s2000_vtec_mike

+1 for our healthcare when ever I had to use it I never had to wait longer than few hrs. But someone else I know broke something and they had to wIt one full day to get it fixed. I rather wait then pay tens of hundrerds of thousands for a simple operation. One example I had was my apendix, yes it is. Life or death situation so thy treated me in less than an hour. They prioritiese very well. I can't say how thankfull I Am for our health care. My grandma I the states had a ver hard time and my uncles etc. Knowing first hand both sides I would pick our health care. Plus if your bawlin you can go to private hospital for faster servic. Both of best worlds. Ps on my phone sorry for punctuation disoreder

DDonovan

Didn't this question come up a couple of months ago from one of the US members?

Vik2000

Whenever US ppl talk about Canada, they think of healthcare

chairmnofthboard

You're the closest with universal health care lol.

Thanks for the info guys. Seems that we hear rumors of your system being super slow, but from asking you guys, it doesn't seem to be the case.

Thanks guys, you help me pwn this guy

Epic^PwN

That's what my friend said, "Canada has this healthcare thing, US doesn't have it "

s2000_vtec_mike

[QUOTE=Epic^PwN,Nov 17 2009, 08:06 PM]
That's what my friend said,

manuelisfun

Can't comment on Canada yet since I have just recently moved here and I have not had any health or injuries etc (knock on wood). However I have seen firsthand from when I lived in the US how some of my college roommates would be SERIOUSLY set back in terms of paying for college and other stuff just because they got sick, injured, etc. That is even when they only had to pay the deductible. And they weren't like wasteful about their money either so you can throw that argument away.

BobbyS2k

I am Canadian living in the US for 25+ years and have somewhat of a vague idea on the differences between the 2 healthcare systems. I am also in the Health care industry (technology arena).

I would like to address the comment made by BKL in this particular post.
US health insurance are provided by employers with so many options for you to take.

1. There is a yearly out of pocket expense which is calculated based on what the provider (aka doctor or NP) bills your insurance for.

2. Insurance premiums are paid by employers however it's not 100%. Employees pay for a certain percentage of that premium. That can vary with different employers.

3. For provider visits such as consultations with your primary care doctor or specialists, you have to pay a service fee call "co-pay" although it is not clear to me whether this money counts into the yearly out of pocket expense. This co-pay also varies with different insurance companies you chose when you enrolled at the beginning of your employment. ( from $10 - $25)

4. I remember being sick in Canada (Alberta). I was hospitalized for a couple of days and doctors
determined that I needed to see a specialist. Still feeling sick, I was discharged from the hospital
and waited for 3 weeks until I was able to see that specialist and recommended a major surgery.
However, assembling the team necessary to perform that surgery took another 4 days so essentially an additional week. Bottomline is, I waited for a long time in order to get the surgery I
needed to get better.

5. Dental is another - but let's not go there.

6. If you're a senior citizen in Canada, Canada's health insurance works the best for you.
My mom, who comes to California for a good part of the year gets immediate attention at her doctors here using health insurance coverage from Canada. That's one big positive in my book.

6. Prescription is another - too much details and I won't go there either.

7. Sorry fellow Canucks, but you are taxed way too much for the socialist healthcare system. I think they should re-think how they do that and make it more affordable for the average working Canadian. I think the Canadian gov't should use a model similar to FSA, HSA and the like.

Has any of you read the HR Bill that was passed on to the US Senate? Still reading it, and it's so
convoluted and confusing. Perhaps someday, I'll be able to understand it.

that's my 2 c folks.

BKL

Thanks BobbyS2k for clearing some things up. My perception is that in the U.S, if one has health insurance (through employer or own their own), the system works much faster than Canada. Annual out of pocket expenses, service fees, and contributions to premiums I think are fair for a good system (always remember how much taxes we pay in Canada for a slower system AND we pay for medicare each year).

In my opinion, the biggest benefit from Canada's health care is the fact that everyone has access to it. However, President Obama is pushing for a healthcare reform that will involve both private and some sort of a public healthcare. In Canada, private clinic fees are very expensive and have to come out of your own pockets (no employer will subsidize this). Not to add, private clinics are highly frowned upon in Canadian society because it is "un-consitutional" they call it. Canadians don't believe in paying to jump ahead of the line. Just look at the H1N1 fiasco involving the private clinics in Toronto.

chairmnofthboard

From an employer point of view.

It is tough to provide X amount of employees with health insurance. It hard in todays market to provide health insurance to all the employees.

If your job does not provide partial insurance, than you are in trouble. Insurance for individuals or families is very expensive and the majority of people can't afford it.

The lower middle class and 20+ year olds are often the ones in trouble. They don't make enough money to be able to pay for insurance and don't work at a big enough company that will help provide insurance.

It's a sticky situation. Would be nice to have some sort of emergency health care for people.