Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:33 am
RSTUTZ - Not sure how I stumbled on this, but ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? "I have found the Canadian (health care) appalling in comparison?"!!!! Where the HECK did you live in Canada? In the middle of nowhere? Because, duh, obviously some parts of Canada have crappy health care b/c the population is so small! Hard to convince a lot of professionals to move to Nowhere, Saskatchewan.
But I can assure you from MY experience - as a Canadian living in the US, I can say WITHOUT A DOUBT that the health care that my American husband, kids, and I received when we lived in Canada (Alberta) was EQUAL TO, if not often BETTER THAN, the health care we've received here in the US. In fact, my AMERICAN husband wants to move back to Canada b/c he believes the health care there is not only affordable, less complicated and non-discriminating, but SUPERIOR! We've NEVER received any "superior care" here in the US at all, despite the fact that we pay $1,800 PER MONTH in premiums, plus co-pays, and thousands in deductables!!! And we STILL have to wait 3-4 hours at the doctors office....wait days, if not weeks, just to find out if a procedure will be covered or not by the stupid insurance companies, etc. My husband's doctor recommends a procedure, and he waited 5 weeks just to find out that the insurance won't cover the procedure b/c THEY don't feel it's necessary, they think he can just take some drug instead...!!! Yep, of course the insurance companies and drug companies are in bed together!
My kids care in the US has been WORSE than the care they received in Canada. I take them to "their doctor", but never actually see "their doctor"....usually just the nurse...oh, sorry, not even a nurse, the "physicians assistant" who might as well be a receptionist they have such little training and knowlege.....and once in a while, some other random doctor will briefly stop in to see my kids. This on top of having to switch doctors for my kids FIVE TIMES b/c of changes to insurance (premiums go up, so employers change who they offer plans with). My youngest child got his shots, and - boom - we were sent out the door right after... a 'stick and go'. In Canada, there is MUCH more care given to the kids...the health units in AB spend time explaining the shots, answer questions, and even ask for you to wait after for 15 min to monitor the child, etc. Things were SO MUCH better and more professional in Canada where my oldest daughter had all her shots and early child care up there.
Oh, and of course I can't forget how I spend so much damn time on the phone dealing with the stupid insurance companies (with CEOs who make 10s of millions a year) - like when they mispell our names, give my kids all completely different doctors (not the one we specifically chose).... Then there's the "coding" nonesense - making us pay for things that should be covered, but were "coded" differently by their doctor's office. No wonder it's so expensive here - not just with the outrageous insurance executive pay, but the adminstrative BS! I think my doc's office has half a dozen billing clerks alone!
Now I know there are things that do suck about Canadian health care and obviously it's much better in the bigger urban centres than the remote, rural areas, but there is a reason polls show that 90% of Canadians would still NEVER trade their health care system for the crap down here. They might complain and want to see certain reform, but give it up entirely? No way! Yes, the US has more experienced specialists in certain areas and generally less wait for appointments, but doesn't mater how long the wait is when millions of people can't afford it anyhow! Oh, and can't forget how I was DENIED coverage for a condition that never required any hospitalization in Canada...a condition where my only risk is sudden-death. The individual market companies refused to cover me, so luckily my husband's $1,800 PER MONTH plan would cover me. Perhaps you lived in a poor, lower populated part of Canada and now live in a major centre with some fancy plan to say that Canada's health care is "appalling" by comparison. Perhaps you're very wealthy and can afford the best possible care in the US. But I will say this with my last breath - the US health care system, even with the many wonderful doctors, nurses, hospitals, technology, etc. is a DISGRACE to civilization, Christianity, etc,... B/c unless you're poor enough for medicaid, old enough for medicare, lucky enough to have a job w/ superior benefits, rich enough to not care, or perfectly healthy, this system SUCKS!
And while we're comparing, you can look it up, but survival rates for diseases are comparable (some higher, some lower) in Canada and the US.. Infant Mortality rates are LOWER in Canada. Life expectancy is HIGHER in Canada. And the Canadian gov't spends LESS PER CAPITA on health care than the US gov't, while ensuring ALL people have access. A small percentage of Canadians may go to the US for treatments, but often they are reimbursed by their provincial plan... And the US news doesn't seem to report how many Americans go to Canada, or other countries like Germany, for procedures too. Bottom line, I would never say that our care in Alberta was "appalling" or that our care in California has been "superior" in any way. There is MOST CERTAINLY NOT A "VAST DIFFERENCE" like you say. Actually, we hate the health care system here so bad that we often consider moving back, but we hate the cold weather up there even more.