[lit-ideas] Re: health care

  • From: Ursula Stange <Ursula@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2004 11:06:05 -0500

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...)
>
>
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