Re: Oh, Canada

Grandpa Chuck wrote:

On Fri, 23 Jun 2006 04:01:49 GMT, Wes Groleau
<groleau+news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


We occasionally get into arguments here about whether Canada's health care system is better or worse than the USA's system. Generally, it's
predominantly NON-Canadians arguing both sides. I'd be interested in
hearing what CANADIANS in ASD think about this:

http://www.nlma.nf.ca/nexus/issues/spring_2004/articles/article_15.html
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/05/30/1606903-cp.html
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/94/102747.htm?action=related_link
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=15524

The last one is by a USA doctor, so what does he know? :-)
But he makes a claim that I find very hard to believe:


If the Canadian government says it provides a particular
medical service, it is illegal for a Canadian citizen to
pay for and obtain that service privately.

Eh? Is that true?

Again, ASD-ers, please restrain yourselves and let those
who live there tell us what it's like.


Amen, brother.
It is about time we heard what Canadians think of their health care
system.


I don't know where the original to this thread is, but I changed news servers recently and maybe it got lost in the shuffle.

My experience has been very good, for the most part.

Health care is the responsibility of each province, but is regulated by The Canada Health Act. Therefore, some procedures/treatments are covered in some provinces but not in others. As an example, in Ontario, intensive therapy for children with autism is paid for up to age six. In Alberta, it's paid for until age 18. Parents of autistic children have had to pull up stakes and move to Alberta just to get covered treatment for their kids. Some of the newer cancer drugs are covered in some provinces and not in others.

If the Canadian government says it provides a particular
> medical service, it is illegal for a Canadian citizen to
> pay for and obtain that service privately.


Eh? Is that true?

This is not true. If the patient wants to seek treatment outside the country, that's their right. BUT they have to pay for it themselves. Rich folks do it all the time. Quebec used to ban insurance companies paying for (faster)private treatment sought for procedures covered under the provincial system, but the Supreme Court of Canada quashed the ban.

If a patient seeks a treatment that is not available locally and the patient's doctor deems it necessary (and it's covered under the provincial health plan), then the province's plan will/should cover it and also cover transportation costs and housing, if necessary.

Here in Quebec, many women had to go outside the country to get timely breast cancer treatment. The province refused to pay because treatment *is* available. A lawsuit against the hospitals is in the works, but the government is not a defendant. In the broadest sense the government is a defendant because the province oversees the hospitals.

http://mediresource.sympatico.ca/channel_health_news_detail.asp?channel_id=136&menu_item_id=4&news_id=7329

The conservative government made an election promise that maximum wait times for specific treatments will be implemented. What happens when the wait times are exceeded, I'm not sure, but I suppose the patient can seek treatment outside the provincial systems and the province will have to pay.

Right now, the longest wait times involve hip/knee replacements and cataract surgeries. Neither condition is life-threatening and patients in some areas wait over a year for surgery.

I think in future we're going to see more lawsuits over wait times. With an aging population it's only going to get worse. Personally, I would rather see a less efficient system available to everyone than a system that will take only those who can pay. When it's you or a loved one that's not getting timely treatment it's a whole other ball game.

The thing I find particularly distasteful about the US system is HMOs. Here, my treatment is done by my doctor, and the drugs I get and the amount of supplies I get is determined by *my* doctor, not one that sits in an office a few hundred miles away. The Canadian health care plan does not cover prescription drugs outside the hospital setting.

JMO

Vicki

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