Non-U.S. ONLY: What do you think of your socialized healthcare?

Question

I am one of those Americans rooting for socialized healthcare in this country. But the other day, my English professor went and bashed it, saying that in Canada, healthcare might be free, but you have your date and time, and if your brain tumor kills you before then, too bad. He even said that Canadian doctors send people down here to get their healthcare faster.

I don't believe him, though. I know that many Canadians actually buy one-day health insurance when they visit, because they're so scared of having to pay the bills here.

So tell me the truth... is your socialized healthcare (Canada, UK, New Zealand, etc.) all that it is cracked up to be? Do you have any complaints?

Answer 1

Sometimes it can take a while to get into the system (if you need to see a specialist) but once you're in the system the care is very good.  I'd take waiting for care over never getting care because I couldn't afford it.  I see so many questions in the Health section here from Americans who can't afford to see a doctor.  

This morning one of my co-workers started suffering some heart palpitations so she went to the hospital and was triaged very quickly.  She is, at this moment undergoing testing.  And when she is released she will NOT get a bill in the mail for thousands of dollars.

Answer 2

All this rhetoric you hear about the massive failings of our health care system (Canadian) are all complete fabrications.

I have never waited more than an hour in an ER. My wife had to wait a whopping 2 days for complete knee reconstruction surgery. I didn't like my eye doctor so I went to a different one. I don't personally know of one person that has gone south for surgery.

If we had a US based system here I can easily say me and my family would either be on the street or dead right now. Our first pregnancy alone would have bankrupt us as my wife was in the hospital for a week and required an emergency c-section. As it is here, that week + surgery cost us nothing more than $18 for a weeks parking.

I love our system!

Answer 3

I don't take too much thought into it. It is something you get I guess but the health care in Canada is only limit to certain things, Like going to visit your doctor, taking a trip in a ambulance, Going to emergy and free STD checks or anything like that. As for dental or Optical and cosmedic it is going to cost you here. Oh and medication cost you to unless you got a really good health plan or insurance. I think the British Health Care System is a lot better then the Canadian Health Care System,

Answer 4

It isn't perfect but what system is? There are times and places where I could wish that people get faster care, but haven't yet heard much complaint about the quality of the care once you get it, and I think in almost every case of life-threatening illness, the system kicks in very well. I imagine people have complaints about the care they get in the private system too. I had cancer, years ago. They did a biopsy on a Friday. The doctor called Saturday morning and said he wanted me in the chemo clinic on Monday. That's pretty fast. All I had to pay for, in the course of 7 months' treatment for the cancer, was a couple of hundred bucks for drugs. If I'd been in a private system I might well be dead by now because at that time I was flat broke( I think all I had was $20 in my pocket, $10 in the bank and a paycheque for $400 coming, no savings, no credit card, the day I started chemo) and could not have paid for expensive treatment. The best thing about a universal system like ours is that everyone gets health care. No one ever has to be afraid to go the doctor because they don't have 50 bucks, and no one ever has to end up selling their house or going into long term debt for medical treatment. I can't imagine living with that worry over your head.

Yes, there have been cases where patients were sent to the US for some procedures when our system backs up. At least they sent them for treatment. I have no idea what percentage of cases that happens in. One of the failings of our system is that it's run by a bureaucracy, with all the failure to plan ahead and slow response to problems that that often brings. On the other hand, private insurance companies can be darn hard to deal with too.

Answer 5

My uncle has had brain cancer twice and he has survived both times because the doctors worked quickly and efficiently.  I don't know where this perceived idea that a sick person must wait months to see a doctor comes from.  I think it stems from wealthy Canadians too impatient to wait for help, so they take their wallets down to the US and get help immediately.  The few times I've been in the emergency room (with non-life threatening injuries) I've only had to wait 20 minutes to half hour at most.  When my daughter split her scalp open we waited no more than five minutes and she was surrounded by a team of doctors and nurses, soothing her while they stapled her head back together ( she was most impressed with the selection of popsicles the hospital had on hand for her).

In fact, my small community just had a new hospital built last year complete with new MRIs, a state-of-the-art cancer centre and family-oriented birthing suites.  I have no idea what medical procedures cost (and I had a c-section).  No charge, except we paid $75 for the private room I wanted.  Plus, the government sends a home health nurse about a week after your birth to give you an exam at home, pull out any staples or stitches, check the baby and help you with him/her, and gives you a start-up pack of diapers, coupons, etc, etc, etc.

Sure, we have complaints.  We need more doctors and nurses, but no way would I want the hassel and stress of medical insurance.  The US government dropped the ball on that one, turning it into a big business for profit instead of looking after their own.

Answer 6

I'm Canadian.

I got my BT diagnosis in a week, had a choice of four neurosurgeons, surgery in a month, and specialised radiation in the US, paid for by my Canadian provincial plan. (I had something rare and it's cheaper to rent from the next door neighbours.)

This all happened six weeks after my partner got downsized from work. I had to give up work permanently - scared of business travel in the US, uninsurable and unnsured. Can you imagine where we would be in the US?

Went to the emergency room at a different hospital, last week, 4 am with chest pain. Admitted, stuck with all sorts of needles and tested for 24 hours. Referred to a cardiologist.

How did I pay? Waved my scruffy provincial health card. It works everywhere in Canada. I'm fine, no matter what happens, although I may have to wait a couple of months to get a non urgent hip replacement.

You may quote me to your English professor if you wish, hoping that the US system comes up to scratch for him when he loses his job and goes sick.....

Answer 7

It's not perfect, but what system is? Yes, there can be delays, and sometimes they're long ones. But I've only ever heard of these lengthy delays on the news, and never in person. I have to see a rheumatologist (for arthritis), and in my city there are only two. I might have to wait two or three months for an appointment sometimes, but for emergency treatment, I can call and have an appointment in a day or two.

It can be tough sometimes to find a general practicioner (family doctor) in some rural places, because of the lack of recruitment and retention in those areas. But the government is always working on that. Even if we had private for-profit medicare in this country, you'd have the same problems getting people to practice out in rural areas since there's not as much money to be made for lack of people.  

Yes, I've heard stories of people having to go to the US for surgeries because of long delays for certain specialist surgeries, but those stories are few and far between, and once it makes the news it generally gets resolved quickly through public pressure. But it isn't unheard of to be sent to the US for surgeries, particularly in Western Canada, where there have been population booms through inmigration and the infrastructure hasn't been able to keep pace. Alberta, for example, has had a tremendous number of people moving in from other provinces because of the economic boom, and their medicare system hasn't kept pace with the population growth. Where I live (in Atlantic Canada), I've never known of anyone to be sent to the US for surgery.

Access to surgery and emergency treatments are done on a priority basis - those with the most urgent need are seen first. If you have a brain tumour and need surgery for it, that would get you knocked to the top of the list if it's life threatening, versus someone who's having an elective surgery. Life threatening conditions are always seen to first, and they waste little time in getting you in. I've had family members who've needed coronary bypass surgeries, hip replacements, etc., and have been able to get in after a week or two. The system is quite good and very responsive.

Most of the people you hear complaining are the wealthy who would find much more convenience in a system where they can buy their way to the front of the line or pay for better service. Most Canadians don't share this view, from my experience; we prefer a system where everyone gets treated equally versus one where money determines your quality of care. I live quite comfortably, and if we had private healthcare I'd still be able to afford a high quality of service. But this little conscience of mine prefers a system where everyone from politicians to the homeless get equal access to high quality medical care, where treatments and surgeries aren't determined by for-profit insurance companies or your own financial resources.

It's a general issue of quality of life for all. The dominant view in Canada is that social advancement means everyone advances. I'm content to pay higher taxes and make less money than I could in the US for the knowledge that people are taken care of. It's a different public focus: we as Canadians tend to look more at society as a collective than at the individual.

Answer 8

I love are system in Canada and have no complaints about it .

Answer 9

Your history prof must be a republican all they can do is spread fear and not facts.

I've used the health care system quite a lot during the past year and all that I am out of pocket is $40 for parking, and the cost of my meds of course.  I've presented to emerg with chest pains and gone right to the head of the line, I've also presented with other severe pain and had to wait a bit till the overworked emerg doctor could see me and give me some meds for pain total time waiting 2 hrs in a busy big city hospital.  I have had to wait for my go with the specialists but each one I've seen was for a non-life threatening ailment.

The big problem with the Canadian system is everyone thinks it is free, IT IS NOT FREE.  I pay for it with my taxes and the health care premium that my province levies.  I've seen people who should know better presenting to emerg with an owie expecting the full weight of the health care system to fix them up when all they needed was for their Mommy to put a bandaid on it and kiss it better.

Could the Canadian system be better you bet do I want the American system NO F&*KING WAY.  I'll take the system with all its warts because I know where ever I travel in Canada I will get world class treatment if I am truely sick and need it all for show my plastic health card with my smiling face on it.