Three Questions For Candians

[DailyDi]

1) Do you find the movie "Canadian bacon" as funny as I do?

2) In the US we're in another election cycle and universal healthcare is again a topic of debate. I think it's a good idea, but people keep warning me about how bad your universal system is (Long waits for care, poor care, etc...) What is your health system really like?

3) Does it pay for diapers for the medically incontinent?

[BabyLex]

1) Do you find the movie "Canadian bacon" as funny as I do?

2) In the US we're in another election cycle and universal healthcare is again a topic of debate. I think it's a good idea, but people keep warning me about how bad your universal system is (Long waits for care, poor care, etc...) What is your health system really like?

3) Does it pay for diapers for the medically incontinent?

As a new Canadian (originally from the US)...

1) Hell yeah! It's hilarious and TRUE!

2) I stay out of politics... Canadians by and large are healthy people, walk around without injury and you don't see people dying in the streets. I live in the 'worst neighborhood in Canada' (Main and Hastings, Vancouver BC) where the homeless can survive the winters (because it's a major metropolitian area that doesn't drop to -40 in the winter) and I have to say, it's fine. Then again I didn't see people dying in the streets of Seattle either... <shrugs> I think the US and Canada poke at each other's healthcare systems claiming one is better than the other without reason. Americans go to Canada to get Lasik and Canadians go to the US to get MRIs. Is one better? They're different. Canada is VERY picky about who they let into their country and on the immigration forms even say "will not be a drain on the healthcare system", the US doesn't have that item on their form... but then I've never immigrated to the US, so I don't know what the form says.

3) I know that at the startup I founded, we were approached by a secondary healthcare insurance provider that -would- provide diapers to the medically incontinent, but I wasn't sure if that was covered by BC Care or not... each province handles its own healthcare, so it likely varies from province to province.

--Lex

[barnburner]

i have a demand for Canadians, i will post it here

its bad enough we have illegal mexicans crossing into the states all the time, but could you do something to keep your cold weather from entering the states?

.......

[BabyLex]

i have a demand for Canadians, i will post it here

its bad enough we have illegal mexicans crossing into the states all the time, but could you do something to keep your cold weather from entering the states?

.......

Oregon and Washington have gotten more snow than the lower mainland in Vancouver and Victoria :-)

--Lex

[squashNstretch]

1) Canadian bacon is required viewing for those applying to be Canadian citizens. It will bring you up to speed on the culture.

2) I have no complaints about our medical system. I spent part of my childhood in the UK, and I found those wait times to be horrific. Our wait times for a regular ol' drop in appointment is minimal, but can get up to an hour at peak times. I've never waited in emergency. As far as USA wait times, I have to wonder if they are lower in the USA because less people can afford to go to the doctor? Im not making any statements, I really dont know how it works in the USA. I don't know how true a lot of what I have heard about how HMO's work... But frankly that sounds like an extremely scary situation to be in if you need medical care. In any event, I refuse to travel outside of Canada even for a couple of days without travel(medical) insurance.

3) Not sure. Quite possibly if you have a doctors note/prescription. Keep in mind that you don't start getting discounts on prescriptions until you hit about the $1200/year mark. Below that it's all your own pocket. (Not including any extra medical plan you may have through your employer etc)

[Pipsqueak]

First off ... Baby Lex why are you living in the downtown Eastside????!!!!! Eeeek! Get out of there!

Moving right along ...

1) Do I find Canadian Bacon funny? I don't think I've actually seen it.

2) Yes there are long waits ... for some things. The care is NOT poor at all, I assure you. I had an emergency appendectomy last spring. I was wheeled into emergency at 9am and 12 hours later after exemplary care from everyone I came into contact with, I went home, minus my appendix. No money changed hands. I pay $54 a month for BC medical and that covers most stuff including the x-rays, CT scans, and MRI that I had a couple years ago for my back.

3) As for the diapers ... don't know the answer to that since I'm not incontinent.

[BabyLex]

Pipsqueak,

<smiles> I like my pad. 2200sqft overlooking the Burrard Inlet and North Shore mountains in a semi-ghetto area. It's a strange industrial post-apocolyptic kind of vibe. But it's an artist building. Our condo's amenities building contains a woodshop, a metalshop, a pottery studio, a music jam session space, a gym, and is 10 minute walk to the seabus, 15 minute walk from the seawall, and at most a 30 minute walk from anywhere downtown. It's a funky space, and one I've come to like. When searching for places I thought "I'll never be a better person for living in Yaletown, or even the West End" but living in Gastown has been an interesting experience. I did the Insite tour, even volunteered for a bit, and have come to know some of local bums by name. We're on friendly terms. In addition the gentry (if you will) that live here are very neighborhoody, and you -do- get to know your neighbors as people and individuals. I'm friends with several people that are a stone throw away and we often hang out just for fun :-)

Anyways, where are you at?

--Lex

[Pipsqueak]

Anyways, where are you at?

You're looking at me across the water.

[langtab]

1) Canadian Bacon is one of the greatest movies ever made.

2) The health care system here is NOT as bad as people say it is. It depends on a couple of things.

A) Is there a flu outbreak or something of equal annoyance.

Where you live. I live in a small city and the health care here is probably the best I have ever had. I have constant hearing/asthma/etc problems and last fall I had to go see the doctor about my coughing (pre-asthma diagnosis) and he wanted me to get an X-Ray of my chest. So I went to the hospital and carried a book expecting to have hours and hours of waiting time. I walked in and gave them my health card and then put on the X-Ray gown and they did their thing and I was out of the hospital in 15 minutes.

In january I had a massive ear infection and I was visiting my parents 600km away in another province. I went to the hospital emergency room at 8pm and within 15 minutes I had seen a nurse and two doctors.

Now a more major thing like surgery is often the example people use to show how terrible the system is and again, they are wrong. About 6 years ago I got beat up and had my knee busted in the process. So I went to my Dr, two weeks later, because I was limping so bad and he recommended me to a specialist. So the next day I went to see the specialist and he decided I needed surgery and I was scheduled in for 3pm that day.

So the stories people tell about how terrible Canadian health care is are 98% crap. I have had multiple surgeries in my life and multiple illnesses and never once have I felt ripped off by our government regulated health care system.

3) I am a bedwetter and I cannot get them covered under my health care.

[boy ricky]

1) Do you find the movie "Canadian bacon" as funny as I do?

Its way way funny!

2) In the US we're in another election cycle and universal healthcare is again a topic of debate. I think it's a good idea, but people keep warning me about how bad your universal system is (Long waits for care, poor care, etc...) What is your health system really like?

Our health care system can have waits. Still you get the care you need when you need it. You don't need a visa or mastercard to visit your Doctor or emergency room. Pharmaceuticals are often 2 to 3 times cheaper than in the USA. Canadians also live longer than Americans, have better overall health though we have been slipping due to a string of Conservative provincial and federal govts. Canada was the first G7 country to balance its budget in 1997. Every federal budget since has been balanced. Canada is the US's biggest trading partner. Canada supplies the USA with more energy than any other country.

3) Does it pay for diapers for the medically incontinent?

All Canadian provinces pay for diapers for those that are medically incontinent. Anyone willing to have the label on the shipping package of diapers from the USA can have them duty free if they are labelled incontinence product.

[boy ricky]

i have a demand for Canadians, i will post it here

its bad enough we have illegal mexicans crossing into the states all the time, but could you do something to keep your cold weather from entering the states?

.......

In Ottawa we want some of that Buffalo weather to stay on the US side. It blows across the lake and we get snow. So far Ottawa has had the second most snow ever this winter. We will set the record. Good thing i got a snowsuit.

[Oranges]

1) Don't like it.

2) Personally, I think our health care system is great. I have had none of the mythical "10 hour wait times" at emergency, or even had any trouble getting standard things like ultrasound done. It is my opinion that many of the opinions one hears about it are rendered by those who do not live here, or are uninformed.

To make it easy to understand how it works, essentially the government is your insurance provider. Many things are covered, some things that you would expect are not - non-emergency dental work in Ontario, for example, must be covered by private insurance, or you pay out of pocket for it. There are other social assistance programs run by the various provincial governments, as well. Ontario's "Trillium" program is a good example:

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public...s/trillium.html

It makes liberal use of a "triage"-style concept to determine who's next. For example, one wouldn't expect a patient with broken arm to supersede a patient who is bleeding internally in an ER - one would also not expect someone with less advanced liver disease to recieve one before someone in worse shape. That sort of thing.

Quality-of-life issues are generally taken very seriously, although sometimes one has to advocate for themselves.

I should also note that many of us are dedicated to the idea of our health care. As an example, even though my wife has advanced liver disease, we both agree that someone in worse shape should get a transplant before she does.

3) I do not know, but I'd find it reasonable to suggest that it would be assuming you are Dx'd as medically incontinent.

[boy ricky]

....

3) I do not know, but I'd find it reasonable to suggest that it would be assuming you are Dx'd as medically incontinent.

Here in Ontario its covered!

[Pipsqueak]

Personally, I think our health care system is great. I have had none of the mythical "10 hour wait times" at emergency, or even had any trouble getting standard things like ultrasound done. It is my opinion that many of the opinions one hears about it are rendered by those who do not live here, or are uninformed

I remember that through my excrutiating pain I kept thinking on the drive to Emergency "how many hours will I have to sit there like this??!!!" I'd heard all those horror stories of 6 or 8 hour waits and I'd never needed to use the emergency before so I had no prior experience to judge by. My excrutiatingly long wait time was all of 10 MINUTES! And that was in a very busy emergency room -undergoing renovations at the time - in a large suburb of Vancouver. Recently I've read a spate of letters to the editor of my local paper both complaining about the emergency ward and also commending it. I think a lot of the time it has to do with people's individual perceptions of what is taking place. If they don't get their hand held by the nurse all day they think the staff is uncaring or negligent. I personally don't have a single complaint about my care in hospital.

[Paul]

I think many of your politicians have no idea about our medical system here They are just in the pockets of the private insurance companies. The ones that argue aginst Gov medical always have the best plans They should have nothing and see what is like.

I think when you look at the costs paid by everyone including Govt you pay way more than we do. Everyone says there are lineups at hospitals. But just show up with a life threatening condition or serious injury and you go to the head of the line and you get excellent care.

Your private insureers have limits on everything and you can end up in deep trouble in the US when a catastrophic illness hits. I am constantly perplexed by how a country with the capabilities of the US has one of the worst medical insurance systems. People have got to get their heads out of their you know what and face reality not philosophy.

A person's health is just as important as freedom of speech!

No wonder so many of your Government depts do not run well. Taxes keep getting cut to subsidize rich oil Comapnies etc etc etc

[thera]

I'm a newly minted nurse/ RN and a patient so I can speak to this from two perspectives. There is a health staffing crisis that has yet to peak with the boomers stepping off the grinder. This along with inadequate funding has driven our once envied health care system into a state of emergency that it may not recover from. Our rapidly aging population is going to add a critical blow over the next twenty years that should finish us off unless we can generate creative fiscal solutions. Does all this sound familiar? It should cause I understand this is happening in all of the developed nations.

NEWS ALERT! The British Columbia Nurse's Association and the provincial government announced that in an effort to allieviate the chronic doctor shortage nurses will prescribe certain medications, refer to specialists and perform suturing. Their responsibilities will increase yearly as competencies are demonstrated up to and including cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and orthopedics. Due to successful lobbying by the College of Cosmetic Surgeons nurses will not be permitted to carry out breast augmentation, penile implants or rhinoplasty.

As a patient requiring intensive chemotherapy and radiation I can report that when my doctor suspected a serious illness all barriers to speedy diagnostics and treatment were removed. The crisis as it exists is far removed from my awarness as I undergo treatments and I have recieved the finest care available without any cost attached.

We can all complain and we do cause it isn't perfect but it remains a source of national pride and your role model.

[DC74202]

I think many of your politicians have no idea about our medical system here They are just in the pockets of the private insurance companies. The ones that argue aginst Gov medical always have the best plans They should have nothing and see what is like.

I think when you look at the costs paid by everyone including Govt you pay way more than we do. Everyone says there are lineups at hospitals. But just show up with a life threatening condition or serious injury and you go to the head of the line and you get excellent care.

Your private insureers have limits on everything and you can end up in deep trouble in the US when a catastrophic illness hits. I am constantly perplexed by how a country with the capabilities of the US has one of the worst medical insurance systems. People have got to get their heads out of their you know what and face reality not philosophy.

A person's health is just as important as freedom of speech!

No wonder so many of your Government depts do not run well. Taxes keep getting cut to subsidize rich oil Comapnies etc etc etc

A greater percentage of our taxes go to our military. Right or wrong at this point, it helped make sure Canada wasn't speaking Russian back in the 50s at no cost to Canadian citizens. Since military spending is still at that level, our taxes would be out of control if the government was just giving out healthcare. I'd rather not have higher taxes just so someone else can get mediocre medical care that's run like a gov't bureaucracy.

Those of us with decent jobs don't have any problem with healthcare through our insurance system, and it's the healthcare free market in this country that prompts the development of dozens of new drugs to help people. With socialized healthcare, there would be no incentive to try to make new drugs to make money, since there's no profit in innovation. Canadians benefit from that as well.

And the bottom line is, no hospital will turn anyone away. Of course there are many people without adequate preventative health care. But that's life. A right to free speech is something that does not affect another person. If you think people have a right to free health care, then I'd like to know who will pay for it? I certainly won't. I pay enough for my own and my family's.

[abrichiebc]

Most of the cold air that crosses over Canada comes down from Alaska, they call them arctic fronts and a lot of the rain that hits BC coast during winter months they call pineapple expresses, originate off Hawaii.

i have a demand for Canadians, i will post it here

its bad enough we have illegal mexicans crossing into the states all the time, but could you do something to keep your cold weather from entering the states?

.......

[langtab]

A greater percentage of our taxes go to our military. Right or wrong at this point, it helped make sure Canada wasn't speaking Russian back in the 50s at no cost to Canadian citizens. Since military spending is still at that level, our taxes would be out of control if the government was just giving out healthcare. I'd rather not have higher taxes just so someone else can get mediocre medical care that's run like a gov't bureaucracy.

Yea... Cause Canada was the one with hundreds of nuclear missiles pointed at it... We may be above you geographically but our government systems are completely different. We believe in equality for all. It makes me sick to think people truely believe that if they have health care and someone else doesnt then screw them. That my friends is shameful.

You would rather see 2.5 billion dollars a week spent on a country that hates you then to spend 2.5billion dollars a year to fix your health care system for all? That my friends is everything that is wrong with the world. If you would rather see people dieing in war in some country that hates your guts and people starving on your streets then I think you need a reality check.

[squashNstretch]

If you think people have a right to free health care, then I'd like to know who will pay for it? I certainly won't. I pay enough for my own and my family's.

In Canada, everyone pays their $54 a month. (Deals for families, discounts rates for low income earners up to 100%) I have no issues paying that. At a quick glance, it seems to me that in the USA, Rengence charges anywhere from $45-$227 a month for coverage. (And they still have hefty deductible). Maybe I'm missing something...?

With socialized healthcare, there would be no incentive to try to make new drugs to make money, since there's no profit in innovation.

Please don't confuse medical RESEARCH with medical CARE.

[messyman]

Canadain Bacon rocks

The quality of health care varies greatly. If you are dying or something it is first rate. If you are not dying it can be hit or miss. In Calgary six hour waits in the emergency room are normal if you are not dying. Occasionally people wait for months for surgeries. Sometimes they get them right away, depends on how many they are funded to preform that month. In Alberta if you don't have a family doctor now you are not getting one in the foreseeable future.

The government does not pay for prescription drugs, dentists, glasses or ambulances and a few other things so I highly doubt that they pay for diapers. Supplemental insurance might.

[boy ricky]

Please don't confuse medical RESEARCH with medical CARE.

I am often down in the Triangle area of North Carolina. They have some fabulous health and research facilities there. The major pharmaceuticals are all in the area. I have a friend that is a research scientist for one of them and he says that the drug companies have lots of drugs they could develop but wont as there is not enough profit in it. Instead the develop drugs that can treat "Created illnesses". Ie Do you get up sleepy? You might have wakyupitis. Take this drug and you will be happier.

You get the picture.

Medical care and research are separate. Insurance companies that pay for the medical care don't like the costs they pay for drugs. Research should be funded and a lot of it is by government. In many cases gov. pays lots and the pharmaceutical company makes all the profit. Its a nasty business and costs go way up because of demand. The demand is often created by advertising. Most Pharma's spend more on advertising than they do to develop a drug. Because it costs so much to develop and promote, they need to charge more for the product. The more the product is needed the more they charge, the higher the profit.

Medical care costs in the USA are driven up by three major causes. 1. The administration is huge as hospitals and Doctors have to deal with thousands of insurance plans and companies, all different. 2. Drug costs are extremely high due to lack of regulation and there are so many insurance companies no one buys in "bulk". 3. Finally, most people with inadequate or no insurance present to hospital or doctor when the problem becomes untenable, when if they felt they could go earlier the problem could have been fixed at a fraction of the cost. They didn't do this because they didnt have the money.

All Americans are paying for health care costs. Bankruptcies, lost productivity, family breakups, etc. So if any American is at risk due to having no or inadequate insurance it costs the whole system money.

The Canadian system does have its failing as well. The advantage we do have are, you wont lose your home because of medical care, you can go to a different job and still have health care, if you are sick you can go to a doctor. We have lower admin costs as there are fewer companies to bill, drug prices are lower as we buy in bulk.

[boy ricky]

Canadain Bacon rocks

The quality of health care varies greatly. If you are dying or something it is first rate. If you are not dying it can be hit or miss. In Calgary six hour waits in the emergency room are normal if you are not dying. Occasionally people wait for months for surgeries. Sometimes they get them right away, depends on how many they are funded to preform that month. In Alberta if you don't have a family doctor now you are not getting one in the foreseeable future.

The government does not pay for prescription drugs, dentists, glasses or ambulances and a few other things so I highly doubt that they pay for diapers. Supplemental insurance might.

Diapers are covered either for low income or on extended health coverage and a tax write off.

[Paul]

Once again the American sicialized medical boogey man raises his head. Socialized medicine and medical innovation are totally unrelated. Suggest you check your facts instead of listening to these dumb right wing politicians.

[DailyDi]

I pay $170 a month, have a $1000 deductible and many of my drugs aren't covered, or barely covered, leaving me paying as much as $50 each for them (One is $150)