In response to the responses on my last post, I want to say a couple things:
I believe that Canada does have great doctors in some places (I think primarily in Southern Alberta where people want to stay where they have had family for generations). My Uncle is a doctor down there and I know of a few others that are phenomenal doctors that are in Lethbridge or south... I just think that the good doctors have been taken and its next to impossible to find a new one that is a quality doctor. I too, am very lucky to have a good family doctor that I've had since I was a kid, but she hasn't accepted new people for over 5 years.
One point is also that people up in Canada hear horror stories about babies being born and costing thousands and thousands of dollars. I had 2 babies in the states. I was a student for one and Jarett worked at a Call Center for others. Neither of which were great money - but we weren't in the poverty line. One of these births was induced and the other was a C-section. All being said, both babies combined cost less than $350 including the prenatal care, the delivery the stay at the hospital and the recovery. Also, the stays at the hospital were 1000x better. The food was better (they even brought Jarett and I a steak dinner with Sparkling Apple Juice to celebrate), the care was better, you had a private room that looked like a hotel suite.... it goes on and on. I think on both sides of the border, we only hear horror stories from the other system.
I truly do believe that if we could find a program that could keep the government in check, and we had the OPTION to choose which one we wanted, that would be the best. But as to whether Canada's system works - I'd say no. Anyway.....thank you for your responses. It's really interesting to me to hear where other people are coming from!
5 comments:
Oh and a PS on my last comment on your previous post.... I don't know what Ritz carlton Hospital you were in... but NONE of the 3 that I have delivered in were any better then Rocky View.. all the same really.
Ashley, you did have unusually nice treatment in Rexburg BUT I have to say the 3 I delivered in the States were all MUCH better experiences than I'm currently having with Rocky View and #4 (writing this during the peak of my Rocky View frustration, of course). And of course, I didn't have to pay for my US deliveries, cuz we were poor students.
Nice to know I'm not alone in the frustration, or mostly in being on the fence! US healthcare does need reform, but not the plan Obama's got on the table. (PS, I had private insurance for my first baby and I still paid about $5000 out of pocket. LAME!)
And how did being students get you guys out of paying?
I am late commenting here, but just have to add that I agree with you. I think that people think it's "free" health care, but it doesn't end up costing less. (I think in certain circumstances, such as more than normal use of the health care system, it would be beneficial to use the Canadian system.) The point is, we ARE paying for it. I would rather take the money we make, pay less taxes, have a lower cost of living (comparing to my sisters living in Utah) and take that "extra" money and save it. Their dollar goes much much further. To be taxed at 50% is crazy. I hate that we pay that much in taxes and it's because the government thinks they can decide where to spend our money better than we can. That being said, I don't think the American system is perfect and I think it needs work but I do think it's better than here. (not having experienced it myself, but from comparing notes with my sisters)
I'm not really sure how I found you, honestly--lots of family in AB, and originally I'm from there. Anyway.I read both your healthcare posts and all the comments. This is a really big issue, and I hear both sides of it. To insure our family in the states costs $1600/month. And that doesn't cover prescriptions, dental, optical, and comes with a $10,000 deductible PER PERSON. We don't pay much in taxes however. I have no idea how to fix this mess, but it certainly is a problem. I'm thinking just cut to the millenium, eh? Love your blog! (I'm not a totally crazy stranger, honest: This is me http://mentalmaytag.vox.com/)
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