Quote:
Originally Posted by marko
T Sometimes even though the health care appears free, we get bloody upset because it's 100% NOT free. Canadian taxes are WAY higher than US taxes. Part of the reason for that is the 'free' healthcare.
Yes, that is true! I feel, though, one of the reasons our health care system is so bogged down is because people bring their children and themselves into emerg for every little stinking cold they get.
Getting a family doctor is also so hard these days and it's SO important to have 1 doctor that follows you as you get older. And yup getting appointments with specialists can take forever (and muck with your peace of mind  ) .... these are all huge problems to our healthcare system.
It took me years to get a doctor here in Eastern Ontario. Some areas it is horrible, others it's easy |
Family doctors don't really diagnose anything anymore, they send you to a specialist. Some referrals are warranted, some not and that really bogs down the specialists too.
I am all for Nurse Practioners (here on ON, they now require to have an equivalent to a Masters Degree) to be doing some first line diagnoses, ordering lab work, etc. to relieve some doctor's time to so they can take care of the more serious issues.
LP:
Currently, here in Ontario about 46% of our tax dollars go to health care (we do get about 9 bil of the 47 bil from Feds in transfer payments). ON (2009) spends about $5500 per person, which is nat'l avg. and I believe Que is one of the lowest in the country (about $4900 per person).
What surprises me in the article you posted with the link is that 46% of US health care is funded by the Gov't. That does seem high seeing as most health care is covered by private insurance
(perhaps somebody from the US can clarify that).