OT , I hate to ask

Could you guys in Canada tell us guys in the USA a bit about your Gov. run health care . Everybody sure is stirred up about it down here !

I can't say much bad about it.It saved my Dad countless times through many heart problems which he still has,medicinal coma's on life support through infections,and now bone cancer.The doctors aren't over paid as many of the top doc's have immigrated to your country for more pay.I have an uncle who is an ENT surgeon.He was a GP for many years and dedided to specialize when he was in his late 40's.After 4 years of working here paying off a huge student loan,he opted to move to Penn. state with his family.He said he makes almost twice the pay and works about 75 percent of the hours.I wish they did stay here,but if they did my Aunt may not be still here.A couple years after they moved there,she found out she needed a bowel transplant which they performed in Pittsburg.If she still lived up here,our medicare wouldn't have payed for her surgery in the U.S. and it is still not available here as far as I know,it cost her insurance about 1 million dollars.She is doing very well.It has its good points and bad ones.Maybe your gov. should just look into paying for people's insurance and not taking over the whole medical system?

Everybody is covered but the wait times for a MRI can be 6 to 9 months. Heart bypass 2-8 weeks. Knee replacement 1-12 months. Appointment with my MD a wait time of 20 days. Spent 7hrs in emerg last week to get a prescription re-filled for inhalers and antibiotics for bronchitics.
Don't worry, anybody who isn't a welfare bum or working minimum wage is paying for it. So far this year the government has taken $28,000 off my paycheques to pay for mine and everybody else's "free" medical care etc.

I don't know why you hate to ask? That is a darned good question. If they limit Drs. pay there (or here) who will want to put in the years and years of work to become one?

There's a reason why people from all over the world come to the USA when they need the utmost of medical care. The USA excels because, up to now, there has been incentive to do so.

The one good thing about Canada health care is . . . it's cheap if you're from out of the country and paying cash. A US citizen can travel to Canada for surgery and get it done for 1/2 the cost as compared to the US, IF paying cash. I have several farmer friends who have done just that. As I understand it though, a Canadian citizen is not allowed to shop around for better care in Canada, even if he/she has enough money to do so. That's what I've been told, and correct me if I'm wrong. I also believe that Lord external_link's plan is pretty much the same. Seems we'd be a lot smarter to put some caps on some of the rediulous medical law suits in this country (USA) to get health care costs down a bit.
Socialized medical care has failed miserably, all over the world. Why would any sane leader with a sincere interest in the welfare of USA citizens promote such an idiotic plan? I think the answer is in the question.

"Maybe your gov. should just look into paying for people's insurance..." I think this kind of thinking on the part of a surprisingly large number of Americans is how we've gotten into the situation we're in now. I have a better idea... how 'bout if everyone pays for their own insurance (like my wife and I do)??? ...d

My wait time for my doc is 3 weeks or so. I don't know anybody who has had a bypass on a scedule here, it usually is done when there is a major heart attack, as the ol ticker aint ticking, if the blood isn't flowing. Maybe the Canucks do it as a preventitive measure? My ma waited 6 months for her knee replacement in Fla. I have spent varying amounts of time in er's depending on what happened. Was that 28K just medical insurance? When I was working, I had some really big tax bills also, because my wife and I are dinks - 2 incomes, no kids. I kinda half expect a letter from the IRS asking " What happened????" ( retired last year )

28K total deductions for everything. Welfare, healthcare and general government waste etc.
Add onto that property tax, gas tax, provincial sales tax, Federal sales tax and user fees.

The best idea as im concerned is to make insurance illegal, and make doctors and hospitals charge evreyone the same price, instead of what they do now which is charge people who walk in the door with cash in the pocket twice what they will get from a insurance company, I have a high deductible insurance policy and the only good thing it has done for me so far is cuts all of the doctors bills in half then i pay them, now why could nt the doctor just charge me 1/2 to begin with. I didnt have any health insurance for a long time and those doctors dont want to give you anything near the kind of price they would get from insurance companies ,which is idiotic to me considering all the time i would imagine i save them from filing forms negotiating etc, etc. no wonder some people without insurance cant pay the bill , i could go on for several more hours about health insurance ceo's pay (some get 20 million plus), the salaries of some of the administrators at hospitals and how come they dont tax health benefits that people recieve from a job its just like extra income thats tax free. etc etc etc But i wont, thats my rant, slightly off topic i apolagize, good night.

CNWY don't ever apologize for speaking your mind. That type of thinking is ruining this country. We need to talk, we need answers to questions. No tap dancing like the politicians want to do. Their party is coming to an end when the people finally stand up.
Do you think this political stuff is only happening on this site.????


Farmer

I think your experience is more typical of what takes place here more often than not.

The problem in most cases is a lack of doctors/nurses etc in the system, either here or in the US. Recruitment and retention seems to be one of the biggest problems.

I don't think that our public system is poorly managed. That's not to say improvements can't be made... but I think we get a very comparable standard of care to the US system in most cases, with far less lawsuits at about 1/3 the cost per capita.

If people spent more time looking at facts instead of the nonsense on Fox, they'd probably get a better idea of what's actually going on here.

That said... I doubt that any public funded system will ever work in the US because there doesn't seem to be any collective desire to make it work. If everyone is fighting among themselves, they're not using their time, energy or ideas to make the system work better or holding managers feet to the fire and demanding performance...
Unless the idea is generally accepted by a relatively large majority, it's dead in the water.

Rod

With all this talk about Dr.s here I'll ask a question that's been bothering me and that is - Why is it that when you call to make an appointment most times you have to wait a month to get in and that's with a doctor that you have been going to for years - 5 + years - because he's so busy and booked up. But yet, when he tells his receptionist to make me a two week follow up visit they can schedule me right in with no problems. Happens every time with my ear doctor . Have to wait a whole month ( 4 weeks ) to get in because he's so busy , but yet with a two week follow up vist, they convently can get me in with no problems and even ask me what time - morning or evening and what day is convient . I know with the two week appointment their being told by their boss to get me in but when I call to make the original appointment it's between the reciptist and me as they don't ask the doctor what time he wants to schedule me for.

Don't you think , behind the scenes, they may be cancelling some other persons appointment.?? Who knows what goes on once you leave.

My wife is a nurse who basically runs a specialty clinic for an internationally renowned doc. They only see patients 2 days a week and are booked 6-9 months in advance. People usually see him as a last resort and only via referral from their docs. They have so many openings for new patients, so many for followups and are usually overbook due to the people who don't show up. People make appts, don't show up because they "overslept", "roads were bad", etc. then want to come in the next day. Most times this can't happen and then they get mad.

Those follow-ups are scheduled in and sometimes cause the overbooking that makes you wait in the reception area.

Having a spouse in the medical field is an eye-opener. Like most things, there are great doctors and then there are poor doctors.

I agree that a major cause of the cost of health care is ridiculous lawsuits for every undesirable outcome in the system. If financial lawsuits were outlawed cost would definitely drop. Also eliminate lawsuits against drug companies for drugs that are FDA approved. Doctors order a lot more tests to cover themselves in case of a lawsuit.

People don't realize that doctors are human, not infallible and mistakes happen.

And as others have said, if you limit pay, who will want to spend 8 years (after 4 years of college) and about $200,000 to become a doctor if you'll be limited in salary and have huge responsibility (life and death) that someone else gets without all the education and risk?

I would not say health care has failed in Canada, like any system it has had its problems. Most of the people who complain about our system are the ones who show up at the ER with a hang nail or a sore throat. It has been my personal experience that if you have a legitimate health issue you are cared for immediately. Both of my parents had serious health problems and their care was second to none. As for people going to the USA for treatment that is not necessarily accurate, I think you will find when the rich and elite in America have serious problems they go to Europe for treatment (provided they can afford it), same thing happens here in Canada. We have a faction here that would like to privatize our health care but most people here are against it. I think the news media in both countries do not give us the whole story, we hear horror stories about people being left do die in hallways in US hospitals because of lack of insurance. I know there is a Canadian woman doing TV adds for opponents to public heath care in your country. Regardless of which system you have not everyone will be happy and when the politicians get involved things really get messed up. Good luck I hope it works out for your country.

If its so bad why do you live here? People going to the ER to refill a prescription is one of the reasons they have trouble keeping up, if you don't have a doctor go to a walk in clinic.

Six years ago, my wife had quadruple bypass surgery.

She went from not knowing she had a problem to the OR in less than twelve hours. Total bills were a bit over $100,000. Our insurance paid all but $1200. So how is DingleBarry going to improve on that?

Buick and Deere, I thought you lived in the US?

Wife works in a dental office- they reserve a certain amount of time for follow-ups and emergencies, and don't schedule initial visits for those times. Sure, they could get you in sooner if they "booked solid", but then what would they do for the needed return visits and emergencies?