What is health Care in Canada like?

[obaman08]

Are their long waits to see a doctor?

Do you get to choose the doctor you want to see?

HOw about any of the other industrialized countries, what are their health care options?

Is the USA the most expensive?

[whistle]

1. Pretty good on par with what we get in the U.S. but much slower response

...my sister and brother-in-law live in Canada and they have all the care they require. One problem, when they leave the country for a vacation they have to take out a special supplement for medical coverage which is very expensive. I believe they pay $1,800.00 just to be away for 6 weeks and that may be for each of them.

[Dr.Phool]

2. I pay $700 per month, just to stay in THIS country.

Does wonders for my disposable income. And that comes with high deductibles and co-pays. $50 co pay for prescriptions.

And then they always try to find a way to deny a claim. The only thing worse is no coverage.

[Spazito]

11. Wow, unless they have serious medical problems, I don't

know why they would have to pay that outrageous amount! I bought extra insurance for a YEAR for under 200 dollars because I was traveling, that was a few years ago but a friend just renewed her travel insurance and it was just over 200 dollars for a year.


I pay $49.00 a month for my healthcare in Canada and another $20.00 a month for my dental, eye-care coverage. I suspect that is much different than those in the U.S. from what I have read on this site so I am not sure you can say it is on par with the U.S. unless this is what happens there as it did here:

I was in a car accident in a province other than the one I live in, I was not hurt badly but needed to go to emergency. I went to emergency, was seen within a half-hour, had an x-ray done, a cast put on and I did not have to pay a cent extra for it.

I, then, went back home, made an appointment with my doctor to be seen in 10 days as suggested by the emergency doctor, received the appointment, saw my doctor twice and, the second time, had another x-ray and my cast removed and, again, I did not pay a thing extra for my care.

Edited to correct typo.

[sharp_stick]

3. Depends what you need I think

In Calgary there are huge waits to find a family doctor, my extended family is there and are desperate to keep theirs. For some reason Doctors seem to be fleeing the city, I think it's getting too expensive for them to remain there. It takes months to see a specialist, a Rheumatologist visit (initial consultation) took my aunt 8 months after being referred by her family physician, it took her 2 months to get an appointment with her family doc.

The average ER wait time in Calgary last December was almost 8 hours unless you had chest pain.

I think some, if not most, of the responsibility for this is on the Provincial Government. Again, according to my family, they closed or destroyed 3 hospitals and now the city (more than 1 million people) is served by only 3 full service hospitals and one childrens hospital.

[AllieB]

7. The average wait time in Boston area emergency rooms is 8 hours

There was an article about this in yesterday's Sunday Globe. I have to wait 3 months for an appointment with my PCP, unless it's an emergency. And I have very good health insurance.

[Canuckistanian]

4. I have no problems at all

I am lucky to be living in a small town and having a regular doctor. Many don't.

But there are clinics and hospitals for those with emergencies. And I've NEVER had to wait an unreasonable time to see a doctor.

My wife had a hip replacement 2 years ago and the total wait time was about 4 months, diagnosis to surgery.

I have had to see specialists for my sleep apnea, but again, the wait was not unreasonable. Weeks, not months.

And the costs? The prescriptions are covered by a good insurance plan at work. My CPAP is partially government subsidized, with insurance and tax deductions for the rest.

In short,in my experience, health care is excellent and my costs - almost nothing.

[Astrad]

5. No complaints.

I live in Toronto. I could see a doctor this afternoon if I wanted to. There are long wait times for elective surgeries but there are constant efforts to try and bring those wait times down. I guess the best thing about it is you don't live in fear that if something really bad happens to you you won't get care or it will render you bankrupt.

[WinkyDink]

6. As a tourist, my husband had an emergency medical problem.

Immediate treatment, minimal if any charge.

[thecrow]

8. My cousin has excellent care

She suffered a severe headache so the clinic had her go to the hospital in the closest town (about 1/2 hour away, she lives on a small rural island off Cape Breton, NS) and the AIRLIFTED her to Halifax where she was operated on the next day for five aneurysms (sp?)
She is well today.

Also, her husband suffered cardiac arrest while shopping in a small grocery store (again on the island) and was rushed to the hospital and received instant care. He is also well today.

Author and activist Silver Donald Cameron, who also lives on the small island, praises the health care; he just wants a medical card that can be instantly read and updated.

His weekly column is published in the Halifax Herald.

Me? I had to wait four hours in a Northern Virginia hospital and another three before I got a cat scan WHILE I WAS HAVING A STROKE. And people say health care here is so fantastic? Our hospitals are so underfunded and overcrowded! I also had to wait three more hours before I could get a bed and had to wait in an operating room (cold!) because my HMO didn't want to pay for an extra day for a room.
I would trust Canada to have better health care. Sure, they pay alot through their working lives to have this health care, but they retire at age 50 or 55 and they are taken care of without the BS of medicare etc. Their mortgage structure is also different and they receive government pensions, or at least my cousin does..
What can OUR government learn from this? Things they don't want us to know. When I am in Canada I feel like a second class person because I am in their great country which so largely CARES for their population.

[roamer65]

9. Personally, I would like to see one Canadian style plan for all residents of the US and Canada.

I'm not talking about cutting benefits for Canadians, I'm talking increasing benefits and providing it to all who reside in both countries. A single payor system that large could really negotiate decent prices with drug companies and medical suppliers. A bigger pool would help already strained state and provincial budgets. If Quebec wants to "opt out" as usual, let them.

[Selatius]

10. It's cheaper than here (per capita basis), everybody covered, waits can be a little long sometimes.

Except emergency situations. That's immediately handled.

[napi21]

12. It sounds like both Canada and the US share ONE problem.

HC is not GREAT in a BIG CITY. I read the above stories about long waits and overcrowding, and a similar problem in the one BIG city in Canada.

I live in a medium size city in Ga. and other than COST I've been very pleased with the HC here. I could get an appointment at my PCP today if I needed to, although the office wait time would probably be a few hours because I would be put at the end of all the others who already had appointments. Last Sept. I broke my ankle. My hubby took me to the ER, and I had to wait about 5 minutes! In total, after taking xrays, reading them, putting on a temp cast, and setting up an appointment with a surgeon to set the bones the next day, our time spent at the ER/hospital was about 2 hours. Now, the complaint I have is my out of pocket expense for this broken anklewas $2,500!!!!! The only reason it wasn't more than that is because my ins. policy has a limit of $2,500/yr out of pocket costs. We don't have that much EXTRA money each year, and that out of pocket is per insured, so it could easily be $5,000 if we both had a problem.

I don't think we should get FREE HC but the ins. plans currently offered are too expensive for many!