Question for Buickanddeere O/T

The debate is raging in the states about nationalized healthcare.

I take it that you reside in Canada and as I live on the border I made an observation and was curious about your thoughts.

The radio station I listen to is in Cornwall Ont. and an observation is that there are constantly fundraisers for hospital equipment i/e: o/r tables, incubators, exc.

I am NOT being critical, just wondering if you had comments.

If I am too much into your business please ignore and I apologise.

Brad

Yes, no and maybe............
Patients are not turned away or go broke paying medical bills but..........
Any business, service or organization operated by bureaucrats is rife with waste, wait times & smarmy service my civil servants.
You really don't want to know how much the government took off my paycheque last year. To cover healthcare and worse welfare for bums and bum corporations, agencies, committees, societies etc.
Two month wait for an MRI and the appointment is 7:30PM Saturday evening.
Pet scans for cancer detection, virtual colonoscopy and some medications are not covered.

And the last time my Doctor ordered a CT Scan It took 2.5 hours before I was in the scanner.

730pm on a weekend? lucky you, my mom usually ends up going between 2-4am on a weekday and someone has to take her, try fitting that into a 60-70hour work week

I guess there is good and bad in any system. I just went through a loved on getting diagnosed with MS. Insurance is expensive but the procedures are readily available.

I have a friend who lives in Quebec and he has complained about people who 'consult with their physician' on a weekly basis while he has to work his business around appointments.

Thanks for the reply. I really come to this board to get away from the politics of the world and to talk to people interested in the 'finer things in life', Tractors!!

Brad

Ask yourself this question:

If you or a close family member needed real surgery for cancer to prolong their life and in the US you could get treatment in days or weeks to help that family member but in Canada you would go on a waiting list and wait, and wait and wait.....cause socialized medicine is all about the government deciding how important it is. All the while the condition for your family member goes down and down and down and they may die waiting.

Socialism basically allows the non-working people that cant afford the insurance to get insurance with the tax payer footing the bill.
Socialized medicine creates long lines, less equipment, less doctors. I know this cause 2 of my grandparents thought it would be great to move to Canada 25 years ago because the medical was "free" They found out that they had to come back to the US to get some treatments that they couldnt get in Canada.

I am in agreement. I think socialized medicine is a terrible idea.

I was thinking if I was supporting a socialized system and was asked to donate to buy basic medical equipment I would blow a gasket.

Just thought it would be good to hear others' opinions

Brad

As Far as getting doctors appointments it takes weeks for my family and I to schedule one. And I can't stand the fact that if I have a 10am appointment, am told to show up 15 min. early and then proceed to wait 1 to 2 hours so a doctor can renew my prescription (over $100 per month), take my blood pessure, talk to me for two minutes and charge me $150. I have no insurance. I think it would make little difference in time and a big difference in cost. I'm tired of paying bonuses to rich SOBS.

Do you have no appointment needed, walk in medical clinics there that can do basic test and procedures? The clinics are often located in strip malls in the US.

would like to wiegh in on this one
ontario canada here our healthcare is "free ", but sometimes sucks
call family doctor, sometimes wait a week or 2, need appt with specialist for knee, foot, some crap that agravates you, wait months, but .....
wifey had problems ( cancer in blood ) , from first appt with family doc, trip to specialist, app"t for biopsy, trip to cancer centre , appt with cancer specialist , to starting chemo was 5 WEEKS can not say anything bad about what we got here, even though it pisses me off to no end to go to our local hospital & sit for hours before they will wake up a doc to see you

NOT Buickanddeere
Our Health Care as I know it . . .
It is very difficult to get a doctor here, if you don't have one, you are instructed to go to the walk in clinic or emergency at the hospital which makes 4+ hour waits normal.
I know they have the triage nurse where they direct the more in need patients first, but poor you if they don't think you're sick enough.

The doctor gets paid for services, dictated by the government, which means some services are not covered and if a patient wants to get two or more problems taken care of in one visit, there is a sign at the front desk and in every room "To keep the doctor on time only one problem per appointment".
I have been ignored when I have asked about a second problem or we'll take care of this problem first.
The doctor does not get paid more if you take more time than the one visit allows, so the doctor would be working late for free and too the waiting room would be full.
Now to make money the doctor does Botox and other services not covered by our health care.

Here's a problem specialists . . .
Must be referred by family doctor to see a specialist.
You can wait months sometimes a year for an appointment, then it's a four - five hour wait in his waiting room only to see him for 10 minuets. Then if what the specialist told you to do or the prescription didn't work you are back at square one. Sure makes you feel looked after. If they make you wait long enough the stress will get you down and you won't need a doctor.

Catch 22, the fracture clinic. . .
Will be staffed and open only when needed, patients are shifted around to keep it closed as much as possible, the doctor doing the surgery is doing too many and will be told he will only get paid for so many which may close the fracture clinic permanently.

A few years ago a woman wanted to donate a million dollar MIR machine to a hospital, the only stipulation it had to be available 24 hrs and NO animals, I've heard that pets are done after hours. Government turned her down.

The powers to be are always making it harder to get medical attention . . .
Hospital closings - ER's closings - ER only taking children - ER only taking adults, This Hospital 50 miles away only looks after dialyses, This one 150 miles away only some cancers and so on.
I believe it's all in the plan to ware us down so we DEMAND privatized health care.

If family Doctors are to expensive to educate and so hard to find, why do we have a Dentists office some times two in almost every plaza, not to forget the Veterinarians every small town has one and the vets do everything, from a physical to teeth to operations.

We don't know how much is paid on our behalf, now If every one was sent a bill so we know it's not free it's our tax money maybe some people wouldn't waste the services of the doctor and the doctor couldn't take a chance that he seen you when he didn't.
In the 80s there were millions paid to doctors that would have to of had a patient every 2 minutes, including the doctor I had at the time.

It could work but the cancer "greed" sets in - I don't mean just the doctors, I mean from the pharmaceuticals to equipment to suppliers of consumables to top dog huge salaries.
The insurance companies would like to see more policies come there way I'm sure, but that doesn't work too well after you're 45-55 the premiums gets too expensive benefits get reduced and the older guys get let go if the company is too heavy with older employees. From what I can gather it doesn't mater what insurance you have you don't know what you're covered for until you make a claim. If you are asked for medical info just say 'see Dr. report' you could say no and the Dr. did a test you were not aware of so you lied and are disqualified.

I have insurance, considered pretty good insurance. But if I need to see a specialist, I have to have a referral from my doctor, she is the "gatekeeper". Office visits are not covered, and cost me $140. It usually takes a week to 3 weeks to see my primary doc. The specialist vist is covered, but usually takes 1 or 2 weeks waiting to see them. I take a couple different meds, they cost me about $300 per month. That is my copays, insurance covers the rest. I know several folks who have lost their homes to medical bills. It is the cause of almost 50% of personal US banruptcy.

No, just emergency rooms at hospitals. I know a young woman who waited 8 hours with chest pains. 4 to 8 hour wait times are standard.
There is this thing called "medical holidays" where you go to a country with a good medical system and get your operation done right away and stay at a nice hotel to recuperate.
On th other hand, if you are not well off, you can get medical care, as long as you outlive the wait. Here if you die waiting for care it is the government's fault, and in the States you die because you can't afford care is the way I understand it.

I live in a semi-rural area. We have excellent emergency care. Family docs are overloaded, too many old people, not enough new young docs.

Long term health problems needing a specialist take a while to get in the system. Once to a specialist, things happen fast and get resolved. Specialists are more plenty as they don't get as overloaded.

We have fundraisers here to obtain better equipment so people don't have to travel. Practically speaking, people whine a lot about travel. If you choose to live in a rural area with low taxes, don't complain that you need to drive 3 hours to an MRI machine, its where the closest wallmart is anyways that you drive to once a month.

Neighbor was diagnosed and started treatment in four days. I will stay with the "For Profit medical system" as long as the Jerk in Washington will let me.