Canadian health care

[bitWISE]

It's that time of the year for me as an employed US citizen, to decide which insurance plan selected by my employer fucks me the least. During the meeting, the topic of healthcare reform was obviously a big talking point. Someone had to bring up Canada and how "terrible" their system is and the guy from the financial group followed up with an anecdote. Some guy at a convention told him that he was on a waiting list for three years to get surgery after injuring his leg playing soccer. He also said the wait for an MRI was one year.

[Κracus]

That's BS. It really depends on how urgent your need is.

I've been to the hospital several times, I was given an MRI and an EEG or EECG I forget within 2 days of going to the hospital.

It really depends on a case by case basis. Some things, like having a cist removed for example might take a month but if you need something fast they'll put you at the front of the list has been my experience.

Our health care isn't all that though, a lot of things aren't covered so it's still important to get coverage from your job. There's no dental for example.

[Dark Metal]

My gf just had an MRI and had to wait 2 weeks for it, but it wasn't for anything serious. We went to the hospital for the appointment, took about an hour and a half in total.

Total cost: $0

[bitWISE]

That's what I was thinking. We pay out the ass for fast coverage on everything, but so many people get shit they don't really need.

Dental comes from a secondary policy for us too.

[Captain]

Most of Europe > Canada > USA

[Big Kahuna Burger]

Canada

[Captain]

You'll die if you get sick

[GONNAFISTYA]

He'll go broke, too.

[GONNAFISTYA]

It's that time of the year for me as an employed US citizen, to decide which insurance plan selected by my employer fucks me the least. During the meeting, the topic of healthcare reform was obviously a big talking point. Someone had to bring up Canada and how "terrible" their system is and the guy from the financial group followed up with an anecdote. Some guy at a convention told him that he was on a waiting list for three years to get surgery after injuring his leg playing soccer. He also said the wait for an MRI was one year.

Yeah....you really shouldn't listen to yanks who complain about Canada's health care system...they're only hearing what they want to hear. In terms of actual quality-of-care, it's the same as the states. Seriously...no different.

And Spazda is right: Europe subsidizes everything from health to dental to prescription meds, so it's better than anything you'd find in North America with the quality-of-care in Europe being the same or better as yank or canuck healthcare.

And again I feel that I must point out that even with "the free market" the people of the US still have no real choice in insurance, as it's limited to what their employer deals with...so that blows a huge fucking hole in the "free choice" debate you fools seem to be having.

[obsidian]

Some guy at a convention told him that he was on a waiting list for three years to get surgery after injuring his leg playing soccer. He also said the wait for an MRI was one year.

It seems as if the person who argues that Canada's health care system is somehow inferior to the U.S. always refers to some Canadian who told a guy, who told a guy, who told a guy, who told him that Canadians have to wait 6 years for a certain procedure. Tell him that if he can't get a first-hand account of this, then he should shut his gob.

PuFF injured his leg playing soccer (torn TCL, I think) so you can ask him first-hand what he thought about our health care system. If PuFF had to wait 3 years for surgery, his leg would have fallen off from gangrene by now. I've been to the hospital ER a couple of times and treated immediately, my dad's is a heart attack survivor and has a number of procedures and check-ups done, including MRI's and never had to wait longer than a month. My neighbour's girlfriend was brought to the hospital when she started bleeding through her mouth for no reason and was given an MRI and a bunch of other tests. She was immediately diagnosed with leukemia and is now undergoing chemo. Zero wait time. As mentioned, it depends on urgency for the procedure but even then, waiting longer than a month isn't likely.

I for one know that I wouldn't want the privatized system that Americans have to deal with. The best benefit is the piece of mind that if someone needs urgent medical care, we can rely on actually being treated and not having to worry about cost. We don't have to worry about filling out insurance forms, whether the treatment will be denied by the insurance company, and whether or not the treatment may be too expensive.

Also a note on "free choice", most states only have one or two providers anyway, so it's not like you have a dozen companies to choose from.

[HM-PuFFNSTuFF]

It's that time of the year for me as an employed US citizen, to decide which insurance plan selected by my employer fucks me the least. During the meeting, the topic of healthcare reform was obviously a big talking point. Someone had to bring up Canada and how "terrible" their system is and the guy from the financial group followed up with an anecdote. Some guy at a convention told him that he was on a waiting list for three years to get surgery after injuring his leg playing soccer. He also said the wait for an MRI was one year.

Bollocks. I tore my ACL. From MRI to surgery was about 3 months for me.

Universal healthcare is one of the best things about our society.

[xer0s]

I have amazing insurance. I just had some allergy tests done that go for over $1000. Only cost me the $25 co-pay...

[plained]

pretty sure its the same as the u k peoples

[plained]

I have amazing insurance. I just had some allergy tests done that go for over $1000. Only cost me the $25 co-pay...

did u have a choice where to go or was it strict referral?

[U4EA]

Most of Europe > Canada > USA

Hey Australia is pretty fukin' good too.

[xer0s]

I have amazing insurance. I just had some allergy tests done that go for over $1000. Only cost me the $25 co-pay...

did u have a choice where to go or was it strict referral?

I had a choice, so I researched and found the best allergist in the tri-state area. Got in a week later. Only paid the $25...

Blue Cross Blue Shield baby...

[shaft]

Yeah, I have awesome coverage like that...till I was traveling last summer and two kids came down with strep. Apparently a 10 minute visit consisting of a throat swab and test is worth $300. $600 bill because we were "out of network". BCBS

[plained]

I had a choice, so I researched and found the best allergist in the tri-state area. Got in a week later. Only paid the $25...

Blue Cross Blue Shield baby...

sweet!

[mrd]

Longest wait time I've ever had for anything has been a couple of months, and this is all for non-urgent shit. Anything emergency related, you just go right in. I'm actually waiting to go for surgery in a few weeks. Took me a month to get into the specialist, another four months for surgery. Again, non life-threatening, $0 out of pocket. Not sure how you can beat that.

That guy at your convention sounds butt-hurt and jealous.

[xer0s]

Yeah, I have awesome coverage like that...till I was traveling last summer and two kids came down with strep. Apparently a 10 minute visit consisting of a throat swab and test is worth $300. $600 bill because we were "out of network". BCBS

Damn, you must have had a terrible plan...

[seremtan]

And Spazda is right: Europe subsidizes everything from health to dental to prescription meds

you can get dental on the NHS or private in the UK. i went private (NHS dentists are few and far between since a lot of them migrated to the private sector, so long waiting lists), and it gave me in an insight into what healthcare would be like if we adopted a US system: over-charging and over-medicating

what (some) americans don't seem to get about universal healthcare is that the same people (i.e. us) are paying for the same level of healthcare, but with the added bonus of lower costs due to the public provider's enormous purchasing power, no marketing budget, no profit margins to cover and less bureaucracy (no army of lawyers to check your claim). oh, and you don't get bankrupted and end up living in your parents' basement because you got seriously ill

[shaft]

Yeah, I have awesome coverage like that...till I was traveling last summer and two kids came down with strep. Apparently a 10 minute visit consisting of a throat swab and test is worth $300. $600 bill because we were "out of network". BCBS

Damn, you must have had a terrible plan...

You must've not read the part were I said I have the same awesome blue cross coverage as you. I pay about $4k a year for $15 copay everywhere an no copay at minute-clinics. Didn't even cross our mind we would be out of network going to some clinic in the next state over. Don't kid yourself. Our healthcare system is fucked up.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Dude..you're talking to someone who wholly gets his info from Fox News and other fantasy-based news outlets...he ain't gonna listen.

At the very least he'll say,"fuck u it's good for me"...just like the good little Randian that he is.

[HM-PuFFNSTuFF]

I have amazing insurance. I just had some allergy tests done that go for over $1000. Only cost me the $25 co-pay...

This is wonderful for you.

How do you feel about the fact that 60% of bankruptcies in the USA are due to medical bills?

Also...

"Half of all respondents (49%) indicated that their foreclosure was caused in part by a medical problem, including illness or injuries (32%), unmanageable medical bills (23%), lost work due to a medical problem (27%), or caring for sick family members (14%)." (home mortgage foreclosures)

from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? ... id=1416947

[GONNAFISTYA]

How do you feel about the fact that 60% of bankruptcies in the USA are due to medical bills?

He doesn't.

Dude..you already laughed at him for cheering the Paul Ryan selection for VP, you know exactly what he's thinking.