Socialized Meds

[Uturn]

That is what's happening. The problem with our health care system is that you can not buy yourself an MRI or ct scan and get in quicker. The system forces folks to wait in line (up to 3 months) no matter how much money you have.

Actually you can get private health care in Canada if you are willing to pay. I know of two people who have had knee surgery within 2 weeks in Vancouver. You just need a referral and $10K.

A 2 tiered health care system will benefit those who can pay, not those who need it the most. I don't think the Alberta government could screw up the system more than they have now, but I'm sure rule with a stick Stelmach will try his best.

 

[Cyle]

How do people from the US get free health care in Canada?

You can pay to get stuff done quicker if you go to Quebec. Quebecers are allowed to have private clinics. What's up with that?

Not that hard if they know someone in Canada and list their address as their own. Last time I checked Quebec wasn't part of Canada?! :d

 

[Cyle]

That is what's happening. The problem with our health care system is that you can not buy yourself an MRI or ct scan and get in quicker. The system forces folks to wait in line (up to 3 months) no matter how much money you have.

Actually you can get private health care in Canada if you are willing to pay. I know of two people who have had knee surgery within 2 weeks in Vancouver. You just need a referral and $10K.

A 2 tiered health care system will benefit those who can pay, not those who need it the most. I don't think the Alberta government could screw up the system more than they have now, but I'm sure rule with a stick Stelmach will try his best.

Just remember it can always get worse, imagine if the Liberals were in power?

 

[Snowdin]

Just remember it can always get worse, imagine if the Liberals were in power?

I yi yi yi. You got that right.

 

[Snowdin]

That is what's happening. The problem with our health care system is that you can not buy yourself an MRI or ct scan and get in quicker. The system forces folks to wait in line (up to 3 months) no matter how much money you have.

Actually you can get private health care in Canada if you are willing to pay. I know of two people who have had knee surgery within 2 weeks in Vancouver. You just need a referral and $10K.

A 2 tiered health care system will benefit those who can pay, not those who need it the most. I don't think the Alberta government could screw up the system more than they have now, but I'm sure rule with a stick Stelmach will try his best.

IMO this is not true. If there was a two tier system there would be a lot less pressure on the free health care system. There are a lot of folks who can afford and would pay for medical. If you take those folks out of the free system that would leave that much more room for others to get help quicker.

 

[ZRrrr]

Well this topic has opened a real can of worms and I am sure you will get all sorts of opinions. I myself could go on and on and on. I will put it this way.....I have friends in California. While visiting one friend broke her ankle playing soccer. She was in such excruciating pain we decided the closest hospital was best. It took them a 1/2 hour to call and get through to her insurance company only to be told it was best she go to such and such a clinic. While travelling there she began to pass out from the pain. Again a stop at the nearest hospital and again the same line.

Here in Canada I can walk into any hospital at anytime, with any issue and will (at some point) be given care without question or cost.

Don't kid yourself....US health insurance industry is FOR PROFIT as are many of the doctors. There are considerably more medical mistakes in the US. US has the highest infant mortality rate in the entire industrialized world! Don't believe the fear mongering. OUr system is not "that bad". Ask any transplanted American living in Canada what they think and I bet you get a very, very different answer.

Here is another story for you. I was working first aid at a local summer event. It was a bad year for hornets. People were getting bit all over. There was a couple from the US whom the husband got bit. He came in for treatment. We did the very best we could and he asked us how much. Shook our heads and told him we did this as volunteers. He was shocked and very pleased. I asked him how much this would have cost in the US and then I was shocked. How many people could actually afford to get simple treatment like that, based on what he told me that would have cost.

Yes, our system is not without it's issues, but there are a whole heck of a lot of good about it. We have some of the best cardiac and pediatric doctors in the world.....and they do it for the love of medicine....not how big of a house or fast of a car they can buy.

There is sooooo much I could get into about each system. Like I siad, don't let the fear mongering from the for profit insurance companies get you, but do make sure your government does it right.

I wish you the best. No one should be denied equal health care...no one!!

 

[Cyle]

Well, I guess in the next few days I will see how good it is first hand Took my dad in tonight and he had a mild stroke. Not pleased at all at how the mis was so far

 

[Snowdin]

Well, I guess in the next few days I will see how good it is first hand Took my dad in tonight and he had a mild stroke. Not pleased at all at how the mis was so far

Sorry to hear that. Good luck.

 

[Snowdin]

Well this topic has opened a real can of worms and I am sure you will get all sorts of opinions. I myself could go on and on and on. I will put it this way.....I have friends in California. While visiting one friend broker her ankle playing soccer. She was in such extruciating pain we decided the closes hospital was best. It took them a 1/2 hour to call and get through to her insurance company only to be told it was best she go to such and such a clinic. While travelling there she began to pass out from the pain. Again a stop at the nearest hospital and again the same line.

Here in Canada I can walk into any hospital at anytime, with any issue and will (at some point) be given care without question or cost.

Don't kid yourself....US health insurance industry is FOR PROFIT as are many of the doctors. There are considerably more medical mistakes in the US. US has the highest infant mortality rate in the entire industrialized world! Don't believe the fear mongering. OUr system is not "that bad". Ask any transplanted American living in Canada what they think and I bet you get a very, very different answer.

Here is another story for you. I was working first aid at a local summer event. It was a bad year for hornets. People were getting bit all over. There was a couple from the US whom the husband got bit. He came in for treatment. We did the very best we could and he asked us how much. Shook our heads and told him we did this as volunteers. He was shocked and very pleased. I asked him how much this would have cost in the US and then I was shocked. How many people could actually afford to get simple treatment like that, based on what he told me that would have cost.

Yes, our system is not without it's issues, but there are a whole heck of a lot of good about it. We have some of the best cardiac and pediatric doctors in the world.....and they do it for the love of medicine....not how big of a house or fast of a car they can buy.

There is sooooo much I could get into about each system. Like I siad, don't let the fear mongering from the for profit insurance companies get you, but do make sure your government does it right.

I wish you the best. No one should be denied equal health care...no one!!

I agree with everything you said. I just think there is a better way.

Here is an interesting tid bit and it's just a rumour I heard a few years ago. Rumour has it back about 10 years ago when the Lie-brils were in power and cutting back on the Health Care transfer payments to the provinces they told one of the biggest medical universities in Canada. It's in Ontario not sure which one, that they have to cut back on graduating doctors. Apparently the government also paid said university 10 million for to do so.

This tid bit is not rumour. I heard from Optometrists mouth. The school in Ontario, Waterloo I think, is only allowing a very small number of Optometrist through. They are turning down mega folks who want to become an eye doctor. This is happening today. Why is our government turning down Canadians who want to be in the medical field?

 

[Mikew5j]

A year wait for joint replacement, or 6 month wait for diagnostic test? Give me a break! Truth is the US system doesn’t work, and neither does Canada’s. I want the right to have private health care insurance so when our system drops the ball on me, I can go to the US to get a procedure done without having to mortgage my house two times over. In the US money determines access, here it’s bureaucracy. I’m not sure what is worse.

I’m sick and tired of special interest groups playing politics with Canadian lives. Honestly, I listen to some of the arguments going back and forth, and I think they view it as some sort of game. You have the private business on one side, labor unions and historical idealists on the other. Everyone else is in the middle wading through the minutia of “sky will fall” arguments. If public healthcare can work, then fix it already. Otherwise we need to do some thing different.

I don’t want my life, or the lives of those I care about, to be part of the hardship that may lead to the fix of the system. The priority should be the health of Canadians, not the preservation of some system just because it’s “Canadian”.

Signed,
Frustrated

 

[Snowdin]

People say they don't want a two tier system but don't say why. Why not?

 

[Mikew5j]

The public sector is far from cost effective. This has been proven time and time again. Every time the government acts on wait times they throw more money at it. The money disappears, and nothing changes. The public system is a lethargic bureaucracy, with no incentive to improve or streamline itself.

 

[squarehead55]

I heard of a 21 year old boy who almost died in Canada, He neede his tonsils removed and it took so long to get the procedure done he had a massive infection be the time the doctor was willing to sharpen his scalpel. Why does it take so long? In U.S. if you needed your tonsils out it would only take maybe a week from the initial visit to have them removed. I need my head examined. Should I stay here or go to Canada?

 

[Cyle]

I heard of a 21 year old boy who almost died in Canada, He neede his tonsils removed and it took so long to get the procedure done he had a massive infection be the time the doctor was willing to sharpen his scalpel. Why does it take so long? In U.S. if you needed your tonsils out it would only take maybe a week from the initial visit to have them removed. I need my head examined. Should I stay here or go to Canada?

Saying it's slow is a compliment. The system seems to want people to just give up and leave. Wait times are a joke.

A two tiered system might not be perfect, but I think it would be a nice improvement. Give people the chance to pay, so they don't have to wait so long.

The biggest problem IMO is people. Capital health footing the bill for people in vehicle accidents when it should be the insurance company. Smokers, alcoholics, drugies, extremly overweight people cost so much money, they should pay for their healthcare out of their pocket if it's anyway related to them not taking care of themselves.

Healthcare costs a fortune, and the system is terrible, especially considering the cost.

 

[Cyle]

Sorry to hear that. Good luck.

Thanks, it is going well, should be back to 100% or well 99% in a week or so. Pretty stressfull but it is going well.

 

[ZRrrr]

One THE biggest problems wit our health care system is the abuse it endures. People going to emerg for a cough. Equitable access is great, but there a great many people that think only of themsleves.

I am in complete agreement with a health care "card" that tracks usage. At a certain point some people who burden the system need to become accountable.

Didn't our gov used to send out a letter outlining the costs of whatever treatment you went in for. I'm sure that would make some people think twice about system abuse. Wonder why that stopped it??

All too often we here horror stories....but I can assure you there are many, many good stories about our system. No child is denied any form of care they may need regardless of race, colour, religion, socio economic status and so on. From a personal standpoint I have seen several friends and family members that have come out of the system with nothing but thanks for the system we have.

Now if the gov would indeed quit using our health care system as a pawn in their political positioning.......they waste vast sums of money on completely ridiculous chit but play health care like a 2 bit hooker........I digress.

 

[burndown1]

Just remember it can always get worse, imagine if the Liberals were in power?

Thats one Big problem we have here in the USA. Tax and spend Liberals are in power. That is the reason I started this thread, So I can get ready for a Gov. controled health care system.

 

[frock]

I am very thankful that I live here with healthcare for all. You can talk about any subject and get extreme stories for each, but these are not the norm. I just came home from a 3 day stay at the hospital for a tore up groin and shoulder (spoiled horse incident). I have nothing but praise for the way I was treated by the healthcare people involved. I would have to mortgage the ranch for the amount of care I just received if I lived in the States, instead I have a low monthly payment for coverage in beautiful British Columbia, Canada:d:d.

 

[sldgy]

the current USA health system at it's finest

 

[nursepwdr]

Upon reading all the so called "stories" people have about our health care , I think this debate is pointless.....I personally work on the front line of the system ......I am a ER nurse and I usually work Triage or trauma , as a triage nurse, i see patients and assess their urgency and prioritize who is a "emergent case " now, the thing people do not understand is "what is classified as a emergency?" or urgent case ....Well , it is a condition which is life threatening.....! No other definition .....Of course our system is not perfect by any means but we do our best with what this govt. gives us ....At this time we are seeing many cutbacks , staff shortages , and simply overworked and burnt out medical staff ........Mr.Liepert states that our health care is in dire straits and all of us who work in it , believe he is correct , he continues to cutback qualified staff and replace them with less qualified or lower level staff, with no other explanation but to cut COSTS....Is that okay with everyone?? Would you like your loved one to be treated by a less qualified professional? I personally would NOT...That is the direction Mr.Liepert and Mr.Duckett are heading with this provinces future , you all need to speak out about your needs ........Call your local MLA and make your needs known....As medical professionals we hear alot about wait times in the ER and so called "missed" diagnosis .....the truth of the matter is we treat emergent cases first which I believe everyone reading this can appreciate , if it were your loved one in trouble,in need of emergent care , you would chose to have someone who twisted their ankle sit and wait while we save your family members life , correct?? That is what we are dealing with on a daily basis ....people complaining because they had to wait for a minor complaint, now , don't get me wrong , their are instances where people have to wait for surgeons or other specialist for extended time frames, for this I have no answers , i can only speak for how I personally do my job....the system is overloaded and doctors are overworked !!
Overall, our system is envied by many and although it doesn't go without it's problems we have better accessibility to care and further treatment than most others........
The only way to make it better is pay attention to what the govt is doing and the changes they are implementing ,be a active part in your own care and future care, make your opinions known and help support those of us who choose to help others on a daily basis ......Of course I too could go on forever but I just want to voice my opinion and experience on this broad and contraversial topic.......