Canadian Health Care - Thumbs Up or Down?

I like what we have. I can go to the doc if I'm ill, get emergency treatment if need be and I never have to worry about the monetary issue. My kid spent his first several months in the hospital, in intensive care and I didn't pay a dime, just the usual monthly charge.

You can have a bit of a wait to see an emergency doc (hour or more), but they use proper triage methods, so you don't wait while bleeding to death or somesuch.

There can also be a bit of a wait to see a specialist or get elective surgery, and everyone seems to have a different story about whether it was just a week or two or years to get something done.

It isn't perfect, we have a government in charge that doesn't like us having our medical care so they don't fund it, call it a disaster and say it's a failure. But it works. It just needs proper attention and funding and all goes well. I wouldn't EVER EVER EVER trade it for private care. The government works for us, not we for them and one of the things government should exist to ensure we have access to is medical care. In may opinion and all that.


Maybe in the US you can do a universal coverage system like we have in Canada, but for those people that oppose the idea there could be an opt out clause, so they didn't have to pay unless they were sick or injured and then they could pay full price? That sounds reasonably capitalist.

I don't know much about this alleged 'Obamacare'. I sure hope they are building it right and not to self destruct. You guys deserve the best. But then, so does everyone.

I'm a fan of our sytem, flaws and all. I think preventative and basic care keeps costs down in the long run and a healthy workforce is a productive one.

I also have very good private insurance that I pay $17 per month for and my employer pays the other $40. I could have opted for a 100% employer paid plan, but the dental benefits on the higher one were too good to pass up - 90% basic, 60% major with no yearly limit.



[edit on 18-8-2009 by Duzey]

Love our system.

I believe these ideas that people are dying and waiting years for necessary surgeries are largely myths. I have a large family and have seen a few family members come down with cancer, diabetes ect. If it wasn't for our system they likely wouldn't be alive.

Being in the military I have been nearly everywhere. All that has ever been required of me was to provide my provincial healthcare card.

i'd also like to add my two cents regarding the wait times in Canadian hospitals... essentially the problem is a lack of doctors as many of them are at retirement age with less coming into the field... they are also being "poached" by US hospitals (as someone else has suggested)... the reason emergency rooms are so busy is because many people don't have a family doctor and so ER is the only way to get seen...
further... a personal experience... i was away on vacation and became 'winded" while snorkeling... once i returned home my doctor saw me within a day of calling... i was given chest x-rays and blood work done the same day... results were inconclusive and a CAT Scan was order up... i was given one within 3 days.. results came back negative (sigh of relief) and my doctor suggest i lose a few pounds! (lol)... point is... within a week alot of money was spent on me... none of which i was billed for, outside my small monthly contribution... there were no questions asked about prior health issues or ability to pay... socialized health care rocks!

reply to post by Gorman91


I have to say . Not that it couldn't be better, but overall we're a pretty healthy group of people up here (when you eliminate pockets of extreme poverty and addiction in the first nations but that's a whole other multi-faceted discussion)

nope, Canada is far from perfect