You might have to wait if what you have is a non life threatening condition as people who have a life-threatening condition will take priority over you no matter who you are. It is the trade-off for a more cost effective system. But after you’ve received your treatment you leave the hospital without even seeing a bill except maybe for a parking fee.
Meanwhile in the US, unless you are wealthy enough to afford to pay for your own healthcare or at least a premium health insurance you are left to wait with life threatening conditions and might even be left to die by your insurance company who will purposefully delay until your death to maximize their profits. And then they’ll still send you an eye-watering bill on top of having charged you a premium that is twice what Canadians pay in their taxes for their healthcare.
That would make sense if your GP or specialist was also taking shifts in the ER, but they aren’t. They aren’t choosing between your hip replacement and the lawn dart embedded in a college kid’s spleen.
Your hip replacement is in line behind 274 other hip replacements. It is performed by a doctor who does nothing but routine surgeries, day in, and day out, and never touches an emergent patient.
Private clinics exist and have shorter lines for those willing to pay. The government could admit their own line is too long and start paying those clinics to take their overflow. But they dont. Better to let you rot for three years than pay a private practice doctor to do it in a week.
You might have to wait if what you have is a non life threatening condition as people who have a life-threatening condition will take priority over you no matter who you are. It is the trade-off for a more cost effective system. But after you’ve received your treatment you leave the hospital without even seeing a bill except maybe for a parking fee.
Meanwhile in the US, unless you are wealthy enough to afford to pay for your own healthcare or at least a premium health insurance you are left to wait with life threatening conditions and might even be left to die by your insurance company who will purposefully delay until your death to maximize their profits. And then they’ll still send you an eye-watering bill on top of having charged you a premium that is twice what Canadians pay in their taxes for their healthcare.
That would make sense if your GP or specialist was also taking shifts in the ER, but they aren’t. They aren’t choosing between your hip replacement and the lawn dart embedded in a college kid’s spleen.
Your hip replacement is in line behind 274 other hip replacements. It is performed by a doctor who does nothing but routine surgeries, day in, and day out, and never touches an emergent patient.
Private clinics exist and have shorter lines for those willing to pay. The government could admit their own line is too long and start paying those clinics to take their overflow. But they dont. Better to let you rot for three years than pay a private practice doctor to do it in a week.