bulletandpima

Since the US is going through growing pains with our health care systems, please enlighten all of us on whether you would opt for canada's or ours. Also what is your typical wait time for an appt.

tom1944

Canadian Healthcare

Try this thread. I asked that question

bulletandpima

Thanks, I found it interesting there were tons of posts, but only 2 people who had lvied in Canada. Unfortunately, for me I would like to make a judgement on a larger pool than 2 people.

tom1944

Me too. On other threads I posted about my interaction with Canadian business owners and truck drivers who have so far been overwhelmingly in favor of their system.

phuriku

Check reddit. There are very many accounts of Canadian healthcare there, as well as the healthcare of other nations under similar plans.

Almost every account that I have seen that isn't propaganda is a genuine sympathy toward Americans for having to put up with this. I remember reading a post by a man who broke his foot and was outraged for having to pay $25 for crutches (he didn't have to pay anything else except $2 for an x-ray). Another Canadian poster said that Americans should be getting ****ed off about $25 charges, not $25,000 charges. Sad, but true.

zotan

Healthcare System Ratings: U.S., Great Britain, Canada

Canadians are most satisfied with their healthcare system than Americans are. And thats at a fraction of the cost for what we pay.

bulletandpima

Okay you are not a Canadian, so thus, your post is more propaganda than actual experience and opinion. Anybody familiar with polling knows it is how you ask the question and to whom that matters.

zotan

You're such a tool. Simply asking people in a message board what they think is much less reliable than a scientific poll conducted by one of the most renowned polling agencies in the world. So show me the bias in that poll Mr. Statistician. Tell me where Gallup went wrong.

-Allmusic-

Go ask Alwaysamom (I think that's her moniker). She's a Canadian who has lived in the US as well. She posts here sometimes and in the Cafe, and I believe she has said that she has been extremely satisfied with her and her family's healthcare.

zotan

And for whatever its worth, I have had some experience with the Canadian healthcare system. A few years back, I broke my arm in a skiing accident in Whistler. Even as a foreigner, I received excellent care that I would say was more efficient than the care I've gotten for similar accidents in the states.

bulletandpima

First, show respect, calling someone a "tool", does not show you as a mature person.

Second, you had your own insurance, you were not under their health care program. Did you think they were not going to bill your insurance?

I lived on the UK economy for 3 yrs, rushed by an ambulance to the British hospital (Banbury) for an open head wound while pregnant. I lived their way. I sat in their ER with a towel to my head for 3 + hrs, while they filled prescriptions and changed bandages. They did come and give me a new towel every 30 minutes or so, but it never even occurred to them that as a pregnant woman with her skull exposed, maybe we should lie how down, even after giving me a new towel for the third time, because it did not stop bleeding. The stitches were done so poorly, that when I returned stateside, my doc said we can refer you to a plastic surgeon to correct it. (I have a permanent lump because they overlapped the skin).

dstark

Well, a doctor crushed my nephew's skull when he was born in Northern Calif.

I have no idea if that means health care is worse in Cal than Canada or the UK.

mauretania

I can't speak for the rest of Canada but family and friends that live in the Vancouver, BC area are perfectly happy with their medical system. Some had cancer (many years in remission), my sister recently had a shoulder problem and had to see a sports medicine specialist and got an appointment within the same week. That same sister works in a dental office and I had my daughter's wisdom teeth removed in her office for a fraction of what it would have cost here.

I know they have private hospitals as my best friend's mother was a head nurse at one when we were in high school.

I left Vancouver when I was 22 years of age. At that time, my job provided perks such as life insurance and additional private medical insurance.

I lived in Norway for six years during the 80's, my daughter was born in Kristiansand. The medical system was great at keeping track of my daughter's appointments considering we moved a number of times. I also had a doctor make a house call in the middle of a snow
storm when my baby was ill. The system was a huge help to me as my husband was often
away on business trips and I had no family to help me.

Now I honestly don't think a "public" system would work in the US as the population is too large to keep track of, especially with the amount of illegal immigrants living here. Also,
medicine is a huge money-making business here which means there will never be a public
system paid by taxes. When examples are given of other countries, they don't mention
the much smaller populations and few illegal immigrants.

My doctor (general practice) I had here since 1989, closed up shop and started a "wellness"
center. When I asked her about it, she admitted there was much more money in cosmetic surgery and weight loss programs which she specializes in now.

I do get tired of hearing about the "horror" stories from Canada and other countries. I guess people forget that there are plenty in the news here, as well.

DonnaL

I would tell my own story about a visiting American's experiences with the emergency healthcare system in Canada (specifically, Montreal), but I just told it! Let's just say that my experience was not entirely positive. Despite having my own insurance coverage from the U.S.

barrons

My wife needs knee replacement and we are checking around for surgeons to do her complicated case. Most can do it within two months. Canada--

Wait times report shows some progress; knee replacements still take time | Fort Frances Times Online