Canada Ping!
Canada Ping!
Bryan, thanks for bring this up. I wanted to make a few corrections.
False: Only the actual work done by doctors and nurses is free.
Fact: None of it is free, we pay for it through our taxes.
False: If you stay in a hospital, you have to pay for the room; if you have surgery, you also have to pay rent for the surgical suite and it's priced like a not-so-reasonably-priced resort.
Fact: Only if you go to a private clinic such as pro. athletes might use.
True: If you need medications or medical supplies, you have to pay for those too.
False: .... Our Canadian guest had a broken ankle a couple of months ago, and he had to pay $300 for the cast and the crutches.
Fact: The cast is put on in the hospital at no additional charge, and crutches don't cost $300, even in BC, unless he got the top of the line titanium ones.
True: That isn't free medical care. Not by a long shot.
No offense Bryan. It's just that it's best to be using the correct facts.
There are plenty of problems with the Canadian health care system.
For instance, too many parts of our body are exempt from it. In Ontario, teeth, eyes, ears, and feet aren't covered, and because most people do have employer insurance, those specialists can get away with charging more.
And you were correct Bryan, “medical supplies and medications can get very, very expensive.”
And getting an MRI for a knee, for instance, can actually take months, unless you can fork up $1000 cash. Then if you need surgery, it will take 3 to 9 months to have that scheduled.
The Unions have taken over our HC system in Ontario, and most of our tax dollars seem to go to them.