I pay directly over $600 per month, as well as the portion of my income tax that goes to health care.
I don't even have a GP and have been on a waiting list for almost 2 years.
Universal HealthCare is an empty term.
I should add, in Canada, health care is provincial jurisdiction and in Ontario, there are many co-pays and user fees. Even small hospitals charge for parking at exorbitant rates. Paying for parking at a medical facility is considered a user fee.
Reading what you just posted the canadian health system is just as broken as the US system if not worse if thats possible ...
In the Uk you really can just 'turn up' to a hospital after a very bad accident/event and be operated on the same day.
You had to pay for it as well. a lot of money
Every country is different. All our governments have spending priorities ie stuff they want to spend money on right now with NO delay.
America, Canada, The UK are first world countries ie the 'best' places to live. America and Canada have made a very very big error. You arent even looking after your citizens when they are ill ..
It shouldnt be like this in a civilised country but for some reason it is ..
Hoch i feel sorry for you. You do live in a good place in Canada. But your leaders have dropped the ball BIG time on health care.
The whole point of being a rich well developed country is to look after its citizens, tax payers. You pay your taxes to support your country.
In some countries you get 'nothing' when you really need help bad ie when you are poorly or have a bad accident ...
No I didn't pay for the surgery. I waited for a very long time. When I found out the cost, I realized I lost more in lost income alone, let alone the suffering and personal losses.
We can do better. In Canada if you say something critical you are given the "but in the US..." response.
after time and approval being given even obscure health complaints with very expensive medications involved are treated. But its not very fast in fact its slow.
the NHS is great at treating emergency situations ie stuff which needs to be done right now.
the NHS is good at 'fixing' stuff which needs to be fixed right now. today.
there is a bit of a lag though if there is a new 'miracle' drug to 'fix' something which is really bad.
On the covid thing i know without even googling it the NHS has vaccinated a lot more people than most countries. Covid is a bit of a emergency to say the least. The NHS is doing a great job in sorting that out.
Im a few years short of 50. I know im going to get vaccinated within weeks. All the old, weak, poorly and those with health conditions have already been vaccinated.
The NHS gets ALL the basic medical care sorted out.
As of March 27th, Canada has 11.86% of the known population has received 1 does, and 1.75% received both doses. We are falling behind the US considerably...
That comparative with Canada is not only telling of our current healthcare, but in general terms across the board. This is not incompetence, its intentional. There is a reason for such. Oh and let's look at the UK
As of 1 April 59.4% have received first dose, and 9.4% second as well. Gotta wonder about Canada some more.
There is a risk with all vaccines/medicines even after they have been tested ie side effects.
There is even more of a risk with the covid vaccine because it has only had limited testing. But i still think the risk is low. Its better to take the risk having the vaccine than risking getting covid.
Im closing in on 50. Im getting the vaccine when they offer it. I smoke like a chimney and have for over 20 years and i smoke cigars. I drink like a fish as well. Im probably at high risk of getting really ill if i get covid.
Im having the vaccine. Im also out and about everyday. I help manage a food warehouse a key worker. Im pretty worried about catching it.
it really isnt a "experimental" vaccination anymore. Yes we don't know if there are any long term effects yet, but we do know short term there are minimal worries. Which is a great start considering how bad the known long term effects of Covid-19 are.
there is no fixing that. That is permeant damage, this is what happens to folks who get covid-19. So as it might not be killing folks directly it sure as hell can set you up for a quicker death down the road.
i had Covid-19 and it was a very mild case, my doctor asked me to get a chest x-ray so she could see the damage and granted it was not quite as bad as that, it was not pretty. I have neve smoked any kind of tobacco in my life either.
I think we are stepping away a bit from the original post in this thread. Ie america isnt great anymore.
That is of course nonsense. America is great! However the are a LOT of better places to live in the world.
Most nations in western europe are better places to live than america. We all get taxed to hell, assuming we work of course ..
But as someone who lives in the UK ie europe i can plainly see that we do a far better job of making citizens lives better with the funds raised from taxes. We are taken care of a lot more than americans are.
This isnt just about medical care. In general taxes raised in europe are spent on things which make peoples lives better.