta residents used to pay $44/person or $88/family for coverage (assuming your employer wasn't covering it).  But then each resident would get a rebate check of $400 each year from oil surplus revenue.  Now Alberta Health Care will have no monthly premium and they will save likely millions in mailing checks out and collecting premiums.  The money was just going from one pocket to the other -- wasteful, in my opinion.

I have no problem with the amount that we pay in taxes -- we have a very nice quality of life. People forget that those taxes pay for that quality of life. My only complaint about taxes is that they keep lowering the GST by 1 percent each year.  It costs millions in programming and IT issues and other drama to change the tax.  I'd prefer that the government just kept the GST at the same amount and used the money for something else.  Surely there is some national issue that needs some money?

Answer 3

its painless and easy, the facilities are clean and some of the best hospitals can be found in canada, it is true that the wait for appointments is long and doctors arent abundant, if you dont have a private doctor then you could wait for hours in a clinic, but when appointments are scheduled, your guaranteed healthcare and the appointments are usually very thorough, the waiting is what makes it seem "flawed" but people in need always come first.

i have lived in the united states and canada and i find that both countries have strengths and weaknesses in the healtcare systems, in the states the wait time for appointments is so much shorter, there are plenty of doctors and hospitals can be some of the best, what i dont like is the demand for money, if one has insurance though then they are set for some of the best healthcare at their convinience and thats amazing, but if one doesnt have coverage then theyre stuck in a hard place and the medical care is not as efficient.

for that reason canada is more effective because everyone is given an equal chance at healthcare and as a result its not as money hungry as the united states is when it comes to healthcare, but waiting three weeks for bloodtest results as opposed to 1-2 days in the states is very inconvinient.

Answer 4

I am generally healthy so my only recent experience was in the emergency room, a six hour wait to get a piece of metal removed from my eye.  I was lucky it was such a short wait, people have waited more than twentyfour.

I have a doctor that I can make an appointment with and get referred to a specialist if necessary.  Depending on what you need you could get in quickly or be in for weeks or months of waiting.  If I were new to the city there is no way in h**l I could get a general practitioner who I could make appointments with, none of them are taking new patients.  I would be stuck with the walk in clinics or going to the emergency room.

Basically we need more of everything and everyone.  More doctors and nurses.  More support staff, more equipment.  It needs to happen soon before all the boomer start getting old and decrepit.    

Answer 5

I agree with the message that starts "I have never waited for a medical service that was urgent. "

I would like to add, as an unemployed cancer survivor that I have  confidence in Canada. I will never be refused treatment because I cannot pay, I will never be held up for arguments about insurance, and I will be treated with respect and kindness.

Last time I showed up in an ER, I showed my healthcard and was triaged in 45 seconds. Last time I showed up in an ER in another province, they wrote down my name and address before fixing my broken toe.

I have to wait three days for a non urgent appointment with my GP (it would be the same day if urgent. I can go to a walk in clinic after hours or out of my area.

I got my cancer diagnosis in a week and surgery in seven weeks, of which six were testing/consulting time. My friend who collapsed with cancer got her surgery in six hours. My friend's mother waited three weeks for knee surgery.

I don't know where Americans get these stories about waiting six months for cancer surgery - I suspect someone with a profit margin to protect made them up.

I think that it is totally wrong in Canada that dental and optical check ups aren't included in the provincial healthcare plans.They are included in Cuba and Canada has a much larger budget than Cuba.

Answer 6

I am Canadian.

I do get frustrated with wait times at times, however, I would not trade for a non-universal system.

If the US were to go to a universal system, then they truly would have the best health care system in the world.  Right now, many think they do, but it's just not the case.  Any system that leaves people bankrupt from paying medical bills is not the best system.

Vote for a universal health care system in November.  This is a very significant election for you.  This is a landmark decision.  Someday you'll look back and won't believe that so many millions of Americans had to pay for their health care out of pocket.  

Answer 7

We live in BC   $96.00 per month for the 2 of us  Free hospital  Meds  based on Income  For example  I see a dr monthly  diabetes heart  etc   I have had angiogram No cost   Fell on the street 8 hours in er tests xrays   a meal  taxi home  No cost Bet to cant beat thatNext year when the wife retires medicare is free.allso medicine.In BC seniors ride BC ferrys free  a yearly bus pass  $ 45.00

Answer 8

I am also a Canadian.

One of the facts that Americans need to know about our health care system is that it is universal , meaning that everyone is included in the national program. No one is ever told that they "are not covered " or that they are being "cut off " due to the cost of the treatment that they need. No one here in canada is having to sell their house, or declare bankruptcy, due to medical bills.

A second fact to point out is this ..............

It is  NOT FREE. We all pay for it, thru our personal income taxes and thru sales taxes on many of the things that we buy every day.  In some of the Provinces we pay a annual premium amount from our pay cheques. In my case, in Ontario, for my wife and I, the annual permium for OHIP  costs us $700.

The main thing  that I would point out to Americans is this. Here in Canada, we take care of each other, by insuring that everyone  is able to get effective and timely medical care, before it becomes a serious emergency situation. In the long run that  actually saves the system  money.

We also don't have private for profit hospitals. Our medical facilities are all owned by the public, and are operated at a break even cost. One of the biggest savings, versus the US system is that we only have ONE billing system, instead of dozens of private insurance companies, all with their own forms. If a hospital treats a  patinent  they send the bill to the Provincial government, who pays them. Easy isn't  it ?  Imagine how that cuts costs ?

Doctors work for US, not for themselves here. After  all  WE paid for them to go to medical school at our publically supported Universities.

Doctors here are capped at a certain annual income, and they negotiate with the Provincial government for increases in their  rates, each year. Believe me they are not starving, they do well.

The reason that the US does not have a universal health care program ? Simple .......Greed, and politics.

Jim B. Toronto.

Answer 9

I'm a Canadian too and I will move to France or Norway or some other place with universal health care if Canada ever privatizes it's own.   I love the health care system here. I have had to have extremely expensive surgeries and check ups and tests done and have only had to pay for gas to get to the hospital. And if a person can't pay for the gas to get to the hospital if you tell the government (or who ever it is you're supposed to tell) they'll reimburse you for it. They not only treat you for free they make sure you can get there.  The only reason wait times can be long is because the system isn't a first come first serve basis its a greater need goes first system. When I had heart surgery I waited only a month. And that's pretty d**n good for any country. You also have to consider the entire population of Canada uses these hospitals plus an incredible amount of people from other countries who can't get the same freaking awesome Quality of health care in their own.  There are two things I would include in Ontarios health insurance plan (I assume it's the same or close to it for all provinces for what I'm about to say).  You have to pay your own way for the dentist and prescriptions. The government should include those two things in the OHIP. (ontario health insurance plan)  I would be dead if i had to pay for the surgeries I've had. We get doctors coming from all over the world who want to work here, so we get many of the best. Canada leads the way in many health care areas (like for instance heart health)