Our new Canadian Health care system......Rant

by morty 28 Replies latest jw friends

iiz2cool

Is this a side effect of managed care?

We have waiting lists for a lot of things. A few years back my ex had some symptoms that could have been a mini-stroke. We waited for 5 hours in the ER only to have her sent home with no tests performed. Four months later she finally had an MRI.
A couple of years ago my GP discovered I had a polyp. I waited 5 months for a colonoscopy.
Waiting lists are standard here.
Walter

Scully

From today's news:

Premier won't ask for federal health tax

Premier won't ask for federal health tax


Gillian Livingston
Canadian Press

May 27, 2004

KITCHENER, Ont. -- When Premier Dalton McGuinty meets to talk about health care with the country's other premiers over the next few months, he won't be pushing for the federal government to adopt a health premium as Ontario has done, he said Wednesday.

"There's a major difference between my financial circumstances and the financial circumstances at the federal government level,'' McGuinty said after meeting with a group of young students in Kitchener, Ont., to talk about the province's $2.6-billion funding injection in education over the next four years.

In the budget, McGuinty instituted a health-care premium of $300 to $900 for most taxpayers to help deal with a multibillion-dollar deficit. But he also plans to spend $4.8 billion over his mandate to reform health care and slash wait times for key services to treat cancer, joint replacement and cardiac ailments.

And fresh on the federal election campaign trail Tuesday, Prime Minister Paul Martin unveiled a multibillion-dollar health-care plan that deals with a number of issues significant to Ontario, such as eradicating long wait times for treatments and reforming primary health care.

Unlike McGuinty, Martin said he'll be able to implement his plan without raising taxes.

Ontario's deficit-ridden books aren't in the same state as the federal government's, which has had several years of surpluses, McGuinty said. The province had a $6.2-billion deficit for the last fiscal year, which finished March 31, and it will be $2.2 billion this year, he said.

"That's not the state of affairs at the federal level,'' McGuinty said, adding he believes Martin will be able to keep his pledge not to raise taxes to finance health-care reform.

"Paul Martin has a stellar track record as a financial manager,'' McGuinty said. "I have every confidence that he knows exactly where he's going to get the money.''

"I take confidence in the fact that he understands how important health care is to Ontarians and all Canadians. He's put out a very solid plan.''

McGuinty's initial cautious words Tuesday over Martin's plan -- that it was so far just an election "campaign promise'' -- vanished Wednesday after McGuinty had time to examine the proposal.

"Now that I've had the opportunity to actually look at that health care plan ... I am very, very receptive to that plan because it in many ways mirrors the approach that we're taking,'' he said.

Health care will be the issue this weekend as McGuinty meets with British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and the health and finance ministers from each province and territory.

Campbell and Alberta Premier Ralph Klein got a head start on the weekend with a meeting Wednesday to talk about Western Canada's health focus.

Campbell said this weekend's meeting will be "a chance to touch base'' and get a review from each health minister.

McGuinty said it's no surprise Martin's plan shares similarities with Ontario's since the provinces and Ottawa have been working together over the past several months to lay down the fundamental changes needed to improve the country's health-care system and put it on sustainable footing.

"There's not really a lot of magic when it comes to what it is we have to do for health care,'' McGuinty said.

"You've got to put more money into it, you've got to reduce wait times and you've got to make the kinds of investments that transform the way we deliver health care, hence primary care reform.''

McGuinty has said he wants to be a leader, provincially and federally, in the restoration of the country's health-care system.

Other premiers also greeted Martin's health-care proposal with caution, with many wondering why it wasn't laid out in the government's budget earlier this year.

funkyderek

We have waiting lists for a lot of things. A few years back my ex had some symptoms that could have been a mini-stroke. We waited for 5 hours in the ER only to have her sent home with no tests performed. Four months later she finally had an MRI.
A couple of years ago my GP discovered I had a polyp. I waited 5 months for a colonoscopy.
Waiting lists are standard here.

Wouldn't voluntary health insurance be far cheaper, quicker and more efficient?
Scully

Here is the website for Ontario's Premier: Premier of Ontario (you can find his e-mail address there).
Quick Quote
"I chose to do what Ontarians have consistently told us they want done. I chose to improve the core public services that are their top priority: health care education. These public services are the measure of our commitment to each other. They speak to the fundamental values of Ontarians."

Dalton McGuinty
Derek:
A lot of Canadians have insurance for medical benefits. These cover to a certain extent things above and beyond the scope of coverage of "Universal Health Care". For example, extended health care, dental care and eye care and prescription medication are the big ticket items that most policies cover.
Extended health care benefits can include things like upgrading a hospital room from a 3 or 4 bed ward room to a semi-private or private room (a difference of $150 to $250 per day of stay), medical equipment for personal use (orthotics, lumbar support devices, etc.) and paramedical services (physiotherapy services, chiropractic, massage therapy, counselling services, out-patient diagnostics like bloodwork, MRI, CT scans, ultrasound/sonograms and so on). They may cover elective cosmetic procedures that are not covered by the system. Having insurance doesn't bump you to the front of the queue for these services. Nor does having insurance eliminate the fact that as a patient, you are still responsible for the up-front payment of these services when required, and you only get back from your insurer what they determine to be the "going rate" for the services, minus your deductible (which you don't have a choice about the amount).
The fact is, Canadians value "Universal Health Care", even if we as individuals are not big users of the system now, we want it there in case we ever do need it for catastrophic events for ourselves and our loved ones.
Love, Scully
morty

Elsewhere....Here is an example of a over 2-3 year waiting list for a operation....
First you make an appointment with your GP...That can take anywhere from 2 days to 2 months...Depending on the emergancy and if you even have a doctor....For me, it took the Doctor over a year to figure out that maybe I need a MRI...(They try x-rays and CT scans first before the MRI because they are so much money but, they are more reliable....)
Then you are sent for a MRI ( in my case) which took 9 months to get....
You wait another month or 2 after that for the Doctor to recieve, read and reconize what is wrong with you....
You are then given a referral appointment to a specialist, which for me took 1 year and 5 months to get in...
They then sent you for another MRI to see if anything has changed, and from there, they do the worse ones first.....
From there, you are put on the Hurry up and wait list....
Hope you have a better understanding now.....
Scully..thanks for that information...
talesin

iiz
Yes, it's getting harder and harder, what with the doctor shortage. When my GP went back to school to specialize, I was left high and dry.
At the time, I had lots of medical issues. So, I visited walk-in clinics each time I had bronchitis, or a new cyst that needed meds, or whatever, and analyzed the attending physician, till I found someone I thought I could trust. That's how I conducted my 'interviews'. It wasn't easy, but well worth the effort. I realize not everyone lives in a metropolitan area with such clinics, but I will do what I must to have proper medical care. After all, it's my body/mind.
tal
Elsewhere

OMG... that is awful.
Here is an example of how it works here...
Last weekend I was using a liquid chemical to clear a clogged pipe in a sink. I accidentally inhaled some of the fumes and coughed a bit. That Monday morning my left lung was hurting, so at 1:30 PM I called my Dr and setup and appointment for 2:00 PM.
While there she gave me an examination and an albuteral (SP?) treatment, then sent me down the hall for an X-Ray (Due to a previous X-Ray and examination a few years ago she had reason to believe I might have a tumor in the same place I was hurting). Two days later I got a call from my Dr's nurse to tell me that everything was OK.
Cost to me: $20 co-pay
Total Time: Two Days
I also pay $40 a month for my health insurance premium with my employer, and my employer pays about $450 a month to support my insurance (Health, drug, dental, and for kicks they throw in a $50,000 life insurance policy.) I also pay about $80 a month for Long-Term disability insurance. Should I ever be disabled I will recieve $3,500 a month tax free until I'm 65.
morty

You know, maybe I would change my tune about paying premiums if it ment we had better service...
Glad to hear everything worked out well for you Elsewhere...I could only dream of picking up and phone and having an appointment for the doctors in the same day....If it was an emergancy, and we needed a Doctor right away, we would go to our local hospital and "hurry up and wait" for the Doctor to see us...In there, it is the most critical first.....I am also happy that you have a better understanding now for my fusturations....
Does co-pays mean the same as premiums??
Morty
Elsewhere

Co-Pay is my share of the cost of a Dr's visit... here is a sample break-down of the cost for a basic Dr's office visit:
Dr Visit Cost: $80.00
Insurance: $50.00 (How much the insurance company is willing to pay)
My Co-Pay: $20.00 (How much I am obligated to pay)
======================= Total: $70.00 (Total amount the Dr is payed)
The Dr. ends up having to "eat" about $10, but most Dr's are willing to tolerate that. The insurance company also has to pay for any extra services performed durring the visit, such as the X-Ray, Radiologist's interpretation, and the albuteral treatment... but I never see that cost. All I have to pay is $20 regardless of what to end total cost is.
I'm sure that my Dr's visit ended up costing the insurance company about $280 with the extras.

Our new Canadian Health care system......Rant

Quick Quote

Share this