[N0help4u]

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 through 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 yeah 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.

Beware Canadian health care! - snopes.com

Are all these Canadians that say they have to go through this lying or is it worse than we are being told?

[NeedKarma]

Sorry, I'm laughing inside. I realize you are full of venom but you got this from Snopes for crying out loud. People should read that entire thread that she linked to and also read this: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Canadian Health Care
Which bebunks a lot of it. Some of the more minor stuff is true but I'd rather be here. :)

Why so angry today?

[N0help4u]

I am not full of venom I am scared because I CAN USE something other than SNOPES to state these very same things said by many Canadians that claim they are refused medical care when they NEED it.
Why are all these Canadians and others that have had to deal with this type of health care system saying these things?
Why did my friends friend T.G. die because he had to wait months before he could get surgery?
Even IF it isn't like that in your country I am sure that it WOULD end up that way in the USA the way the politicians do things here.


BTW: WHAT is it really like there?

[NeedKarma]

Well myself, my brothers and sisters, my parents, my hockey friends (lots of injuries there :)) have all had a good experience with our health care system. If anyone has had an experience like the ones you've mentioned I'll let them speak for themselves here.

[N0help4u]

So you are going by your own personal experience and not the over all system?
Have you or anybody you have known had to go for life saving surgery?

Canadian Health Care In Crisis, Free And First-Class — If You Can Wait - CBS News

NCPA - Health Issues - Health Horror Stories From North Of The Border

Health Care BS - Canadian Health Care: Another Horror Story

More from Elizabeth: More Health Care Horror Stories

[tomder55]

Nothing is free... yeah your system buys you cheap flu shots and then you have to wait 3 months for an electrocardiogram... with an apology letter from the doctors office if the patient is deceased first .
Canadian Health Care In Crisis, Free And First-Class — If You Can Wait - CBS News

The average Canadian family pays about 48 percent of its income in taxes each year, partly to fund the health care system. Rates vary from province to province, but Ontario, the most populous, spends roughly 40 percent of every tax dollar on health care, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

The system is going broke, says the federation, which campaigns for tax reform and private enterprise in health care.

It calculates that at present rates, Ontario will be spending 85 percent of its budget on health care by 2035. "We can't afford a state monopoly on health care anymore," says Tasha Kheiriddin, Ontario director of the federation. "We have to examine private alternatives as well."

Hat tip Saph for this excellent link

[NeedKarma]

Yea, I'm OK with all that.

[BABRAM]

For the working class of the U.S. no matter if we remain status quo or in part do a universal health care system, there is no such thing as "free" health care. This is as silly as the tourist that visit Vegas thinking that everything thing is free for high-rollers. Doesn't happen people. High-rollers constantly pay out the nose to keep their status. We all just need to determine if we are better off with alternative plans. The insurance companies, doctors, and hospitals have taken advantage of us all for to long; being healthy is a necessity, not an option.

[N0help4u]

Exactly Babram but the Hillary supporters seem to think it will be high rollin'
When in fact it will raise our taxes plus we will have to pay into it
Plus if n when we use it we will have to co-pay and
That is just the tip of the iceberg.
Then since our healthcare will be monopolized by Hillary rates will go up
I think if a person wants health care they should just sign up for one of the individual deals.
I know while I was not working the past few years there is no way I could have afforded a mandatory Hillicare.