Current Events > Is Canada's health-care really any better than America's?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Discuss.
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Canadians dont have to go in debt for having the nerve to get cancer. That alone puts them above.

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Yes

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All I have to say on Canadian healthcare is I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, I had 6 months of intensive treatments/minor surgeries, and a bunch of prescription pills I had to take and the only money I spent was on parking and Tim Horton's if I got hungry.

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Our system has a lot of issues we need to work on. Still better than the US.

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Doom_Art posted...

All I have to say on Canadian healthcare is I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, I had 6 months of intensive treatments/minor surgeries, and a bunch of prescription pills I had to take and the only money I spent was on parking and Tim Horton's if I got hungry.

ButbutI bet you had to wait a little bit longer for one or two of your appointments!!!!

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sounds like it depends on what your condition is.

There was a user here about a month ago talking about how he has to pay a fortune for his sleep apnea treatment and another talking about how they had to wait hours and hours for every appointment they go to due to the crowding.

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Yes.

It has its issues but its better than going bankrupt because you get sick or get hurt

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Doom_Art posted...

All I have to say on Canadian healthcare is I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, I had 6 months of intensive treatments/minor surgeries, and a bunch of prescription pills I had to take and the only money I spent was on parking and Tim Horton's if I got hungry.

I had Burkitt's Lymphoma on American healthcare. I also 6 months of intensive treatments/surgeries (only 3 months of chemo though) and a ton of prescriptions. I spent a bit over 10k, missed 12 weeks of work, and had to spend hours over a period of months making phone calls to sort out a billing issue because they fucked and billed it out of network which would have cost me another 3k.

I'll take @Doom_Art 's experience over mine. If I didn't have insurance I would have died, it's that simple and it happens to thousands of people every year in the US.

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TheVipaGTS posted...

ButbutI bet you had to wait a little bit longer for one or two of your appointments!!!!

The funny thing when people bring that up is that wait times in America are really not that great either.

Middle hope posted...

There was a user here about a month ago talking about how he has to pay a fortune for his sleep apnea treatment and another talking about how they had to wait hours and hours for every appointment they go to due to the crowding.

Yeah, unfortunately some things aren't seen as essential, particularly dental, though there's a push to change that.

As for the crowding, do you remember what specifically they were talking about? Like was it something they were scheduled for and had set aside? Was it with their family doctor or a specialist?

I know in my home city the walk-in clinics tend to have a pretty lengthy wait depending on the time and the day of the week.

And if you go to the ER and your symptoms aren't seen as severe by the nurse/practitioner, you'll probably also wait a few hours there.

Though barring like one time I can't recall ever having to wait "hours and hours" for something I was scheduled for.

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There are situations where the US health care system could be better. But it basically amounts to "if you can afford the extortionate prices of US health care, its the better option"

You break your leg or something and need non-vital surgery? you're on a waiting list for probably a long time. But in the States? if you can afford it you can get surgery by Monday.

For literally everything else though? Stick with the Canadian system.

TheVipaGTS posted...

ButbutI bet you had to wait a little bit longer for one or two of your appointments!!!!

I've talked to some Canadian dudes who had the same type and stage of cancer I had, all of them were diagnosed and had surgery months faster than I was in the US. And by US standards, my health insurance is pretty good.

So while I'm sure there is some truth to it, I'm pretty sure the wait times are another exaggerated republican boogeyman.

If you're rich, nah

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If serious, you do alright. If not, well, real things my family has dealt with

4 month wait for an MRI a 4 hour drive away despite having mini heart attacks.

Being tossed pain killers and a strainer when having kidney stones with the instructions "pee into this and keep anything solid for analysis and call us if you are bleeding."

Being unable to pee due to protaste cancer and being taught how to set up the provided siphon system at home.

It has its benefits over the US system, but I think people oversell it. On top of which doctors still like to be fairly paid so efforts at cost controls usually involve a lot of fighting with the government.

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karmageddon28 posted...

I'm pretty sure the wait times are another exaggerated republican boogeyman.

It definitely is. At worst, their wait times is just the same as ours.

CommonStar posted...

It definitely is. At worst, their wait times is just the same as ours.

I've heard stories of my sisters being stuck at the doctor's office for hours when they needed to go in for something basic.

But that was more an issue of him being like 95 and not really trying to finish his appointments in an orderly fashion. I've never had that experience.

I've never heard one "never put me in an ambulance no matter what stories" from Canadians I've heard several here in America.

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TheVipaGTS posted...

ButbutI bet you had to wait a little bit longer for one or two of your appointments!!!!

whats an extra 2 or 3 days?

While Canadian healthcare is better I do wish we had a private option available. Had to go to the ER and waited over 14 hours just to see a doctor.
Its also a pain to have to see a GP to get referred to anything, even a dermatologist or psychiatrist, especially when those two have 6+ months of wait lists.

Is this a serious question are you really that misinformed?

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I don't know anything about Canadian healthcare but I doubt they have to pay a copay.

Paying $55.00 to see my PCP for them to refer to see a specialist costing me another $110.00 adds up real quickly, especially since I will need to see them again after getting diagnostics done.

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pick4six posted...

Is this a serious question are you really that misinformed?

How about answer instead of getting smart
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Americans have the worst healthcare system of the developed world.

Canada is by default superior.

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HouIe posted...

While Canadian healthcare is better I do wish we had a private option available. Had to go to the ER and waited over 14 hours just to see a doctor.

That is a significant possibility in American healthcare as well.

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Having to pay for healthcare seems very stupid.

I can't even imagine living in a society where that's a thing.
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a-c-a-b posted...

Having to pay for healthcare seems very stupid.

I can't even imagine living in a society where that's a thing.

I'm too drunk for a proper hot take.
Remind me tomorrow.