Comment Re:I don't know a good rate... (Score 1) 1525
"That's a great laugh. I'm from Canada too and our health care is worse than useless (at least with nothing we can pay for decent health care)."
Have you *lived* in the US? Have you had to deal *directly* with the US medical system? Both the US and Canadian systems are far from perfect, but having lived both systems, I will tell you that - warts & all - I vastly prefer the Canadian.
My story: CDN born & bred, moved to US for 1.5 yrs. Dealt with routine doc appts, emergency room care, specialists, and a child born with a medical condition that required two surgeries before he was a month old. Had medical insurance from a CDN firm that specialized in insuring expatriates. No worries there (although I discovered in my market research that the cost of medical insurance in the US goes a *long* way to covering the gap between US & CDN tax rates).
The Good: US - better availability of service. Specialists were available *now*, not weeks later. Ultrasounds etc available *now* and in our case often in the doctors office. Waits are much lower. And the quality of service I received was great (the main specialist we had to deal with was cold, but damn she knew her stuff - our doc here always still marvels at how good a job she did on our son)
The Good: Canada - no damn HMO's or similar. Not in the sense of "if you don't have insurance you're f*cked", but in the sense "HMO oversight adds serious stress." Look, I had insurance, it was *good* insurance. The people were great (Telfer Insurance out of Montreal if you care) and I never had any problem with them paying for things and saying "go ahead". But the fact is that I had to be in *constant* contact with them. Check with them before seeing a doc if possible, the docs office has to contact them before you enter your appointment, let them know the outcome. Every step you are in contact. Submit forms or have the doc submit the forms, doesn't matter, when you receive a statement in the mail there is always a pit in your gut about whether they will pay for it all or if you are out of pocket.
The whole insurance thing is not simple a consumer of time, a series of hoops to jump, it is a source of stress, a source of serious stress that you do not need to deal with when yourself or your loved on is in need.
I am home now in Canada. When I have to use the medical system I can concentrate on the important things. When I go through my records and happen upon an old statement from my time in the US, the pit in my stomach returns. No, I have no interest in returning that system, or in having the US system implemented here.
So stop bitching about the CDN system. Go out and become part of the solution. Dammit, even volunteering in the gift shop is helping out.
Sorry - had to rant. I lean right on a lot of issues, but after my stint in the US I feel *very* strongly about keeping the CDN medical system alive and well.
Have you *lived* in the US? Have you had to deal *directly* with the US medical system? Both the US and Canadian systems are far from perfect, but having lived both systems, I will tell you that - warts & all - I vastly prefer the Canadian.
My story: CDN born & bred, moved to US for 1.5 yrs. Dealt with routine doc appts, emergency room care, specialists, and a child born with a medical condition that required two surgeries before he was a month old. Had medical insurance from a CDN firm that specialized in insuring expatriates. No worries there (although I discovered in my market research that the cost of medical insurance in the US goes a *long* way to covering the gap between US & CDN tax rates).
The Good: US - better availability of service. Specialists were available *now*, not weeks later. Ultrasounds etc available *now* and in our case often in the doctors office. Waits are much lower. And the quality of service I received was great (the main specialist we had to deal with was cold, but damn she knew her stuff - our doc here always still marvels at how good a job she did on our son)
The Good: Canada - no damn HMO's or similar. Not in the sense of "if you don't have insurance you're f*cked", but in the sense "HMO oversight adds serious stress." Look, I had insurance, it was *good* insurance. The people were great (Telfer Insurance out of Montreal if you care) and I never had any problem with them paying for things and saying "go ahead". But the fact is that I had to be in *constant* contact with them. Check with them before seeing a doc if possible, the docs office has to contact them before you enter your appointment, let them know the outcome. Every step you are in contact. Submit forms or have the doc submit the forms, doesn't matter, when you receive a statement in the mail there is always a pit in your gut about whether they will pay for it all or if you are out of pocket.
The whole insurance thing is not simple a consumer of time, a series of hoops to jump, it is a source of stress, a source of serious stress that you do not need to deal with when yourself or your loved on is in need.
I am home now in Canada. When I have to use the medical system I can concentrate on the important things. When I go through my records and happen upon an old statement from my time in the US, the pit in my stomach returns. No, I have no interest in returning that system, or in having the US system implemented here.
So stop bitching about the CDN system. Go out and become part of the solution. Dammit, even volunteering in the gift shop is helping out.
Sorry - had to rant. I lean right on a lot of issues, but after my stint in the US I feel *very* strongly about keeping the CDN medical system alive and well.
