Canadian Health Care

I have quite a few friends in the states and have been asked a few times what I think of Canadian Health Care. I thought I'd share one of my responses, so that anyone who WAS wondering, but didn't think to ask their Canadian friend can know too...

The question was, "Um......Do you like Canadian Health Care?"

My answer: NO!!!! I mean, I can totally see how it sounds appealing, but NO!!! THere are so many horrid things that result. I wish democrats could see how bad it is. It's VERY true that Canadians come across the border to get surgery and diagnoses frequently even WITHOUT INSURANCE - because it's worth it!! The best doctors go to the states to practice because they get paid more because it's based on how good they are....now on how many patients the can smush into their practice.

You cannot count the amount of horror stories that result because of the long wait in the emergency room. I'm talking 5 hours for a cousin of mine with a ruptured appendix; I'm talking of a friend of mine who had a miscarriage while waiting over 2 hours; I'm talking about 3 hours with a daughter who was in anaphelactic shock; I'm talking over 2 hours for my mom who sliced up her hand in a blender and had it oozing with blood....


2. Doctors completely lack motivation and it shows through their work. They keep patients waiting for hours. Seriously, a good day is a 1 hour wait when you HAVE an appointment set up. I have been "tested" for strep throat by a doctor looking in my throat and saying, yeah, that looks like it could be strep....here's a prescription. No swab or anything. If they aRE motivated enough to do a swab, it takes 48 hours (minimum) to get the results - if you go in the morning. If you go in the afternoon, it takes 72 hours. I know someone who had a biopsy and didn't get the results for over 2 weeks....because the government runs the medical community, there's no competition to get things done and no one works beyond 9-5, so they can't get the results that fast. With a 3 year old child with a broken collarbone, I waited 3 hours to get into the doctor to give the requisition to get an x-ray (nope, they dont' have one right in their office), walked across the street to the radiology clinic, waited 2 hours there; walked back with the results (they don't send them or call them in) and waited another hour or so before the doctor could see us and tell us that it was broken.
You also don't have NICE doctors offices. They cram as much into their little places as possible - because they don't care about how people feel. There's a shortage of doctors (because they all want to go to the states to work) so people have to come to no matter how bad the doctor is.
3. You have to get a referral to see ANY specialist. Pediatrician, OB/GYN, Dermatologist - anything. This means, you have to get a General Practitioner to check that you're REALLY pregnany and then they'll refer you to an OB; of your baby has to have a serious illness (or you have to be really pushy) to get them into a pediatrician. The GP's don't want to give you the referral because that takes their business away and gives it to a specialist. (Once you're in with a specialist it's much better because so few people can get there....) Referrals to surgeons are included in this. I know of someone who had severe back pain and couldn't get in to have surgery fast enough, so he commited suicide to get out of his pain. I also know of someone who had been to doctor after doctor for 2 years. They all misdiagnosed (due to lack of testing). Finally, he went down to the states to get testing and got a correct diagnosis the first try. Apparently, he had a disease that is completely curable when caught early enough, but his hand progressed too far over his 2 years and he came home and died 6 weeks later.
Now, I know these sound like extreme stories, but they are SO common. Everyone knows someone who has had experiences like this. These aren't horror stories that I've heard through the grapevine. They are people I KNOW.
My daughter has chronic ear and throat infections. She has since she was a baby... We were in the states for the first year of her life and after 2 months of chronic infections, she was referred to an ENT and had ear tubes put in within 2 weeks. We moved to Canada a week later and had to get a follow up done by an ENT up here. I had to go to a GP, get a referral to an ENT who said they could get me in 6 MONTHS LATER!! Because I'm pushy and have a pushy MIL who has connections, I was able to get the appointment on a cancellation. Fast forward 4 years... she's having chronic throat infections and her ear infections are resurfacing. I asked the Pediatrician to give a referral to an ENT (referrals expire after a year). He puts a rush on it and everything and sent the request out on October 6th of last year. In April, I got a phone call saying that they were now booking her appointment for September 28th. So, we'll get to see what the ENT says nearly 1 YEAR after needing the appointment. Classic.

My Grandmother went to a GP who said that they were fairly certain that she had Ovarian Cancer (the silent killer). They couldn't verify it until she had an ultrasound. They called to book her in....not an opening for 6 MONTHS!! Luckily it was yet another misdiagnosis.

Another things which is really misrepresented about Socialized Health Care is that it's "free". True, there are no co-pays etc., but if you go an entire year without going to the doctor, you still pay through the nose in your taxes. Taxes in Canada can be as high as 50% of your income. This is to fund health care and other such programs. Health care is taken care of by each province (state) and you have to pay an annual fee according to your income in addition to the ridiculously high taxes. Another thing that come up is that no one knows how much hospitals/doctors are actually charging. There's no competition. The government has complete monopoly on health care, so they charge through the roof and it comes from YOUR TAXES. When Kienna was a baby (we were living in the states) and we came to visit Canada. She got very ill and was in the hospital. She, as a newborn shared a room with 5 other sick newborns with only a curtain partition between them. I slept on a chair in the corner of the room and had to use a bathroom on the other side of the hospital (No private bathrooms). For this incredible situation, they charged $4000 a NIGHT. That's no including doctor fees, medication or anything else. This price is never put in check because nobody knows that's what they charge the government (which is paid with your taxes). A C-section in the states 2 weeks earlier including doctors fees, all medication, the surgery and the stay at the hospital for both the baby and myself for 3 days cost $1500 before the insurance kicked in. There's really no comparison.

Another great story is just last October, I had a baby born (by the way, no one EVER stays in the hospital more than 24 hours up here unless you have a C-section) with a inguinal hernia. Apparently THAT hospital doesn't do that kind of surgery ...(the government selects what hospital will take care of what) and within 12 hours of delivering a baby, I was sent with my newborn to a different hospital to WAIT IN THE ER for a pediatric surgeon to assess him. He decided it COULD wait and so I was sent back to the OTHER hospital to finish my 24 hours if I WANTED. I could've just gone home too. I got to wait 4 weeks with a brand new baby in pain from an enormous hernia before they could squeeze him in to fix it. I was told to just watch him and if he looked like the hernia got worse, to take him in (I was not given any instructions as to what would make a hernia look worse or anything and I have no experience in the medical field).

As I said, these are just a FEW of my personal stories to do with the Canadian Health Care. I hear that it's not as bad as England's either because they have had THAT many more years for the government to corrupt their system. There are MANY more crazy stories outt here that I have NEVER heard, these aren't even a fraction of the ones that I HAVE heard. There are a few good stories that come out too....There are some good doctors that have stuck around because they have family here etc. and they make all the difference. I LOVE my pediatrician for instance. He has resisted the urge that all other doctors have, to overbook himself. That way, if there is an urgent need to see him, you can usually get in that very same day. He is a rare breed.....and a specialist. Usually you aren't even allowed to pick which specialist you want....and the GP's are almost all completely booked. It's next to impossible to get a GP these days....they have a cap of how many patients they'll take and then that's it. My apologies for the rant, I hope that you spread it around... I just don't think that people in the States realize how good you have it!