Canadian Single Payer Question

[Adelaide]

Can you choose the doctor you want, or do you have to take whoever they give you

I was on a list of people who did not have family doctors with a local branch of a government agency. When my doctor became available, I received a letter with an appointment time. I automatically chose to go with him - I could have chosen not to and gone back on the list. The only reason I got the initial appointment time was because my status was upgraded based on a change in my health. Within a couple days, I got the letter. It was amazingly quick.

My family members, on the other hand, did some shopping around. When our previous family physician retired, they spent the time to find physicians that were taking new patients and went to one doctor. They committed. They all hated her after a few months, and eventually they all moved to another doctor they found that they really like.

My mom got to choose her new psychiatrist. I kept dismissing psychiatrists as a teenager until I found one that I liked, but it was about 9 months between each until there would be an opening in their schedules. But, there are some differnences in adult and adolescent psychiatry in the region I am from.

I did not get to choose my neuro-ophthalmologist because there is only a handful in North America and I had to travel an hour by car to get to him. I did not get to choose my neurosurgeon. I did choose my ophthalmologist and optometrist. I did get some choice with my general surgeon. I more or less picked my cardiologist and endocrinologist, who both had clinics and were completely independent of the hospital system.

With most specialists, my family doctor would make the referral to the individual he thought was most helpful and I think he also considered who I wouldn't blow off (meaning, who I would like or at least not dislike).

[Adelaide]

This person showed up at a walk-in clinic. It is no different in Canada than in the US - at a walk-in clinic you get the doctor that is available. This woman was more concerned with the ethnicity of the doctor than her child's condition.

Having gone to the urgent care clinic here in the United States and having previous gone in Canada, the only difference is that Canada has a longer wait time and they usually can't do x-rays or manage minor surgical procedures (like draining abscesses). You do not get to choose your doctor. The only time I chose my doctor in the US was when my issue required a pelvic exam and I opted for a female physician.

[Adelaide]

Theres alot of canadians here Doc and they paint an entirely different picture than our liberals friends here do about canadas healthcare. They are here every winter and they ALL say american health care is far superior with no waits for procedures and tests.

I live in America year-round and can confidently say that I see positives and negatives to both systems and that I would prefer the Canadian system, although it is a close match. That said, I am realistic in knowing that it can't be adapted to the United States.

If I needed surgery, I would go back to Canada if my provincial insurance would still cover it.

[Adelaide]

We repair canadian laptops and desktops all year long, and dozens in the winter.
We actually talk to alot of canadians and from other countries.

There have been many canadians tell the same thing. If you try and tell me there are no waits in canada for testing and procedures and some surgeries, I know enough to tell you that would be a lie.

I can tell you there are no waits here at all for anything, except organs if you need one.

No waits? Have you been to an ER recently? My SO required surgery and had about the same wait that would have existed in Canada... and then had horrible home care. Home care in Canada has many problems but I would classify the care here to be much worse. I should not have to properly pack a wound because the nurse who visits can't do it properly.

[Adelaide]

Who is paying for their US healthcare? Probably their Canadian single payer coverage. If they were simply paying out of pocket, they would be heading home. It's easy to complain when you are only paying 1/3 of what American's pay for coverage. You might want to hear them whine if they had to pay for insurance in the US.

Private insurance. OHIP (and others) cover bare essentials in emergencies. I have even heard of them using air ambulances to bring patients back to Canada during emergencies to avoid the US health care system. US hospitals and physicians seem to think Canadians have unlimited coverage outside of the country due to their provincial insurance and will conduct tests and procedures that are not medically required in order to make more money off the patient. Canadians really need to get out-of-country coverage to protect against that, and if they are electing to get a procedure in the United States they would have to have extensive private insurance.

Provincial insurance will cover research trials in the US, as well as occasionally sending cases south of the border if there is a long wait time for a particularly procedure.

[Adelaide]

Two ways, canadians of means have private insurance here. Others from what I understand there is a window x amount of time canada will pay for their health care here. Local Hospitals advertise they take canadians and so do dentists and clinics and drs. I think its good until april If I remember right, dont hold me to the april thing.

The canadians with money are self insured here.

Probably 75% of working Canadians have private insurance - you don't have to be "of means". Employer pays half. It covers the areas that provincial insurance does not, such as optometry and dentistry, in a way which is similar to US insurance. Majority of private insurance is never meant to be used for medical tourism.

[Adelaide]

Rich people do what they want everywhere, but they are not exactly the majority opinion or really representative of the average person.

I worked in home care (nursing) for years and directly admitted or oversaw thousands of charts. Most required some form of surgical procedure - maybe a handful went to the United States. If we are getting anecdotal, my experiences clearly tell me that even the "rich" Canadians don't bother going to the United States to skip a line.

[Green Arrow]

We repair canadian laptops and desktops all year long, and dozens in the winter.
We actually talk to alot of canadians and from other countries.

There have been many canadians tell the same thing. If you try and tell me there are no waits in canada for testing and procedures and some surgeries, I know enough to tell you that would be a lie.

I can tell you there are no waits here at all for anything, except organs if you need one.

That's completely wrong. My best friend and work partner is still waiting on a pacemaker a month after his doctor put in the referral with the cardiologist.

[Adelaide]

That's completely wrong. My best friend and work partner is still waiting on a pacemaker a month after his doctor put in the referral with the cardiologist.

That's a while considering the serious nature of cardiac problems.

I only waited two weeks to get a holter monitor from a cardiologist and after 14 days of monitoring, I handed it in and got my results/consult a week later. I was a very low priority case (they were just checking to make sure I did not have a genetic heart problem). My mother, once diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson White disease, which can only be diagnosed during an episode, waited two weeks before getting surgery (catheter ablation). WPW causes extreme episodes of tachycardia that requires rapid cardioversion, either chemically or electrically. My mother described it as being kicked by horse in the chest.