271–273 of 273 posts
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I don't think the lifestyles are all that different between Canada and the US, and the healthcare expenditures in Canada are significantly lower.
I grant this is anecdotal, but you might want to learn about the Canadian system from the point of view of sick people in Canada. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jijuj1ysw
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Yeah, waiting a few months to get an MRI if your condition isn't serious isn't uncommon. Diagnostics like that tend to be the longest wait times -- actually getting surgery after a diagnosis is pretty quick. On the other hand, my experience with the US is that the service is great. They'll even send you for unnecessary tests just because. And it's all pretty fast. But then you have so many people who get nothing at a…
sure, it's a balancing act. another downside to mention - wait times in walk in clinics in Canada during the flu/cold season are pretty extreme - it's free so ppl just go if they suspect anything is wrong. I remember reading in the news they were considering charging a nominal fee, like $5 to cut down on these types of visits. On the US side you'd pay around $50 for one of those visits (unless you go to your doc) - w…
Actually making an appointment with your family doctor is also free. You don't have to go to a walk in clinic.
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The core difference between the American health insurance model and the Japanese model (which costs half as much and has better outcomes) is fixed pricing. In Japan, a government commission sets prices for every medical product and procedure, tuning the prices to insure profitability, while preventing profiteering. In America, price negotiation is done between providers and insurance carriers. This has a few obvious…
You're not completely correct. Medicare has fixed prices that it will pay for visits, procedures etc. The prices depend on what region of the country you live in. Insurance companies then set their prices up or down from there. Independent physicians have little negotiating power and often get paid by private insurance companies less than the fixed government rate. Larger systems with more bargaining power can get si…