Canadian healthcare

Me going on about our health care system here in Canada. A little long, but I have a fair amount of experience in this area, ergo a lot to say ;)

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Canadian
• Healthcare
• Insurance
• Canada
• Hospital
• Parapalegic
• Ill
• Sick
• Doctor
• Clinic
• Hospital food
• GF Strong
• Vancouver
• BC

[codeegirl]

For pete's sakes people... This topic isn't about which is better, it was just about how happy I am that I am Canadian and received probably over a million dollars' worth of treatment from AMAZING doctors. If anyone from the US thinks it's BS, go to GF Strong in Van and you'll see the level of care people get. This has nothing to do with bashing the American health care system. I'm proud to be Canadian no matter who I talk to!

[codeegirl]

I think all this debate about Canadian vs American health care is entertaining, as I was saying how happy I am with the care I got. Yes, if you go in for a sore foot you'll wait for five hours, but if you have a real problem, they get you in right away. I have had a LOT of experience, and I am very happy with our system. We need more doctors and nurses of course, because the ones we have are overworked, but they do a very good job for what they have to work with.

[darkmagicianknightx]

Just because you were treated right at some hospitals in your erea doesn't mean it's the same everywhere.

Cheers to your happiness

[juxtn]

Yeah here in the United States people also go to the ER because they cry poverty and use it as a free clinic. I always heard horror stories where they try to charge you thousands because it is emergency care. Canadian provinces should charge a user fee like 50 dollars if you are treated in the ER and not admitted to hospital -most health plans in the US do that and I think that keeps hypochondriacs out of emergency ward. OR hospitals should house walk-in-clinics & tell people get out of the ER.

[mplyler1]

@Plumpdumper

Considering what medical professionals have to go through to be able to treat patients they definitely have to enjoy helping others...

[Plumpdumper]

@cannyx Yeah but Americans don't receive joy from helping others. It's every man woman and child for themself down here.

[BeachBabby233]

I live in the U.S. It takes about 7 hours in the ER.

I'm planning on moving to Canada not only for better heath care, and equal rights, but it just overall seems like a better place to be.

Living with handicap people, my grandmother spent a total of 1 year in the hospital. If it wasn't for paying $500 a month for insurance she would have been faced with a $600,000 bill. We'd be living on the street.

[Reijen]

@coverchenko Really? Some 20 year old is going to pop in, and ask for a heart transplant to replace their already healthy one? Get real.

Doctors aren't yes men to whatever whims you have. They check you, then offer options for treatment if you need it.

[Reijen]

@coverchenko

They are privately run in that they make their own decisions much like any company would, but when they're done treating a patient, doctors send the bill to the government to pay them, rather than the patient.

[johnwest360]

Thanks for sharing your story! I am personally touched!

[CanadianRockies2005]

When I was rushed to hospital by paramedics to Toronto Western Hospital in downtown Toronto about 2 years ago for near-amputation of 2 of my fingers in a freak accident I had to wait as well.. (for about 5 minutes). I was given morphine IV though while being transported to the hospital.

After surgery and rehab my fingers have regained about 90% of their pre-accident functions. I feel bad about the accident but I feel good for being taken care of at the hospital at the emergency dept and rehab.

[CanadianRockies2005]

Canada spends less than 2% of its entire health care spending on bureaucracy as opposed to 25-30% by the US. So tell me which system is less bureaucratic ? I'll give you a great example Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) alone employs more people just for bill collection at its billing dept than the number of people employed by all of 106 hospitals of Province of Ontario (which serve a population of approx.14 million people).