Canada healthcare

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Richie

Hi Dave

Many years ago you posted on health care plans and the pros and cons on all that stuff and Medigap coverages etc. I saved that , thank you for that. I am taking your advice. I am at that time in life

You're so welcome.

You've made a wise decision.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Frost king

Being a Canadian, and living in Ontario, I have come to the conclusion, there is nothing wrong with the health care system until you need. I am currently suffering from carpal tunnel in both hands. It has taken over a month to. Eat an appointment with a specialist. I am slated to see one on Jan 4th. To see a shoulder specialist, to just get an appointment it is 2-3 months. Still waiting for that call. Which is disgusting. I have pain through out the night in my hands, whereby in the morning it takes 45 minutes for me to start to get some feeling in them. Shoulder pain is unbearable in both shoulders. All I know, is if I pitched for the Blue Jays, the shoulder pain would have been looked at within 72 hrs. Just sad, when you can afford to pay for private health care, and can’t get it. Good thing I pay between both levels of government 53.66% in personal taxes off of each pay check to pay for everyone else. When you need it most, you get shoved into the queue and have to wait.

My primary VA is a missionary in Northern Ontario.

She has exactly the same condition and has complained of exactly the same result.

She typically waits 3-6 months for an appointment and, when she goes into the doctor, the inflammation has subsided, so the doctor treats her with cortisone instead of taking it more seriously.

Then, when the pain gets unbearable again, she makes another appointment only to have the entire process repeat itself.

This has been going on since she began working for me in November, 2016.

[lamboguy]

the whole medical system in our country is nothing short of criminal..
my latest beef was i had inflammation in my toes. so i tried to get an appointment with a rheumatologist. so i see the primary care doctor, she makes be come in and she gives me a referral. i get a call from the scheduling office and they tell me i have to wait 6 months for the first available appointment. i asked the lady is there was anything else i could do, she said in case someone canceled she would call me. i don't feel like waiting 6 months for the appointment. she says i can sign up for "concierge medicine" and they might be able to get me in sooner.

so i called the concierge and they told me there is an annual fee of $7500 to belong to this concierge department. she told me i could pay $500 up front and i can become a member. i gave her my credit card and i got the appointment i wanted 3 days later. i went to the appointment and today i canceled my concierge membership. they canceled it but will not give me my $500 back.
to tell you the truth, i was very satisfied with the appointment. i saw a regular doctor specialist for about a half hour, then she called the head of the department and he spent another 20 minutes with me. they ordered X-rays, CAT scans, and blood tests. these doctors sounded pretty thorough to me as well. at the end of the appointment, the doctor gave me her mobile number and told me i didn't have to wait for any further appointments. She also called me back the next day to come up with a game plan and explained everything to me thoroughly.

[woodtoo]

Health care improves ones life and extends ones life.

Euthanasia is death care. To save money, its just dis-ingeniousness to state its health care.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

the whole medical system in our country is nothing short of criminal..
my latest beef was i had inflammation in my toes. so i tried to get an appointment with a rheumatologist. so i see the primary care doctor, she makes be come in and she gives me a referral. i get a call from the scheduling office and they tell me i have to wait 6 months for the first available appointment. i asked the lady is there was anything else i could do, she said in case someone canceled she would call me. i don't feel like waiting 6 months for the appointment. she says i can sign up for "concierge medicine" and they might be able to get me in sooner.

so i called the concierge and they told me there is an annual fee of $7500 to belong to this concierge department. she told me i could pay $500 up front and i can become a member. i gave her my credit card and i got the appointment i wanted 3 days later. i went to the appointment and today i canceled my concierge membership. they canceled it but will not give me my $500 back.
to tell you the truth, i was very satisfied with the appointment. i saw a regular doctor specialist for about a half hour, then she called the head of the department and he spent another 20 minutes with me. they ordered X-rays, CAT scans, and blood tests. these doctors sounded pretty thorough to me as well. at the end of the appointment, the doctor gave me her mobile number and told me i didn't have to wait for any further appointments. She also called me back the next day to come up with a game plan and explained everything to me thoroughly.

100% agree with this.

The fact that WEALTH BUYS PRIVILEGES in something such as LIFE vs DEATH SHOULD BE CRIMINAL.

But, guess what? It's not.
It's simply reality.

And (anecdotally) I believe it is EVEN WORSE in socialistic systems (such as Canada).

It's also worse in STRONGLY BLUE cities than STRONGLY RED.

Doubt that? Ask yourself, which do you suppose is more difficult to get: an appointment with a specialist in NYC or Reno, NV?

(Technically, Reno is light blue.)

BTW, if you have a plan that uses a NETWORK, you're limiting yourself right up front. Medicare does not demand a network. Only SUPPLEMENTS demand a network.

__________
In my private circles, I get a lot of private communications about healthcare because people have heard the stories and seen the advice I've posted on Facebook and what I post is verifiable.

FWIW, I tell people that we must struggle to not be slaves to the system.

For example, I had a diabetes doctor a few years ago - actually the finest doctor of any kind that I ever had. Unfortunately, he could not manage a practice and was out of biz in under 6 months.

I liked him so much that I recommended him to some dear friends. They said that the office never calls back to schedule an appointment.

I said that I knew this to be true and that they had to take steps to circumvent that challenge.

Their answer was to:
1) Expect to walk into the office to schedule your appointments.
2) Always have at least 1 future appointment scheduled every month, going out 3 months.

You can always cancel the appointments if you don't need them.

When I told them this, they were outraged!

"Why should we have to do this?"
The answer is that it solves the problem.

THE REAL POINT
The medical system - as you said, Lambo - is broken. And it is NEVER going back.

All the anger in the world isn't going to change this.

We have to get over it and figure out THE BEST WAY to make it work for us.

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

Not my experience at all.

My wife has had $1m+ in surgeries these past few years.

We're out of pocket a total of just over $3k.

As for competency, there are plenty of such doctors. I do admit that they are not just laying about.

They must be searched for.

That is still a lot, glad you did not put late in front of wife. The price of surgeries has gone nuts, my neighbor said his knee cost $200k. I must admit they did a good job cosmetically, you would have expected it to look way uglier scarring wise on a 70 year old.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by 46zilzal

ANother CLOWN'S opinion about something they have NO FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE of.

Hey Dumbo, you still reading this thread?

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Inner Dirt

That is still a lot, glad you did not put late in front of wife. The price of surgeries has gone nuts, my neighbor said his knee cost $200k. I must admit they did a good job cosmetically, you would have expected it to look way uglier scarring wise on a 70 year old.

I can't recall, but I know there are 14 thus far - with another scheduled for January.

Beth has had:

• Both knees
• one hip
• has a spinal cord stimulator (prevents back pain from her stenosis)
• two bariatric surgeries
• 2 sinus procedures

This is why she's so amazing.
Still beautiful, getting sharper and smarter with age.

Not joking about the smarter with age thing.

______________
BTW, even with my zero-deductible/zero co-pay/zero out-of-pocket coverage, Beth's coverage is BETTER and CHEAPER than mine.

How can that be?
Because none of her conditions are recurring! They're all one-and-done.

Neither of us are in a network - but her plan does require a referral to get to a specialist. Mine does not.

Her monthly premium is under $200 per month (above Medicare, of course).

[46zilzal]

Genetics is at the HEART of health.

In my career I have witnessed many a person who did everything WRONG (health wise) and suffered little to no consequence. I have also seen just the opposite

[fast4522]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

Hey Dumbo, you still reading this thread?

He does not get it, his posts are like he was never really here. If Canada was a cheaper place for his next journey he would be there.

[ElKabong]

Originally Posted by Frost king

Being a Canadian, and living in Ontario, I have come to the conclusion, there is nothing wrong with the health care system until you need. I am currently suffering from carpal tunnel in both hands. It has taken over a month to. Eat an appointment with a specialist. I am slated to see one on Jan 4th. To see a shoulder specialist, to just get an appointment it is 2-3 months. Still waiting for that call. Which is disgusting. I have pain through out the night in my hands, whereby in the morning it takes 45 minutes for me to start to get some feeling in them. Shoulder pain is unbearable in both shoulders. All I know, is if I pitched for the Blue Jays, the shoulder pain would have been looked at within 72 hrs. Just sad, when you can afford to pay for private health care, and can’t get it. Good thing I pay between both levels of government 53.66% in personal taxes off of each pay check to pay for everyone else. When you need it most, you get shoved into the queue and have to wait.

Taking politics out of the discussion, I wish you the best and am sorry medical care isn't better up there. I've heard a lot of horror stories from winter Texans regarding health care in Canada

[Inner Dirt]

Originally Posted by Dave Schwartz

I can't recall, but I know there are 14 thus far - with another scheduled for January.

Beth has had:

• Both knees
• one hip
• has a spinal cord stimulator (prevents back pain from her stenosis)
• two bariatric surgeries
• 2 sinus procedures

This is why she's so amazing.
Still beautiful, getting sharper and smarter with age.

Not joking about the smarter with age thing.

______________
BTW, even with my zero-deductible/zero co-pay/zero out-of-pocket coverage, Beth's coverage is BETTER and CHEAPER than mine.

How can that be?
Because none of her conditions are recurring! They're all one-and-done.

Neither of us are in a network - but her plan does require a referral to get to a specialist. Mine does not.

Her monthly premium is under $200 per month (above Medicare, of course).

It hurts to read that stuff, sounds like the poor woman has spent a lot of time recovering from surgery.

[46zilzal]

Originally Posted by ElKabong

Taking politics out of the discussion, I wish you the best and am sorry medical care isn't better up there. I've heard a lot of horror stories from winter Texans regarding health care in Canada

SUBJECTIVE ISOLATED OPINION .....NOT FACT

remnant of the old AMA's battle with "socialized medicine."

The real evaluations are here by the W.H. O.
https://www.who.int/news/item/07-02-...%20and%20Japan.

[jimmyb]

A snowbird from Canada told me he got small medical issues dealt with in Canada. Anything beyond xrays, labs, ekgs etc were addressed in the states. He said a doctor in Canada ordered an MRI and the wait period was 3 months. Ended up coming down here to get it done ASAP.

[xtb]

Originally Posted by 46zilzal

SUBJECTIVE ISOLATED OPINION .....NOT FACT

remnant of the old AMA's battle with "socialized medicine."

The real evaluations are here by the W.H. O.
https://www.who.int/news/item/07-02-...%20and%20Japan.

You're hilarious. That article is from Feb 7, 2000. But you think it is more relevant than actual current experiences.