How much do you Americans really know about the Canadian health care system?

Question

Conservative provincial governments in Canada have tryed to errode our health care by taking out funding and then critisizing the system to promote privatized health care. Are you aware of this?

Many Canadians recieve excellent care and do not have to wait hours. Here in Alberta where King Kline ruled until recently, there have been all kinds of horror stories because of his Conservative Parties funding cuts. He really wants private health care bad. So bad I guess it's OK if the rest of us poor schmucks suffer in order to, 'over time', convince us or subdue, us into thinking he is right. The right is aslways right, right?

Most Canadians pay a health care premium. People on Social Assistance have their premium covered. First Nations peoples have health care included in their treaty rights. (The least we can do since the health of First Nations is still suffering the aftermath of Colonialism...true here!) Anyway, it is the Concervatives in this country that have hurt our system.

Answer 1

All I know id that many Americans go to Canada for drugs & many Canadians come here for surgerey.

Answer 2

Whenever the gov't gets involved, the whole system will fall apart.

The Canadian system will not work here in the states because most people will not stand for a 2 year wait for a elective surgery.

Salaries {including Md's} will go down, so you will have a mass exodus of well trained professionals. Competition will suffer, new research will diminish.

The rich who can afford private health care will do so, and then there will be whining about the rich get better health care...and so on ....and so on...

It has been proven that social health care is not the answer here in the states. We need to find out where the waste is and go from there. Stop frivolous law suits, so malpractice insurance can come down, raise nurses salaries {just kidding}, just a few thoughts.

Answer 3

There is a lot of misinformation here in the states as to the quality and availability of the Canadian health care system. I have ask many questions here and directly to Canadians when I was driving truck into Ontario once or twice a week and it is nothing like Americans perceive it. The one question I always ask was would you trade your health care system with ours and I always, 100% got an answer of NO.

Answer 4

What a lot of people don't understand is that, at least here in the US, the 2 main parties are really one in the same. It's not the cons or the libs that are the problem, it's big business. Big business probably has been lining the King's pocket and that is why he is very into privatizing health care.

Answer 5

Why do you still live in Alberta? There are other provinces that do not require you to pay a health care premium. The federal government gives transfer payments to the provinces and territories to pay for a basic amount towards health care. Also, the provinces use their own tax revenue to pay for the rest. It is true that our health care needs are greater these years because of many aging baby-boomers and their health problems.
But Alberta, being a rich province, could do better for its citizens.

Answer 6

I know a couple of things about it. I know there was a mass exodus of Canadian nurses to the US until they were required to sit for the NCLEX because of limited opportunity for them in Canada. I know that although Canada has numerous hospitals they run at about 10=15% capacity because of funding. I know that people who can afford it come to the US for treatment. I know if you require urgent treatment, waiting in line for 6 months is probably not a good idea.

Answer 7

You Canadians also enjoy the protection of the United States military, allowing cuts in defence to pay for that little charade of yours.

Remember that the greatest economists have proven over and over that a free market will provide the best quality for the lowest costs. I suggest you read "On the Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith.

Answer 8

I don't know if the Canadian system is better or not.I do know the fact that insurance premiums taking more than a third of my take home pay is utterly ridiculous!

Answer 9

Well I spent a lot of time in Canada, with people in need of health care, and while there I, too, needed to see a doctor. Here is what I found. One friend waited almost 8 months to see a doctor who properly diagnosed her arthritis. She started the process with her "regular" family doctor, who was only allowed to refer her to another "clinical" doctor, who then had to refer her up the chain. She had been misdiagnosed by several of those she did see. Another friend called 911 for an ambulance and was told (this was in Vancouver) that there were no beds, so they were not coming to get him, he would have to wait. We ended up driving him to a hospital in Coquitlam where he was immediately admitted. On a third trip a passenger in my car became ill, so ill he could not stand nor catch his breath. We thought at first it might be due to lack of food or drink and stopped to eat, but when he could no longer stand we took him straight to the hospital where he sat, and sat, and eventually fall off the chair. They looked him over, told him there was nothing they could do because they were too busy, and told him (I was there this is true) to go home and come back another time. I went with yet another friend to see his family doctor several times, after he had a blood clot in his lungs. I never, in all the visits, saw the doctor ever take blood pressure, or take blood for that matter. He never used a stethoscope, never did any exam at all. He just sat and talked to us, and made notes and filed for his money. I went to a clinic for an infection after a camping trip. I had to pay $100.00 and was given some pills, no exam, nothing, even though I was bleeding in an area that should not have been. My friend also was infected. They gave him something to ease the pain, but nothing to rid the infection. This happened on the next visit too. I was flabbergasted. We were told that the medicine he would need was not one this doctor could prescribe but he could refer my friend to someone else. When we called the referral doctor he said it would be 3 weeks before we could get an appointment. I finally took him across the border to a doctor in the States. I was in Canada when the nurses went on strike, and also when the doctors went on strike. How you deal with all this is beyond me. My heart goes out to all Canadians who are in need of medical help and have to wait for that system. And especially for those who are in need of critical care, those who are terminally ill, but, if seen and acted on in time might have been saved. Yes I pay a lot for health care, but when I walk into my doctor's office (who could not even conceive of going on strike) I get tested and cared for, and so do my Canadian friends, when they come to visit.

Answer 10

You see, with nationalized health care, the country must depend on other countries to develop new technologies, and new treatments. So in turn, if every state got it, we wouldn't advance in health care at all. Basically, i think the US should create the new technologies, and canada should give us them cheaply.... hehe

Answer 11

I know that many Candians are waiting 2-3 years to receive surgeries that are medically necessary and then they are shipped to the United States because Canadas doctors/surgeons can't keep up with all the surgeries they have to do because of socialized medicine. Too many elective surgeries are being prioritized ahead of those medically necessary. Also, your taxes are rediculously high because of socialized medicine. It seems the working middle class winds up paying for everyone - not fair to them.