Canadians: Do you like your healthcare system?

Question

Canadians: Do you like your healthcare system?

Answer 1

1

Answer 2

Yes, this Canadian likes the healthcare we receive. We do get to choose our doctor (most of the time anyway) and sometimes we do have to wait for certain surgeries.

Socialism isn't ALL bad. There are some good things about socialism.

Answer 3

americans just fear not having private insurance. some don't understand that the flaws of national health insurance are much less than the current flaws we have to day with out system personally I'm for mixed insurance. half private and half public. choose which one you want



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Answer 4

One thing nobody else mentioned is that it largely depends on where in Canada you live. People in large urban areas generally have better choices than people living in rural Canada. The differences can sometimes be astonishing. Many Canadian family doctors in rural Canada are next useless because they are so over-worked. However, if given the choice between free, mediocre health care and no health care at all I think I'll choose the former.

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Answer 6

I think you and most Americans are vastly ill informed about what our health care system is. You guys don't have a clue and all you get is misinformation from special interest groups in the US.

Answer 7

Where you do get the idea that you can't choose your own doctors in Canada? that is a load of BS because you do, the Government does NOT tell you what doctor to see. yes there can be a waiting list for some surgeries but not all. Just like there is a wait list for some surgeries in the US.



It is WAYYYYYY better than what it is in the US when it comes to service and care and costs. It is NOT free either but it is still cheaper than any programs in the US and you DO have more say.

Answer 8

Actually I can go to any doctor I choose.

I can go the government Healthcare route if I choose, or I can pay for private care if I choose.



As for the people that think it's a socialist process... to each their own :)



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Answer 10

You don't hear that from Canadians.



I can choose any doctor I like, as a family doctor or for surgery etc.



As for government control, I asked a Canadian neurosurgeon if he had to get permission for procedures [ as with insurance in the USA]. He looked at me as though I was mad and said anything his patients need, his patients get.



Last time I got surgery, it was two weeks after the biopsy, which was a week after the second scan, a week after the first scan.



I think that these untruths about Canadian healthcare are used by Republicans in the US to oppose that service for Americans.



Do you realise that the US is the only country in the first world whose citizens do not have universal access to health care?



Do you realise that it is cheaper per head to provide health care to all Canadian citizens than it costs per person to provide healthcare to 60% of your citizens in the US?



I hope, for your sake, you get some help in this soon.

Answer 11

its untrue that we can't choose our own doctors (we can, i went to many different doctors until i found one i liked). also. non life threatening surgeries may have a bit of a wait time (my dad had to wait a few weeks for his gall bladder removal surgery). life threatening situations are dealt with right away. as for minor things like a broken bone or blood work. you may have to wait in the waiting room for a couple of hours at the most.





plus, we can go to any hospital in Canada.

Answer 12

Simply put, in Canada Healthcare is a public service - it's there for any of us when ever we need it. In the US, Healthcare is a business. Here the doctors determine what you need, in the US the insurance company decides what you can afford.

Answer 13

Universal health care is a characteristic of a civilized nation.



I underwent cancer treatment very soon after receiving my diagnosis. Say what you want about the Canadian health care system but when you really need it...it's there.



Delays in procedures are common everywhere in the world (not everyone can be first) but if a patient's case is urgent, trust me, that patient will get in pronto. No one here minds that as we consider ourselves lucky to have universal health care. It's not free (it never was isn't now and never will be), of course, as we pay for it out of our taxes.



True, it's not perfect but it never claimed to be perfect. However, I would never ever opt to give it up.

Answer 14

I Like it!

Answer 15

Americans have no idea what "socialism" is. Certainly a government run health-care system is not socialism. In point of fact, the United States is the only industrialized nation on the planet that does not have a government health-care system of some kind.



We in Canada have far more freedom to choose a physician than Americans. With your HMOs and corporate giants running health care, patients are directed to whichever doctor has signed up with a particular insurance company. Want a doctor that isn't affiliated with your HMO? You're out of luck because you're not likely going to be able to change insurance providers after you've been diagnosed with an illness.



No, Canada's health-care system isn't perfect but I wouldn't trade it for American health-care.

Answer 16

It's far from perfect. I hear the French system is the gold standard here. But Canadians would never agree to move back to a private, USA type system. We had that till the early 60's. Some of us remember what it was like, or our parents remembered and told us about it.



Other posters have more to say about the details, but my last encounter with the system other than routine visits to my GP (who no one chose for me) was the summer before last when chest pains made my GP's office tell me to go emergency. There was a 3 minute wait to talk to a triage nurse, I was in a bed and hooked to monitor 15 minutes later; four hours later I was discharged told I wasn't having a heart attack but an appointment with a cardiologist was set up for next week just in case. Total cost= zero (if you don't count the taxes I've been paying for years, which are not a whole lot more than what Americans pay.)



.Not wanting to bash Americans here but I think very few of them know what "socialism" means. It's more like a code word for "something scary people tell me is bad". Canada is a long, long way from being a socialist state.

Answer 17

The US system is not a system. It is chaos. It is also the most expensive medicine in the world.

Yes we like our system and would never want yours. It does have certain flaws. The wait times for elective surgery is too long. However it does cover everyone.

You can choose your own doctor but he has to be willing to take you. Many have all the patients they want. Here I can walk into any hospital in the country and they have to treat me. All the medical costs are covered. Drugs are covered if you get them in a hospital if you are admitted. Drugs filled at a pharmacy has paid for by you, or your employers plan. In Ontario, drugs for seniors are covered by the government.

Answer 18

You have it totally wrong.



We have had socialist governments in Canada provincially, and Her Majesties Official Opposition is currently a socialist party. Socialism is not bad - it's just different. I prefer more right wing governments, but, socialism is not evil at all.



However, back to healthcare - Canadians pay per capita about 1/2 of what Americans pay for healthcare. For that, we have a lower infant mortality rate, healthier lives, and, we live longer. And, no-one goes broke by getting sick. Something like 2/3's of bankruptcy's in the USA are from medical bills. That simply doesn't happen here.



Many say Canadians pay much higher taxes. But, while an exact comparison is difficult, broadly speaking, we pay about the same in taxes. Roughly.



We are free to choose whatever doctor we wish. Waiting lists depend on the circumstances - last time I took someone in we were met in the hallway, and she was whisked off to the examining room - we didn't even make it to the waiting room! I had to tell the receptionist that she had been admitted! If I want a thorough medical, I could have an appointment after a few days. For something routine, perhaps a day or two. For something serious, they'd see me right away.



The thing is about Canada is that it is universal. A street bum who comes in before the millionaire is seen first - you cannot pay extra to go ahead of the line. So, you have to wait your turn - same as poorer people in the USA. In Canada, there is no paying extra to get better service. The service is good - but, equal for everyone.



I'd like to see drugs added to the insurance plan, and throwing in dental would be great too. Other than that, our system is about as good as it could be.

Answer 19

We love our system. We know it is not perfect but overall we love our socialized medical insurance system. Just remember that 85% of our medical services are delivered by private practitioners.



I also live din California from 2001 to 2010 and with HMO insurance I have waited just as long, if not longer for medical services as I did in the USA.



In the USA, the system refused to properly treat my daughter's endometriosis and I had to return her to Canada for proper treatment and an ultimate cure.



As for free choice, I am totally free to select my doctor. There is NO mechanism in place in Canada to tell you what doctor to see.



In the USA, my HMO assigned me to specific doctors then I had to fight to get one that could actually see HMO patients.

Answer 20

Small towns are having emergency roosm closed so they have to drive 2 hours to the nearest hospital.

THAT SENTENCE ALONE should say a lot ?

Our government is horrible and harper has TO GO!

Answer 21

Though our healthcare system is flawed, it works reasonably well. For your first statement, socialism, bad if it gets out of control, isn't always a disaster.



For your second statement, for day to day care, we're allowed to choose our doctors if they have their own practices. However, in cases where something has to be looked after in a hospital, there's less choice in doctors, facilities, and scheduling. However, like you Americans, we are free to get care at elsewhere if we can pay for it.



Overall a healthcare system where costs are in check is far superior to a system where people aren't getting bang for their buck and have nothing to turn to if insurance gets them nowhere.



Here are some pros and cons of Canada's healthcare system:

Pros

-Affordable

-No need to stress out about costs

-Actually lowers healthcare costs businesses are obligated to pay

-Care is available for the most part when it is needed



Cons

-Efficiency needs to be improved to waste less resources - a problem common to all healthcare systems due to the inefficient nature of healthcare - this ought to result in even lower costs and shorter waiting times

-Legislation needs to be brought up to 21st century standards

Answer 22

Our healthcare system could use some improvements, but most of us do like it.



There is no truth to the American propaganda that we can't choose our own doctors, etc. We do choose our own doctors. The waiting lists for surgery are primarily for non-essential surgeries. Surgery wait times are based on the urgency of the need, not the ability to pay. There are wait times for specialists, but if the need is urgent it won't be much of a wait if at all. There is no such thing as being denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. There is no such thing as losing your home to pay medical bills. We don't have millions of people in our country with no medical insurance because they can't afford it.

Answer 23

Socialism is great. It means that those who are rich support those that they keep down. Another way to look at it is, if the owner of a company wants to make the millions off the backs of minimum wage earners, then he will end up paying more in taxes, which in a round about way, goes to those workers.



I can go to any hospital in Canada. I can choose which dr I go to. If I do not agree with them, I can go and get a second opinion from another dr, The lists you talk about are for elective surgeries. Those are the things that are not life threatening.



I like showing a card and not having to figure out how I will pay for the bill, as we do not get a bill.

Answer 24

i personally dont

the emercency is not an emercency

i had to wait 12 hours to get my appendix removed

the doctor said i was lucky

people abuse the system

people know its free and go there for whatever (especially the middle easterners)

why would i choose my doctor

i want to stay away from my doctor as much as possible

he prescribes everthing from the book

everything big pharma tells them

to me its corrupt

Answer 25

The health care system in Canada is not perfect, but is a whole lot more effective, than what Americans have to put up with.



It is a Universal system, meaning that all Canadian citizens , and legal Immigrants are a part of the plan. We ALL PAY FOR IT, through our income taxes, and sales taxes. IT IS NOT FREE.



Think of it as a "pre paid medical insurance program" that covers everyone, equally.



By removing the "profit motive " that drives American hospitals, and insurance companies, we have a system that focuses on what is the appropriate medical treatment to use, NOT what will the insurance Company PAY FOR ?



Americans pay about DOUBLE what a Canadian pays, per year, for their care, and many Americans have NO medical care coverage at all. That just does not happen in my country.



No Canadian will be forced into bankruptcy, by huge medical bills. No one here in Canada has to sell their home to pay for medical care for their child.



Waiting lists. YES we have them..............BUT the worst cases are at the front of the line, and no one here can BUY their way into faster treatment, because they are a billionaire. Just like in the ER, the worst are seen FIRST, the rest are seen later.



About the term socialism.................Do you think that having public schools is bad. How about having a public library in your town ? Is that bad How about having a town fire department ? Is that bad ? Because ALL of those are examples of SOCIALIST policies, that provide public services, to every one, that are PAID for by "everyone ". Is contributing to the Social Security pension fund , a bad thing " Of course, not. BUT that is also a example of a program that EVERYONE pays into that results in a monthly pension, when you retire. Is that a BAD IDEA ?



There is a HUGE difference, between Socialism, and Communism. A Communist state is a Police state, where individuals cannot own property, and have no rights. The old USSR was a perfect example of a Communist state. Do you think that Canada is a Communist state............ Of course not.



If you were to do a national opinion poll of Canadian adults, and asked them about how they like our medical care system........I think that the vast majority would be in favour of it, and NONE of them would want to switch to the American model. We can all read the US media, and we can see how screwed up things are down there.............No thanks.



Jim B



Toronto.

Answer 26

They say wrong. You are hearing propaganda from private companies who are scared they will have their profits severely reduced by a government health care system. While I'm not that much in favour of government having its fingers into everything, there are places where it makes sense to have government run things and I think health care is one of them. Far better than having the thing run by private companies whose motivation is profit and who ultimately answer to shareholders instead of the people whose premiums they take.



We can choose our doctors in Canada. If you live in a smaller place, you might have to travel to see some specialists or to see a different one. You choose your GP, and if you are referred to a specialist by the GP and don't like that one you can ask to see a different one. Yes, there are waiting lists for some things. I know all about those, having been put on them a couple of times now. I have had cancer and am about to have a second hip replacement. The thing is that if you have or could have something potentially life threatening such as cancer, you get looked after very quickly indeed. I got a biopsy for the cancer on a Friday. They told me on Saturday to show up for chemotherapy on Monday. That's pretty fast. For the hip replacement, I waited almost a year to see the specialist. Once I saw him and he properly diagnosed what was wrong, it took about another 2 months to get surgery. Sure, I was in pain, but what was wrong with my hip wasn't going to kill me.



One person I know went to his GP for what he thought was something minor. It wasn't. He was in a hospital bed an hour later.



You can't have everything, and I think our system is a good compromise between expensive and convenient. I hate to think what someone with my medical history would pay for medical insurance in the US, and what that insurance might not even cover. In the province where I live the premium is a little over $60 a month for one person, with reductions or elimination of that premium if you are low income. The medical plan doesn't pay for absolutely everything but it covers anything medically necessary. And there is never any doubt about what's covered or not, because it's all set out very clearly by the medical plan. There is no way you'll have surgery and then find out you have to pay for it yourself.



Then there is the question of private insurance not covering pre-existing conditions. There is no such thing, in Canada, as not being treated for something because it was treated before.



I sometimes see questions on here from people with medical problems. I wonder why they don't just go to a doctor, and then I realize they are American and maybe they can't afford to see a doctor. That never happens to a Canadian.

Answer 27

I'm wondering if there's a dictionary shortage in the US.

Because Americans are forever calling things "socialism" that aren't.

Canadian healthcare's a prime example. It's a social program, not socialism.



Some of the other US claims are just plain bizarre.

Like that "government controls it and you dont have the free choice..." stuff you pointed out.

Our system is the result of all that "we the people" stuff the US is always going on about, but can't seem to recognize when others elsewhere do it.

We democratically elected the government that created our system.

And since then, we've only elected political parties that will continue it.

It's not some sort of tyranny that was unjustly imposed on us.



Then there's the general confusion on how our system actually works.



If you're a Canadian citizen or a legal Permanent Resident, you're covered.

What's covered is considerable: by law, it's ALL medically-necessary care.

Meaning all neonatal, preventive, primary, emergency, rehabilitative, and follow up care.

By law, it's provided without limit or limitation.

Plus we're covered for all that everywhere we live or travel in Canada.

And covered for emergency care wherever we travel outside Canada.

And covered if medical-necessity requires sending a patient outside Canada for some treatment or specialist not available in Canada.

Not even the US President, Congress and Senate has coverage as comprehensive as that.



Medically necessity is, also by law, solely determined by doctors and hospitals.

It's not like the US where insurance companies have the final say on who gets what.

We're free to choose our own doctors and hospitals, which is also unlike the US.

In the US, some insurers/HMOs restrict patients to only certain doctors and hospitals.



Canadian doctors are the same as in the US: In private practice, not government employees.

Canadian hospitals are the same as US nonprofit hospitals, not government owned.



Canadian healthcare's not free like some Americans think. Instead it's pre-paid by taxation.

Pre-paid means doctors & hospitals send their bills to government ministries, not patients.

Which leads to something else: just how involved our levels of government is.

Federally, our national government provides funding and regulatory oversight and plays no direct role in healthcare delivery.

Instead of states, Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. It's that level of government that doctors and hospitals send their bills to.



So the Canadian system itself is better than what the US has because it IS a system.

The US doesn't have a system. And because of it, that brings me to the subject of wait times.

Because we've got a system, we have the ability to identify what's causing wait times.

And because we have a system, we can and have implemented policies to reduce them.

Since the US doesn't, it can't.



Lastly, there's there's the subject of taxes. American's believe we're taxed stupid.

Hell, most Canadians believe that myth too. But that's what it is: a myth.

Truth is that Canadians pay fewer taxes per person than Americans do:

Link - http://gregmankiw.blogspot.ca/2010/03/taxes-per-person.html



So overall, yeah, I can truthfully say I really do like our system.

Especially when compared with US healthcare:



Harvard Medical: "Canadians healthier than Americans, study says"

Link - http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060530/canada_us_healthcare_060530



Kaiser-Permanente Northwest: "Canadians healthier, live longer than Americans"

Link - http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfeatures/article/802388--canadians-healthier-live-longer-than-americans?bn=1



The annual Commonwealth Report: "U.S. scores dead last again in healthcare study"

Link - http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/23/us-usa-healthcare-last-idUSTRE65M0SU20100623



US wait times:

Link - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-burger/ugly-health-care-waiting-_b_55749.html

Link - http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-07-08/the-doctor-will-see-you-n-three-months



Studies that found patients in US-style for-profit care more likely to:

1.) Die:

Link - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-05/uab-ufh052202.php

2.) Suffer medical errors:

Link - http://psychcentral.com/openjournal/story/0421001118.htm

3.) Get sicker from wasteful, needless over-treatment:

Link - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/07/health/main6557062.shtml



So if you want to live a long, healthy life you might want to consider immigrating to Canada.

Here's a link to help with that if you ever decide to:

Link - http://www.cic.gc.ca/app/ctcvac/english/index?utm_source=short-url&utm_medium=short-url&utm_campaign=come-to-canada