Canadian Health Care

Okay, I'm curious too. How much do you pay/month for healthcare? I'm sure I can find the MSP premiums for each province online, but do you pay anything for Extended care?

I pay $0/month for a family. My MSP costs are $96 for a couple, but my employer pays though, and my employer covers all my extended healthcare, 100%. Prescription drugs, specialists appointments, massage therapy, physio therapy, as well as a certain amount on eye glasses, eye exams etc.

My partner's employer (my partner is co-owner of the business) offers the same deal, but he didn't enroll in his because he's covered by mine.

Knock on wood - I, and my wife and kids have been healthy so haven't really had to test the health care system.  The only time my kids were in the hospital for an extended stay was when they were born (my wife and I are opposite blood types and both kids needed full blood transfusions soon after being born).  Nothing but praise for the neonatal ICU.

We have a doctor and see him yearly for physicals otherwise we go to the local clinic if one of us has a bad cold/flu that requires antibiotics (as our family doctor moved to the opposite end of Calgary from us).

My dad had to go for heart surgery a number of years ago.  He was immediately admitted but had to wait a few days for the surgery (as other more critical patients were operated on first).

Not knowing how much other countries have to pay for health care or insurance - I'm thankful for our health care system.  A brother of a brother in law lives in the States and when he needed to go for heart surgery the cost equalled what we paid for our house.  It'd be unfair for me to be critical about the cost as I don't know how much US citizens save by not having universal health care like we do.

You definitely did.

Maybe this belongs in the confessions thread, but: My good friend works at a waffle factory. They make all the name brand waffles except Eggo. I've been on a tour of the factory, and it was really exciting. They have waffles in syrup in all of their refrigerators. Anyway, anytime she gives me a crate (yes a crate) I eat at least 4 waffles a day.

Yeah, my extended health plan provided by my employers is very good. I work in IT though and there is a lot of competition for employees, so benefits in my industry are usually pretty good. A lot of companies offer memberships to health clubs as a benefit.

Not much help here. Haven't used the health care system in  over 10 years. Don't even know for sure how much we pay, but I think it's around $50/mo ea.

Yeah, I don't use the system much either. Annual checkup at my family doctor's office, annual flu shot usually given my a health care practitioner that comes to my office, the pharmacy for prescriptions (usually only 1 that I get a Rx written for a year) and the occassional visit to a walk-in-clinic to renew a prescription that runs out early before I make it back to the doctor's office annually. Oh and the regular visit for massages. But that's not a covered expense by basic medical, so there's no waits there.

My partner has a disease related to arthritis, since I can't spell it, I'll call it AS, so he makes more doctor's visits than me, but most of those are to a rhuematologist. He schedules the appointment in advance, and I don't think that doctor is very busy, so he doesn't wait at all.

If athletes are generally healthier, than definitely this board (and my friends) are not a good segment of the population to survey, so I have to take anything I learn in this thread with a grain of salt I guess. My family members haven't really had or used the healthcare system that much either, but I'm sure that people here must have family and friends who have so I'm curious to read your opinions.

I've read a lot of your posts blairrob, and I don't remember you mentioning that, so you definitely don't seemed consumed by it. Sorry to hear that though.

I'm pretty proud to be a Canadian too.

I pay 14.71CND (13.74AMD) per month for health care.  I keep hearing about what terrible shape our health care system is in but have yet to see it.  I'm 59 and have never had to pay a cent for hospitalization or medical treatment!  For the price I pay per month, it's a pretty good deal. 

The OP asked for Canadians' experiences with health care and already we've had commentary about other folks or those who don't use the system.

It just seems so subjective all around if you ask me.  YES, there most definitely needs to be reform in the States. And all the talk of "I wouldn't trade places"  I pay $200 a month for hubster and I and have great care.  prescription coverage with a copay but still have access whenever and whoever I want. Have I ever exprerienced problems?  Not a one.  Knee problem?  MRI in 2 days.  Dad just diagnosed with vocal cord cancer?  I managed to get him into an oncologist specialist in a week (did I finagle the system, yeah, but I'm sure that happens even in those socialist countries.)

I'm sure it's the same elsewhere.  We all read Aquagirl's frustration with her inability to get in to see someone about her knee problems.

The problem posting this question on a tri forum is we're all proactive about our well being, unlike the vast majority of the human species, regardless of nationality.

The bottom line is nowhere is perfect.  And yes, I do believe we here in the States have a long way to go to get it right, but the citizens of this country, in reality, are unwilling to pay the tab to have the same benefit of Canada, Denmark or other countries that offer universal health care.

In Alberta, as it sits right now we pay nothing for health care. Up until this year year we paid $44/month per adult. They stopped Alberta Health Care payments at the beginning of the year (supposedly to help with the burdan of the recession), but now we are suffering a multimillion dollar deficit and the gov't is making HUGE cutbacks.

My last knee surgery was in 2005, took 8 months to get my first appointment with a surgeon and then another month for the first surgery, and another one three months later. Surgeon was absolutely livid that it had taken that long for me to get in and got me into surgery ASAP. I obviously think that there are some major flaws in the system.

Alberta has now hired an Australian, Steven Ducket, to revamp our health care system and now things are getting even worse. Cuts, cuts, cuts... I work in health care (paramedic) and see people losing jobs and vacancies not being filled every day. There are hiring freezes throughout the province and construction has been halted on new hospitals. Emergency room beds are full of people waiting to be admitted to units,  but the patients can't move upstairs because all of the units are full of elderly people waiting to get into long term care facilities. The shortage of long term beds throughout the province is atrocious.

In short, as it sits right now, Alberta's health care system is falling apart and it does not seem like there is anything that can be done about it. Healthcare workers (especially nurses,RNs) are short staffed, overworked and under paid. Jobs are being cut when they should be added (deficit or not), health care premiums need to be raised, not lowered, and Steven Ducket NEEDS to be fired.

This is just my own personal opinion on the matter. All of my facts are anecdotal so take them at that.