For Canadians only please, from a citizen of the States.?

Question

I would like to know your honest thoughts about the Canadian health care system? I realize no system is perfect, but I want to get a little perspective. Here in the U.S. we get to hear how awful it is up there, but by statistics, you live longer and have lower infant mortality. What's the truth, the ups and downs?

Answer 1

I haven't used many times the health care system and hope not to use it often, but I may say the times I've used was quite good, waiting times of about an hour in a walk in clinic, and quite happy with the service, oh and I got better definitely

Answer 2

How awful it is up here?  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  You've been sold a bad story.

Yes, we can wait quite a while for diagnostic testing, like the MRI, but we can walk into any doctor's office on any day, and be treated.  

I'm currently waiting for an MRI for my right knee (darned knee!!), but I'm guaranteed to get one.  It's done by triage of whether it's an urgent/emergent issue, one that can wait a while, and how long you've been waiting is also a factor.  The doctor told me it would be 2 months or so, but there is no question that I'll get one.  No insurance company will call me up to say 'sorry, that's not covered by your insurance'.  That just does not exist here.  

No one can be denied for health care.  You can have 'extended health benefits', but that covers extras (massage therapy, physiotherapy, etc), not overall health care.

The Canadian system, with all its frustrations and imperfections, is still far, far superior to the US health system.

Not one person in Canada has to wonder if they can afford to take their sick child to the doctor.  You just go.  The child is treated.

Watch "Sicko".  I am not a huge fan of Michael Moore, but that is a well done documentary, and highlights some VERY important issues.

Universal health care is far, far superior to a system where not everyone is covered.

Oh - edit - read some of the comments above...yes, a few Canadian provinces charge health premiums (which is skirting the Health Act, in my opinion), but most do not.  It's actually Canada's richest provinces that charge health premiums (BC, Alberta, Ontario), which is pretty sad.  My province does not charge health premiums.  That'd go over like a lead balloon here.

And health care is always one of the top three issues during elections here...and our hospitals are updated on a regular basis, so while they can get a bit dated looking, that usually means it'll be in for a big overhaul soon...pretty much all of our province's hospitals have been overhauled in the last 15 years.

You've been given bad information in the US.  Sorry about that.  Vote to bring in someone who'll give you universal health care.  Really.

Answer 3

The Canadian Health Care system is on high overload of patients and not enough hospitals,doctors or nurses to cover them.Most provinces have no health care premiuims to pay but Alberta where I am from does.It can take up to six months to see a specialist here such as a neurosurgeon.You have to go for Cat Scans and other special x-rays on nights because there isn't anyone around in the day to take them for you.if you don't need to go to an emergency room...avoid doing so as you can sit there for up to 5-6 hours just waiting to be seen depending on how serious your injuries are or how sick you are with things such as the flu or a bad cold.P.S. I don't know where The Futrue above me answering gets his information but he must not be from Canada.Our hospitals ARE NOT paid for by medicare and they ARE NOT old and yukky.

Answer 4

You don't pay much for it, that's a plus.  But in my city if you don't have a family doctor now you are not getting one.  And you can exspect to wait five hour in the emergency room.  Plus the cancer survival rate is lower.

Answer 5

First of all, the U.S. is great at brainwashing and sensationalism, sorry to say. This is why you have who you have as a current President (the rest of the world thinks he's an incompetent *insert mean word here*), and why about half of the population (perhaps less now) seem to think that the war in Iraq is justified. There's no other way to explain how such a large group of people could be lead to such irrational beliefs.

I applaud you for being intelligent and seeking the REAL answers, the truth. And you are coming to the source. The above was not meant to be insulting to the questioner, but rather reinforce what they already likely assume. The U.S. is oozing money on a futile and pointless war, 2/3 of their population is obese/overweight, and Pharmaceutical companies hand out pills like candy. Who knows who they're in bed with? In other words, the U.S. government will do anything to avoid socialized healthcare if it can. It doesn't want to spend the money. And taxes will have to go up. People often don't see the benefit in this, and will dislike any leader who suggests it, even if they are actually on the right track.

Also, consider this to support my argument...the U.S. is the ONLY 1st world country to NOT have some form of socialized healthcare. Countries that have it do fine...ask any other one. It's the U.S. that's the odd one out...and unless you are healthy, well off, and well insured, you are NOT fine.

I have to agree with the majority of answers given above that say it well. Canada's healthcare is quite good. Not perfect, but overall very good. Some places in Canada may be better or worse than others, which is explained by the fact that each individual Province (like a state) controls it's own healthcare to an extent. This is the way the Canadian system is set up, and this likely will never change.

Our hospitals are NOT "old and creaky". This isn't Africa, people (no offense to Africans).The small city where my husband lives (I go to school somewhere elese) just got a BRAND new hospital with state of the art care. And this is a "city" of 16,000 people! All major cities have University hospitals (training, research, and teaching) and state of the art care. In fact, Toronto is known *worldwide* for it's medical research at Sick Kids hospital. MANY breakthroughs have come out of there. Our hospitals are replaced as needed, and offer top of the line care just like U.S. hospitals.

It is VERY rare that someone "has" to go to the U.S. for treatment. Perhaps if they need to see a specialist that their Province currently does not have (we are short on some doctors). Virtually 100% of these cases are because a person has cancer etc. and is desperate to try anything, anywhere. These same people would go to Mexico too. Or, for elective things like knee surgery if they want and afford faster care. It is true that for *non-urgent* cases, there is a wait list. Some people also go to the U.S. for "full body scans" to test for cancer, something that has not yet been proven to be effective and worth the cost, so Canada does not cover it. If it proves to be, perhaps they will. Anything "experimental" is usually not covered in Canada unless part of a clinical trial, research, or there is no other way to treat that patient.

I have lived in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan. I am also a Pre-Med student familar with our healthcare system:

-We pay ZERO out of pocket for a hospital visit, doctor's clinic visit, surgery, cancer treatment, diabetes education and management, rehab for accident/stroke/neurological illness victims, dermatologist appointments, etc. All specialist visits are "free", but you do need a referral from a General Practitioner to see a specialist. This is a "safegaurd" in place. It prevents the wasting of time and resources from both parties if a general physician can treat the problem. The exception to no cost for specialists in some Provinces is Opthomologists (eye doctors). Some Provinces cover routine checkup eye exams for diabetes and gluacoma, some do not. Manitoba does.

-Some Provinces have an excellent drug coverage plan, which requires you to pay a small percentage of your income (usually less than 5%) towards your drug costs, after which a portion of your drugs are covered. Manitoba pays 100% of approved drugs and devices once this deductable is met.  This is great for people with asthma, diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, etc. who have high drug costs. Saskatchewan's plan coverage is not nearly quite as good, but they do have a similar plan in place.

Things like crutches and wheelchairs, etc. are usually not covered, but if you are low income, hospitals will sometimes "dismiss" the charge and loan them to you for free (you didn't hear that from me!). Ambulance services are "subsidized", meaning you pay for a portion of the cost.

Dentists are NOT covered, except perhaps for the treatment of reconstruction after severe accidents (i.e. oral surgeon). Most people have coverage through work or a private plan for this.

People on Welfare pay nothing out of pocket for any service, including dental and all prescriptions. First Nations (aboriginal) people also generally have full exception coverage as well.

Yes, there are waiting lists for non-urgent services. But they are usually not that long. It is only certain areas of the country (Ontario) that have the more publicized problems, and that is largely because they have such a huge population. Toronto, Ontario, is the largest city in Canada by far. And yes, we do have a healthcare professional shortage, but the government is doing everything it can to change this.

The bottom line is this....if I walk into a hospital suffering a heart attack or a severe potentially fatal allergic reaction, I will get excellent hospital care instantly and walk out without a bill. If you go to the ER with a cut, you will wait for ages. Hence, why you only go to the ER when you have an actual emergency. At least, this is what we keep trying to tell people.

Some lonely seniors in the past have tried to use doctor's services and ER's for the attention and interaction. They'd come in with a "sore throat" etc. and having nothing clinically wrong (not red, no swollen glands, no fever, etc.). Some governments have suggested inplementing a $5 user fee, and we have trained doctors to recognize this and discourage it, and so far there seems to be an improvement.

The bottom line is this:

In general terms, our healthcare is very good. We offer a lot of health promotion. For example, we offer diabetics free diabetes education and programs, so they can control their condition instead of ending up in the hospital with amputations and with kidney failure. The U.S. model of healthcare often offers little preventative care, since they are insurance based. The U.S. model likes to offer drugs and surgeries *after* the fact. They have people pay high insurance premiums (which is not much different from higher taxes and good healthcare for ALL with no restrictions), in the hopes that those who really go on to become sick either die off or can get rejected from their current plan.

While I am hoping our healthcare improves by:

-Hiring more healthcare staff to fill the shortage.

-Improving access to care and wait times

-Getting better drug coverage for ALL provinces (equal coverage)

I must say that our system is much better than what the U.S. has right now. In Canada, rich or poor, sick or healthy, able-bodied or crippled, *everyone* gets good care. It is leaps and bounds better than what you have in the U.S. There is a major reason why every other 1st world country has some form of socialized medicine.

Our system is experiencing some problems in some areas, and that is largely in part due to doctors/nurses retiring, an aging population, and an increase in unhealthy living. There are some "horror stories". I have worked in long-term care and seen how hard it is to find enough nurses. But we are working on all of the above. We will find a solution.

It's the Canadian way.

The truth is that we are generally healthier than the U.S., and we have a better healthcare system with coverage for all. It's as simple as that.

I would be very skeptical of anyone trying to set an agenda about Canadian healthcare in a negative way. I encourage you to set the record straight.

Some resources:

Sick Kids Hospital:

http://www.sickkids.ca/AboutHSC/default....

Sask bursaries to retain healthcare students:

http://www.health.gov.sk.ca/

Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg (note new technology investments):

http://www.hsc.mb.ca/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Scie...

Urgent Care Centre in Winnipeg:

http://www.misericordia.mb.ca/Programs/U...

Brand New hospital opened in SK:

http://www.cypresshealth.ca/

P.S. Janell's opinion is biased. Alberta is the richest province by far in Canada (oil sands), and has experienced an EXPLOSION of growth that the province cannot keep up with. Calgary, Alberta used to be a city of 600,000 people just a couple of years ago, and now it is well over 1 million...

The healthcare system and infastructure simply can't keep up. This is just one of the many problems due to the "Alberta boom". Most other places do not have the same crazy situation as Alberta currently does. Ontario also is having a boom with immigrants, but not anything like Alberta's case. Again, isolated cases.

Alberta also has a history of a Conservative government, who tends to always lean towards privatization of care in the future. And now this is a real issue due to the huge population explosion and lack of resources. Most Canadians do not support this. We LIKE our socialized care.

Answer 6

We live in BC  Medicare   $ 96.00 a month for the two of us. Hospital is free  medicine is based on income  with a deductable In the past 5 years i have had 2 angiograms . daily ivs for a month  a fall rushed to ER  treated  given free taxi home  see my dr. twice a month    use three thousand a year in meds     Only small amt  out of pocket  can you do this in the USA?????

Answer 7

I have had reason to  have had huge contact with our health care system in the last three years after my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and I can say only good things about it.

During a period of about 18 months he had biopsies, six chemotherapy treatments, several radiation treatments, IV bone strengtheners every 4 weeks, blood transfusions, blood work at least every two weeks, at least 100 appointments with oncologists and other specialists, 3 MRI's, several CT scans, several bone scans, a few ultrasounds, several x-rays, more than 25 visits to the emergency room, was hospitalized for two weeks, received 6 weeks of pallliative care, and I have most likely missed a few things.  We had weekly visits from a public health nurse when we were still at home to make sure we were ok, and could have had more frequent visits if we needed them.  All that we had to pay out of our pockets for any of that was one $40 fee for an ambulance ride.  We were given a parking permit - no charge - so that we would not have to pay for the parking meters at the hospital because we spent a lot of time there.  When we knew that his situation was deteriorating quickly but were still at home the oncology department and the people at the palliative care unit called me everyday to make sure that we were coping.  He was always seen within a few minutes whenever we had to go to the emergency room.  He was treated with the utmost dignity and respect and care and kindness.  When he was in so much pain he was handled very gently and lovingly.  Our health care system made his last months and weeks as comfortable and as pleasant as they could possibly be, and we did not have to worry about money at all.  

Our health care system might not be the absolute best in the world, but it is far better than the health care systems in almost every other country in the world.  It is sometimes abused and misused because people sometimes go to a doctor or an emergency room when there is really no need, but in the end maybe that is a good thing.  My husband was one who believed in not abusing the system, so he did not ever see a doctor because he was fit and strong and healthy, so by the time we knew he had cancer it was already too late.  

I cannot say a big enough "Thank you" for our Canadian health care system.

Answer 8

since all the hospitals are paid for by medicare and there are like almost no private ones, they are really old and yucky...

Answer 9

I agree with Janell, the other person obviously does not live in Canada. I have dual citizenship and have lived in both countries for long periods of time and my answer is Canada has a better health care system.Yes you might have to wait a little bit for mri's or cat scans but at least Canadians dont reject anyone to get medical. Ive known some people from the states being rejected in hospitals for not having medical and dyeing. Obviously the government in the states DOES not care about the people.

Answer 10

Let me put it this way I used A LOT of the healthcare system last year and all I am out of pocket is about $40 for a parking ticket and the cost of my meds of course.  A lot of the people who complain are going into emerg with little owwies when they could just as well put a band aid on them at home or they have the sniffles.  But they present to emerg because they think it is free it is not it is paid by taxes and priemums (Ontario has one too).  

Over the past several years I've presented with chest pains and was seen right away another time when my family doctors office was closed I presented with knee pain BUT I knew that I would have to wait because my problem wasn't life threatening.

The Canadian health care system isn't perfect and wait times will depend on your doctor.  A colleague of mine is haveing knee pain and he has to wait several months for a MRI, I on the other hand saw a different doctor and had one in several weeks.  I've had friends in the States worry about paying their  HMO insurance and worry that they will not be able to change jobs.  I have no worry about that I just show my little plastic card with my smilling face on it and I know that I am going to be treated and I'm not going to be out of pocket that much.

And the way I feel if some Canadians want the US style of health care then I suggest that they go there and just see how much a visit to the doctor's office is when you are healthy.

Answer 11

In Ontario there is a premium for those that make $20 000 or more.  It is based on income and starts at approx $300 and goes up to no more than $900 (if your annual income is more than $200 600).  This is paid once per year.  A portion of our sales taxes, gas taxes, etc. also goes to healthcare.

While some services have been discontinued from coverage, they are generally things that aren't life threatening.

If you have a life threatening problem you will be seen much sooner than those that can wait.  A few years ago I needed an MRI, my appointment was booked for 10 months later (I was not in dire need).  I did get on a cancellation list and was seen in about 4 months.  

We do not have enough doctors and nurses and therefore some people do not have a family physician.  I absolutely hate my doctor and would love to switch but because things are so tight, no one is accepting new patients.  I am glad however that I at least, have a doctor.

Wait times differ greatly.  Last fall on a long weekend, I had an abcessed tooth.  The dentist was closed, my doctor's office was closed but his answering service said he was working at the hospital so I went there.  I was in, saw a doctor( not mine), received my prescription and was out the door in 45 minutes.  By the way, our local hospital is 10 years old.

About 6 weeks ago (another long weekend) I went to an after hours clinic, was diagnosed with Strep Throat, got the prescription and was out in just over an hour.  I have talked to people who say they have waited hours, it has never happened to me.  

I think it is a great system, we never have to worry about getting sick and not being able to afford treatment.  We can go to any hospital or clinic at any time and not have to worry about payment.  (If you can't afford the prescription, tell the doctor, most of them have free samples they will give out).  It may have some rough edges but all in all it's a good system.

Answer 12

its wonderful, your health should be one top priority as it is to the Government! Canadian healhcare system gives us healthcare no matter our class or financial status

Answer 13

Canadian health care is not perfect, but it is significantly better than that of most countries in the world.

We pay higher taxes to cover the cost of maintaining this system.  However, when a person has to get surgery or a procedure performed, they do not have to remortgage their home to pay for it.  They do not have to sell the family's second car to pay for medication.

In a life and death situation, a patient is treated immediately.  There is no delay of treatment to debate on who will pay for the

treatment.

Due to our increased numbers of aging baby boomers, there has been an increase of ratio in patients to doctors resulting in longer waiting times to see a doctor.  That problem is currently being dealt with by all levels of government by using incentives to encourage more young people to study medicine and nursing.

Hope this gives you some insight to our system.  Thank you for making the effort to be more informed about Canada.