Canadians and your heath care. I got this email today, is this true?

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,362
416
126
I got this is an email today, supposedly from a Canadian talking about how the Health care system sucks, and does no one there any good and many people die who is on it. Is this true???? This is what was written:

I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. I also heard that Michael Moore was raving about the health care up here in Canada in his latest movie. As your friend and someone who lives with the Canada health care plan I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada.


First of all:

1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for Shirley and I to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that and I am not sure of the exact amount goes directly to health care our #1 expense.

2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get into to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you "yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the ying yang some as much as 2 years down the road.

3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain here is a drug to take- not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many patients thru as possible each hour for Government re-imbursement

4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor.

5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting for treatment.

6) Shirley's dad cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required that his hand be put in a splint - to our surprise we had to pay $125. for a splint because it is not covered under health care plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week.

7) Shirley's cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list . Died before he could get treatment.

8) Government allots so many operations per year. When that is done no more operations, unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government then money suddenly appears.

9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are increasing the funding for health care but waiting lists never get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. But they are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don't call it a tax anymore it is now a user fee.

10) A friend needs an operation for a blockage in her leg but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite paying into the health care system all these years. My friend is 65 years old. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs.

11) Forget getting a second opinion, what you see is what you get.

12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation I need because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player or athlete then I can get looked at right away. Go figger. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not allowed to spend money to get healthy.

13) Oh did I mention that immigrants are covered automatically at tax payer expense having never contributed a dollar to the system and pay no premiums.

14) Oh yeh we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. Wouldn't want a sickly druggie breaking into your house and stealing your things. But people with diabetes who pay into the health care system have to pay for their needles because it is not covered but the health care system.

I send this out not looking for sympathy but as the election looms in the states you will be hearing more and more about universal health care down there and the advocates will be pointing to Canada. I just want to make sure that you hear the truth about health care up here and have some food for thought and informed questions to ask when broached with this subject.

Step wisely and don't make the same mistakes we have.

He is claiming he pays almost 100 a month for him and his wife, and gets taxed 55% as well, and cannot be seen by a doctor other then if he is sick, to get pills. Anything more and your put on a waiting list that is backed up for years on end that some people are dying while waiting to be seen to get operated on. Ontop of that, you can only be operated on so many times a year, if your a smoker they drop you, and talk of if your obese they have plans of dropping them next, WTMF.

Is this really true? Your free health care is that bad?
 

Patt

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2000
5,288
2
81
Our health care is great ... not everything is perfect, obviously, but there is a lot of crap in that email.

We pay large amounts of taxes, so no, our system is not free.

There are ample opportunities to jump the queue if you have the resources, but this is frowned upon, as it should be in a universal health care system. If you want to to jump the queue go elsewhere to pay for the services, I'm OK with that, the queue will be smaller on our end, but don't expect gov't funding to do it.

As far as I know there is no such thing as a 55% tax bracket.

This dude is just really bitter, and is focussing on negatives and outright falsehoods.

edit: I just read through it again, and think most of it is bullshit. Every system needs improvements, but baseless whining and crapshots like this are counter constructive.
 

Feneant2

Golden Member
May 26, 2004
1,418
30
91
I checked out the tax brackets :
Federal max : 29% of taxable income over $120,887
Provincial max : 17.95% on the amount over $111,161 (in New-Brunswick)

That gives me a total of what, 46.95%, there is no such thing as a 55% tax bracket no matter where you are.

Also, I do NOT pay 96$ a month to get healthcare.

And, if I call my doctor to ask for an appointment, I will get one within days. He will either send me to a specialist or prescribe something.

I will agree that it can take very long to see a specialist but they will not let you die waiting.

A lot of canadians don't have a family doctor because there is a shortage. It is not because they are not allowed to. They still get medical care.

So all in all, the guy who wrote this is a god damned idiot.
 

FlashG

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 1999
2,709
2
0
Thats what the two' former Canadian families, that recently moved to my street in Jacksonville Florida say.
 

funboy6942

Lifer
Nov 13, 2001
15,362
416
126
Originally posted by: Patt
Our health care is great ... not everything is perfect, obviously, but there is a lot of crap in that email.

We pay large amounts of taxes, so no, our system is not free.

There are ample opportunities to jump the queue if you have the resources, but this is frowned upon, as it should be in a universal health care system. If you want to to jump the queue go elsewhere to pay for the services, I'm OK with that, the queue will be smaller on our end, but don't expect gov't funding to do it.

As far as I know there is no such thing as a 55% tax bracket.

This dude is just really bitter, and is focussing on negatives and outright falsehoods.

So there is a wait, which I can see there being one, but is the wait as he describes it, where people on deaths door are put aside still made to wait at the end of the list? DO people really die off while waiting on this list because no matter what the problem is, they have tho wait for their number to be called?
 

dighn

Lifer
Aug 12, 2001
22,820
4
81
I do feel that the doctors here don't care at all about treating you properly and just want to move patients quickly. This is in contrast to my experience in China. But it's probably the same by now.

And the wait lists are a problem if you have serious illnesses.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: funboy42
Originally posted by: Patt
Our health care is great ... not everything is perfect, obviously, but there is a lot of crap in that email.

We pay large amounts of taxes, so no, our system is not free.

There are ample opportunities to jump the queue if you have the resources, but this is frowned upon, as it should be in a universal health care system. If you want to to jump the queue go elsewhere to pay for the services, I'm OK with that, the queue will be smaller on our end, but don't expect gov't funding to do it.

As far as I know there is no such thing as a 55% tax bracket.

This dude is just really bitter, and is focussing on negatives and outright falsehoods.

So there is a wait, which I can see there being one, but is the wait as he describes it, where people on deaths door are put aside still made to wait at the end of the list? DO people really die off while waiting on this list because no matter what the problem is, they have tho wait for their number to be called?

Yes. I'm not Canadian but have read the articles about people having to wait months for a procedure or a test. This is especially dangerous when dealing with something like cancer because early detection is the key to survivability.
 

Patt

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2000
5,288
2
81
Originally posted by: funboy42
So there is a wait, which I can see there being one, but is the wait as he describes it, where people on deaths door are put aside still made to wait at the end of the list? DO people really die off while waiting on this list because no matter what the problem is, they have tho wait for their number to be called?

I'm sure it happens occasionally, but it isn't the norm. Just like it happens anywhere.
 

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
78
91
That email sounds like the same type of nonsense that is routinely passed around through email with maybe a real fact or 2 hidden among lines of FUD. That said my mother in law lives in Montreal and her heart specialist will only see her once every 3 months. I get the impression that they think she should just go away and die because she is 85. :(
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Originally posted by: Patt
Our health care is great ... not everything is perfect, obviously, but there is a lot of crap in that email.

We pay large amounts of taxes, so no, our system is not free.

There are ample opportunities to jump the queue if you have the resources, but this is frowned upon, as it should be in a universal health care system. If you want to to jump the queue go elsewhere to pay for the services, I'm OK with that, the queue will be smaller on our end, but don't expect gov't funding to do it.

As far as I know there is no such thing as a 55% tax bracket.

This dude is just really bitter, and is focussing on negatives and outright falsehoods.

edit: I just read through it again, and think most of it is bullshit. Every system needs improvements, but baseless whining and crapshots like this are counter constructive.

There shouldn't be a F***ING Queue. God, how retarded is that.
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
all i know is what my dad tells me, he is doc in the us, but people from canaca come here to get stuff done, tests, CT scans and such because the wait time in canada is huge, like many many months, and they cane come here and get it done in 2 days
 

meltdown75

Lifer
Nov 17, 2004
37,548
7
81
Almost nothing mentioned in the OP is stuff that happens on a regular basis. Sounds like some disgruntled idiot with too much time on his hands. Believe what you want but the system simply isn't that bad IMO.
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,600
126
So basically, if you are poor go to Canada and if you are rich stay in the US. got it.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
52,060
45,003
136
Originally posted by: meltdown75
Almost nothing mentioned in the OP is stuff that happens on a regular basis. Sounds like some disgruntled idiot with too much time on his hands. Believe what you want but the system simply isn't that bad IMO.

My understanding is that the biggest problem is the wait times for what the government wouldn't consider critical surgery, which can be several years. The "waiting to die" crap doesn't really happen more there than here but I think there is some major quality of life type stuff that is put off far longer. Hence the Canadians jumping the border to seek treatment in the US if they have the financial means.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
So basically, if you want to wait go to Canada and if you want immediate care stay in the US. got it.

Fixed
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Originally posted by: Feneant2
I checked out the tax brackets :
Federal max : 29% of taxable income over $120,887
Provincial max : 17.95% on the amount over $111,161 (in New-Brunswick)

That gives me a total of what, 46.95%, there is no such thing as a 55% tax bracket no matter where you are.


Um, your forgot the CPP rate of 4.95% and the EI (employment insurance) rate of 1.80%. That brings it to 53.70%

CPP is like Social Security here in the states. Both are taxes and everyone pays it.

 

D1gger

Diamond Member
Oct 3, 2004
5,411
2
76
The letter you received is full of gross exaggerations and half truths. The health care system here is not perfect, but it is very good. My son has had some serious health challenges growing up and received terrific, timely care. I myself have been hospitalized twice in the last 5 years, and I have no complaints.

My Dad had a double bypass and valve replacement a few years ago, surgery was scheduled 3 days after his first appointment with the specialist, which was 4 days after his annual physical when our family doctor diagnosed a problem.

I can give you many more examples of people who received the care they needed, when they needed it, but there will always be the stories of the people who died that get sensationalized.

How many people die in the US without even seeing a doctor because they don't have health insurance?

My personal opinion is that we need more of a hybrid solution to health care. Full care for every citizen, but allow for more privatization of the system so if someone can afford to pay to have a problem fixed faster, let them do that through a private clinic.
 

Patt

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2000
5,288
2
81
Originally posted by: CPA
Originally posted by: Feneant2
I checked out the tax brackets :
Federal max : 29% of taxable income over $120,887
Provincial max : 17.95% on the amount over $111,161 (in New-Brunswick)

That gives me a total of what, 46.95%, there is no such thing as a 55% tax bracket no matter where you are.


Um, your forgot the CPP rate of 4.95% and the EI (employment insurance) rate of 1.80%. That brings it to 53.70%

CPP is like Social Security here in the states. Both are taxes and everyone pays it.

I'm speculating/bashing here, but whoever wrote that email isn't likely to have been making $121000+ in my opinion.
 

Queasy

Moderator<br>Console Gaming
Aug 24, 2001
31,796
2
0
Originally posted by: D1gger
How many people die in the US without even seeing a doctor because they don't have health insurance?

I don't know. You got a statistic? Nobody in the US can legally be denied health care for anything life-threatening. Hell, we have a huge illegal immigrant population that regularly takes advantage of our health care system without having insurance. That doesn't include government programs like Medicare and S-CHIP that are put in place to help the poor and lower middle class.
 

InflatableBuddha

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2007
7,416
1
0
Originally posted by: Linflas
That email sounds like the same type of nonsense that is routinely passed around through email with maybe a real fact or 2 hidden among lines of FUD. That said my mother in law lives in Montreal and her heart specialist will only see her once every 3 months. I get the impression that they think she should just go away and die because she is 85. :(

My grandmother got in almost immediately for an experimental heart surgery last year at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver. Unfortunately, she wasn't strong enough to survive the operation. She was 87.

 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
Originally posted by: Queasy
Originally posted by: D1gger
How many people die in the US without even seeing a doctor because they don't have health insurance?

I don't know. You got a statistic? Nobody in the US can legally be denied health care for anything life-threatening. Hell, we have a huge illegal immigrant population that regularly takes advantage of our health care system without having insurance. That doesn't include government programs like Medicare and S-CHIP that are put in place to help the poor and lower middle class.

well it is a system that makes people wait until its pretty much too late. they may save your life, but at that point your life might as well be over.
 

FeuerFrei

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2005
9,144
929
126
This is what happens when government interferes with a free market: shortages.

Just ask former Soviet Union citizens.