Private Healthcare Is Alive And Well In Canada

Liberalman

Senate Member
Mar 18, 2007
5,623
35
48
Toronto
In Canada there is two ways a doctor can set up a practice the public way and the private way.

The public is provincial health care that is paid by the tax payer which means the patient does not have to pay for any procedure because they have already paid through they’re taxes.

In the provincial healthcare system the doctor has a lot of red tape or bureaucracy to go through just to get paid.

Most doctors will opt into the provincial healthcare system for one reason and that is they will have access to a lot of patients in a shorter period of time because when you don’t have to pay for medical services when it is rendered you will go more often.

The private is private healthcare that is paid by the patient to the doctor.
These doctors appeal to the upper middle class and upper class client that can afford to pay big bucks to be treated first.

The doctors have to advertise heavily until they have enough patients to sustain their practice.

In a public system triage is in effect which means that you are assessed and will be put on a waiting list until you are treated.

In a private system you will be treated right away because you are willing to pay the hundreds of thousand dollars.

A lot of provinces do not pay for those procedures that I call voodoo medicine like chiropractic, homeopaths, naturopaths, acupunctures and so on because a lot of these practices never cure anything or let me clarify that these disciplines to my knowledge never cured anything but I am sure there is the odd cure somewhere.

The provincial healthcare systems will not pay for the quacks that hang up their shingles and call themselves doctors.

And there is your private healthcare and the fully trained doctors that have decided never to use the provincial healthcare system.

There are more than enough qualified doctors to make the system work in Canada unfortunately they are driving taxi cabs or working as security guards or washing dishes or doing janitorial work because to get Canadian accreditation they have to pay tens of thousands of dollars which they do not have.

It is too bad that this Conservative wants to Americanize our healthcare system.

In America more people die because they simply cannot afford to pay for medical procedures that we Canadians get for our tax dollars.
 

jjaycee98

Electoral Member
Jan 27, 2006
421
4
18
British Columbia
Having lived in the US I do know that people will not head to a DR as soon as a sniffle comes along. We had Medical coverage but it did not cover the first office call. If you had to go back, the second call would be covered. Most times, colds and flu do get better on their own after a few days. We really don't need a prescription to get through a basic cold.
My mother provides transportation for elders going to see specialists in Vancouver. Many times the "recalls" go on for months with the DR taking a 5 second look at the patient and the statement to come back next month. No wonder he has a wait list of 6 months.
Surely trained people from other countries should be allowed to serve out an "internship" and take all the qualifying exams and then be good to go.
 

Pangloss

Council Member
Mar 16, 2007
1,535
41
48
Calgary, Alberta
Walter. . .sigh.

How many millions of Americans have no health insurance?

Here we go, folks: my prediction is that there will now be a flurry of misinformation on both sides, some will get all hot under the collar, and the debate will be sidetracked after 20 or so posts.

This isn't about the community here - it is simply that there seems to be nothing so rare as a rational health care debate. In any forum.

Pangloss
 

tracy

House Member
Nov 10, 2005
3,500
48
48
California
Surely trained people from other countries should be allowed to serve out an "internship" and take all the qualifying exams and then be good to go.
This is the case now. The problem is there are many more applicants than there are spots for them. It isn't easy to train and evaluate a doctor, only larger hospitals do this and they already have to find space for Canadian residents.
 

jackd

Nominee Member
Nov 23, 2004
91
0
6
Montreal
In the provincial healthcare system the doctor has a lot of red tape or bureaucracy to go through just to get paid
Totally untrue.
The billing to the provincial healthcare payment office is generally done by the doctor's secretary, using a very simple and cheap software opersating on windows or Mac. A real piece of cake.
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,466
138
63
Location, Location
Totally untrue.
The billing to the provincial healthcare payment office is generally done by the doctor's secretary, using a very simple and cheap software opersating on windows or Mac. A real piece of cake.
That's certainly correct. What the OP didn't point out is that a doctor who opts out of medicare cannot access any provincial facilities - hospitals,surgical rooms, etc.
It rather limits what a doc can do outside of the system.