It is my understanding that everyone (except for new residents, who have a three-month waiting period before full coverage) is fully covered for ordinary doctor visits, emergency room visits, necessary (as decided by your doctor) surgeries. Paul is right that some extras that used to be covered are no longer. Your doctor can charge extra for filling out forms, for instance. I wasn't aware that complete physicals were no longer covered, but I assume that means a physical performed preventatively, not diagnostically. Blood work, I don't know -- I've never paid for any, but I'm not sick much. When your doctor sends you to the hospital, you don't pay for any room or board or medication or procedures that I'm aware of. When you're discharged you just leave. This assumes that you're happy in a ward. Semi-private or private accomodation would be extra -- sometimes paid for by workplace insurance. Basic health care is free for everyone. As far as I know there are no children who don't see a doctor because their parents can't afford it. Dental care is not usually covered, so certainly there are children who don't see a dentist because their parents can't afford it. Each new government tinkers with the system, so sometimes, for instance, tattoo-removal is covered, sometimes it isn't. What doesn't seem to change is the waiting times in emergency rooms -- sometimes up to four or five hours or more depending on what the triage nurses make of your situation. You can choose your own doctor, but doctors are not free, as far as I know, to charge extra, except for a list of things not covered, none of which I've ever needed. Fee schedules are posted by the government and include all specialties, including psychiatry. (Psychologists, on the other hand, have to be paid for out of pocket.) In most cases, you can only see a specialist with a referral from your family doctor. The system will pay travel expenses (sort of) if you need to travel to another city to see a type of specialist not available locally. I think even house calls, if you can find a doctor that will bother, are covered. Hope this helps, Ursula Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx wrote: > >In a message dated 11/25/2004 8:44:44 AM Central Standard Time, pas@xxxxxxxx >writes: >If you are dying, the service is great, if you are just sick, mmm. not so >much. > > >Hi, >So it sounds a bit like the difference between the federal gov't employees >here (at least the plan my siblings are on) and the rest of us? And, are >the lines/waiting lists long? (that's the rumour here--that the last plan to >imitate would be Canada's...and if private industry employees are not >covered, >then I don't know if it would be any better. What about children, though? >Are the kids of the private business employees covered? > >Thanks for the information >Marlena in Missouri >(where Ben's last prescription paid $4 of the $54 cost--and his coverage is >better than mine...) > > >------------------------------------------------------------------ >To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, >digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html