canada guys,,,i have a question

I want to hear from you guys from Canada about your experinces with your healthcare system.......is it good, bad? is it rationed? quality care? etc. i'm currently debating socilisim and I need more facts...would def appreciate your replies.

Lmao!

I like it a lot! I never ever ever have to stress about needing to go to the hospital and receiving a bill. My wife can have a baby and of course we don’t want there to be any problems, but if there was a need for any longer hospital stay or if there was a problem with the birth, baby, mom etc. We don’t worry about any extra cost.

Don’t need to worry or wonder if insurance will cover this or that.

Don’t have to decide if I should get that x-ray or ct scan or ultrasound because of cost. Cost is $0.

If I’m concerned about my health or kids health, just go in and get checked, do any kind of test, and never receive a bill in the mail.

I know some people will say it actually does cost us money and nothing in the world is free. But I’d say me and my family of 8 going on 9 have benefited from our healthcare big time! No stress at all!

Same as jurassic.
Whenever need a scan or any kind of specialist just go to the family doc,he asks where and when you want to go and then does your referral.If you dont like the guy,tell the family doc you want to see a different guy-he does the referral,and makes your appointment.never had to wait more than a few weeks for anything for my family members that needed it.

Cost is ZERO LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is your tax rate ?

How long does it take to get into see the Doc.?

20%.Income tax when I was working.
I can see a doc at the hospital anytime.
For an appointment with the family doctor,a day or two.

Ask one of the Doctors. My Doctor got the 'H' out and came here. Their loss is my gain. He's the BEST GP I've ever had.




Charlie

Thanks Boco.
I seem to recall a time when your government "betters" as well as professional hockey players were coming to the US for medical care. Is that still the case ?

I knew someone would say it.

Depends on what bracket you fall under. We pay 15% tax.

Life is good in Canada man!

They will come to the US because they don’t want to wait 2-3 weeks for their appointment. They’re also multimillionaires.

Thanks

Probably,you have some great medical centers in the USA,I suppose anyone could go there.But we also have world class medical centers here also,Ottawa ,Toronto,Montreal,and I'm sure some out west too.Thing is here you dont get to go ahead of other people that have more serious issues if you have a bo-bo because you are wealthy.
Any serious medical procedures like cancer,bone surgery,etc are done right away.I have some experience with the bone specialist in Ottawa.My wife took a fall and broke her elbow and it was near the joint and would not heal.Our doctor referred her to a world class bone surgeon in Ottawa where she underwent reconstructive surgery.This was an intricate procedure normally with 50 50 chance of full use restored.
This surgery on her elbow was a 100% sucess with fully restored function.He asked if he could use the tapes of the procedure he done on the wife as a teaching tool,for his protoges.

But!!!!

...Canada isn't a "Socialist country"

Socialism is Much different!!!

Ask a Venezuelen

There is no charge for most procedures. There can be waiting times , for hip, knee , back surgery's. etc. Depends on how serious the problem is.. I waited 16 months for major back surgery. Had a hip replacement , waited several months. .Had prostate cancer, radiation and chemo. , that was 10 years ago , Get PSA test yearly , all clear since then. Had heart attack about 5 years ago, next day put in stents, so far so good.. Our prescriptions for seniors, we pay the first 100.00 a year, then just dispensing fee. . Hate to think what it all would have cost, if we weren't covered.. Some times feel a bit bionic. old243

We pay 2.9% of income to pay for socialized medical care for U.S. residents 65 and older. Seems the U.S.A may be more efficient?

Maybe you should ask non Canada guys, like my brother who works in Rapid City South Dakota, in an outdoor business, who states he deals with a constant flow of Canadians coming to the hospital there to get treated for what is wrong with them. If Canada is so glorious in instant treatment, all the doctors you want and only costing 1 out of 5 hours you work each day to pay for it all, then why are the cross boarder hospitals in the United States always full of Canadians paying out of pocket to get treated here?

I remember a host on CJOB interviewing a Canadian woman about her health care, and she was diagnosed after taking months to see her doctor, and then she told him, she would get her operation in 4 to 5. He said, "Days, that is not so bad", she replied, "No that will be months".
I have a friend from Quebec whose mother was having health issues. It took forever for treatments, and the doctors were horrid. Maybe it is different out in the Canadian Plains, but the Canadian utopia is not what works in the real world, like America which ends up paying for the defense of Canada and subsidizing everything in Canada from beef to oil.

Socialism works when it is American taxpayers paying the bills.

Star Flakes : Good point about Canada paying essentially ZERO for their defense

What the above reads like is your doctor was incompetent in not treating your wife. This took a very long time, where she had to travel to a bone specialist, who was capable as he was probably trained in the United States.
Compare that to my mother and my aunt, who both broke their hips. They were seen immediately, were sent immediately to a specialist , who in our part of the world means they are connected to the BEST doctors in the world at the University of Minnesota, but we do not have to travel to the Twin Cities, as we have a regional system from Fargo, to Wilmar to Sioux Falls and other towns no one has heard of, where the specialists travel to do the surgery so the patient recovers in their community.
My dad when he had a life threatening rare lung condition, was cured after a biopsy, same situation with the doctors.

No,she was sent right away when they seen that it wasnt healing normally.
He was a McGill graduate,I believe.

Talked to an accountant once about tax rates in the US vs Canada, and from birth to death, when you add it all up, he said taxes were about the same.

As far as healthcare here, long waits in emergency--not uncommon to have to wait for 3-4 hours just to get looked at. Doctor appointments, Up to a week. We have walk in clinics, but not uncommon for there to be long line-ups there too, or if you go later in the day, you can get turned away because the doctor has met his/her quota for the day (only get paid for so many visits).

Other than the 2 good doctors I've had who moved out of general practice for other jobs in the healthcare industry, I can't say I'm impressed with the care I've received.

how about knee , hip , shoulder surgeries , joints you just wore out?

Yep lots of people get those surgeries here.
From what I understand it is better to wait longer for hip surgery because after 15 years it has to be re done.If you get one too young,after a couple it is not as sucessful.
I have dealt with the healthcare systems in two other countries and Canada is by far the best of those.
The USA has some top notch healthcare facilities and universities but because they are not available or affordable for most people,that is the reason the life expectancy in the states lags behind other countries like Canada.

WE have great coverage here,but the wait at emergency is often very long. As stated its free (but in reality we pay for it with taxes.)Unfortunately I guess I will have to move to Manitoba or James Bay Frontier where the taxes are a lot LESS than I pay??

Not much of a wait time at the emergency here,the doctors live near the hospital.A Nurse practitioner on duty will see you right away and make the call whether you see the doc right away or come back in the morning if your not bleeding to death.
Some people abuse the system because its free,and show up at emerg for a little bo-bo.Those are the ones that have to wait and rightfully so.

Pete , You have to take your turn, depending on how bad your joint is. There will usually be a wait time. But it is covered under our health care system. Therapy after surgery, is covered. Home visits by nurse , until you are able to travel, to therapy. I have absolutely no complaints about how I was treated during and after surgery's. old 243

Our doctors here support the fur industry also,one is an avid outdoorsman.He owns his own helicopter and has another practice in Montreal.When he goes out another doctor comes in.We have 3 doctors here in town.One also plays hockey in the mens league.Great bunch of guys.

Since the doctors make considerably less income under socialized medicine, I have no doubt that many of the people, who would be the best doctors, go find a more lucrative career doing something else.

Keith

I have waited here a long time , in emergency room , with my mom just on jan. 2, 8 hour an never did see a real doctor , ended up driving her 21/2 hours to green bay wis. the next day , she woke up 4 days later , an we have a bill , just saying ours ant the best

If you are considering voting for Bernie, you do need a dr.

no not voting for Bernie , just saying our , that all our doctors ant the best [ what do you call a doctor that graduates with a D average a doctor, think about it ]

15% GST tax

If government health is so good why do we not have it for all insurance? Local emergency only runs during daylight hours due to staff shortages. Wait 2 months for family doctor. How much of the budget goes to health care. It is provincial, not federal, so you need to buy insureance to cross provincial boundaries. Supposed to be a free system, so the only way to control costs is by restricting care. They need at the minimum a 100 dollar per visit charge. To many doctors are being used because somebody is lonesome. Should send them thru an airport inspection for a rubdown and they would not need to go to doctor

Yes very true .. if you have money you go to the states ,our health care system is good for the middle and lower class but if your rich and can pay for
Then your better off in the US , I believe cancer treatments our more advanced in the US .. i know lots of folks the even go to Europe because the technology is somewhat behind in canada

Just the extra gas tax on top of high income tax is enough for me to know we don't want that here.

If we could lower our military spending we'd be better off.

I have two business partners one is from AB and one from BC who live here now. They are extremely happy with our medical system and all other systems for that matter.
Many people in America pay very little, far less than Canadians, it's called perks of the job. Employers all across the country offered it as a perk for good employees from top executives down to tradesman and everyone in between. Offering It also had tax advantages to those businesses but of course those advantages were taken away by the same wealthy politicians who now want to run it all.
People also had the option here of joining large pools of people for reduced rates, politicians have taken that as well. Ocare a socialist concept drove the nails in much of the coffin.
Same politicians who take great amounts of money from big pharmacy while complaining about rates want to run this system?
Same politicians who take great amounts of money from legal entities who sue for personal gain and drive your insurance costs up want to run this health system?
Yeah, I trust those know nothings.
There are still very affordable options in America for healthcare including Medicare, Medicade, in MN Minncare and others.
If socialist medicine truly worked it would work to perfection in Canada which has a limited population, hard working people, and terrific natural resources as funding streams, it should be more than free for all there but it's not. Nothing is free, here nor there. At least here we still have some freedom to choose.
Never forget that one day one of the tribe decided living in a cave wasn't good enough so he climbed out and bettered himself. So it began.

Osky

def appreciate the conversation we are having here. the fella i'm debating with is pro-Bernie all the way.....my comment to him during our debate

"jonathan,, thats exactly what bernie is banking on.....you guys have such a displeasure towards trump,,,,that you will vote for anyone running against him........make no mistake about it.......bernie is a communist ,,,plain and simple. don't like trump......ok.....just wait out the 4 years...at least your republic will still be intact......and you can vote in a decent minded democrat..but if bernie wins.........you can surrender your freedoms goodbye........history is calling to you to review it.......in no time ever has socilisim ever been of benefit to its citizens and eventually falls to full blown communism.......venzula is crumbling.......because they had promises exactly like bernie........i just hope biden gets the nomination for the democrats.......if he doesn't......then may god help us all.

he replied..

.Yall just love to cry out "Venezuela" while ignoring the positives of Norway, Finland, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand, and many others lmao.@#$%yeah, I'm going to vote for whoever it comes down to. Do I HOPE it's Bernie? Yes. Will I vote for Biden if it's him? Yes. Will Bernie get my Primary vote first though? Yep.

I'm a 27 year old non-straight, partially disabled Agnostic living in one of the reddest states in the country, working as a freelance transcriptionist without health insurance but with multiple severe medical conditions and over 150K in medical bills following a near fatal car crash 2 years ago. My parents are small business owners with medical conditions of their own. I most likely will not survive 4 more years of a Trump presidency at the rate things are going.


I could not fairly debate him as far as the healthcare system is in Canada because I didn't have first hand facts.......................I like to have the right information .......and thus the reason for my question to you guys.


.....

I personally know three people in Canada who, when the chips were down, came to the US for their procedure.
Also, good friends of mine were always complaining about the doc they had for their young son. One day I said "just go to a different doctor." They said, "Its not that simple, since he, the kid, has already seen a doctor, that's his doctor. He needs to go on a list to switch and it takes for ever."

I cant imagine being stuck with a dud doc for one of your kids and not being able to switch to who YOU want.

As long as your talking health care saw a program on TV where people in the U S were going to India for knee and hip replacement because of cheaper cost . It stated that the Doctor's were U S trained and the cost including rehab and plane tickets was less than half of cost of having it done here.

same here, or longer

BUT, the 3 Canadians I work with did NOT like Canadian health care overall, said they usually had little to no choice what Dr to see.

Saw an article that by 2030 Ontario will spend 80% of total taxes on health care. The US already has socialized medicine with Medicare and Medicaid, how's that working?

Foxx your friend needs to try looking at things objectively. Finland’s economy is collapsing under the
Socialist system right now, Venezuela never happened? The others mentioned are on the same glide slope.

Osky

I don't think that the Nordic Countries are socialist Countries, they are missing a good chance to be maybe lol.

many are going to Mexico from what I understand as well.

Personally , I'd want someone relatively close, for follow ups, and in case a "re-do" is needed.

I don’t believe the health care system in Canada is as great as some here indicate ? All I know is, when I used to hunt near Kenora and Dryden, Ontario. the people I rented the cabin from told me , that if I need emergency health care while there, to make the drive to International Falls , MN, do not go to the local hospital. Can’t say if true or not, but He told me his father broke his leg, sat in the emergency room all day, and went home without receiving care. And had to return the next day to get care.

I don't either.

The couple who owned the campground we used to stay at yearly, traveled to the U.S. For treatment when the wife got cancer.
Their doctor up there recommended they do so!

I ask because I have heard of people who can afford it in England fly to India get a new joint it costs them out of pocket but they don't have to get on the wait list that can be a year or two. they could buy a new car or a new knee or hip they get the knee or hip

Also many Canadians live very close to the Canada/US border. The closest hospital for a lot of them is in the US and I don’t know about other provinces, but Manitoba has an agreement (don’t know the legal name) with Minnesota that the Manitobans can use the American hospital and receive free healthcare just like in Canada.

So that’s also why there will be Canadians going to USA hospitals.

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitob...innesota-health-care-providers-1.4020598

Costs Americans $118,000 if they have a heart attack. Holy Moly! Surprised you guys don’t eat healthier.

Plus you have great hockey

Could be,

The place we went to was several hours above Toronto which id think would have good hospitals.

When I was in Manitoba, it seemed a lot more rural than ontario. I was in the poplarville area. Might've spelled that wrong?

Like poutine? Lol.

Poplarfield I was near, had to look it up.

It would pay you, and him to Google " socialist countries" .

The countries that come up are not the ones he's pointing to. But, some that Bernie refers to do like Cuba.

I live very near Detroit, MI which happens to be blessed with some of the best hospitals (U of M, UD Mercy, Karmanos, etc) and lots and lots of RNs live in Canada and work in US hospitals here because the pay and conditions are much better (at least in this corner of the world)

I have been a beneficiary of our healthcare dollars, and because she has a rare disease, my wife has very much benefited. IF (and that's a big if) neither one of us had coverage through our jobs in the USA, medical bills would surely have bankrupted us but I will say this...

Our quality is not always on par with the US. While there are plenty of studies showing better patient outcomes and lower patient costs with socialized medicine I don't think those studies are very nuanced and are not likely apples to apples.
There are wait times up to 18 months for specialists like neurologists here, one year waits for knee and hip replacements were commonplace a few years ago... wait times in the US for similar cases (but paying customers) where measured in weeks.
There is a mechanism for Canadians to receive emergency care in the US at no cost to them if the care is not readily available in Canada.
It is also worth mentioning that my wife was very nearly stuck with a $50K per year bill for the medicine she needs because it may not have been covered by OHIP and not something covered to any great extent by my prescription coverage... we were very fortunate that a rule interpretation went in our favor... not everything is "free"

On a side note, the average auto worker here pays a 35% (ish) effective tax rate and when you factor in unemployment and gov't pension the source payroll deductions are close to 50% for most of the "middle class" in my area.
Groceries are at least 40% more expensive here than in Michigan as are vehicles and many consumer durable goods are at minimum 25% more expensive

But I can get all the .22 LR ammunition I need for relatively cheap compared to what is posted on here sometimes LOL

The fact is that both countries have their benefits and disadvantages associated with living there.

The bottom line is look at the world life expectancy rank and you can see where the best healthcare is.Canada is not the best but far better than most and 5 years longer life expectancy than US.

There must be other factors that determine life expectancy other than simply health care, right? We don't all ride around on moose, and everyone knows cars kill more people than guns.

Whats cost of gal of gas in the US vs Can,?
Cost of Big Mac?

and on and on.
The cost is buried in everything you buy.

I doubt all you can eat buffets help extend life. Our society also eats a lot of prepared crap food while sitting on the couch watching tv.

Another thing about Canada's system.

Lawsuits, the payouts are capped and ALL suits are vigorously defended.
So the chances of winning an suit and the size of the judgement is much less in Canada.

Overall this is good thing for society, it keeps the costs down but bad for the individual.

I have taken care of a few Canadians.

First couple brought in their little boy thinking he had a urinary tract infection. They were right. Got him seen and treated in about an hour. They said, rightly or wrongly, that to get care in Canada would have taken 1-2 weeks.

Had a pilot friend in BC have a heart attack. No cardiologist anywhere near his home in Cranbrook. Shipped by plane to Lethbridge, but the cardiologist was not available, so they shipped him again north to Calgary where he either got stents or a bypass. I don't remember which. Then they sent him home after his stay to follow up with an internal medicine doc in his home town of Cranbrook. The only internist in Cranbrook was over 3 months out for appointments. He got in sooner d/t knowing someone who knew someone.

We have cardiologists in American towns smaller than Cranbrook, and Internal med docs are as common as lawyers. Doesn't matter if your healthcare is free if there is no one to go see. On the other hand, Doesn't matter how many there is to see if you can't afford to be seen.

There is a Canadian perception that people are going bankrupt left and right in American d/t medical bills, and that isn't true. Sure, some liberal hack reporter will get on TV and interview the one family in 100,000 that did so.Yet the real story is always different. I have not known any family to go bankrupt paying for medicine in America. Hospitals give away 100's of millions of dollars worth of healthcare every year. There are government funded clinics all over America,the bill based on income, usually $5-$10 bucks for the appt. I am not opposed to public run health care, but the truth is it won't be as good or cost-saving as America's system. People love to bash on "Big Pharma" as well, but they are always probably 6 of the top 10 entities giving charity to people (free medicines).

Dean, totally agree that most Canadians have a totally misrepresentative view of the USA.
You wouldn't believe the number of people from the GTA where gang violence is rampant that are scared to visit Michigan because "guns"

You would never think so when you cross the border into the US from Canada.

I thought this video was interesting , Canadian members , comments on vid , please.

Not my experience at all where I am,but healthcare is a provincial responsibility so his experience in Quebec may be different.

REFERENCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia--

.

For more information check out- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PragerU

He already lied before he started into it.
Being born in Montreal or even anywhere in Quebec doesn’t make you French Canadian.
Lol. So he’s not off to a great start.

Without watching the vid. Here’s my take.
A. Canada would never want the American system. So let’s throw that out the window.
B. Of course it has issues.
C. Really wait time is the only major issue.
D. Waits are based on need. If you hear stories about ppl waiting 48 hours in a emerge room it’s because they’re fine compared to everyone else there. If I walked in (as I have) holding my friends kneecap inside his skin because he kneeled on a blade. We go straight in and out inside an hour or whatever with everything done. We aren’t waiting lol.
C. Canadians aren’t rushing to the US for healthcare. Statistics don’t hold that up.
D. I have a friend on his 7th. Yes 7th liver. His mum is a nurse. His dad owns a small independent dinner. They have 4 other kids. Damien is only alive because of socialized medicine so that’s a good example I think. He also takes at least a dozen meds every morning and has for 25 years now. Including multiple other surgeries, doctors, physio, everything.

Now. Two examples of what we could consider bad. For either the US OR CANADA.
At 22 I figured out I had some heart problems. I’m 37 now. I have a PFO and a bad mitral valve. Now, I’m told by my drs (many of which either studied or practiced in the US) that in the US I’d have had the valve replacement already, and when they’re in there they’d have seal up the PFO (it’s just a hole). Which makes sense. Because there is a risk in not getting it done. But there’s also a risk in getting it done and an expense. In the US the doc isn’t under the govs thumb and would get it done now while also getting paid. In Canada the gov doesn’t pay for anything unless it’s needed aka essential, so, since it’s not at the failing stage, I get tested every two years. ECG, ekg, bloodwork, holter etc.... partly to avoid a potentially unnecessary heart surgery and partially because it’s cheaper to never have to do the surgery and to just pay for a lifetime of tests hoping that I never need it. Avoiding the risk and cost.
Which system is right? I think we’re really talking mostly about lateral differences not vertical. Not better or worse just different approaches.

That’s the best example of the two systems I’ve seen personally. Followed by this one.

Broke my leg in three places. Orthopaedic surgeon was looking at my X-ray sceptically. Made me nervous. I had three breaks on one bone, so two whole pieces were free floating. He was an American dr before he came to Canada as an orthopaedic surgeon. Same thing again. He told me back in the states, I’d be going straight to surgery and get it all back together with some metal. But instead he said it may be ok on its own, so we had to try that first before jumping to surgery (again, gov won’t pay because he’s not calling it essential) so instead, They put it in a cast, and if it healed wrong they’d re-break it and fix it right. Two months later, not healed, another cast. Then at 4 months it’s healed. I go in for the follow up. It worked.

So. Basically. Those are the system differences in practical terms the way I’ve experienced it and has been described to me by my doctors. . Which ones right? I don’t know. I know that Damien’s alive where he wouldn’t be. I know that I avoided and expensive and painful leg surgery that may or may not have worked. And I’ve avoid open heart surgery for 15 years while being monitored. In the US Damien’s dead unless a celeb takes up a go fund me. And I have titanium screws and a pig valve.

So maybe I got lucky. Or maybe we should be more hands off with medicine and Canada is accidentally achieving that through cheapness. Haha.

When you hear about the Uber rich going to the US or elsewhere for medicine it’s about one of two things.
1- the gov deemed something unnecessary so they wouldn’t pay (lime my heart) so they find other means because they aren’t comfortable with the “let’s just monitor this and not operate approach”
2- waits for lesser problems. If you’re too far down the triage list then ya you can be stuck. And the rich pay to jump that line. But the truth is, if it were dire, they wouldn’t have to leave. They just hate lines like all of us and can afford to get around them. And all their yelling about how awful it is in Canada is just a rich person not used to being treated on equal terms. They think they’re special and want that treatment so they feel personally insulted by Canada not holding them on a pedestal so they moan publicly about how awful things are.

In a free system how do you control the expenditure? Wait times, staff shortages, etc. They cannot print enough money to fund a free system with no restrictions.

The quality of care is top notch. My exes mum had a heartack. She was in the hospital for weeks follow up exams and so forth and she had a private room. The “non” necessities you have pay for to keep gov costs down.

It’s a fact.

So an example of this would tv and internet. You pay separately for that out of pocket. It’s not essential so it’s not paid for.

We also don’t have socialized dental care which we should.

Actually, Canadas worst issues are First Nations and mental health. And neither is on a road to get better.

Ouananiche has explained it very well.

Do we have Brit’s on here? I wonder what theirs is like compared to Canada.

I know nothing about Canadian health care. I do know what happened to the cost of health care coverage in the USA when the government got involved. I sure don't trust them to get more involved.