England & Canada question

[Marigold2]

Thank you all for the info which I am passing on to my friend Dr. Dave. As a retired physian he is much interested in everyone's views from around the world. PT is full of intelligent people with valid opinions well thought out.
I lived in Germany over 30 years ago and loved their health care system. I had my first born there.
Some ways I feel that America can cut health care cuts were being done there so many years ago.
For instance.
1) We were four to a room
2) No phone
3) No TV
4) Simple yet good meals.
5) No bathroom, it was down the hall and shared by all on that floor.
6) No visitors in room, we went to a common area.
7) Hospital stay 30 years ago 9 days
8) My cost ZERO.
If we had this instead of private rooms that looked like plush hotels, cable, phone, and all the extras we could save millions of dollars.
I would like to hear everyone's thoughts.
And thanks again to all the intelligent PT people, that includes Blue Too.

[Laura's Babies]

I would love to see more people answer and hear more! Is there anybody else out there?

[emily_the_spoiled]

As someone who was born in Canada, lived there for over 30 years, and was a practicing health care professional before moving to the USA I have had experience in both systems. (I no longer practice in the US but I do research into access and quality of care in the US.)

While neither system is "perfect" neither are they totally "wrong". Both of them can not continue on the development path that they are currently on ... it is unsustainable because of the expense.

Yes there are waiting lists in Canada, where you end up on the list depends upon how sick you are. For example, a couple of years ago my 40 yo BIL ended up in the hospital because he collapsed at home (in Canada). The first thing they did was a MRI and it turns out he had a beign tumour and they operated that night (he is fine today). If he had gone into the MD and said he had a headache he would not have received the MRI or emergency surgery, but then again it is unlikely he would have received an MRI here either. He might have been put on a waiting list if he had chronic headaches of unknown origin, but he was sick enough to skip to the top of the list and receive the care he needed with no copayments or deductibles.

If he had been in the US, he would have also received immediate care if he was admitted into the hospital, but he likely would not have had insurance because he is a real estate agent. This means that he would have had to pay the full cost of everything. Even if he did have insurance he would have copayments or deductibles.

In Canada you wait based on how ill you are, while in the US you wait based on how good your insurance is or how much money you have. Which is fair?

[Nomilynn]

In Canada you wait based on how ill you are, while in the US you wait based on how good your insurance is or how much money you have. Which is fair?

Excellent post!

This pretty much sums up what I meant about people taking charge of their own health. Just because the doctor tells you you are fine, doesn't mean that you are, and it is up to everyone to be persistant and make someone listen when they say they don't feel "right" - I am lucky that I have such a great doctor in BC, he will listen to whatever I need. I think it might be the people who don't want to "be a bother" that end up suffering. My grandmother was like this - when she died we found out that her doctor suspected she might have ovarian cancer, but she hadn't told him until about 6 months from when she noticed symptoms! It's so important to be really pro-active in your own care.

[Edwina's Secretary]

As I read the editorials in this morning's papers I was again struck by the focus on comparing healthcare in the US to healthcare in Canada and the UK. Why are all the other countries with universal healthcare ignored?

Isn't it possible we could learn things - good and bad - if we broadened the scope?

[Laura's Babies]

Why are all the other countries with universal healthcare ignored?

I don't think they are being ignored, it is just that we don't know what countries have universal healthcare. The ones mentioned here are the the only ones we hear about here in the USA.

We would love hearing from them ALL! Pros and cons.. If you can add anything, we would love to hear from you too! We are just looking for answers so we can make an informed decision..

[Lady's Human]

I think the reason we hear about Canada and the UK while talking about health care is that we can relate to those countries easily.

On the surface we're very similar.