Canadian health care system. Canadians in here!

Shit happens with any system... in ours we have to wait a couple hours, big deal.

I wouldn't trade our system for a crooked private one. Not everythign is perfect but I rather sit 5 hours in the emergency room (like I've done a couple times with friends in the past years) then pay thousands and thousands.

When there is really nothing that can be done in our system, the gov pays for people to go oversea get treatements.

People die in hospitals all over the world, it's no news. When your number is up it's time to go :-(

And if people aren't happy with the time it takes to get surgery, they can always go to the US or europe and pay for their treatement like people in other countries do.

Interesting perspective.

In the private sector, companies compete with one another. Yeh, it isn't perfect. In the public sector, who competes with who? Are there ANY checks and balances?

We also have private doctors here in canada. My buddy just got a ernia removed cost him 3k but didn't wait 8 months to get it sorted out.

Poeple will complain in the US it's expensive, people will complain in Canada it takes to much time.

There's a common aspect here. PEOPLE COMPLAIN...

Well I'm not going to repeat pretty much everything that was gone over in Sicko... but the US system is so expensive it's not funny. You can get small stuff done in the private sector here for much cheaper.

time is money

The part in the movie where they say that you can't pay for healthcare is bullshit.

There doesn't have to be, because there's no bill handed to you when you're all better and ready to be discharged. No bill means no need for competition.

I don't know what your experience is with our system Sly, but many here tend to comment on it without any first-hand experience of it whatsoever. I on the other hand have lived here all my life, I've been in the hospital for surgery several times in my life, and not only that but have worked in a major health care centre for nearly 15 years, including a few stints in the ER and 2 years on the open heart surgery ward (CVT).

No it's not perfect, no system is. There are going to be certain horror stories no matter where you go, BUT I can say with utter certainty that Canada's hospitals offer first-rate health care overall.

For some non-emergency procedures yes, you can sometimes get put on a waiting list if what you need done has limited doctors that can do it. But when I went to the hospital back in '85 with severe abdominal pain and it was found out I needed my appendix removed right away it was taken out that night. After 5 days of recovery in-hospital where I received very good care I might add, I was released.... no bill. Nothing. No $20K owing for services, nada. ZIP.

You can't beat that.


I'll say it again, you can't fucking beat that.

have a gree with you CD
I too have had the same type of experince.
went to the hsc er at 2 am after slicing my hand on barb wire, all 4 fingers right to the bone severing tendons and crap.
got in to the er room with in 10 minutes and into surgury in about 3 hrs.
after 4 days they released me with no bill
I love not getting a bill for $1000's

been okay for me

I have no experience with your system. I was simply commenting on competition really. Checks and balances.

I have dealt with both private and public care here in the States. Obviously, private trumps anything public bar none.

I prefer private everything when possible. Thats just one of my core beliefs.

i like the example of Firefighting...privitize fire fighting and then let the market decide
wether or not it's profitable to fight your particular fire at your house.

Bingo, and as far as I know, bitching and complaining never changed a thing.

I have just seen the worst photography and editing of my life. Background in focus, person talking totally blurred. I hope these people are not serious about putting a full feature movie out. That would make complete assholes out of themselves.

socialized medicine..?
whats next, giving women the right to vote ?