As an American I’m curious what it’s like if you need to go to the doctor and how much you pay from say a broken arm to general checkup. Also list what country please
Canadian here.
$0 for everything, generally
If you have blood pumping from a stump, or have something catastrophic and are in immediate peril, you are seen quickly and get first class treatment…in most cases… However, our Indigenous population and other vulnerable sectors do not always get treated well sadly, and in some remote places access to health care is limited
Now if it’s something “minor”, you will wait for an appointment, or in the ER…for a long time, like 6-18 hours. which I have done many times However, you will get seen, and you will get services… The biggest bill I ever had was like $15 for parking
Some examples from my own experience: My mother had multiple, debiliatating illnesses over 20+ years, $0 Dad had a heart attack 15 years ago, $0 I was born , c-section, $0 i had multiple children, $0 Vasectomy (no more children haha) $0 Massive car accident, many injuries, $0 See my doctor annually for checkup, $0
I came into this thread to speak about wait times too, but you said it much better than I could have. Thank you :)
You are very welcome.
We need to acknowledge the problems if we want to address them.
The system isn’t perfect, but it does (generally) have your back when you get sick
Healthcare is one of, if not THE most important, valuable and defining parts about being Canadian. Right alongside being polite and friendly, in my opinion.
…unfortunately, the shitheads know this too, hence the attacks on public healthcare. It will not work tho, as the reptile people hate each other and cannot concieve of even small sacrifices to help others, and they cannot understand liking others either.
Canadians like each other, have a great thing going, and know it.
Stay strong hosers
Wait times suck in the US, too. I snapped my collarbone when I fell off my bike. It was gnarly. I waited in the waiting room for three hours to get a bed in the hallway then I waited another another two hours to have my first x-ray. Between waiting for each nurse or PA, I was there for 9 hours. And during that time all they did was take some x-rays, told me my collar bone was really fucking broken and scubbed dirt out if my wounds. I was sent home considerably uncomfortable. I had to wait a week to see a doctor to assess my collar bone and another week have the surgery. It sucked
And here’s another fun example: I started having chronic nonstop migraines a few years ago. After a couple very long months of back and forth with my primary care, I finally got a referral to neurology, but I had to wait over a month for them to contact me, and then even after they finally contacted me I had to wait EIGHT MONTHS to finally have a video appointment.
Edit: fixed lots of careless typos.
We had to rush my SO to the ER in the last year and the wait time was actually only about an hour. It’s probably specific to the area you are in but I was shocked too since I kept hearing about the long waits so I braced myself. All in all the whole visit took likr 6 hours since they kept having to run more tests and he had to wait for results. It didn’t end up being anything major and the overall experience was mostly positive.
Oh and of course the entire visit was $0.
Canadian here:
Some provincial governments are purposely underfunding healthcare in their provinces in order to make it worse. The purpose behind this is to try and push for more private healthcare. They figure if everyone thinks the current healthcare system sucks, it’s easier to sell them on private. I’m fucking tired of this shit. The world is just full of greedy selfish assholes.
This is what the US is doing with other successful public services, like our postal service, social safety services, along with our limited public insurance options. I feel like the goal of this tactic generally needs to be shouted out, taught, put on billboards for a decade, because it just keeps working for right-wing saboteurs in so many situations
Reagan was open about “starve the beast,” and many Republicans literally run on the idea.
These people are so inundated with constant propaganda that they believe they want this.
This isn’t happening behind the right’s back, they are cheering it on
We’ve also got luxury health for our teeth only. Its not like we need them to eat properly and its not like we need to do that daily.
I’ve spent thousands of dollars of government money for digestive issues that I’m fairly confident link back to the fact that my teeth only make contact in 4 places, but the cabal of dentists and orthodontists keep teeth payable and I can’t afford $10k for braces that I (who am not a medical professional) think I need, but that orthodontists (who, in this country are licensed tooth renovation salespeople) think they could give me nicer looking teeth for.
I agree to an extent that cosmetic medicine doesn’t need to be covered, but there’s no option for me to get my teeth medically corrected so I can eat properly, or, and what may be my biggest gripe, that I have a medical practitioner that wants to get me out of the healthcare system rather than sell me a fucking smile.
MAGA Doug Ford and Danielle Smith.
deleted by creator
I’m Norwegian, where you have to pay about $30 to go to the doctor (which is set to $0 after spending $150 in a year).
I’m not sure about a broken arm, but I think it’s free.
I live in Denmark now - the only difference is that there is no cost with going to the doctor.
I think you’ve been in Denmark for to long hehe.
It’s $350/year these days.
Still very good though, and hospitals are usually free.After giving birth a few years ago, the only cost was ish $30 in parking for two days.
Yeah, I think you’re right! 7.5 years is quite a long time… But too long, considering the inflation in Norway? It’s been fun spending my Danish kroner in Norway - it’s like it all is 40% off.
I (the dad) had to pay my stay in hospital hotel after the birth, but it wasn’t outrageously expensive. The food at the restaurant was outrageously bad and expensive though.
Also I had to pay 500$ for vasectomy at a private health care provider, because the public ones don’t do it anymore. Our system gets a little better and a little worse at the same time.
Genuine question, what’s the point of charging the nominal fee? Wouldn’t it start to cost more in administration to charge and keep track of? Does it go to the particular office or to the system?
UK.
There were complications when my wife gave birth. 2 weeks in hospital, some surgery, and nurses and midwives on call 24/7. The biggest cost was me stress buying snacks for my wife (until she told me to stop!). Even parking was reduced to £11/week, since she was in for multiple nights.
Another occasion. I had a benign lump in an annoying place. It took 14 months to get through to get it removed. It’s only when I went in I realised it was not a 5 minute snip. Around an hour for a plastic surgeon to properly remove and stitch it up.
The NHS has its problems. Mostly caused by previous governments trying to starve it (to let their mates sell us for profit healthcare). The system and staff are absolutely awesome.
If I’m asked to point out what makes me proud to be British, the NHS is the prize jewel in that particular crown.
Cost wise, we pay national insurance, a fixed percentage of income. (“Payment by ability, treatment by requirement.”) Prescriptions are £9.90 each, or £120/year. They also wave the fee for a lot of groups who might have problems with it. It’s massively more cost effective than the American system.
we pay national insurance, a fixed percentage of income
With no limits? One of the many problems with the us system is we don’t do this.
There are some limits to it, and ways around it for the rich (as per usual ☹️).
The cost still mostly scales with your income, rather than how much care you need.
I don’t understand why so many of my fellow citizens wouldn’t want this
I guess we sort of have some, in that if you’re on Medicaid or on one of the exchanges, you get subsidized coverage based on your income
But higher income people don’t pay more, plus I imagine that at some point you have enough income that you wouldn’t need health insurance…… and people wonder why our system is so expensive
UK.
Visit to doctor: free
Ambulance trip to hospital: free
Broken arm: free
Pregnancy care, maternity, birth, etc: free
Cancer treatment, including multiple rounds of Chemotherapy, surgery, post-op care, etc etc: freePrescription: about £10, but I get an annual fixed price unlimited pass which pays for itself in a month or three all the stuff I’m on.
Parking at the hospital: not free.Dentist: not free.
They broke your arm for free. Next time it’ll be a leg. /s
Loved one recently diagnosed with cancer. Within a week she has a team of 5 medical professionals assigned to her to kill this thing. If she was in the USA, this would bankrupt the family.
Actually if she was in the USA. She would need to call around to find a doctor accepting new patients that take her insurance.
My friend has a tumor on her spine. It took 4 months to get an appointment with a doctor who took her insurance.
The doctor met with her to tell her that “she doesn’t feel qualified to assist. This case is is clearly too critical for her( the doctor)”.
And…
Now she’s calling around again.
While the tumor grows
Yeah, I had an ear issue and got referred to an ENT. The ENT required that I do a hearing test. I said my hearing is fine, I have pain in my ear. Well it’s a requirement to get an appointment. Ok, fine, sign me up for that. 30 days out I get this hearing test, then have the appointment 4 months later. So I just had to deal with pain for 4 months. I went to urgent care and ER while waiting because I was in pain daily and couldn’t keep waiting. They all said they couldn’t see anything and I would need to talk to an ENT. The ENT sees it and says the same shit as the urgent care and ER. So 4 months has gone by and all any doctor did was throw their hands up and say IDK bro. I see another ENT who gives me a steroid ear drop that doesn’t fucking work. We’re 6 months in and fucking nothing has happened. Eventually it gets kinda better just on its own after I straight gave up on trying to get it taken care of. I still have flare-ups here and there, but it’s mostly better. Uh hopefully it’s not fucking cancer or something. 🤷♂️
Yep if it ain’t in the checklist or easy to fix things I know how to bill for - I ain’t fixing it.
Imagine if most mechanics, or any other profession worked this way.
Well shit, you don’t need an oil change, an air filter change, and your spark plugs are good. Nothing I can do. This case is too complicated for me. Best of luck That’ll be $83739
Canada.
As someone else mentioned the current government is trying to make things worse so we can have American style hearth care.
Primary care can be hit or miss. For my own GP I have to travel a bit back to my home town to see them because it’s a bit painful to find a new one where I’m at now. It also might take a day or two to get an appointment.
It is far from perfect but I’m incredibly doubtful that private health care would improve anything at all. I just don’t think the incentives align that could allow for it at all.
Canada
Conservative governments are trying to kill universal healthcare across the country and where they have privatized it, it does not produce better outcomes, it just costs more.
The big difference from US care, aside from costs, is that Canada does not waste money on a plethora of pointless testing. When testing is required, it is prioritized which upsets people who are addicted to seeing doctors and insist on tests they don’t need. The system is heavily abused by a few people.
One patient in Quebec racked up 362 visits in one year.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/health/article/one-quebecer-saw-a-family-doctor-362-times-in-a-year/
As someone else mentioned the current government is trying to make things worse so we can have American style hearth care.
Remember: this guy is the harm-reduction candidate. Poliestre would welcome American-style Mercenary healthcare for the country, like it is in Edmonton, demolishing what we have now for his rich friends.
It also might take a day or two to get an appointment.
This astounds me. I’ve heard over and over again that “the waiting lists” in univeral health care countries kill people. But when I have an active bladder infection and I call the GP group (because goodness knows I’ve rarely seen the same provider twice), the best they can do is to “squeeze me in” eight days later.
UK
I got hit by a driver a couple of years ago. Ambulance to A&E was free. Triage and being seen was free. CT was free. Sling for broken clavicle was free. I had 6 weeks off work due to lingering effects of concussion - getting signed off by the doctor was free.
I usually see the GP once or twice a year for minor things and those visits are always free.
My partner’s antidepressants are free. Therapy is free. Birth control is free.
In Scotland all prescriptions are free.
I can’t imagine having to consider finances in the event of any health issues.
Free? That’s hardly free. I pay monthly NHS and barely get appointments. R.I.P, people with conditions that need to be diagnosed early.
Accidents? Yeah, you get help immediately. Other conditions? You better go private.
Whinge more.
Let me know when you have to decide between an ambulance ride or three rent.
Its great in Australia, i farkn love medicare (what we call it). My wife had a recent health scare and we had to run around seeing all these different people (getting scans done, follow up appointments, second opinions etc) and it was amazing walking out each time not needing to pay anything.
We have to pay for meds but its cheap as chips (my meds for my heart shit are like $20 each pick up).
I really feel for you yanks, its insane America of all countries doesnt have it.
Brazil
We have a weird hybrid system. While the universal care is not known for its efficiency, and sometimes sick people will have to wait for hours to see a doctor, I am sure it beats having to mortgage your house because of a broken arm.
Besides universal care, people can decide to pay private hospitals and doctors directly. It’s expensive. Few people can afford it (but interestingly, still much, much cheaper than in the US). And then, all of this combined generates affordable and actually good health insurance plans. You get a mix of getting guaranteed care, with a typical insurance monthly fee, which also most companies provide for their employees. Of course there are many tiers of insurance plans, but the most basic and affordable ones are typically very good. It’s rare for insurance companies to deny procedures, something that is completely different than in the US. (It happens, though, depending on the procedure).
Either way, you never have to worry about what it’ll cost you. No life changing charges, no astronomical bills.
My own experience from Brazil is pretty good overall.
I have free therapist it’s been a year. Free appointments with psychiatrist and neurologist. Free transport to specialized doctors in other cities when needed. Once I had to go throught a surgery, kept in the hospital for 2 days, and some weeks of daily visits to change bandages (it was a little complicated). I didn’t spent a cent on all this.
My mom also got free appointment to ophthalmologist, not just that but they also paid for her new glasses as well.
You’ll see some complains about quality of services and it’s true, some people say that appointments may take ages I also hear that often, but as personal experience I never faced it. Maybe because I live in a small town in a small region as well. So queues are short or non-existent.
I had a friend from Argentina and the health system there is pretty similar if not even better.
It’s a good country to live in, I don’t think I’d like to live somewhere else. Basically any health problem you can rely on universal health system and having this support independently of anything (if you work or not, if you have money or not) feels good.
Canadian here: wait times can be long depending on seriousness but it honestly doesn’t register. You need emergency care, you go to the hospital, you get taken care of, you leave. No fees. It’s not perfect efficiency but it works.
i live in Canada and it’s a constant struggle to keep it afloat, we have our own brand of braindead morons we call maple maga that actively try to sabotage it at every possible opportunity…
what we do have is pretty good for basic coverage, but it excludes mental and *most *dental, and you still need insurance through work for costs of medicine etc. that being said, all hospital visits, stays, and treatments receive no billings.
just ‘getting’ universal healthcare isn’t enough, you have to fight for it, and you have to fight to keep it.
UK here, NHS is constantly being underfunded and gutted by contracting out to private companies, it still works but just barely.
For example, ambulance target response time for a cardiac arrest, not a simple heart attack but full on unconscious not beating not breathing, used to be 8 minutes or less. Now they aim for 20 minutes and only achieve that 60% of the time.
I’d much prefer a Norwegian style model where you pay say £30 per doctors/non-emergency hospital visit up to a cap of £150 per year with those who can’t afford that getting those fees paid for by the government.
Some additional things I would add would be a slowly increasing VAT on private healthcare until it reaches double the normal VAT, paying student nurses/doctors a full wage and full living cost loan for the duration of their studies, whilst working they do not pay the interest on those loans, then if they move abroad before the university loans are paid back they have to pay the interest back as well.
This would massively increase funding for the NHS by taxing those who can definitely afford the burden because at double VAT the only ones who’d still opt for private healthcare are those who employ workers and therefore no matter how much they try to wriggle out of paying tax they can’t avoid this one.
The second would increase the number of medical students and stop the current drain of young medical professionals leaving for other countries.
Poland
My country may be poor backwards post-soviet hole, but social media and news present USA as Fallout-style post-apocalyptic dystopia.
Every member of my family has a family doctor assigned (it’s the same one for convenience). This doctor reminds us about mandatory vaccinations and tips us if there are any diseases spreading (for preparation sake). If anyone is seek we can usually schedule visit within a week, and most standard medicines are fairly cheap due to governmental control.
