Hey Guys; I've seen on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada.
First of all: 1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for Shirley and I to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the exact amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense. 2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you "yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the road. 3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take- not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many patients thru as possible each hour for Government re-imbursement 4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor. 5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment. 6) Shirley's dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required that his hand be put in a splint - to our surprise we had to pay $125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week. 7) Shirley's cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list . Died before he could get treatment. 8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no more operations, unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears. 9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists never get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don't call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee. 10) My mother needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite her and my father pay ing into the health care system all these years. My Mom is 80 years of age. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs. 11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get. 12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player or athlete then I can get looked at right away. Go figger. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to spend money to get healthy. 13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax payer expense having never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no premiums. 14) Oh yeh we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. Wouldn't want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered under the health care system.
I send this out not looking for sympathy but as the election looms in the states you will be hearing more and more about universal health care down there and the advocates will be pointing to Canada. I just want to make sure that you hear the truth about health care up here and have some food for thought and informed questions to ask when b roached with this subject.
Step wisely and don't make the same mistakes we have.
-------------------- Neil Posts: 697 | From Tucson, AZ USA | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
canbravelyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9785
posted
I thought it would be interesting to contribute that my former GP's clinic has dismissed all their chronic or elderly patients. They now will be exclusively a walk-in clinic for people without serious health issues.
This way the clinic goes ch-ching faster, because those pesky ill patients take up more time than the 10 minute minimum time a medical appointment is allotted to be.
But, as Neil said, we can't PAY ourselves to have a doctor's attention for longer than 10 minutes. Specialists are an hour, but many of them are apathetic as well, because there is so much demand, they get paid regarless of solving patient problems.
I'm all for Universal health care, in theory. The important thing is to choose a model that's working. One likes to point to Canada, because everyone likes an easy, simple solution. But you know the platitude, "If it sounds too good to be true..."
Best wishes,
-------------------- For medical advice related to Lyme disease, please see an ILADS physician. Posts: 1494 | From Getting there... | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Went on a tour with a group across Canada last month. Our tour guide was Canadian and we bombarded her with questions about how bad it was.
She was shocked (responded just like the folks in SICKO) and said it was really good. She had just had a mammogram and biopsy herself...all done in one day. She said that she didn't know anyone who had complaints like we hear all the time. She was a very bright "older" individual...about my age to be exact...retirement age!
We also had someone in our tour group have a bad fall (older people do that) requiring a trip to a local Canadian ER. She did not have to wait. Her total bill came to $1600...which included multiple xrays of head & arm & chest and seeing orthopedic doc.
I know someone else however who says the same thing that is in this topic... long waits etc.
So....Obviously people are experiencing very different things in Canada. Are different geographic areas more responsive or better than others?
PS: here in California some doctors are trying to avoid taking all insurance....they want cash and are trying to set up a yearly plan for their patients....sort of a one doctor insurance plan I guess. The people on this plan (the ones who pay monthly through the nose) get preferential treatment over those with regular insurance plans. And...Many doctors in this very wealthy county no longer accept Medicare or Tricare (which is the Military Government Health Ins that soldiers have....and pays about the same as Medicare) at all.
Posts: 101 | From CA, USA | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
PS: Have read that Sweden and Iceland have the best Universal Healthcare systems. Does anyone know what do they do different from Canada?
Posts: 101 | From CA, USA | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged |
kam
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 3410
posted
excellent question cal quest
I know i did a report in college on how the successful Sweden was on identifying and educating the Deaf.
I was a Deaf Ed Undergrad.
The US has a very poor success rate with reading levels of 3rd grade on the whole.
A big part of the success rate in Sweden was due to the medical field identifying the hearing loss much sooner than the US doctors.
Posts: 15927 | From Became too sick to work or do household chores in 2001. | Registered: Dec 2002
| IP: Logged |
canbravelyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9785
posted
FYI, my thoughts on this:
All tests and services should be covered under universal health care.
Doctors are offered a basic income, but can choose to increase it by offering exceptional services that they require extra-billing for.
It's imperative that we keep the financial incentive for creative thinking rewarded. Sad but true.
Also, if all doctors had basic salaries, that would help as well. It's a bit pathetic when you go in for an issue and you have to re-book if you have a second issue because it takes more than 10 minutes. I understand that doctors in Ontario are paid something like $30+ dollars / per patient, and there is a 10 minute minimum.
I currently go to a clinic that has the doctors on salaries. I went in the other day to see the doctor and was speaking very quickly because I was trying to cram everything into 10 minutes; and then realized that I didn't have to.
-------------------- For medical advice related to Lyme disease, please see an ILADS physician. Posts: 1494 | From Getting there... | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
Hey Guys; I've seen on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada.
First of all: 1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for Shirley and I to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the exact amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense. 2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you "yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the road. 3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take- not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many patients thru as possible each hour for Government re-imbursement 4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor. 5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment. 6) Shirley's dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required that his hand be put in a splint - to our surprise we had to pay $125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week. 7) Shirley's cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list . Died before he could get treatment. 8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no more operations, unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears. 9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists never get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don't call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee. 10) My mother needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite her and my father pay ing into the health care system all these years. My Mom is 80 years of age. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs. 11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get. 12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player or athlete then I can get looked at right away. Go figger. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to spend money to get healthy. 13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax payer expense having never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no premiums. 14) Oh yeh we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. Wouldn't want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered under the health care system.
I send this out not looking for sympathy but as the election looms in the states you will be hearing more and more about universal health care down there and the advocates will be pointing to Canada. I just want to make sure that you hear the truth about health care up here and have some food for thought and informed questions to ask when b roached with this subject.
Step wisely and don't make the same mistakes we have.
Thanks Neal
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic