Thanos wrote:
Not happy with the wait times or the lack of family doctors. Patience is required when dealing with the idiosyncrasies of our system. And not voting in such dumb provincial governments all the time would probably do all of us much more good. But at least I don't have to worry too much about my 76-year old mom losing what's left of her savings to cover the costs for her respiratory problems the way we would if we lived down south. I also don't have to worry too much about spending $15000 out of my own pocket in the emergency room if the rather strange and disturbing dog next door finally gets lucky and rips a chunk out of me. I had my appendix out in July 2006 and couldn't have been treated better by the doctors and nurses, despite all the lies and horror stories that jerks like Mark Steyn like propigating. Read the last two months of archives at Andrew Sullivan's "The View From Your Sickbed" segments for some horror stories from the other side about what happens to the under- or non-insured people in the United States when they're unfortunate enough to get injured or sick. Needing medical help sure shouldn't cost you your goddamn house just to get some.
I can put up with the frustrations of slower service. I don't think that having to spend around $1000 per month out of pocket for health insurance the way they do in the US just to get allegedly better and faster service is worth it. Private medicine should be used as a supplement to the public system but never as a replacement. Everyone deserves the best quality care possible, not just rich people.
Perhaps it's just Saskatoon. I had been in the North for 30 years and had seen doctors from Northern Health Services for that whole time. Actually, the same doctor for almost 20 of those years. I moved to Saskatoon and tried out a doctor near my home a few times when he has minor emerg clinics going on and after about the third visit asked if he could take me on as a regular. No problem. I realize we have fewer doctors per capita, but so far it has not affected me.
Likewise, my wife went numb from belly button on down. She was in the States visiting her mom. A local doctor in Kentucky told her the tests would be $10 000 and perhaps she should go home. So she did. I took her to emerg in Saskatoon and she had to wait for a grand total of 2 hours. That was from entering emerg to coming out of the Nurologist's office. Some wait times, eh. She went home (North) and was admitted to hospital the next day for her treatment.
I am sure you can find problems with any situation where people are being served. And like I said one time last year to Bart, we are going to have every poorly treated hangnail and boil paraded out for the Americans to see. Looks like it's happening.
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