In Canada, how does the health care system work?

First, may I suggest that you Google Tommy Douglas, the founder of our system.

I will answer the rest direct from your text:

1) "I was talking to my mom and I said that instead of this US health care bill that no one even understands or has faith in, we should adopt a system that seems to work and keep people happy like the one in Canada."

Yes, a similar system would have saved the USA a lot of trouble. The problem is that we have trouble getting 10 provinces to agree on anything... Can you imagine getting 50 states to agree??? Besides the mult-trillion dollar US health-care industry would have never allowed that.

2) "My mom then replied that in Canada, you can't have your own doctor..."

Wrong. There are many cases where shortages of doctors mean some people may not have their own doctor. It is not a case of legal cannot, it is a case of an aging population, a declining birth rate, and too few doctors. Why? That is a long story, longer than I can answer here. But you CAN have your own doctor and most do. In these other cases, some have access to a doctor pool (via a clinic), or to a Nurse Practitioner who consults with a doctor.

3) "a private practice..."

Wrong again. We have private practices, joint practices, partnerships, and some doctors even have medical corporations. They organize as they see fit. Many doctors like it, even. While drugs, medicine, dental care, eyeglasses, and numerous other things are NOT covered, the doctor visit and annual check ups, and many other things are. Most doctors enjoy SLIGHTLY lower insurance rates, and since a swipe of the health card guarantees them payment, no troubles collecting from their patients. A number of hospital services are covered also, using the same method. Very often, in the past, Americans tried to sneak in North for the free coverage. Some still do...

4) "and even if you're in a lot of pain you have to wait months or even years for surgery if it's not a life threatening condition...."

Wrong. There are waiting lines for many things, yes. And optional surgeries often wait much longer. But, a story from personal experience.

My friend "L", a senior, had some weird symptoms. I helped him get an emergency appointment within 40 days (his doctor is very popular, and we do have a severe doctor shortage in town). The appointment was on time, and the doctor called me into the office. He then gave me several pieces of paper for lab tests, and the following instructions:

"You will take him to the lab downstairs NOW, today for these xrays. You will stay with him. You will tell the nurse I want the results STAT, today. You will them take him home. you wathc him and care for him. If something happens, take him to the hospital emergency right away. Tomorrow you will take him to this other lab for the following tests. Again, STAT results. You leave both your and his phone number with the receptionist so I can book an appointment with him after I have the test results. Tell the receptionist I want the appointment within 30 days. In 10 days, if you do not have the appointment from the receptionist, you will call or visit here. I want NO excuses. Do you understand?" He made me repeat the instructions.

A week later my friend feeling very strange. His grandson called the ambulance. He was in the hospital within 3 hours. The problem arose when I got there. Since I was not a doctor, attorney, family member by blood, and did not have a medical power of attorney, they would not talk to me. But I got around that, by saying, "Talk to the grandson. I'll listen."

5) "I was under the impression that Canadians were generally very happy with their system and that it worked very well...."

Most are. Some are not. Again, a lot depends on personal circumstances and events. You will find this to be the case in the USA also. Same for England, France, Japan, Switzerland.....

NO system is perfect. The problem with the US system is that there are too many lobbyists, interest groups, and other such trouble makers.

And now, I have 2 questions for you!

(A) Tell me, why is it that the USA can afford to rush the NIMITZ Carrier Group (some 20 vessels) halfway around the world, at battle speed, to care for some tsunami or earthquake vistoms, for free, with the VERY best care money can buy, for people who are enemies of the USA, but cannot care for a working poor American, living in, say, San Francisco?

(B) Why does Bernie Madoff, who stole US $50 BILLION dollars from a number of American citizens, and is at least partly responsible for the recent financial system collapse... get better care in jail, for free, than 50% of all tax-paying American citizens?

Yup, there are MANY flaws with the Canadian system -the discussion of which is beyond the scope of this reply - but answer my queries A & B above?

It is not a lack of money, power, brains, technology, ability, resources, skil

The answer to your question lies in the adage, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Human nature never changes so this adage is true at all levels of government and, in fact at all levels of any human organization. Once an individual or a group obtain power over others (in whatever format that takes), the immediate objective becomes to maintain and, if possible to increase that power.

This applies in the Canadian health system and anywhere else the people relinquish the power to determing their own sources and methods of treatment. A government healthcare system eventually assumes the power of life and death over the people who are forced to make use of the government system.

Apply the adage above and you will see how this comes to be.

Those who supply the healthcare are no longer responsible to the people they treat but to the government that provides their employment. Those who provide supplies and service to those healthcare providers soon learn how the "game" the system. The cost of supplies is determined not by market forces but by "who do you know" contacts within the system. If you know the right people and if those people can be bribed, a certain number of them will accept those bribes.

Corruption soon spreads throughout the system.

Though there will always be people who try to make the system work and who are honest hard working people, those who are corrupt soon corrupt others and all such systems either severely ration the healthcare provided or go bankrupt.

It is as inevitable as the sun coming up tomorrow.

Those who founded the United States understood this and that's why they attempted to limit the power of goverment to settling differences between the states, providing for the "common defense" and building of roads (infrastructure). Those things the government can do pretty well but when the government begins to invade or limit the free market, the government iwll always to a lousy job.

Canada is a relatively small country and Canadians are by and large an intelligent well-meaning society. However, the long waits for treatment and the quality of care has alredy deteriorated to the point where many of its citizens choosed to come to the United States and pay for treatment out of their pockets. The same applies to other government run healthcare systems

If the liberals in Congress and our socialist president are able to install this system in the USA, within 20 years, it will be as inefficient and as rationing as the Canadian system.

lol @ big bear

i live in the uk, and the health care here is great, the doctors are wonderful, when you step in to a GP (general practitioner) you know for sure that this doctor wants to help you, and the sole reason he is offering these drugs to you is because he thinks it will work, not because some major pharmaceutical company is paying him to hand it out, this is exactly what it is like back in canada,

p.s. please dont listen to rayhere, he brought up Daniel Hannan, well that is just one person in the uk who is against the nhs, there are millions of people in the USA who are against the usa health industry

the canadian health system is also great,

any americans who say the health care in uk and canada are crap has never ever visited the UK or Canada,

we also have the freedom of knowing that if we ever need the doctor badly, we wont fall into debt, if we get treatment

You well never get the truth from the Canadians

Do you remember when that English actress had her skiing accident and she was air vac over night to the U S They told us she was already dead So were was the investigation into her death Why was a doctor with her

Do you remember that women in western Canada who flew to the U S to have her 8 kids They told us there was a bed shortage Ho really so why did they send a high risk

If there health care is so good why do they come to the U S for health care Why have they made it illegal for a Canadian doctor to go private?

After reading the above post let me include the Brits as well Daniel Hannan their EU M/p is the most hated man in the UK today has he has exposed that their health care is crap Their P M G Brown has apologized on their telly for the thousands of needless death in their dirty hospitals

what's the objective of Canada's wellness care equipment? In economics you may learn a loose industry economic equipment and become responsive to particular industry mess ups. human beings have on that checklist of issues they intervene in issues like Policing, hearth branch, roads, bridges, and different infrastructure, Libraries, public transit, and positioned up workplace. For some reason america of a, fails to work out that wellness care is a loose economic equipment industry failure. Canada, like a majority of western loose economic equipment markets do no longer choose to place a cost tag on wellness themes and experience different issues would desire to be seen different than fee and affording the fee. We positioned greater fee on lives than earnings. Why is there lots communicate of Canada's wellness care in contemporary information? because of the fact america of a is ultimately thinking a Helath care equipment. Canada is the closest usa geographically to the US. even although, that's a dumb assessment because of the fact the equipment isn't something like what the US would desire to look like. human beings would desire to look in any respect structures no longer purely Canada. Why no longer look at united kingdom, France, Germany, etc. etc. Canada's greatest concern is that's a extensive usa with a small inhabitants. That consequences what proportion hospitals and how nicely equiped they are - the expenditures shoot up. the US would desire to be comparing to countries with greater beneficial populations for one. that's almost an arguement controlled by using the wealthy adversarial voices. evaluate purely to Canada on account which you may discover some flaws you may exagurate here, Plus you have the choose to make it look like Canada is the equipment it particularly is a minority interior the international while that's america of a it particularly is the uncommon exception to how coutries opperate. Who would be impacted by using the alternative to supply wellness care? greater often than not people who can no longer have sufficient funds the present equipment, and those gouging revenue from the present equipment (drug companies, assurance firms, docs, etc) Why would desire to you have an interest by the wellness care difficulty? because of the fact it would ensue to you at some point. You get ill and the two can no longer have sufficient funds the therapy, or you pass bankrupt to have sufficient funds the therapy.

It depends on the hospital,and yes I do know people that have had to wait 11 months for heart surgery,and the 2 heart attacks(mild though) while waiting makes it obvious that it was something that could not wait,some hospitals have people living in the hallways while others are pretty good.My personal experinces were good the first time I had a stay(Pnemonia)they were quick and had a room),the second time they refused to x-ray my arm and told me to go home.After two day's and an xray they were finally convinced I shattered my wrist through.This was in a small town though so not very crowded.With elderly relatives it's been more dissapointing,my grandfather they refused to operate.And when he had trouble breathing they just told him to drink more water,only to find out a week later his lungs were full of fluid,among other incidents.Also have a friend whose family was not told their grandmother had cancer until she died ,when they confronted him he told them that he didn't want to bother her with bad infomation.So my experinces are mostly negative,but it is hit and miss and some doctors and hospitals are better than others.I Should also note our family dotor was great though.

P.S.Should also note it is not free you pay for it one way or another,but it is less of financial burden on lower incomes if something major needs to be done,you still have to pay for meds(sometimes and at a lower price)dental and eye care(depends)

Your mother is right on track. My sil is from Canada. She thanks God everyday that she wasn't there when she developed acute Leukemia a year and a half ago or, she says, she'd be dead by now. She was put on intense chemo in less than a month of developing it and in hours of the results of the bloodwork. In Canada, she would have gone on a waiting list. Her mother, who still lives there, gives up a day's pay every month for a routine checkup because she waits 6 hours to be seen by the doctor. She's seen people keel over in the waiting room.

Canadians are far from happy with their system. That's why those that live near the border, come here for their acute care. Animals get faster MRIs than people do there.

Jeremy is wrong--and I get my information from Canadians.

Canada has outlawed all private practices as Obama will eventually do here in the US.

The wait times are 8-10 times longer in Canada than the US.

If your grandmother is not going to die from a bad hip then you can expect her to wait many years for a hip replacement compare that to about a week in the US. Plus, the government may not do a hip replacement for a 65+ citizen at all.

Every canadian that i talked to when i was in vermont last winter said it worked very well. They have to wait for non life threatening things, but get to see a dr as quick as us when it's just routine except for one thing.......................IT'S FREE!!

Well, first you should know that everywhere that has tried government run health care, such as Massachusetts, the Uk, and Canada, has failed horribly. In Canada they have doctor "lotteries". That's right. Names are entered and randomly generated. If you're lucky enough to be picked, you get to go to the doctor. Oh and you won't be alone. They're group visits. If you need a physical, I hope you don't mind being naked in front of strangers.