Re: RE: America's Inadequate
thecdn said:
How about the more than 40 million people without health insurance?
I'm not one of those. With a population of 300 million, that means 87% of the population have access to the best medical system in the world.
But If I were poor, I'd rather be in Canada.
thecdn said:
Must be the crowd. We've hated it since we've moved here and continue to do so.
That's you. What about the other Canadians you know? Do they share the same opinion?
thecdn said:
Note. We hate it for how it treats people overall, the 10's of millions without insurance who have to pay higher charges at hospitals than those with insurance. The underinsured who avoid checkups and preventative care because of the cost and end up being a more costly and dangerous emergency.
Yes, we hate it for ourselves as well - being told which doctor we can and can't see, having to get two referrals (with co-pays) to get a damn planters wart removed. - But there's more to it than that.
I can give all sorts of examples of how the medical system is failing in Canada as well. Here are two.
When my grandfather moved to Comox from out of province, he had to wait four months before he was able to even see a cancer specialist for his colon cancer, and that was after my father was able to pull some strings for him to jump the queue. Now, ( I have been told) BC has a three-month waiting requirement before you are eligible to see a specialist, but if I were to move to California, I wouldn't have that requirement with my insurance. If my father hadn't known the oncologist, my grandfather would have had to have waited at least another two months.
In Calgary, a friend's child developed a large growth on his head when the child was four years old. It took him 10
months before he was able to see a specialist and get a diagnosis. If that had been my child, I would have been beating down doors with baseball bats to get it done quicker.
Juan
A friend of mine in Saskatchewan died of a rare cancer a few years ago. When they finally discovered what he had, he was in the cancer ward the very next day. So, for many if not most life-threatening procedures, you will get pretty good care in Canada.
I pay nothing for my insurance. My employer covers it. If I had to pay full coverage for my family, it would be about $1200 per month. However, I calculated my total tax bill this year and I paid about 25% of my income in taxes - that's all taxes, including income, sales, property, gas, capital gains, dividends, medicare/medicaid contributions, social security contributions, etc. So, even if I had to pay my own insurance, I still would have been ahead compared to if I were in Canada.
And I'm glad your by-pass went well.