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As I am in the industry and have travelled throughout this country of ours , there is one thing that really bothers me about the health care system in Canada: there is no consistency and continuity in what each province provides. I would like to know that no matter what province I decide to live in that certain things will be provided for through the medical system. It bugs the heck out of me that in B.C. we can not have our eyes check ups covered but if I lived in the Yukon it might be. It is that standard of service where ever we go we need.

   

So I went with my brother to a friends large property in langely to dirtbike, lots of people go on every second sat. Near the end, my brother pops his arm out of his socket(very painful). So i have to drive him to the emergancy, and his truck is standard, i havn't driven standard in lik 4 years. So we get there.. and wait.... and wait, for 4 hours!!

And the lame part is that half the people there were not what i would call "emergency" one guy needed medicacien, a little kid had a little scratch on his forehead with a flinstons bandaid.

I have never been to the emergency room before, this was just pathetic, something needs to be done.

   

The way it's supposed to work is that true emergencies go first. The more life threatening it is the quicker you get in. Unfortunately Canadians are so accustomed to feeling universal health care is a right instead of a priveledge it gets abused so when little Jimmy has a sore throat on a Sunday afternoon, mommy runs him to emerg. In these cases that clog up an already overworked system, user fees should be charged - it'll make people at least think twice as to what is truly an emergency and what can wait until Monday morning.

The system needs more money for sure, but it also needs everyone to work together to fix it - the government can't do it alone, the same as they shouldn't bear all of the brunt for the problems we face with it now........

   

Health care is provincial jurisdiction under the Canadian constitution. Each province can decide how it wants to run its own health care system.

   

1984 50% of health care was funded federally, in 1995 Martin cut that in half since then he had it as low as 14% and now it is at 16%. With that little input provinces have no choice but to make the hard choices as to what is and isn't covered.

   

Provinces want more power. That is a problem. Health care should be a federally funded program with little say by the provinces. The way I see it, priemiers want more power just to get more power, not because it's good for the country. If provinces have more power whats the point in calling this a country? Health Care is one of many casualties of giving power to the provinces.

   

It is most definitely not a problem that provinces want more power. That is the only way we will actually be able to preserve this country - by rejecting the centralized "Trudeaupia" the Liberal Party is working to create.

But let's say that I'm wrong, and that it is a big issue that is threatening to national unity. It is a moot point anyway.

Provinces are not looking for more power, they are looking to remove the Federal government from areas that, according to the original Articles of Confederation, are beyond their jurisdiction.

Why on earth would premiers want power for the sake of power? That is a ridiculous junior-high-school assertion. Premiers want more power for the same reason that everyone does: more authority over your own destiny.

People get sick and die on waiting lists because of the juvenile notion that it is best to have only one health-care provider, and that the same as the power that governs the land. They won't admit that the system is flawed because they made it. And when it doesn't work they decide that the way to go is to throw more of our money at a bad idea.

Liberal pride kills Canadians.

Newsflash: Only two countries in the world have 100% public health care: Cuba and North Korea. If that's the standard you aspire to, kindly refrain from dragging my country down along with you.

Finally, you asked "what's the point in calling this a country if the provinces have more power?" That's the way the country is built. We are widely distributed geographically, and different cultures have grown up in different areas. The country is held together by the fact that we are allowed to live our own way and cooperate willingly - not because we are dictated to by faraway fatcat slobs who think they know better than we do how we ought to live. I would counter with another question: what good is it to be Canadian if to be Canadian is not to be free?

   

This is just a quick ramble but.. The issue seems to be rich jumping que and getting better treatment at private clinics..SO WHAT!! In order to be fair their visits to these places could be tract and they could then be forced to pay their fair share for there universal health card or opt out all togeteher, either way less cost shorter lines for the poor or just more money for health care. Oh ya..if they can afford this fancy health care then their income tax payable on their returns would have to reflect the amount or perhaps..should I say it ...they lied on their returns and took even more money away from general revenue that could be used for health care..kk I'll quit.

   

As a Yank who is used to (but hates doing it) paying for health insurance, then having to 'cover deductables' pay a 'co pay' and then still have to pay 20%, I was wondering what it costs to go to the hospital...

I tore my ACL 3 years ago... The surger and rehab cost a total of $15,000ISD

I had a very good insurance plan through my then employer, and only paid $1500 of that out of my pocket. Just ball park figures, how much would this roughly be up there?

Last year before my wife got insurance through her employer, I was paying $525 per month for coverage for our family (wife and son on the way) and the coverage was shite poor...

It floors me that health care in this country is only for those with the money ot afford it.

   

what if you as a canadian citizen were to have that same bone set, or to have an ACL operation such as I had in the states? Is it totally free, or to you have any expences you are responcible for?

   

I know a girl (Canadian) who was in a motorcycle accident in the US. For some reason the insurance on the bike didn't cover her...not sure why.

She had to shell out (or actually her parents did) about $50k to get her stabilised enough to come home. The Canadian government reimbursed part of the costs, but not all. Drugs (very expensive) were not covered. Neither was her room...they put her in a semi-private because that's all that was available and equipped to treat her injuries. The ambulance ride was not covered.

If she would have had to stay in the US, her family very likely would have been bankrupted.

   

This subject always angers me. Our Medicare system is pretty damn good. The problem with most Canadians is that they have no idea how good they have it.

I private system and its alleged phenomenal success is a grand illusion. The truth is that there is a lot of money to be made from a private system. Americans are financially devastated routinely by the Medical and Insurance industry.

#1 - Privatization never works - an enterprise driven by profit will never work in the best interest of the greater good. Infrastructure must be kept in the public domain. Medicare is an integral part of our infrastructure.

#2 - It is a myth that a government owned corporation is less efficient than a private company. Crown corporations are hampered by their effort to be employers of example. Socially acceptable “best practices” as an employer may in many cases be an inhibitor to certain efficiencies.

#3 - Non profit organizations are more efficient. All profit is placed back into the system for improvements.

#4 - Supply and demand. One entity representing 32 million people has astounding purchasing power. Walmart bullies companies on a day to day basis when it comes to acquiring products at the lowest price.

#5 - Our current system is under funded but the federal government doesn't want us to understand this. The American system costs that country more per capita yet it doesn’t serve all Americans.

#6 - Provinces should not shoulder the burden of Canadian Medicare. This simply creates a situation in which all Canadians do not receive the same health care.

#7 - Health Care workers are paid too much - Take medical training out of the Universities and place them in the hospitals, make all nurses and doctors (in training) hospital workers to earn their way. In turn, radically lower tuition for qualified students. The medical system will save money on support staff. In return for very little personal financial burden on the medical students, they would be expected to sign a contract of service with the Federal government. This contract would simply not allow them to practice anywhere else in the world. In addition, wages would be lowered significantly during this time period. At the end of such a time period, they may negotiate a higher wage or seek employment outside their regional health authority. This concept may save Canada millions.

#8 - User Fees - Canadians in general are not held accountable for how the system is used. As slippery slope-ish as it sounds, I think it is in everyone’s best interest to institute user fees to all Canadians who are 5 years and older except for users in need as decided by their doctor (doctor fills out an application of exemption with the patient or something like that). This age range is not really well thought out. I am just trying to illustrate a concept. This will avert routine users and allow users in chronic need to avoid user fees. Of course, taxes must be lowered to compensate.

   

This is an excellent idea, and should be brought in quickly. I personally have known people who will go to an emergency room for every little sneeze and cough.

   

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